UOAA welcomes new board members
The University of Oregon Alumni Association welcomes seven new directors, who began their terms on July 1, 2022.
This July, seven new members joined the UO Alumni Association (UOAA) Board of Directors.
Each member on the board of directors serves a three-year term. They oversee and manage the association’s finances and advise the UOAA Executive Director, Raphe Beck, and staff on how best to engage over 250,000 UO alumni.
“These new board members were selected from one of our most competitive nomination pools ever,” said Beck. “The association is really fortunate to have the guidance of such an accomplished group.”
The UOAA board maintains between 38 and 44 voting members and represents the broad diversity of UO alumni in all respects, including but not limited to age, class year, school and degree, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and participation in various student and alumni programs.
Members of the board are also alumni who have remained active with UO alumni and/or current students, or who have demonstrated a history of service to other communities.
Meet the new board members
Elizabeth Ahern, BA ’00 (political science)
Alamo, California
Elizabeth is an employee experience leader at Adobe, a Fortune 100 software company based in San Jose, California. While at the UO, Elizabeth was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She has more than 20 years of experience in legal/policy, communications, and employee experience roles across industries. Elizabeth earned a master of science degree in organization development and mentors graduate business students at the University of San Francisco. Elizabeth and her husband, Shaun, have two children.
Jolene Bettles, BS ’19 (sociology)
Springfield, Oregon
Jolene works at the HIV Alliance as a Care Coordinator in Lane County. She graduated from the UO with a BS in sociology and double minors in legal studies and Native American studies. While at the UO, Jolene contributed art to the UO Department of Theater and was inducted into the AKD International Honors Society of Sociology. Jolene works diligently with underrepresented groups for local nonprofit organizations. As an enrolled member in the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla, Jolene remains an active participant in the UO Many Nations Longhouse and LCC Native American Longhouse cultural events, maintaining connections with Oregon tribes, cultural organizations, and community groups.
Randall "Randy" Choy, BA ’86 (journalism: public relations), MS ’98 (PPPM: public affairs)
Portland, Oregon
Randy is the vice president of community giving/nonprofit partnerships at Umpqua Bank and managing director of the Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation. He has worked in philanthropy, community building, and education for 25 years. Prior to Umpqua, he was the program officer for education/special funds at Oregon Community Foundation. A former UO Admissions student ambassador, Randy supported student success while working in the UO Office of Multicultural Affairs. He later served on the boards of the PDX Ducks and Grantmakers of Oregon and SW Washington, and he currently serves on the board of the Multnomah Athletic Foundation, where he is 2022–23 co-chair.
Luis Hernández, BA ’98 (business administration)
Portland, Oregon
Luis is the CEO and board member at Cultiva LLC, an agricultural biotech company offering solutions based on a proprietary technology first developed at Oregon State University. Born and raised in Mexico City, Luis was a member of the International Cultural Service Program (ICSP) at UO and earned his MBA from the University of Chicago. Luis and his spouse, Jennifer, BA ’98 (Russian literature), met during their freshmen year at UO and have three sons.
Carolyn Ladd, JD’90 (law)
Seattle, Washington
Carolyn is senior counsel at the Boeing Company in Seattle. She credits the launch of her career in employment law to Oregon Law Professor Donald Brodie, who helped her find her first law job at the National Labor Relations Board and helped her get into the Master of Law (Labor Law) program at Georgetown University. A firm believer in affordable public education, Carolyn recently endowed a scholarship at Oregon Law intended for Oregonians with financial need. Carolyn grew up in Corvallis where her parents still reside. She now lives in West Seattle with her husband, James Williams.
Mike Paulsen, BS ’78 (political science)
Camas, Washington
Mike is a retired marketing executive for Advantage Solutions after more than 20 years of service. He has nearly 40 years of brand building in the consumer-packaged goods industry. He is an artist who enjoys oil painting, which often includes wildlife, landscapes, and pet portraits. Previously, Mike was a co-creator and lead volunteer of the youth track and field team, PRTC, in the Seattle area. He has coached and mentored more than 500 young people in a 12-year span, some of whom participated in the National Junior Olympics for 18 and under. He has been married to Tracy Lillard, BA ’82 (psychology), for 38 years and has two adult daughters.
Gabby Sanders, BS ’14 (accounting), MAcc ’15
Bend, Oregon
Gabby is a finance manager at Impossible Foods, maker of meat, dairy, and fish from plants, focusing on making the global food system more sustainable. Gabby is the founder of Keto Pint, a healthy ice cream alternative that has sold in thousands of grocery stores. She is also a CPA with more than seven years of experience in the food industry. While at UO, Gabby served on the boards for Women in Business and Tri Delta sorority. She currently sits on the board for Women Funding Women and the Forty Under 40 advisory board for the Dean of the UO Lundquist College of Business.
The UO Alumni Association also thanks seven departing board members, whose terms concluded on June 30, 2022, for their dedicated service to the UOAA:
Tana Atchley Culbertson, BA ’00 (electronic media production); David Gwynn, BA ’82 (geological sciences); Anita McClain Haley, BS ’64 (elementary education), DEd ’83; Ritchie Metzler III, BS ’01 (business administration); Todd Ringoen, BS ’85 (finance); Joseph Volpi, BS ’10 (human physiology); and past president Adolf Zeman, BS ’00 (political science).