Her Own Wings

Linda Nishioka is the City Councilor for Ward 2 in Salem, Oregon, and currently serves as the Council President. Prior to her election, she contributed to the Salem community by serving on various city committees and as a board member for local nonprofit organizations.  Linda is retired from a rewarding career in healthcare, having worked as a Registered Dental Hygienist and as the Director of Fac...

From farm girl to executive program manager, Donna has spent her career building strong communities, relationships and empowering others. Many may remember her from Bella Donna's Bistro, but her passion extends beyond owning a successful small business. With nearly 30 years of experience leading programs for multi-million dollar organizations, Donna has championed integrity, compassion, and the co...

Mindy has lived in Gladstone for over 30 years (and grew up in North Portland), prior to moving to Gladstone along with husband Steve they spent 12 years moving across states with the US Navy. They have 2 children and 5 grandsons. Mindy has spent her career dedicated to service. Working with and for the public has enabled Mindy to form relationships with professionals from other cities in and arou...

Jeanette Shaw is the Senior Director of Policy at Forth and a member of their leadership team. Forth is a non-profit that advances electric, smart and equitable access to clean transportation. At Forth, Jeanette is responsible for public policy and regulatory affairs at the state and federal levels. She has over three decades of extensive international, national, state and local public policy expe...

Councilor Andrea Zielinski has been serving as a Roseburg City Councilor representing Ward 2 since 2015. Initially appointed to the position, she was then elected in 2016 and again in 2020. In 2023 she served as Council President, which was only the second time a female had held that position in Roseburg's history. She has chaired Roseburg's Historic Resource Review Commission and currently leads...

Originally from Maryland/DC, Briae moved to Oregon in 2019 and ironically did not get into politics until the 2020 election cycle and Black Lives Matter. After that, Briae decided to run for office and was elected in 2022 as the first openly gay black woman on the Corvalils City Council where she serves as liaison to the Historic Resources Commission, the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion...

Mayor Julie Fitzgerald of Wilsonville is an Oregonian, having also lived in other Western states. She is a graduate of Oregon State University in the School of Agriculture. After graduating, she managed her family's 1,000 head sheep ranch in Curry County. Julie discovered her lifetime career by volunteering to lead a fundraising drive to bring NPR and OPB to the southern Oregon coast between Brook...

Melanie Kebler grew up in Bend, graduating from Bend High, and returned to her hometown in 2018 after attending the University of Michigan and Lewis and Clark Law School. Kebler was elected as the City of Bend's Mayor in 2022, having first been elected to the City Council in 2020. During her time on Council, Bend has approved nearly 1,000 new affordable homes, invested millions of one-time state a...

First appointed to the Newport City Council for a two-year term in 2018, Cynthia then won her seat in 2020. She is currently running unopposed for another four-year term. Cynthia reflects on the fact that the City has spent six years investing in her education about the city. She wants to give back as it takes a while to learn to ask the right questions. She never thought she would be in an electe...

Felicita is an enthusiastic nonprofit professional whose passion for the community has guided her work. She joined the THPRD Board in 2017. She has lived in Washington County since age five and took her first job as a camp counselor – at THPRD – when she was 15. Felicita is the Public Affairs Manager at Northwest Health Foundation. There she supports advocacy campaigns to change public policy, oft...

Mayor Tamie Kaufman is a property manager by trade and has served on several committees including the City Council for the City of Gold Beach and was elected Mayor in 2020 and was just recently re-elected. She has a Bachelor's degree from Eastern Oregon University (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) and an Associate's Degree from Southwestern Oregon Community College. www.goldbeachoregon.gov

Jeanette Shaw is the Senior Director of Policy at Forth and a member of their leadership team. Forth is a non-profit that advances electric, smart and equitable access to clean transportation. At Forth, Jeanette is responsible for public policy and regulatory affairs at the state and federal levels. She has over three decades of extensive international, national, state and local public policy expe...

Councilor Andrea Zielinski has been serving as a Roseburg City Councilor representing Ward 2 since 2015. Initially appointed to the position, she was then elected in 2016 and again in 2020. In 2023 she served as Council President, which was only the second time a female had held that position in Roseburg's history. She has chaired Roseburg's Historic Resource Review Commission and currently leads...

Mayor Julie Fitzgerald of Wilsonville is an Oregonian, having also lived in other Western states. She is a graduate of Oregon State University in the School of Agriculture. After graduating, she managed her family's 1,000 head sheep ranch in Curry County. Julie discovered her lifetime career by volunteering to lead a fundraising drive to bring NPR and OPB to the southern Oregon coast between Brook...

Melanie Kebler grew up in Bend, graduating from Bend High, and returned to her hometown in 2018 after attending the University of Michigan and Lewis and Clark Law School. Kebler was elected as the City of Bend's Mayor in 2022, having first been elected to the City Council in 2020. During her time on Council, Bend has approved nearly 1,000 new affordable homes, invested millions of one-time state a...

Mayor Remy Drabkin of McMinnville, Oregon has dedicated over 12 years to public service. She is the first woman, first Jew and first queer-identified person to hold the Mayorship. Remy served two terms on the McMinnville City Council and two terms on the Planning Commision before being appointed and then elected Mayor. Remy was pivotal in establishing the Affordable Housing Commission, and the cit...

Originally from Maryland/DC, Briae moved to Oregon in 2019 and ironically did not get into politics until the 2020 election cycle and Black Lives Matter. After that, Briae decided to run for office and was elected in 2022 as the first openly gay black woman on the Corvallis City Council where she serves as liaison to the Historic Resources Commission, the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion...

Susan Wahlke was first elected in 2014 to the Lincoln City City Council. She later was elected fulfill the previous mayor's term. In 2022, she was elected to a full 4-year term as Mayor. Susan is a 30-year resident of north Lincoln County. Born in Tacoma, Washington and having moved to Oregon in the 5th grade, she considers herself a native Pacific Northwesterner. After graduating from the Univers...

First appointed to the Newport City Council for a two-year term in 2018, Cynthia then won her seat in 2020. She is currently running unopposed for another four-year term. Cynthia reflects on the fact that the City has spent six years investing in her education about the city. She wants to give back as it takes a while to learn to ask the right questions. She never thought she would be in an electe...

Cec grew up in Salem, but has been a member of the Monmouth-Independence community for over 40 years. She has volunteered with organizations from the cooperative preschool to the Chamber of Commerce, to the Monmouth-Independence Community Foundation, where she has served on the Board since 2001 (with almost 20 years as its treasurer). Currently, Cec works as the Director of Finance & Operations fo...

Oregon City Mayor Denyse McGriff has extensive experience in government. She was the Principal Planner for the city from 1988 to 1996. Now retired, she has has worked for a number of local governments, including the Lane Council of Governments, Columbia County, City of Tillamook, Deschutes County, City of Oregon City and rounded out her career at the Portland Development Commission. Her public ser...

As an adult living in Seattle, Shoreline and Mukilteo, WA, Tita considered herself apolitical. She researched candidates and issues and voted but she had no thoughts of being involved in local government. But, when she moved to Seaside in 2002, she started attending city council meetings, as well as commission, committee and board meetings because she thought that's what a responsible citizen shou...

Mayor Engelke was elected by her community to serve the City of North Bend as Mayor in November 2022 and was the first female mayor. Her current term expires in November of 2024. Mayor Engelke had served previously as a North Bend Council Member after being elected as mayor in November 2018.  Jessica Engelke is a longtime North Bend resident invested in making our community a better place. She is...

Kori Rodley is a lifelong Oregonian who was elected to the Springfield City Council in 2019 and she is the first out lesbian to serve on the council. Currently, she serves as chair of the Springfield Economic Development Agency (SEDA), chair of the Lane County Human Services Commission, and as a voting member of the League of Oregon Cities General Government Policy Committee. Her past service has...

Beatriz Botello Salgado has been serving as a Newport City Council member for the past 5 years. She was appointed in January of 2019 and ran for election in 2020 to a 4 year-term. Beatriz has lived on the Oregon Coast for 28 years and actively volunteers and participates in various community committees. For the past 20 years, she has been a part of the OSU Extension team as a nutrition educator. B...