Meet Our Board of Directors

The Nonprofit Association of Oregon Board of Directors is made up of representatives from the nonprofit sector and community leaders. They represent the broad diversity of our membership and contribute significant amounts of time, talent, and energy to ensure the growing vitality of the nonprofit sector in Oregon. The following Board members were voted in by our membership at our second Annual Meeting on October 6, 2011.

MEMBER REPRESENTATIVE DIRECTORS

Eloise Damrosch, Portland

2010 to 2012
Ms. Damrosch has been with the Portland tri-county Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) since 1988. She has been Executive Director since 2004. RACC is a $7 million organization that works to integrate arts and culture into all aspects of community life through grants to artists and arts organizations, placing specific works of art in public spaces, and supporting arts education. Prior to coming to Portland, Ms. Damrosch lived in Bend for more than a decade where she taught art history and managed the Artists-in-Education program for Central Oregon. Ms. Damrosch is originally from New York City.

Tonya Graham, Ashland

2011 to 2012
Ms. Graham has been Executive Director of the Geos Institute since 2001. The Geos Institute, which has a budget of about $1.5 million and maintains an office in Washington, D.C. as well as in Ashland, helps people predict, reduce, and prepare for climate change bringing the best available science to community and natural resource planning processes. Ms. Graham has also developed ClimateWise, a nonprofit consulting firm that is part of the Geos Institute. Originally from Wadsworth, Nevada, Ms. Graham has lived in Southern Oregon for 14 years.

Michael Kaplan, Portland - Treasurer

2010 to 2014
Mr. Kaplan is the Executive Director of Cascade AIDS Project, a $4.6 million agency that works to prevent HIV infection, support and empower people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, and eliminate HIV/AIDS-related stigma. Mr. Kaplan previously worked for the Academy for Educational Development in Washington, D.C.,
most recently as Vice President for International AIDS Programs and Deputy Director for the Center on AIDS & Community Health. Mr. Kaplan has 20 years of nonprofit management experience and serves as Treasurer of the Board.

Karin Kelley-Torregroza, Beaverton - Secretary

2010 to 2013
Ms. Kelley-Torregroza is Executive Director of Vision Action Network (VAN), a $400,000 organization serving Washington County. VAN’s mission is to identify critical issues and support collaborative community-based solutions. In the last two years VAN has focused on health care, sustainability, and economic security for Washington County residents. Prior to joining VAN in 2008, Ms. Kelley-Torregroza was the Director of Children, Youth, and Family Services for Portland Impact. Ms. Kelley-Torregroza moved to Oregon in 2007 from California where she directed the Redwood City School District’s Community Schools initiative and its School-Community Partnerships program. Ms. Kelley-Torregroza is originally from San Jose, California. She currently serves as Secretary of the Board.

Mark Langseth, Portland

2010 to 2012
Since 2009 Mr. Langseth has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of “I Have A Dream” Foundation, which with a budget of $1.2 million helps low-income kids succeed in school and college. Mr. Langseth moved to Portland from Minneapolis in 2006 to take the position of Assistant Vice President for University Development at Portland State. He has extensive experience in K-12 and higher education and was active in the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits when he lived in Minneapolis. He is also a frequent speaker and author on education-related topics.

Charlie LaTourette, Wilsonville

2010 to 2012
Mr. LaTourette has been Executive Director of the Dental Foundation of Oregon since 2008. The Dental Foundation, with a budget of $825,000, works to improve oral health in Oregon. An Oregon native, Mr. LaTourette has over 25 years’ experience in communications and general management working for both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. He has also been active in educational reform and as a Board Member of several health and arts organizations. Mr. LaTourette was a member of the original Nonprofit Association of Oregon Steering Committee when it was a program of TACS. He has served on the Governance Committee for the past two years.

Bob Lieberman, Grants Pass

2011 to 2012
Mr. Lieberman arrived in Oregon from Chicago in the early 1970s and began his career in children’s mental health services. He has been associated with Southern Oregon Adolescent Study and Treatment Center (SOASTC) since the late 70s and has been its Executive Director since 1989. SOASTC, with a budget of $7.5 million, provides both residential and outpatient treatment to emotionally at-risk children and their families throughout southern Oregon. SOASTC has pioneered school-based mental health prevention and promotion programs in Josephine County. Mr. Lieberman is on numerous national and statewide commissions and committees concerned with children’s mental health.

Charles McGee, Portland

2011 to 2012
Born in Liberia, Mr. McGee came to Portland as a child and began his involvement in community affairs as a student activist. He is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Black Parent Initiative (BPI), which he and a colleague established in 2006 to support the parents and caregivers of Black children in improving their educational outcomes. The BPI, with a budget of $780,000, focuses on low and moderate-income families in North and Northeast Portland and partners with Black churches, schools, local organizations, and community members.

Rick Nitti, Portland - President

2010 to 2013
Mr. Nitti has been the Executive Director of Neighborhood House since 1991 when he moved to Portland from Chicago. Neighborhood House, founded in 1905, is a $5.6 million agency serving 12,000 low-income children, families, and seniors annually. Mr. Nitti is a former Board President of Children First and Board Chair of the Southwest Community Health Center. He currently serves as Treasurer of the Board of the Hillsdale Farmers Market and is a member of the Multnomah County Poverty Advisory Committee. Mr. Nitti was the co-Chair of the NAO Steering Committee when it was a program of TACS and joined the Board in January 2010. He has served as Secretary of the Board and has also served on the Finance Committee. He is currently Board President.

Chuck Sams, Pendleton

2010 to 2012
Mr. Sams is Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Country Conservancy, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reacquiring conservation lands for tribes and native communities. The Conservancy was founded in 2010 and has a budget of $400,000. Raised on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, he is also the Executive Director of the Umatilla Tribal Community Foundation. Following national service in Naval Intelligence, including combat service in the Persian Gulf War, Mr. Sams worked with both social service and conservation organizations from New York City to Portland, most recently as Director of the Tribal and Native Lands Program of the Trust for Public Lands. Mr. Sams has received numerous awards for his environmental achievements.

Brandi Tuck, Portland

2011 to 2012
Ms. Tuck moved to Portland from Florida in 2006, and in five years has founded both the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, where she serves as Board President, and Portland Homeless Family Solutions,
where she is Executive Director. Portland Homeless Family Solutions has two shelters for homeless families with children, both in downtown Portland, and a budget of about $400,000. In 2009 Ms. Tuck received the Skidmore Prize, an award given annually by Willamette Week to four people under age 35 who do outstanding work at nonprofit organizations.

Eric Vines, Otis - Vice President

2010 to 2014
Mr. Vines is the Executive Director of Sitka Center for Art and Ecology located on the Oregon coast north of Lincoln City. Sitka Center, founded in 1970, seeks to expand the relationships between art, nature and humanity through workshops, artists’ residencies, and individual research projects. It has a budget of just under $600,000. Prior to joining Sitka Center in 2008, Mr. Vines worked in Michigan for the Edward Lowe Foundation where he developed projects to help second stage business owners identify ways to grow their companies. Mr. Vines has been on the NAO Board of Directors for the past year and currently serves as Vice President.

AT-LARGE DIRECTORS

Kathi Jaworski, Eugene

2010 to 2012
Ms. Jaworski moved to Oregon from New England in 1998. She has served as Executive Director and Board Chair for diverse nonprofits, including a community development corporation, community action agency, statewide trade association, multi-state capacity building organization, and regional micro-enterprise collaboration. In 2009 she stepped down as Executive Director of Rural Development Initiative and established a consulting business, Write to Know. She also serves on the Governor’s Small Business Advisory Council and the Eugene Sustainability Commission. Ms. Jaworski joined the TACS Board in April 2009 and served as president of the Board in 2010.

Ross Laybourn, Portland

2010 to 2013
Mr. Laybourn is a former Assistant Attorney General with the Oregon Department of Justice, where he served for more than 30 years, including 20 years as the Attorney-in-Charge of the Oregon Charitable Activities Section. Mr. Laybourn is a past president of the National Association of State Charity Officials and served on NASCO’s Board of Directors for over a decade. Locally, he has been a longtime member of the Giving in Oregon Council. He frequently presents at nonprofit conferences on nonprofit board governance.