Poison Waters is not just a personality. Poison is an experience!! Whether dressed as Poison Waters or her alter ego Kevin Cook, they are both captivating and one of a kind! For over three decades Poison has been having tons of FUN entertaining from countless stages throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond. She has been coordinating, participating in and hosting an endless docket of benefits, revues and shows for various local, regional and national charities. She has been recognized and rewarded for her community service, raising awareness, and providing entertainment to such charities as Cascade AIDS Project, Dress for Success Oregon, the Make a Wish Foundation, Human Dignity Coalition, Oregon Humane Society and the American Heart Association. Poison has received the The Assistance League of Greater Portland’s National Operation School Bell Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Court System, a Hero of HIV Award and the Red Ribbon Award from the Coalition for AIDS Awareness just to name a few. The booking invitations never stop! Highlights have been appearances with Pink Martini, repeat segments on AM Northwest, opening for Storm Large at her Holiday Ordeal, Drag Queen Storytelling at Multnomah County Libraries, and in 2023 will celebrate her 14th anniversary recurring role in Oregon Ballet Theater’s The Nutcracker and is in her 3rd year teaching an online course on Portland’s Drag History with Portland Community College. Poison is honored to have been the Grand Marshal of the Portland Rose Festival’s 2023 CareOregon Starlight Parade and the Pride Northwest’s Portland Pride Parade! Hundreds of thousands have enjoyed her wit, charm and beauty! When she is not enjoying her time hosting events and fundraisers or traveling the globe, she is the co-hostess at the legendary Darcelle XV Showplace where she has been wildly popular for 33 years. In July 2023, Poison was a co producer of Drag-a-Thon, the Guinness World Record breaking longest running drag show at 48 hours, 11 minutes and 30 seconds, raising over $300,000.00 for The Trevor Project! 2023 also marked the 23rd year volunteering with summer camps for children whose lives have been affected by HIV. Poison, as Kevin is the Camp Director for Cascade AIDS Projects’ Camp KC (Kids Connection). During the Covid 19 global pandemic, Poison went virtual, bringing her Drag Queen Bingo, Drag Queen Storytime and event hosting to thousands of new fans all over the world.

Matthew Claudel is the founder of Field States, an urban design and strategy firm based in Portland, OR. He has a PhD in Advanced Urbanism from MIT, where his work focused on urban experimentation as it relates to civic value. He has cowritten two books (Open Source Architecture, Thames & Hudson, and The City of Tomorrow, Yale University Press), as well as peer reviewed journal articles and fiction primarily related to technology, art, cities, and innovation. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Matthew was the Strategic Design Lead for Curative, a company that scaled rapidly to deliver tests and vaccines across the country. He was a Futures Fellow at the Purpose Foundation in 2021, and a Juror for the Canadian Federal Smart Cities Challenge in 2018. Matthew co-founded MIT’s designX program in 2016, where he was the Head of Civic Innovation and an instructor for four years. He was a Visiting Assistant Professor at University of Michigan’s Taubman School of Architecture, and is an Affiliate Faculty Member of Portland State University's Geography Department. /// The covid pandemic was the greatest shock to American cities since deindustrialization. Downtowns are vacant, and the very purpose of our buildings is an open question. Over the past four years, the footwear and apparel industry has experienced a similar shock – globalized supply chains are as brittle as downtown economies. Made in Old Town is a bold development and revitalization project that reanimates vacant buildings with light, sustainable, advanced manufacturing. The campus will offer pre-competitive access to resources (like a full sample-making floor) that are crucial to emerging and established brands. Made in Old Town is rooted in the neighborhood, building on the rich history of the cultural and manufacturing district, and welcoming a future of design, sustainable production, and community vitality.

Brenner is a Co-Founder and Principal of DIG Real Estate, a development and investment management company based in suburban Portland metro. Prior to starting DIG Real Estate, Brenner served as Managing Director of Development and Partner in Oregon & SW Washington for a private, vertically integrated real estate company. His responsibilities included site acquisition, entitlements, design, finance, marketing and working with the team in all facets to plan, design and execute multifamily, mixed-use, and commercial development (and redevelopment) projects. Brenner grew up in a real estate family and has over 25 years of direct experience in real estate development, finance, and construction. Brenner has developed, financed, and acquired over $2.5 billion in total transaction volume including nearly 4,000 multifamily apartments and nearly 500,000 square feet of commercial development. He has deep experience and relationships with a diverse group of debt and equity sources. Brenner holds a B.S in Economics from the University of Arizona, a graduate certificate in real estate development from Portland State University and is a licensed real estate broker in Oregon. He is an active member of Urban Land Institute, co-chairs the board of Suburban Product Council for ULI, a board member at PSU Center for Real Estate, and Multifamily NW. Brenner enjoys spending time with his family and traveling around the world for learning experiences.

Josh Daniels is a Principal with DIG Real Estate. He is an experienced principal investor and entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of excess returns while managing investor capital and relationships for over 20 years. He has structured, managed, and successfully exited partnerships and investment entities during this time. Josh's career includes real estate acquisition, development and leasing experience across multiple asset classes, as well as capital markets experience with equity and debt sources. He also founded and led multiple private operating businesses valued over $10 million as President and CEO. During his career, he has gained diverse governance experience with over 15 board roles with for-profit and non-profit organizations. Josh holds a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is an active member of the YPO Gold Oregon Chapter and has been active as an officer and member of the YPO Oregon Chapter.

For nearly two decades, Valerie has crafted and executed brand strategies for Brooks Resources developments, including the award-winning mixed-use community of NorthWest Crossing. She currently leads marketing and communications for Discovery West, a new mixed-use neighborhood in Bend. Throughout her career, Valerie has supported business owners in establishing vibrant commercial districts and has played a key role in commercial building projects, overseeing interior design, furniture and art procurement, installation, and project turnover. She has also collaborated with local and regional artists, the City of Bend, Visit Bend, and the Bend Park & Recreation District to bring public art installations to the communities she markets. Valerie served as the administrator for the nonprofit lecture series Building a Better Bend for the last 9 years, is a co-facilitator for an Opportunity Knocks marketing professionals’ team, and a proud Leadership Bend alum (Class of 2007).

Stuart Wells Executive Director [email protected] Stuart was born in Logansport, Indiana, but moved to Arizona with his parents when he was a teenager. While Indiana sparked his love of nature and the outdoors, Arizona’s diverse ecotypes helped shape his interests in wildlife conservation and the environment. Stuart obtained his Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Northern Arizona University, his Master of Science from George Mason University, and his Ph.D. in Wildlife Conservation is near completion from the University of Arizona. While much of Stuart’s career involves working in Zoos, his focus has always been on species conservation and actively participating in field conservation. His work at the Smithsonian National Zoo focused on developing reproductive strategies for the endangered cheetah to improve managed care reproduction. Stuart has developed propagation for release programs for many endangered taxa, including cactus ferruginous pygmy owls, masked bobwhite quails, black-footed ferrets, and Mt. Graham red squirrels. He also participated in the Arabian Oryx breeding program, which is credited for saving the Oryx from extinction in the wild. He has held several leadership roles within Government and NGOs and worked as a Wildlife Biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, administering the Endangered Species Act. When Stuart is not working, he is likely capturing the beautiful landscape and wildlife of Oregon through photography, playing pool or racquetball, or exploring the endless hiking trails of Portland with his dog Odin. “One reason that I am so excited to be part of Bird Alliance of Oregon is the dedication and passion that all of the people who work here have for understanding what species need to survive, seeking ways to maintain habitats necessary for their continued existence, and helping the Oregon community embrace bird species, and all wildlife conservation efforts.”

Micah Meskel Urban Conservation Director [email protected] Micah was born in Portland, Oregon where he has lived, worked and played for the better part of four decades. His first experience with Bird Alliance of Oregon was as a middle schooler, visiting the sanctuary on a school field trip where he first experienced the nature sanctuary and ambassador animals. Nearly a decade later, he returned as a volunteer in the Wildlife Care Center in 2010 in a quest to learn more about native birds while navigating his post college future. Over the next 15 years, Micah served in a variety of volunteer and staff roles within the Wildlife Care Center and Conservation Department, steadily increasing his leadership role within the organization over that time. These roles included hands-on wildlife rehabilitation, developing a new activist training program, working extensively on several ballot initiative campaigns, advancing the organization’s climate justice work, and leading internal efforts to foster greater collaboration across departments. The diversity of these experiences has greatly shaped his ability to leverage the organization's wide-ranging programs, extensive reach, grassroots power, and rich history to achieve lasting conservation successes. For nearly a decade, Micah benefited from the direct mentorship of one of the organization’s and the region's most prominent conservation leaders, Bob Sallinger, whose knowledge and strategic guidance continue to influence much of his work today. As the Urban Conservation Director, Micah oversees the organization's urban conservation agenda that works holistically to integrate nature into the built landscape while protecting wildlife and wild places across the Portland Metro area. Micah's long organizational tenure gives him insight into how internal and external collaboration is instrumental to collective success across his portfolio. He oversees a team that runs programs like the Backyard Habitat Certification Program, and the Advocacy and BirdSafe Programs. He leads the organization's ambitious urban conservation policy making efforts, collaborating with a diverse array of partners and coalitions that span the region and a wide scope of issues. Over the last couple of years, Micah has helped co-lead the effort to move the Wildlife Care Center to a new location on NE 82nd, where it will be part of a comprehensive project that showcases the organization's extensive conservation and education work. Away from work, Micah enjoys anything that involves the outdoors, whether it’s paddleboarding or swimming in the Willamette near his home, biking with his wife and three year old daughter around town, hiking in the region’s vast wilderness, or gardening in his backyard. One constant in all of these outdoor activities is that his eye is always to the sky, keeping track of the abundant wildlife activity in our region and envisioning ways to protect it.

A Senior Associate at Holst Architecture, Nici has experience with diverse project types ranging from affordable and market-rate multifamily housing to office, civic, and nonprofit projects. Her holistic approach to design strives to create healthy and productive environments that positively impact the community. Nici is currently working on the Julia West House, a 12-story mass timber tower that will provide 90 units of Permanent Supportive Housing designed with older adults in mind. She recently presented this project at the 2024 Advancing Mass Timber Construction Conference in Nashville, TN. A licensed architect and Living Future Accredited Professional, Nici holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor of Arts in Slavic Languages & Literature from the University of Washington.

Mai Huynh Carnes, Senior Development Manager Mai Huynh-Carnes brings extensive project management and architectural design experience to her role at CDP. Before joining the team, she worked as a Construction Project Manager, assisting clients with site assessment and construction management. She also has a background in architecture, where she designed and managed multifamily affordable housing and mixed-use projects in the Portland metropolitan and southwest Washington areas. As a Senior Development Manager at CDP, Mai oversees every phase of development, from financing and design to construction and lease-up.

Ken Anderton is the Senior Manager of Real Estate Development, Investment and Leasing for the Port of Portland. He has served a variety of real estate related roles in his 22 years with the Port. He has been active in the airport and industrial real estate field since 1997. He started his career in Salt Lake City where he was the Airport Property Manager during the 2002 Olympic Games. He holds a BS in Aviation Management from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and an MBA with emphasis in International Business from University of Phoenix. Ken’s current role with the Port is to lead a team to acquire, develop and redevelop marine and industrial properties. This is in support of the Port’s mission to increase economic prosperity in the region that all can benefit from. He is the program manager for the redevelopment of T2 into a mass timber housing innovation campus and has overseen the development of Troutdale Reynolds Industrial Park and Gresham Vista Business Parks in the East Multnomah County area. He is also the President of the Multnomah County Drainage District and sits on the Gresham Chamber Board.

Brian Gunn, who joined the Port of Portland in 2023 as Real Estate Development and Leasing Manager, brings over twelve years of experience in development, general contracting, and urban planning. He focuses on optimizing underutilized assets within the Port’s industrial portfolio and identifying alternative investment strategies—including alternate development methods—while coordinating strategic tenant recruitment and supporting redevelopment for the Mass Timber and Housing Innovation Campus at Terminal 2. Before joining the Port, Brian served as an Associate Broker at CBRE, specializing in investment properties and development land sales. During his time at CBRE, his team achieved remarkable success, closing 42 commercial real estate transactions totaling more than 1.4 million square feet and approximately $377 million in total consideration. He also worked with M.A. Mortenson Company, focusing on site selection and acquisitions for commercial development. In 2015, Brian earned his Master of Urban and Regional Planning and a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development from Portland State University. He received his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Planning from Sonoma State University in 2013.

Jessica Elkan is the Executive Director of James Beard Public Market, a catalytic project in Portland honoring Oregon’s culinary son, James Beard. Elkan is a visionary leader whose career has been defined by her commitment to community empowerment, strategic growth, and her deep connection to Oregon. With her decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and civic engagement, Elkan is uniquely positioned to bring the James Beard Public Market to life as a cornerstone of Portland’s bright future.