Our Staff

Jeana Frazzini, Executive Director

Jeana Frazzini leads Basic Rights Oregon, a statewide non-profit committed to ensuring that all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Oregonians experience equality by building a broad and inclusive politically powerful movement, shifting public opinion, and achieving policy victories. After working for six years as the political director for the Death with Dignity National Center, she became the Development Director for Basic Rights Oregon in 2005. It took her two years to double Basic Rights Oregon’s organizational income. During that time, Basic Rights Oregon successfully lobbied the 2007 Oregon legislature to pass a comprehensive non-discrimination law and one of the nation’s most encompassing domestic partnership laws. Frazzini became the Executive Director of Basic Rights Oregon in 2008. A week later, a federal judge put Oregon’s new domestic partnership law on hold. Basic Rights Oregon organized thousands of activists and hired a top attorney to enact the domestic partnership law and safeguard it against future attacks at the ballot. In addition to policy victories, Basic Rights Oregon has seen success in building a more inclusive movement and working with coalition partners. Under Frazzini’s leadership, the organization has developed a racial justice analysis, prioritized ally work, and trained activists across the state to fight for social justice for all Oregonians impacted by discrimination. Her work at Basic Rights Oregon continues a lifelong passion for fighting injustice. Growing up in rural Eastern Washington, Frazzini experienced first-hand the confusion, fear and isolation that LGBT people face in unsafe climates. In college, she worked with human rights and environmental groups, and moved to Oregon during the No on 9 campaign in 1992. In 2004, with the help of Basic Rights Oregon, she and her partner won a landmark parental rights case. In a historic ruling, the court found it unconstitutional to discriminate against families headed by same-gender couples. In 2009 Frazzini was appointed to serve as a member of the Oregon Council on Civil Rights. The council plays a critical role in ensuring proper education and enforcement of civil rights laws in Oregon.  In addition, Frazzini has previously served as a member of the advisory board for the City of Portland’s Human Rights Commission and the Committee on Discrimination based on Gender Variance & Source of Income for the Multnomah County Civil Rights Task Force.

Virginia Martin, Executive Assistant

Virginia Martin has worked as an educator, activist and advocate for women and sexual and gender minorities for 15 years. She has a special place in her heart fro non-profits and has worked for Planned Parenthood. The Sexual Assault Resource Center, The Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center, and Human Dignity Coalition. Her work with universities includes working as Volunteer Coordinator for the Pride Center at Oregon State University, Graduate Assistant for the Women’s Center at Oregon State University, Process Coordinator for Team Liberation at OSU, and Program Coordinator for the LGBT Center & Women’s Center at Ohio University. Additionally, Virginia worked for 8 years as the Education Coordinator for It’s My Pleasure, Portland’s first feminist, woman-owned sexuality boutique. She is currently finishing up her Master’s degree in Women’s Studies & Human Sexuality from Portland State University. Virginia loves spending time at the coast with her partner and niece, choreographed dancing, anything coated in glitter, reading feminist blogs, and fostering cats and kittens from the Humane society. To learn more about her work, please visit www.virginiamartin.org.

Dan Yonker, Director of Finance & Administration

Dan is responsible for fiscal and operations management for Basic Rights Oregon. He does our bookkeeping, network administration, database management and many other tasks that help to maintain the professionalism of the Basic Rights Oregon office. One of Dan’s strengths is that he always brings a thoughtful approach to problem solving. Because of Dan’s fiscal conservatism and commitment to value you can be sure that every dollar you donate is being utilized in the best possible way! Dan rides his bike to work and loves to spend his weekends enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty.

Juan Martinez, Development Director

Juan’s connection with Basic Rights Oregon goes back to 2004, when he began volunteering for the organization by serving on the annual dinner planning committee. Juan brings deep relationships in Portland’s LGBT and allied community, a passion for social change and a head for business to his work at Basic Rights Oregon. In 2005, Juan and his partner Byron Beck served as lead plaintiffs in Martinez v. Oregon, Basic Rights Oregon’s legal challenge to Constitutional Amendment 36.

Cathy Abbruzzese, Donor Outreach Coordinator

Cathy has worked directly with our supporters and volunteers since 1996. She raises over $100,000 annually in grassroots contributions, and provides a vital link between BRO supporters and the organization’s daily work. She served as a field organizer to defeat the anti-gay Measure 13 in 1994 and Measure 9 in 1992. Originally from New York City, Cathy brings nearly 25 years of grassroots organizing and outreach experience to BRO. As staff elder and card-carrying member of AARP, she enjoys being treated with “the right respect” and prefers the title “Goddess.”

Joe LeBlanc, Development Coordinator

Joe first joined Basic Rights Oregon as a volunteer with the Trans Justice Working Group in early 2011, then joined the Basic Rights Oregon staff as the Trans Justice Fellow. He is originally from New Orleans and identifies as a Cajun Genderqueer Butch who believes in personal story-telling as a significant method for people to share experiences and solidify a better understanding about LGBTIQ identities, issues and concerns. In addition to working as the Development Coordinator at Basic Rights Oregon, Joe also serves as the Founder and Resource Development Chair for BUTCH Voices, the Coordinator for Q Patrol PDX, Portland’s first ever LGBTQ community foot patrol, and the Co-Director for Hollaback PDX. He was also most recently awarded with 2011 Pride in Action Award by Pride NW. Joe also enjoys endless conversations about gender and sexuality, interlaced with talks about pop culture and fighting prejudice, all while basking in the ambiance of a nearby coffee shop.

Jack MacNichol, Development Coordinator

A native Portlander, Jack joined the development team in spring 2013. Prior to joining the Basic Rights staff, he worked as a PolitiCorps fellow and special events organizer at the Bus Project. Jack graduated from Whitman College with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre & Politics. While at Whitman he was deeply involved in student government, theatre, and the campus queer community. When he isn’t working to support the fantastic work of Basic Rights, Jack enjoys riding his bike, baking scones, and starting sewing projects he never seems to finish.

Amy Ruiz, Communications Director

Amy joined Basic Rights Oregon in 2013 after serving on former Portland Mayor Sam Adams’ staff for four years, including roles as Chief of Staff, Communications Director and LGBT community liaison. Prior to her work for Mayor Adams, Amy worked as an editor, columnist and reporter for progressive weekly newspapers for nearly a decade, covering local and state politics, including the marriage equality movements in Oregon and Washington. Originally from Minnesota, Amy escaped to the Northwest to earn a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Seattle University. She, her partner, and their toddler son live in NE Portland.

Peter Zuckerman, Media Manager

Peter started working at Basic Rights Oregon as a volunteer while at Reed College in 2000. In 2012, he joined the staff, writing stories and helping out with communications. Peter has spent most of his career working as a print journalist, most recently at The Oregonian, and his writing has won some of the most prestigious awards in journalism, including the Livingston Award and a National Journalism Award. PBS profiled him in the acclaimed documentary “In a Small Town,” and Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation profiled him for a series about courageous reporters. Peter also works part-time as an author, and his book, Buried in the Sky (WW Norton, 2012) is a national bestseller.

Sasha Buchert, Communications Manager

Sasha has been with Basic Rights Oregon since March of 2011. She is astonished and pleased daily that she gets to work along side such an amazing group of people.  She is deeply involved with the transgender justice movement, and is heavily engaged in the struggle for marriage equality and racial justice.  Aside from LGBT equality, Sasha enjoys loud music, bike riding and nectarines.

Raahi Reddy, Organizing Director

Raahi has over twenty years working in the labor movement leading large campaigns to help win social and economic justice for workers, including immigrants and people of color. She has traveled across the country working with diverse groups to help them build the power they need to make lasting changes in their lives. She took a break from organizing to earn a master’s degree in Urban Planning from UCLA. SHe used her research skills to help pass a historic local-hire policy in the city of Los Angeles that helped low income, communities of color gain access to quality jobs in the construction industry. Raahi has also served in numerous leadership roles, including as Chief of Staff of an 85,000 member union in Southern California, and as national board member of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance. She has passionately advocated for national and local efforts to build diversity within the labor movement and create lasting labor and community partnerships. Before joining Basic Rights Oregon, Raahi spearheaded a historic, labor-community partnership program to increase Asian American civic participation in Washington, California and Nevada. Raahi is excited to bring her love for teaching and developing leaders to the work of Basic Rights Oregon and believes that linking the excitement of campaigns with training and education not only builds the strength of our constituents and staff but also the power of movement to win justice for all. In her downtime she loves getting into good South Asian fiction, cooking elaborate meals that involve barbequed meats and picnics in the park with her spunky two year old daughter

Kyle White, Field Manager

Kyle White joined the staff at Basic Rights Oregon in the spring of 2010. Kyle brings over 8 years of organizing experience and has worked on campaigns and projects across the country. Kyle is a self-described organizing geek who has a deep passion for building political power and loves to WIN. She currently works on marriage equality and with the Political Action Committee working to elect pro-equality candidates to office. Kyle enjoys spending her downtime enjoying the beauty of Oregon, avoiding home improvement projects, trying to get things to grow in her backyard and breaking up fights between her two cats.

Cass Cole, Field Organizer

A Washington native, Cass recently spent four years in Virginia studying Government/Historical Sight Seeing before returning home to serve as a 2012 Politicorps Fellow with the Bus Project. Directly following “organizing boot camp,” she was hired to work on the Referendum 74 campaign. Cass has been involved in various LGBT advocacy projects, including a campaign to make her university’s anti-discrimination policy trans-inclusive and the creation of a resource database for LGBT youth. She feels very fortunate to work for social justice in the Pacific Northwest with the incredible folks at Basic Rights. Cass spends a lot of time burning dinner and bringing books into the Powell’s coffee shop she does not intend to buy.

Kathy Formella, Field Organizer

Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Kathy adventured to the Northwest for college and fell in love with the beauty and the culture. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Willamette University. After graduating, she became an intern with Basic Rights Oregon, and was later hired to work on winning the freedom to marry in Washington. Kathy enjoys spending what little downtime she gets stargazing, hiking, bungee jumping, and the occasional (or more than occasional) karaoke session.

Dave Mathews, Field Organizer

Dave grew up in rural communities in the southwest, and is constantly amazed by Portland’s lush greenery. He comes to Basic Rights as an enthusiastic organizing nerd who has worked or volunteered in grassroots efforts since early childhood. When not organizing (or volunteering for other organizers) he’s outdoors hiking, camping, or otherwise distancing himself from his cell phone. Being so frequently inspired by folks he meets organizing, Dave is driven to deepen his involvement with and commitment to engaging folks in this messy experiment we call Democracy.

Justin Pabalate, Field Organizer

Justin moved to Portland in early 2012 after spending most of his life in Eureka, California. Justin gained much of his experience as Co-Founder/Co-Chair of Humboldt Pride for over six years, CAPI Vice-President for two, volunteering for a host of other nonprofits and worrking in the credit union industry for over 10 years. Hungry for a change of pace and armed with a passion for queer rights, he joined the marriage team to help win the freedom to marry in Washington. He believes that because he has the privilege of ability it is his responsibility to be visible and towards an Oregon that is more equitable for everyone. Justin lives in North Portland with his dog-like Siamese cat and loving partner Nick.

Kim Sogge, Field Organizer

Kim, a Washington native, came to Oregon’s capitol in 2008 to attend college at Willamette University where her love and commitment to organizing for social justice blossomed. After graduating with a degree in Rhetoric and Media Studies she moved up to Portland to spend the summer as a Politicorps Fellow with the Bus Project. After her stint knocking on doors for a summer, Kim was excited to join Basic Rights Oregon as an organizer working primarily on the Approve 74 campaign in the fall of 2012. She’s thrilled to be on staff with such an amazing and motivate group of people working for racial justice, trans justice, and basic rights for all Oregonians. Kim likes candy, coffee shops that provide free refills, laughing, reading, spoken word, and live music.

Gus Wendell, Field Organizer

Gus hails from Bend, Oregon and is very excited to bring his new organizing skills to help win the freedom to marry and advance social justice in his home state. Having spent the previous year studying Spanish in Argentina, Gus was encouraged by the country’s advancements in LGBT equality, and was eager to learn the nuts and bolts of activists organizing. The Bus Project’s summer Politicorps fellowship presented the opportunity to just that, and from there Gus joined Basic Rights Oregon as an Organizer-in-Training to help win the freedom to marry in Washington State. Gus also plays cello, and often finds himself in jam sessions on weekends, or playing in the streets, rain or shine.

Aubrey joined the staff of Basic Rights Oregon in 2007, after earning her degree in Gender Studies and Literary Arts from Brown University.  Since then, Aubrey has worked to help win domestic partnerships, anti-discrimination protections, and anti-bullying legislation. Most recently she coordinated Basic Rights’ campaign for transgender-inclusive health care, and the organization’s partnership with the Rural Organizing Project for LGBT equality in small towns and rural communities. Today, she works to support community and staff leadership of Basic Rights’ Trans Justice and Racial Justice programs. She also serves on the advisory board of TransActive Education & Advocacy. Born and raised in Oregon, Aubrey is delighted to be part of an organization that has been such a strong force in the politics of her home state.

tash shatz, Trans Justice Manager

tash loves cooking, the night sky, spoken word, and organizing. tash began working with BRO as a volunteer in 2007 through a partnership with the Oregon Student Association. After two cycles as a New Roots youth fellow, tash now co-coordinates the Trans Justice work at BRO by collaborating with community leaders to increase access to health care, legal rights, and safety in legal custody for trans, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming folks in Oregon. tash is honored to work every day for trans justice, racial justice, and basic rights for all.

David McEllhatton, Trans Justice Organizer

David McElhatton is an organizer for Basic Rights Oregon’s Trans Justice Program. David has worked with queer and trans grassroots organizations to build power since 2008. He is also a former National Organizer for Greenpeace. David loves direct action, curriculum development, and the amazing volunteers & staff he gets to work with at BRO.

John Joo, Racial Justice and Alliance Building Manager

John moved to Oregon in 1992 from South Korea with his family. He graduated from the University of Oregon where he helped push for programs and policies for under-repesented students. A volunteer of Basic Rights Oregon since 2004, his favorite part was working with Our Families cohort and campaign. He currently volunteers for Asian Pacific Islander Pride, a group for and lead by LGBTQ Asians and Pacific Islanders in Oregon. In his spare time, he enjoys reading novels, spending time with family and friends and Korean karaoke in Beaverton.