Our Center has prioritized community-engaged research, which we define as research led by communities or led by researchers in collaboration with communities. We work with diverse partners, and to guide our activities we have pulled together a Community Advisory Board (CAB). The CAB is comprised of community organizations, OSU Extension, public health agencies and non-profits.

To learn more about our Board and the responsibilities of Community Advisory Board members, please review our Frequently Asked Questions.

Lisa Arkin

Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Lisa has provided innovative policy leadership and grassroots organizing for this statewide environmental justice organization since 2006. Under her guidance, Beyond Toxics embraced the principles of diversity and equity, and adopted an anti-racist ethos to become Oregon’s first environmental justice organization. She is dedicated to placing human rights, racial and social justice at the forefront of all environmental protection and climate resiliency policies.  Link to full bio

Kaci Buhl

Email: [email protected]
Biography:

At the state level, Kaci leads the Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) and at the national level, she co-directs the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative (PERC). Link to full bio

Laura Campbell

Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Laura is the Community Research Program Manager for Community Outreach, Research, and Engagement at Oregon Health & Science University. She leads a team that connects community organizations with resources, technical assistance, and expertise to support research-based practices and data-driven decision-making. They work to build the capacity of communities to participate in and conduct community-engaged research.

Curtis Cude

Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Curtis brings 15 years of experience managing environmental and public health projects and programs and staff, communicating across natural resource and public health disciplines and between science and IT teams, analyzing and testifying on environmental public health-related policies and legislative bills, and building the practice of addressing water insecurity in Oregon.

Jamie Donatuto

Environmental Health Analyst at Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Dr. Jamie Donatuto, Community Environmental Health Analyst for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, has worked for Swinomish for 22 years. Jamie's work spans community health research and interventions, including developing climate health adaptive strategies and facilitating educational opportunities based on traditional plants and medicines. She and long-time colleague Swinomish Elder Larry Campbell developed the Indigenous Health Indicators to include definitions of Indigenous health that are not acknowledged in conventional health assessments

 

Bill Emminger

Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Bill currently has over 44 years of experience working with state and local health departments in in the field of environmental health in the states of Indiana, Utah, and Oregon as well as private industry.  He currently serves a Region 1 Vice President with the National Environmental Health Association and works with NEHA affiliate organizations in the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. NEHA's mission is build, sustain, and empower an effective environmental health workforce.

David Farrer

Email: [email protected]
Biography:

David Farrer has a PhD in toxicology from the University of Rochester and did post-doctoral fellowship with Oregon State University. He has been a toxicologist with the Oregon Health Authority’s Environmental Public Health section for almost 15 years helps people and communities understand health risks associated with exposure to environmental chemicals where they live, work, learn, and play.  

Stacey Harper

Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Our laboratory investigates the environmental, health and safety impacts of nanotechnology in order to support the responsible development of this rapidly growing industry. Our current lack of information on the environmental fate and toxic potential of nanomaterials prohibits us from performing valid risk assessments. Issues of particle behavior, bioavailability and toxicity are central to quantitative risk assessment. Link to full bio

Veronica Irvin

Associate Professor, Celia Strickland Austin and G. Kenneth Austin III Endowed Professor in Public Health
Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Dr. Veronica Irvin's experience spans more than 15 years and she uses a community-engaged approach to develop, implement and evaluate behavior change programs across a comprehensive list of health priorities (e.g., smoking, nutrition, physical activity, cancer screening, safe drinking water). Link to full bio

Kathleen Johnson

Community Environmental Health Sr. Program Coordinator
Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Kathleen has been working in local public health for the past 5 years developing health protective policies and programs related to climate change, air quality and land use planning and transportation.Prior to working in local government, Kathleen worked for a non-profit that advocates for state wide public health policy and the increase of resources to local public health to support healthy communities across Oregon.

 

Lauren Kraemer

Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Lauren Kraemer, MPH, is an Associate Professor of Practice in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences with Oregon State University Extension Service. Lauren’s research interests include chronic disease prevention through nutrition and physical activity education, as well as the development of policies, systems, and environmental shifts to improve the social determinants of health. Link to full bio

Oralia Mendez

Manager, Workforce Development & Community Programs
Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Oralia received her bachelor's and MPH in Health Management and Policy from OSU. She is originally from Nyssa in Eastern Oregon. Link to full bio

Annette Mills

Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Annette grew up in a village outside of Chicago and in suburban Los Angeles. She has degrees from Stanford University and Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, California. Link to full bio

Jamie Pang

Senior Environmental Health Program Director
Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Jamie has a JD from Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law, and brings over a decade of experience in the public interest, environmental, non-profit sector, including campaign and policy development. Prior to joining OEC, Jamie served as the staff counsel for the Protect Our Communities Foundation where she challenge consumer rate spikes and dirty fossil fuel development in Southern California, and advocated against the operation of fossil fuel power plants near disadvantaged communities. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for 350PDX, aiding them in their advocacy work for climate justice. In her current role, she works on addressing toxic chemicals in products, air quality, climate and worker health threats, and emerging threats to human health such as PFAS and plastics exposures.

Mary Peveto

Executive Director
Email: [email protected]
Biography:

Mary Peveto (she/hers) co-founded Neighbors for Clean Air in 2010 to ensure cleaner air for all Oregonians. She activated friends, neighbors and people throughout our region to work for stricter standards to regulate air toxics in Oregon and to galvanize the citizen action necessary to effect change. She is a mother of three who calls herself an “accidental activist” who was pushed into action when she stumbled upon a national study published in 2008 that showed her daughters’ school to be ranked among the worst 2% in the nation at risk to toxic industrial air pollution. Mary is Neighbors For Clean Air's guiding voice in organizing, policy, and organizational vision.