You are here: Home » About Us » Our Board

Our Board

admin | September 24, 2011

The Board of Directors oversees and supports the work of the organization, setting strategy, making policy, and monitoring financials. The board is responsible for helping the organization articulate a compelling vision and for partnering with the Executive Director to carry out the mission.

	Vanessa Usui, Board Co-Chair Member, BRO Legal Advisory Group Attorney, Duffy Kekel Vanessa is an estate planning and tax attorney in Portland. Depending on the time of year she can often be found cycling up hills in the Gorge or skiing at Mt. Hood. She is glad that in 1992 she found her way to Oregon where she now lives with her partner, Kimberlee, and two very demanding cats.
	Kerry Johnson, Board Secretary Operations & Policy Analyst, Oregon Health Authority Office of Equity and Inclusion Kerry has served on the board since 2010. He is a member of the Trans Justice Working Group and works for the office of Equity and Inclusion as an Operations and Policy Analyst.
	Al Machemehl, Board Treasurer Al has served on the board since 2007 and has been treasurer since 2009. Al is a CPA and currently controls the monetary and operational arms of Metropolitan Group. He brings more than 20 years of financial and administrative experience to this task. When not behind a calculator or in front of a PC, you can find Al in the Columbia Gorge at his getaway retreat with Buster, his overactive golden retriever, and Penelope, an overweight basset hound. Al is also an avid traveler attempting to visit the “Seven Wonders of the World.” He can also be easily amused or disgusted by political matters of the day.
	Margi Hoffman, Co-Chair, BRO Equality PAC Senior Vice President – Oregon, Strategies 360 Margi joined Strategies 360 after a decade of working in public policy, non-profit advocacy, politics and government relations. In the 2008 election cycle, she took a leave of absence to run the coordinated campaign in Oregon, helping to achieve victories for U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, U.S. Representative Kurt Schrader, three statewide officials and eleven state lawmakers. She has participated in a number of other campaigns, developing close relationships with many of the state’s leaders. Margi serves on the boards of Self Enhancement, Inc., Basic Rights Oregon, The Oregon League of Conservation Voters and the Great West Institute. When she isn’t working, she spends her winters skiing deep powder and her summers running rivers. A native of Colorado, Margi is a graduate of Lewis and Clark College.
	Cyreena Boston Ashby, Board Member Director of the Portland African American Leadership Forum Cyreena Boston Ashby strategizes for national and statewide electoral campaigns and ballot measures and conducts government relations in the areas of racial equity, consumer protection, civil liberties and health care. In 2008 Cyreena ran for the Oregon House of Representatives and after that, she worked for President Barack Obama as his Oregon Campaign Deputy and then for US Senator Jeff Merkeley as his local government and appropriations liaison in Portland. She’s served as a board member for Portland State University’s Center for Women, Politics & Policy, Emerge Oregon, Urban League of Portland, North by Northeast Health Clinic Advisory Board, and Multnomah County’s Citizen Involvement Committee. She also sits on WINPAC Oregon. Currently, she is the director of the Portland African American Leadership Forum which coordinates policy advocacy and leadership development for African Americans in Oregon. Cyreena and her husband Samuel travel between Oregon and Asia often, and have a yellow lab named Luke and very cute baby girl, Ava Elizabeth.
	Debbie Burke, Board Member VP Human Resources, TriQuint Semiconductor Debbie Burke joined the BRO board in 2003 and served as the Secretary for over 4 years during that time. Currently Debbie is the Vice President of Human Resources at TriQuint Semiconductor in Hillsboro, guiding HR activities in major design / manufacturing facilities as well as sales, field application support and design center offices in North America, Europe, Asia, and the company’s manufacturing facility in Costa Rica. Prior to joining TriQuint Debbie was Vice President of Human Resources for Merix Corporation where she oversaw the company’s HR needs through periods of rapid growth and an expansion of manufacturing facilities in China and other regions. Before her Merix Corporation tenure she was Human Resources Vice President for Unicru of Beaverton, Oregon and worked at Intel Corporation for 10 years in managerial and director positions with assignments in Oregon, Malaysia and Israel. Ms. Burke holds a BA in economics from Smith College and received her Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Vermont.
	Dave Cutler, Board Member Finance & Administration Director, SEIU Local 49 Dave is a career social justice activist and nonprofit manager. Currently Finance Director at SEIU Local 49, he has had that role at the MRG Foundation and the Funding Exchange and served as executive director of the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance. He joined the BRO board in early 2011 and hopes to help the organization in the struggle for queer and trans justice in Oregon.
	Nancy Haque, Board Member Building Political Power Director, Western States Center Nancy joined the board in 2011. From 2001 until 2005, Nancy worked as a Western Region Field Organizer for National Jobs with Justice, based out of Washington, DC. Prior to that she worked at the AFL-CIO and for several years as an organizer for Portland Jobs with Justice. She has also held a position at Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. Nancy first fell in love with the Pacific Northwest as a student at the Evergreen State College where she studied political economy and social change. She has also earned a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Nancy’s family includes her partner, Dianne, a sister, two brothers and two awesome nieces. She has been an activist since high school, fighting for workers’ rights and economic justice at home and around the world
	Steven Johnston, Board Member Steven has served on the board since 2003.
	Anita Rodgers, Board Member Associate Director, MRG Foundation Anita has been a community organizer for over 20 years. In the early 1990s she directed the San Francisco chapter of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador. She returned to Oregon in 1995 and served for more than six years as the director of the Community Alliance of Tenants, a community-based renters’ rights organization. In 2003 Anita joined the staff at the MRG Foundation. As MRG’s Associate Director, Anita gets to combine her love of racial justice, strategic planning, and grassroots social change organizing.