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As we gear up for our strategic planning work this fall, the OCJ team and fellow board members deeply appreciate the leadership that Se-ah-dom, Sayer, and Jenny will bring to these Board officer roles, offering their dedication to our mission and, importantly, to Oregon consumers.
Se-ah-dom (Shoshone-Bannock, Nez Perce and Yakama) brings deep experience in community organizing nationwide for racial and social justice. She serves as Executive Director of Seeding Justice, the region’s leading funder of social change organizing. She previously was the Sovereignty Program Director at Western States Center where she was the coalition convener of Tribal History: Shared History (Oregon Senate Bill 13, 2017). A hallmark of her career has been fostering relationships and collaborations across the region between tribes and organizations doing social, racial, environmental, and economic justice work. Se-ah-dom is also an ALF Senior Fellow and a member of the Steering Committee of Oregon Recovers. She lives in Gresham with her husband James and their children Siale, Imasees and Miyosiwin, and her parents.
“OCJ’s work is to operationalize Justice – to advocate, to strategize, to show up for communities who have, for decades in Oregon, been targets of racialized capitalism. We have not only a bold mission – but skilled staff leadership with over a century’s worth of experience,” said Se-ah-dom. “ I’m honored and humbled to be a part of this work at such a critical time for our State.
Sayer brings 15 years of direct experience working with institutions to structure and measure the impacts of their investments. Sayer led the regional impact investing practice for 12 years at Meyer Memorial Trust, deploying over $50 million across investment portfolios. He has also led investors in workshops to align social values with financial and cultural returns. He has experience as an entrepreneur, representing asset owners and managing fund managers and consultants. Sayer serves on the board of Oregon Capital Scan, which identifies gaps in Oregon’s investment ecosystem and guides strategies to rectify these gaps. He also co-chairs the Oregon Growth Board, which oversees $250M in Oregon State investments focused on diverse founders, rural entrepreneurs, and Oregon-based product companies.
“OCJ is gearing up to address core problems that have become a plague in our communities in Oregon. With our new Executive Director in place, with the work of staff to listen to diverse communities, and with money in the bank, we are on the cusp of amplifying the work currently underway in consumer justice. I am really excited to see where this leads Oregon,” Sayer shared. “It’s about time significant resources support the people in our state to protect themselves from financial predators, and OCJ looks forward to lending its support in this defense.”
Having worked in the nonprofit field for over 18 years, Jenny has experience designing and executing programs that focus on dismantling systemic and institutional inequity for national and international organizations. Born and raised in Costa Rica, Jenny is a proud Tica who immigrated to the United States as a teenager. She graduated from Ripon College with a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish, a minor in Classical Studies, and has Master’s Degrees from the Universidad de Salamanca in both Human Services and Latin American Economics and Politics. Jenny enjoys laughing, cooking, adventuring, learning and trying new things, and spending time with her family, including her sweet, energetic dog, Noche, and her clingy attack cat, Mao. She spends a lot of her time chauffeuring the children, that constantly try to eat her out of house and home.
“As consumers, all Oregonians have the right to financial empowerment and to not be harmed by predatory practices. As a board member, I look forward to rolling up my sleeves alongside OCJ and its partners in disrupting and dismantling systems of oppression that destabilize communities, limit growth, and limit the community’s ability to hold onto its resources,” Jenny described. “The ride might be a little bumpy and may take some time, but I believe that we’ll get a lot accomplished by working together.”
