• Councilor Linda Nishioka, Salem
    Jan 22 2025

    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 Facial Plastic Services at Willamette Ear, Nose, Throat & Facial Plastic Services in Salem.

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    44 mins
  • Councilor Donna Gustafson, Forest Grove
    Jan 15 2025

    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 courage to advocate for positive change, especially for women. Her deep roots in Washington County and extensive community service in Forest Grove has fueled her commitment to fostering a thriving, inclusive future for all.

    Thank you to our podcast sponsor, Allied Video Productions!

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    41 mins
  • Councilor Mindy Garlington, Gladstone
    Jan 8 2025

    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 around the area. She has been at her current job for over 30 years.

    Mindy has worked alongside Gladstone residents to champion parks and green-spaces and she has served on the Parks Board and the Budget and Audit Committee. Prior to her elected position in 2020, she served for a year with the By-Laws committee and now champions other cities to 'get those bylaws updated'! She believes the most valuable asset Gladstone has is the People and the Parks. 'If we care for them everything else that is good will follow'.

    Currently a liaison to the Clackamas County Library Board, stating she has gained a deep respect for the libraries and their patrons. Partnering with Clackamas County, Gladstone has just opened a brand-new Library building right on main street. This new building along with a new Public Works building and City Hall/Police Station has solidified Gladstone's commitment to work on their downtown core focusing on revitalization.

    Mindy has served in many other liaison appointments, as this will be her second 4-year term with the City. Changing liaison appointments each year has given her insights to the wants and needs of the residents in Gladstone. She served as Vice-Chair of the Women's Caucus in 2024 and will serve as President for the 2025 year. She has been with the Women's Caucus almost since its beginning during COVID. She says; the LOC has opened many avenues for learning and growth, friendships and mentors and so much more! Serving with and learning from people all across Oregon plus the LOC staff has been the most unexpected and needed addition to her elected position.

    When not at work or at a city meeting you can find her on any Golf Course, in the Parks with other community members, in her yard trying to bring in the butterflies and bees, at Church, volunteering at Gladstones transitional housing facility, Tukwila Springs and helping efforts with the non-profit group The Friends of Gladstone Nature Park. She believes; family time is a gift, quiet time is a blessing and faith is a must. She is a volunteer at heart and truly appreciates a good conversation.

    Thank you to our podcast sponsor, Allied Video Productions!

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    42 mins
  • Re-Broadcast: Councilor Jeanette Shaw, Tigard
    Jan 1 2025

    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 expertise in technology and association management focusing on issues such as manufacturing investment credits, economic development zones, workforce training, organizational development, and transportation options such as shared mobility, first and last mile transportation options, and light and heavy-duty rail. Jeanette was also tapped to help start TechNet, a national technology trade association.

    Jeanette Shaw was elected to the Tigard City Council in 2020 and began her service in 2021. She served on the Oregon Solutions Transportation and Electric Vehicle Collaborative; the State of Oregon Career Technical Education Advisory Commission and was a founding Board member of the STEM STEAM East Multnomah Partnership.

    Councilor Shaw holds an Executive MBA from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is married to Jason Shaw, a fifth-generation Oregonian.

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    46 mins
  • Re-Broadcast: Councilor Andrea Zielinski, Roseburg
    Dec 25 2024

    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 the City's Library Commission.

    In addition to serving on Council and working full-time as an HR Manager for FCC Commercial Furniture, Andrea is actively involved in various community organizations. She serves on the board of directors for the Greater Douglas United Way, Family Development Center, Umpqua Heart, and Children's Public Private Partnerships (CP3). Additionally, she is a committee member for Music on the Half Shell, Douglas County Community Organizations Active in Disasters, and Friends of the Umpqua Valley Police K9 Programs.

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    49 mins
  • Re-Broadcast: Councilor Briae Lewis, Corvallis
    Dec 18 2024

    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 Policy Advisory Board, the Home Opportunity Planning Equity (HOPE), and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition.

    Thank you to our podcast sponsor, Allied Video Productions!

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    49 mins
  • Re-Broadcast: Mayor Julie Fitzgerald, Wilsonville
    Dec 11 2024

    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 Brookings and Gold Beach. Julie is mostly retired now after a 43 year career in non-profit leadership and philanthropy, to advance education, health care and conservation for leading Oregon charitable groups including community hospitals, the OHSU Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, and the Oregon Zoo Foundation. She's raised three sons, and knows how busy single mothers can be. And with her husband Bob, she has two grown stepdaughters, and two young grandchildren.

    Mayor Julie has run for office twice, and was elected in 2012 to the Wilsonville City Council, then decided not to run again, but in 2020, she ran for Mayor. She is completing that term this December, and looks forward to being able to spend more time with friends and family, and to pursue interests in the outdoors, as well as reading, and enjoying community theater, art and travel.

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    30 mins
  • Re-Broadcast: Mayor Melanie Kebler, Bend
    Dec 4 2024

    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 and federal funds into solving homelessness in collaboration with Deschutes County, and won significant federal grants for transportation infrastructure that will reconnect the community in climate-friendly ways.

    Melanie has spent her legal career working for the public, first as a Deputy District Attorney and then as a crime victims' rights lawyer at the nonprofit Oregon Crime Victims Law Center. She is honored to serve as the Mayor of her hometown.

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    35 mins