Jonathan Ostar, Attorney/Advocate (Co-Founder and Board Member, OPAL)

Jonathan Ostar is an attorney practicing in Portland specializing in civil rights and employment law. Jon received a law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School in 2003, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at the law school, teaching a course in Environmental Justice with a focus on community, law and policy. Jon has been involved in Portland's emerging EJ movement for more than six years, first acting as Chair of Environmental Justice Advocates at Lewis and Clark Law School, working as a community organizer with Environmental Justice Action Group, acting as a Steering Committee member for MCHD PACE-EH Coalition, and all the while continuing to develop the idea for a community-based organization to carry on the great EJ work being done in the Portland-Metro area.

Jonathan Ostar; (503) 407-9145; jon@opalpdx.org; jon.ostar@gmail.com

Ben Duncan, Health Education, Multnomah County Health Department (Board Co-Chair)

Ben Duncan, board-co-chair for OPAL, is a health educator with Multnomah County Health Department, with a focus on the relationship between health and housing. Ben also works with the Multnomah County Diversity and Quality Team, the Employees of Color, and the Health Equity Initiative, all of which focus on: equity and justice. Ben has recently been appointed to the 2009 Governor's Environmental Justice Task Force. He previously worked with the Coalition Against Environmental Racism (CAER) at University of Oregon and helped organize the 1998-1999 CAER conferences at the U of O.

Ben Duncan; (503) 956-4223; ben@opalpdx.org

Chris Winter, Co-Executive Director-CRAG (Board Member)

Chris Winter co-founded and directs Cascade Resources Advocacy Group, a non-profit environmental law firm based in Portland, Oregon.  Chris graduated from law school at the University of Michigan in 1998 and has been practicing environmental law in Portland for the past seven years. With CRAG, his practice focuses on public land management, water quality, land use, endangered species and environmental justice.
  
Chris Winter; CRAG; (503) 525-2725; chris@crag.org

Kevin Raymond Odell, (Executive Director/Co-founder, OPAL (Staff)

Kevin Odell brings close to 12 years of political advocacy, grant writing, policy development and grassroots organizing experience to OPAL and the Portland progressive community. His organizing work in Oregon has included; Community Coordinator for PACE-EH Community Coalition-2002-2005; Community Organizer for the Environmental Justice Action Group in 2001-2002; Tri-County Coordinator during the 2001 Oregon Legislative session for the Oregon Community Protection Coalition (OCPC), a broad-based coalition of 30 environmental groups concerned about the damaging effects of regulatory takings and the passage of Measure 7 in the 2000 General Election; and field organizer in 2000 with the Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV) where he successfully implemented a Youth Voter Program for the 18-35 year-old voter demographic in the Tri-County area.

Kevin Raymond Odell; (503) 997-3853; kevin@opalpdx.org

Onna-Lisa Kyom, Youth Board Member, DeLaSalle HS, VFE Workshop (Board Secretary)

Onna-Lisa is the new OPAL Youth Board member and was recruited out of the VFE workshops from DeLaSalle HS in 2008. She is a 17 year-old rising-senior and african-american resident of the Cully Neighborhood in Portland. Onna-Lisa enjoys poetry, civil rights, environmental justice and Powell’s Books.

Yalonda Sinde, Executive Director, Assn. of Environmental Health Academic Programs (Board Co-Chair)

Yolanda Sindé is a longtime organizer, activist and community leader in the Pacific Northwest. Yolanda was a founding board member of Community Coalition for Environmental Justice (CCEJ) in Seattle, WA, for the first three years of the organization’s existence, and then served as Executive Director for ten years. Yolanda organized around issues of low-income housing, welfare reform, children's health, and environmental and economic justice, leading CCEJ’s emergence as a major force in the local, regional and national environmental justice movement. Yalonda earned a BA in Political Science and a Masters Degree in Non-Profit Leadership from Seattle University, and has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors. Yolanda currently resides in Portland and is the Executive Director of AEHAP, working to increase diversity in the environmental health profession, and also owns her own consulting business, Yolanda Sindé Consulting: www. ysindeconsulting.com.

Yalonda Sinde; (503) 235-6047 ext. 2; ysinde@aehap.org

Reverend Joseph Santos-Lyons, Unitarian Universalist Church (Board Treasurer)

Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons is a graduate of the University of Oregon and Harvard Divinity School, ordained in the Unitarian Universalist tradition. A lover of organizing and community development, Joseph has worked to inspire collective action for social justice and educate on issues of leadership, racism, and radical spirituality. He is an itinerant preacher, spiritual director-in-training, and volunteer chaplain to social justice efforts. Joseph lives with his partner and three children in inner-North Portland, Oregon.

www.radicalhapa.com; josephsantoslyons@gmail.com

Suk Rhee, Director of Operations, Northwest Health Foundation (Board Member)

Suk is a new OPAL board member who has more than 12 years of experience in the independent sector, most recently as a grants manager for Habitat for Humanity in Los Angeles, as well as staff with the Southwestern Organizing Project (SWOP), a statewide multi-racial, multi-issue, community-based membership organization in New Mexico. Suk is currently the Director of Operations for Northwest Health Foundation based here in Portland, and has been a strong supporter of community-based EJ work in Portland. Look for an updated full bio soon for Suk.

Shannon Olive, Community Organizer, OPAL (Staff)

Shannon was just recently hired as the new community organizer for OPAL. She is currently on the board for Oregon Action, where she has also worked as an organizer during the 2008 electoral campaign and graduated from the Leadership and Organizing Program in 2005.

Shannon Olive (503) 875-1725; shannon@opalpdx.org