Celeste Carey 

Celeste worked for 13 years with the City of Portland as a Crime Prevention Coordinator with the former Office of Neighborhood Involvement, wherein she liaised with and organized community members, governmental agencies and service organizations to address livability and public safety issues. Celeste has expressed that she works with schools, faith organizations, police, Neighborhood District Attorneys, the OLCC, health and welfare agencies, affinity groups and others. During her career, she helped establish the City of Portland Civic Leadership and Diversity Partners program, co-founded The Restorative Listening Project on Gentrification, founded and served in ex-offender re-entry efforts, served on state and county health, housing and community development projects and organized numerous community-based safety efforts. Other employment includes coordinating the Albina Community Weed and Seed Program (a Department of Justice public safety and community development effort), AmeriCorps Member, print journalist, nursing and community health educator. Celeste was educated in in Communications, Journalism, and Nursing, and is currently employed as the interim Co-Manager of KBOO-FM Radio, here in Portland.

Byron Vaughn 

Currently working at JOHS Joint Office of Homeless Services, it is a County position of Portland. 25 years of extensive experience in leadership roles, focused strategic planning; and process improvement with having an equity lens. Equity Inclusion and Diversity. 2 years of being on the negotiation table for union contract , Was a shop steward for Local 2505 now with Local 88. Now on PCCEP Behavioral Health Sub committee and the Youth Sub committee since August of 2021. Homeless for 8 months and City Team And Bud Clark Center is where I was Living at for the time being. Tireless activists for racial justice and equity. Advocate for young black males. Byron is very involved In getting the black communities back in Portland. Born in Oakland California, Relocated to Portland Oregon in 1994.

Amy Anderson

Today I work as a Forensic Peer Wellness Specialist for Cascadia FACT team. The work I do involves people who are involved with the criminal justice systems, the mental health systems and the social systems at a very difficult level. I am also a volunteer Chaplain for Multnomah County Detention Center serving women there for over 21 years, providing chapel services and individual support. I have served as a Chair and Vice Chair of dozens of state and local oversight boards, committees and commissions, leading my groups into successful policy changes for many people in Oregon. I have an extensive history serving as a leader in my community and am also a Community Health Worker, Peer Support Specialist and a Systems Navigator. Most of all I am a committed, dedicated and loyal advocate for my community.

Ann Campbell

Ann has been in public service in and around Portland for over 33 years and retired from Portland Community College, where she worked for 25 years developing and managing a robust Community Education program. In this capacity, she worked with both internal and external partners to create meaningful programs to address the evolving needs of her community. In 2000, Ann was trained by the City of Beaverton neighborhood mediation program and spent the next 18 years being a volunteer mediator for the City of Beaverton, Multnomah County Small Claims court, and with the Shared Neutrals program, where she mediated workplace issues for city, state, county and local agencies. As a passionate advocate for social justice, Ann sought out opportunities to educate herself on critical race theory and participated in numerous classes, workshops and webinars over many years. Additionally, she took classes offered through PCC's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office, and after some time, was asked to co-facilitate PCC's professional development classes for staff and faculty; Ann conducted numerous 25-hour intensive trainings, until the closure of PCC in-person classes due to COVID-19. Ann lives in Portland with her husband and has spent a good deal of time in her retirement working to improve her community; she is a long-time volunteer with Hospice and a tireless activist for racial and social justice.  

Zeenab Fowlk

 Zeenab has 20+ years of extensive experience in leadership roles focused on strategic planning, process improvement, and building partnerships and collaborations through an equity lens within the nonprofit industry. As a native to Portland, she grew up in Northeast and attended Portland Public Schools, earning her diploma from Benson Polytechnic High School. Since 2003, she has served as the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Minority Women and Business Enterprise (MWBE) and Oregon business firm, Rural and Urban Development League (RUDL). From June 2015 to September 2015, she led the firm in the strategic plan and delivery of training with the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Native Learning Center (STOF-NLC) to provide training in Flagstaff, Arizona for the Tribal Asset Building: Leveraging Resources Conference. As an active volunteer since March 2019 with Kúkátónón, an Oregon nonprofit business, she transitioned to serve as the Executive Director in July 2020. Zeenab served as a RUDL Pro Developer for 2 ½ years as the Operations Management consultant with the Urban League of Portland, one of the oldest African American service, civil rights, and advocacy organizations in the area. Before relocating to Washington state in 2016, Zeenab lived in Baltimore, Maryland starting in January 2001 and worked in leadership positions focused on youth development with community-based nonprofit organizations until April 2006. In May 2006, Zeenab transitioned her career to MedStar Health and served for 10 years within the Operational and Strategic Communications department until her departure from her role as Director of Operational Communications – Events, in September 2016. Zeenab holds a master’s degree in Management with a Marketing Specialty from the University of Maryland University College (UMUC), now Global Campus (UMGC), and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon in Political Science, with a minor in Sociology.

Tia Palafox

Tia Palafox is a retired K-12 School Counselor from the Eugene School District.  She worked as a detention Group-worker at Skipworth Detention Center (Lane Co. Youth Services) meeting police with the youth about to be detained to complete intake and work with the youth throughout their detention; as well as an Employment Specialist/ youth counselor for teens who dropped out of school at Looking Glass Job Center (Eugene), while working on her bachelor’s degree in Human Services at UO in the early 90’s, she knew that she had a passion working with and serving youth who were really struggling. Tia worked in non-profit agencies that were youth centered, until she returned to get her master’s degree at OSU to become a School Counselor, she was hoping to be more on the prevention side, after building so many skills in intervention. While working towards her master’s degree in School Counseling in the late 90’s, her & her spouse at the time became treatment foster parents for SCAR Jasper Mountain Center and she became a Qualified Mental Health Assistant. She volunteered for several family & youth centered non-profit organizations in Eugene over the years.  Once obtaining her master’s degree, she became a School Counselor in 1998, starting off in rural Harrisburg, OR, then shortly after began working for the Eugene 4J School District.  While at 4J she made a commitment to equity & inclusion and became a leader for the Minority Student Achievement Network to “close the achievement gap”; attended hours of Center for Equitable Education trainings and became a leader for Taking It Up, the second part of the CFEE training.  She volunteered for Centro Latino Americano and helped educate immigrants on their rights when stopped by law enforcement.  Tia became specialized in suicide intervention & prevention while working with Lane County Mental Health & Public Health, as a School Counselor.  She completed the Initial Administrative program in Education at UO in 2009 and focused on alternative education. In December 2009 Tia had a massive stroke, which caused her to have a brain injury & disability.  Becoming disabled didn’t stop her, she continued to stay active in her community and returned to work as soon she was released to do so.  She said that she was able to have a new lens on accessibility and empathy for others with a disability. Tia retired from the 4J School District and moved to Portland in 2017.  She began volunteering at Buckman Elementary School (PPS); as well as at Rahab’s Sisters, a small program that serves marginalized unhoused women, as soon as she moved here.  She has been getting very involved with Portland’s unhoused community and is passionate about social & racial justice and mental health & wellness for our community members. Tia is very involved with her niece and nephew, who both attend Jefferson High School, and are the most important people in her life.  She enjoys traveling, especially to Mexico. 

Gloria Canson