The Oregon State University - Cascades Advocacy and Advisory Board is the principal volunteer leadership organization for the campus. Board membership provides an opportunity for alumni, friends and community members to deepen their engagement with OSU-Cascades, and for the Chancellor and Dean of OSU-Cascades to gain advice and support. Members of the Board use their knowledge, networks, influence and affluence to advance OSU-Cascades' goals and help ensure the campus's future success. The Board promotes a positive image for OSU-Cascades, its students, alumni and business partners throughout the region, state and nation.
The board meets three to four times each academic year.
Officers
Attorney and Partner at Best Best & Krieger LLP
Josh Newton is an attorney and partner in the Bend office of Best Best & Krieger LLP, where he advises clients on various matters, including environmental and natural resource issues. Josh’s practice includes representation of Native American tribes, providing a suite of general and special counsel services. He has represented the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation since arriving in Bend in 2000. Josh currently serves on the board of trustees for the High Desert Museum, the board of directors for Economic Development for Central Oregon, Inc., and the advisory board for OSU-Cascades, the Laboratory for the American Conversation. Josh holds a Bachelor of Science in forest management from Oregon State University, a Juris Doctor from Willamette University, and a Master of Laws (International Law) from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
President and CEO, Madras Sanitary Service
Former Mayor of Madras
Melanie Widmer worked her way up through the family business, Madras Sanitary Service, starting in 1995 and now serves as president and CEO. She also served on the Madras City Council for eight years, and as mayor from 2008 to 2014. Melanie has held positions on the board of the Madras Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and with the Madras Redevelopment Commission. She currently serves on the steering committee of the Oregon Refuse and Recycling Association, EDCO board, Airshow of the Cascades Board, and Now4 OSU-Cascades committee. Melanie received her Associate of Arts degree from COCC and her Bachelor of Science in business administration from OSU-Cascades. Melanie and her husband Sid enjoy exploring our beautiful Northwest, as well as the rest of the world.
Retired, NBC News broadcast journalist
Bruce Cummings and his wife Sandy have lived in Bend since 2006 when he retired from NBC News after 30-plus years as a broadcast journalist. The lion's share of his career was spent at NBC Nightly News, where he worked as a senior producer with Tom Brokaw and then Brian Williams. Bruce spent 18 of those years in NBC's Washington, D.C. bureau, managing the reporting of correspondents and producers covering the White House, the Hill, the State Department, the Pentagon and the federal agencies. He and the Nightly News team won numerous Emmys and other national awards. He was regularly called on to manage the coverage of major breaking news stories for all NBC News programs, including the Enron meltdown and the D.C. sniper. He transferred to the Los Angeles bureau of NBC News in 1997, continuing in his role as a senior producer of NBC Nightly News. He oversaw coverage of national stories from Alaska south through the Pacific Northwest, California, Mexico, and inland through the intermountain west…stories as diverse as the Columbine massacre and Michael Jackson's trial to California politics and the west’s legendary battles over water rights and annual rounds of wildland fires. Before joining NBC network news, Bruce was executive producer of the nation’s capital’s evening news at WRC-TV, the NBC-owned station in Washington, DC. He worked prior to that as a news producer for the late Peter Jennings at ABC's "Good Morning America." Bruce began his broadcasting career as a radio show host and then local television news anchor and producer on the east coast. Over the years, Bruce has done extensive work as a narrator of television productions and a voice-over artist for commercials and on-air promos. In Bend he works with his wife, who is the founder of TVStoryteller, an independent video production company specializing in documentaries. Bruce is involved in community service via Bethlehem Inn and Smart Reading Oregon.
Members
Senior Director, Portfolio & Product Development, Bend Bioscience
Amber leads portfolio and product development for Bend Bioscience, a pharmaceutical development and manufacturing company that specializes in drug delivery innovation and drug product development. Prior to joining Bend Bioscience, where she worked with the company's founding leadershrip, Amber worked in product and commercial development at Bend Research-Capsugel-Lonza. During her career she has led cross-functional teams in defining technical and regulatory strategy to develop drug products and their manufacturing processes, supported the commercialization and launch pharmaceutical products, and helped develop strategic partnerships, as well as negotiated agreements that govern them. Amber earned a doctorate in engineering and a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Montana State University. She lives in Bend with her husband and their two children.
Retired, V.P. of Real Estate Development, Brooks Resources Corp.
David Ford has long been a strong supporter of higher education in Central Oregon. He served on the Central Oregon Community College Board of Directors for eight years including two terms as Board Chair. In addition, since 2011 David has been a member of the OSU-Cascades Advisory Board and now as a member of the OSU-Cascades Advocacy & Advisory Board. David retired from Brooks Resources Corporation as Vice President of Real Estate Development in 2020. His legacy project was NorthWest Crossing, an award winnng, mixed-use community located on Bend’s west side. OSU-Cascades, Central Oregon’s only four-year university, has produced tremendously positive impacts for Bend and the rest of Central Oregon, and David believes this will only accelerate as OSU-Cascades grows to it full campus serving up to 5,000 students. David completed his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Davis and earned an M.B.A. from the University of Denver Daniel’s College of Business. He and his wife, Kitri, have lived in Central Oregon since 1991.
Founder and CEO, G5
Dan Hobin is founder and chief executive officer of G5, a Bend-based marketing software and services company. G5 helps more than 8,000 self storage, senior living, and apartment communities optimize their marketing and occupancy rates. Prior to founding G5, Hobin was the founder and chief executive officer of SmashCast, Inc., a web-based digital publishing company based in San Francisco. Dan has held key sales and marketing roles at Beyond.com and CyberSource, both in the eCommerce space. Dan co-founded the Bend Venture Conference, an event devoted to fostering the growth of technology companies in Central Oregon. He is also on the Board of Directors of Summit Bank, the leading community business bank in Oregon. Dan received his bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara and is a graduate of the Shibusawa International School in Fukaya, Japan. He lives with his wife Sara and three sons in Bend.
Founder and CEO of FM Civic. Central Oregon Community College Board of Directors liaison to OSU-Cascades
Erin Foote Morgan is the Central Oregon Community College Board of Directors liaison to OSU-Cascades. With COCC, she represents rural voices in south Deschutes County and Northern Klamath County seeking greater access to higher education and career technical learning. Professionally, she is the founder and CEO of FM Civic, an impact strategy and communications design firm based in Bend. The firm provides strategic advising, impact evaluation, and communication design solutions to pioneering civic, social and corporate partners. She has worked in policy development, initiative design, civic engagement, strategic communications and capital raising for more than 25 years. She holds a bachelors degree in political science and environmental studies from the University of Oregon, and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. She has lived in Bend since 2004.
Site Head, Lonza Bend
Kathy is the managing director of Lonza’s site in Bend, overseeing development and manufacturing of drug products requiring enhanced delivery technology. She has worked in Bend for almost 20 years. The first 10 were spent developing fuel cell systems with Ballard (formerly Idatech and NW Power Systems) in technology leadership roles and the next 9 have been with Lonza (formerly Capsugel and Bend Research) in various roles including program management and supply chain, product development, and executive management. Kathy grew up in Boise, Idaho, and attended Carleton College (B.A. Chemistry), Indiana University (Ph.D. Chemistry) and Harvard University (postdoctoral fellow) before moving back to the Pacific Northwest to Bend with her husband and two children.
Vice President of Business Development for St. Charles Health System
Mike Richards was born and raised in a small town in Northeast Oregon. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Oregon State University and a master’s degree in health policy and administration from Washington State University.
Mike began his career in healthcare finance before moving into medical group operations leadership. He currently serves as Vice President of Business Development for St. Charles Health System, which operates hospitals and clinics across Central Oregon.
Since moving to the region in 2010, Mike and his family have made Central Oregon their home where they enjoy all the outdoor activities the region offers.
Economic Development Officer for the City of Bend
Katy Brooks is the economic development officer for the City of Bend. She is the former president and CEO of the Bend Chamber of Commerce after moving to Bend from Portland, Oregon in 2016. Her roles at the city and chamber have centered on leading efforts to attract and grow business and employment in Central Oregon and supporting housing, education and workforce development.
While in Portland, Katy served in a variety of leadership roles in public affairs and economic development for the ports of Portland and Vancouver, Washington. Her work included community and government affairs, transportation, industrial and commercial development.
In addition to serving on the OSU-Cascades Advocacy & Advisory Board, Katy serves on the Governor’s Oregon Early Learning Council and is a board member on the Oregon Values and Beliefs Council. She received her BS from Southern Oregon University, with graduate studies at Portland State University. She is a third-generation Oregonian, and she and her husband live in Bend.
Vice President, Chief of Staff to the CEO of AAON Inc.
Dr. Abbey Davis serves as Vice President, Chief of Staff to the CEO of AAON Inc., an innovator in the commercial HVAC industry. In this role, she helps advance enterprise strategy, executive alignment, leadership development, and organizational transformation across the company.
Abbey’s corporate experience in the energy and manufacturing sectors spans strategic planning, organizational development, compensation design, talent management, corporate citizenship, and change management. Her academic contributions as a former Director at the Spears School of Business and Professor of Practice at Oklahoma State University reflect a deep commitment to shaping student career readiness and the future of work. Holding a PhD in business, Abbey’s research explores workforce development, economic mobility, and the changing landscape of work.
Recently relocated from Oklahoma to Oregon, Abbey and her husband, Evan, enjoy exploring and hiking on road trips with their two minions, Eli and Zoe.
CEO and Co-Founder, Shape Integrated Software
Chris is the co-founder and CEO at Shape Integrated Software, a Bend based software company that helps digital marketing agencies scale their operations and data infrastructure. Shape’s platform serves hundreds of marketing agencies across the world, and manages more than $1B in ad spend across various digital channels.
In the past, he has taken lead roles on large scale software projects for marketing agencies and other tech companies such as Intel and G5. Chris grew up in Bend and received his received his degree in Biochemical-Informatics from Oregon State University in 2018.
Senior Vice President, Global Home and Outdoor Sales, Helen of Troy
Mike is senior vice president of global sales for Helen of Troy’s home and outdoor division, where he oversees North America sales teams for Hydro Flask, OXO and Osprey brands. Mike's interest in the outdoor industry was sparked while attending college and working in retail with outdoor products. That experience has led to a 30-year career that has included advocacy in support of outdoor recreation issues.
Mike has served as president of the board of the Oregon Outdoor Alliance and currently serves on the advisory board of the OSU Center for the Outdoor Recreation Economy.
The Westhoff Group, Raymond James Financial Services
Wade leads the Westhoff Group of Raymond James Financial Services in Bend. He has worked with individuals, families, small businesses, endowments and nonprofits in Oregon and around the country, helping manage financial affairs for more than 25 years. Prior to joining Raymond James, Wade served clients as a certified financial planner and accredited investment fiduciary with Securian Financial Services, ING Advisor Networks and Wells Fargo Institutional Trust and Private Bank. He is treasurer of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement's Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety. He earned a certificate in applied fiduciary practices from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Wade earned a bachelor’s degree from OSU and is a third-generation alumnus. He served as chair of the OSU Alumni Association board of directors from 2016 to 2017, helping lead the integration of the organization with the OSU Foundation. In 2021, he was awarded the Alumni Association’s Jean and C.H. “Scram” Graham Leadership award.
He is a member of the Rotary Club of Greater Bend and of City Club of Central Oregon. He lives in Bend with his wife Jennifer and their children, and enjoys the year-round activities Central Oregon offers.