Lisa Watson
Associate Director
Lisa [Molalla, Kalapuya, Eyak] (she/her) is a lifelong Oregonian born and raised in Salem. She is the youngest of 6 children, which undoubtedly played a role in her passion for fairness, justice, and equal opportunities. A product of Catholic school education, she attended four Oregon Colleges before graduating from Portland State University with a sociology degree. Her early career included restaurant management, food manufacturer sales, and non-profit management. She and her husband Peter took the entrepreneurial leap in 2007 and opened Cupcake Jones, two small family bakeries focused on living their core values and serving the local community. The bakeries donated a percentage of monthly sales to a different local non-profit organization. A decade later, they sold it, and Lisa returned to her love of non-profit service. She has held leadership positions at ACLU Oregon, Lan Su Chinese Garden, Latino Network, Our House of Portland, and American Leadership Forum of Oregon and led the City of Portland’s Office of Equity and Human Rights. Lisa’s board service has included the Oregon Health Policy Board, Q Center, Travel Portland, City Club of Portland, and The Center for Women’s Leadership. She currently serves on the board of The Oregon Historical Society, Campfire Columbia, The Wells Fargo Community Advisory board, and Spirit Mountain Gaming Incorporated (for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde). She lives in NE Portland with her husband since 2003, Peter Shanky, their dog Hank (Harry Houdini), and their cat Charlie (Chaplin). They enjoy hiking the beautiful trails across Oregon, and they love to travel internationally.