The Natural Areas and Capital Performance Oversight Committee keeps Metro accountable and transparent in its use of capital funds from the $475 million 2019 nature bond and the parks and natural areas levy, which raises about $19 million a year. Voters overwhelmingly approved both measures. The committee will provide transparent oversight of the 2019 bond measure by reviewing implementation to ensure consistency with its requirements and principles so taxpayer funds are used responsibly.
The bond measure supports projects that protect clean water, healthy habitat and access to nature. Any project funded by the bond must fulfill three criteria: advancing racial equity, climate resilience and community engagement. The measure was developed through engagement with a wide range of community members.
The 2019 parks and nature bond measure supports these programs:
- Protect and restore land, $155 million
- Local parks and nature projects, $92 million
- Nature in Neighborhoods capital grants, $40 million
- Metro parks improvements, $98 million
- Walking and biking trails, $40 million
- Large-scale community visions, $50 million
Meet the committee
Tana Atchley Culbertson
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Tana Atchley Culbertson is the director of network coordination at the Willamette River Network. An enrolled citizen of the Klamath Tribes who is of Modoc, Paiute and Karuk descent, Tana’s personal and cultural connections to rivers run deep. Growing up along the Sprague River in southern Oregon, Tana witnessed the effects of the degradation in her home watershed. This motivated Tana to dedicate herself to addressing the environmental harm that afflicts our watersheds and the people who depend upon them. Tana has nearly two decades of experience working in youth education and career development in higher education and tribal settings. She currently serves on the board of OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon and the University of Oregon Alumni Association. Tana writes that advancing racial equity means “going beyond performative actions and truly working with BIPOC communities that are impacted by the work of the parks bond.”
Burton T. Edwards
Pronouns: he/him/his
Burt Edwards is the director of programs at ReThink Media. Before joining ReThink in fall 2022, Burt served as the communications director at Friends of the Columbia Gorge, where he led rapid-response public education efforts around the 2017 Eagle Creek fire and directed efforts to center equity, accessibility, and inclusion in Friends’ public engagement programs. He previously worked for over 20 years in Washington, D.C. with leading nonprofit, public, and private sector organizations to create and manage communications campaigns to effectively shape public opinion on pressing policy debates from climate change to international conflict. Burt writes, “As a voter who supported this bond effort and as a Black conservation and communications professional, I am interested both as a chance to give back to my community and to apply my 25+ years of experience in public affairs to ensure this bond both benefits and is accountable to all metro residents, no matter their race, ethnicity or economic background.”
John W. Ferguson
Pronouns: he/him/his
John W. Ferguson is a retired geotechnical engineer who has worked on engineering projects ranging from the Mt. St. Helens eruption to flood protection, water quality, landslides, earthquakes and residential and commercial developments. He served in a civic capacity as the chair of a Natural Features Team planning for the urbanization of 10,000 acres in the Damascus area to evaluate and protect high-quality natural areas. He has served on three other urbanization advisory committees. John writes, “I continue to immerse myself in nature, to witness the impacts of climate change, of pollution, and of development and know the urgency to protect what we have left and to provide for as many people as I can the emotional sustenance, spiritual enrichment, and physical joy that the outdoors and nature provides.”
Lisa Freedman
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Lisa Freedman is a former executive in the U.S. Forest Service, where she worked for 35 years in natural resource management and policy development. As a lifelong public servant, Lisa holds a deep appreciation and love for the resources and people of the Pacific Northwest. At the Forest Service, Lisa coordinated large-scale, multi-year complex projects that included major coordination efforts between different partners. She currently serves on Legacy Health Systems’ board of directors. She writes, “Advancing racial equity means listening to all voices and being willing to accept that the direction forward is not simple, linear, or conforms to majority culture.”
Shantae Johnson
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Shantae Johnson, co-owns Mudbone Grown and manages a 19-acre farm called Feed’em Freedom in Corbett. Mudbone Grown is a Black-owned farm enterprise that promotes intergenerational, culturally specific, community-based farming that creates measurable and sustainable environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts in the community. Shantae serves on the Oregon Board of Agriculture, the environmental equity committee of Governor Kate Brown’s Racial Justice Council. She is on the leadership team of the Black Food Fund and Black Oregon Trust. She writes, “As a Portland native, I have a deep passion for supporting the Pacific Northwest environment, land and connecting community and farmers back to the land. I feel this bond needs a committee that not only reflects the community it serves, but has unique perspective on equity and access.”
Michelle Lin
Pronouns: she/they
Pronouns: she/they
Michelle Lin is passionate about supporting equitable and inclusive access to the outdoors. Michelle has a professional background in strategy and management consulting and currently works at the Oregon Food Bank, partnering with the state's network of Regional Food Banks to increase equity and accessibility to food assistance while focused on ending hunger. As an active community member, Michelle volunteers as an adventure leader for Wild Diversity and is part of the TEDxPortland organizing team. Michelle loves getting outside and enjoys hiking, backpacking, cycling, climbing and foraging, and writes, “I gain so much joy and nourishment from the outdoors and it pains me that these spaces feel inaccessible or unsafe for residents in communities with which I identify. I want to be an active participant and utilize my experiences and skills in organizational change, project management and stakeholder management to help achieve the goals of the parks and nature bond."
Martita Meier
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Martita Meier works in technology as a scrum lead and has a work background in digital marketing and user experience. Her educational background is in anthropology, which has greatly influenced her vision of community. Martita is half Ecuadorian and was raised by her single mother and aunts – the Ecuadorian side of her family. She feels being the daughter of an immigrant and having white American family on her father's side has given her a unique perspective on both cultures. She writes, "Anthropology has really allowed me to understand how important subtle cultural differences can be when looking at the way people interact with others, the spaces they inhabit, and their government."
PK Melethil
Pronouns: he/him/his
Padmanabhan K. (PK) Melethil is a traditional Chinese medicine physician and environmental scientist. He recognizes the importance of equitably distributed urban and suburban green spaces in both protecting and improving public health. PK serves as an associate director of Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District, a position that has shown him the critical role local government plays in promoting conservation education and building community resilience. He writes, “Inequity threads through our communities and often remains unseen because those who are marginalized are neither heard from, nor represented, in governmental decision making.”
Georgena Moran
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Georgena Moran is an advocate for people with disabilities and an International Code Council-certified accessibility specialist. She is well versed in the ADA and ABA accessibility standards, applying them to facilities and parks, with an emphasis on hiking trails. Georgena is the founder and project manager of Access Recreation and the co-owner of Access for All, LLC, advocating for the rights and empowerment of people with disabilities. She writes, “I would like to provide a perspective as an avid recreation user living with a disability. I believe people with disabilities have been largely left out of the decision-making process on what denotes equitable access to recreational opportunities and I would like to assist in furthering equity and inclusion by sitting on the advisory committee.”
Tabitha Palmer-DuPrau
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Tabitha Palmer-DuPrau is an underwriting counsel for Fidelity National Title Group where she helps people across Oregon complete their real estate transactions. Her career focuses on helping others complete their real estate transactions. She enjoys working with people from all over the state. She loves Oregon’s natural beauty and the state's commitment to making sure all people have access to its beaches, rivers, parks, forests, deserts, mountains and everything else.
Shannon R. Shoul
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Shannon R. Shoul works at Nike as the director, procurement sustainability where she leads Nike's ambition to reach 100% renewable electricity in its owned and operated spaces globally by 2025. Her position also supports work to move the company's supply chain into renewables. Shannon was born and raised in Oregon and has more than 20 years of experience in sustainability, spanning nonprofit, media and corporate. She served in Metro's previous Natural Areas Program Performance Oversight Committee. Shannon and her family are avid campers and explorers, enjoying green spaces throughout the West, including those in the Metro area. She writes, “I believe in the power of public spaces to provide solace and connection for our sense of place, our community, and one another.”
Vivek Shandas
Pronouns: he/him/his
Vivek Shandas is a first generation South Asian-American and resident of NE Portland. His aim on this committee is to be a voice for those who don’t have time or capacity to take part in decision-making processes about improving environmental health, through the effective management of green spaces. As the founder and director of Portland State University’s Sustaining Urban Places Research (SUPR) Lab, his research and community engagements focus on helping cities develop strategies to address the effects of climate change on its people and infrastructure. He writes, “While the Metro region contains diverse and extensive green spaces, their distribution and community accessibility remain disproportionately skewed towards those with privilege. We can do better.”
Erin Upton
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Erin Upton is an environmental social scientist and landscape architect with a doctorate in earth, environment and society from Portland State University. She is passionate about understanding the human dimensions of complex environmental challenges. Erin is curious about decision-making around water and land, climate change resiliency, and sustainable futures in working landscapes. She is committed to applied interdisciplinary research, the co-production of knowledge and elevating diverse community voices. Erin writes, “Advancing racial equity means not only equitable access and equitable use, but also equitable representation in decision making and positions of leadership and power. I think it relates to this committee and the parks bond in general by acknowledging and addressing structural racial bias, promoting and elevating diverse voices, and engaging with BIPOC communities for decision making.”
Cary Watters
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Cary Watters is a member of the Tlingit Tribe (Raven Moiety and Dog Salmon Clan) and a lifelong member of the Portland urban Indian community. Early on, family and community members instilled a passion in her for first foods and other cultural resources of Salmon Nation. She has worked on policy with Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, managed civic engagement and advocacy at the Native American Youth and Family Center and works as the contract equity coordinator at Portland Bureau of Transportation, where she engages with Portland's diverse business community and facilitates systems change that produces equitable outcomes now and for future generations. She writes, “I will bring my analysis and skills from cross-cultural movement building to this space in a way that uplifts racial equity as a whole, while still recognizing the unique cultural strengths and diverse experiences of different communities.”
Owen Wozniak
Pronouns: he/him/his
Owen Wozniak is the land transactions program manager at the Land Trust Alliance. He cares deeply about the ecological health of the region and the ability of all residents to connect to nature. Owen serves on the board of directors of the Intertwine Alliance. He writes, “If the challenges of 2020 have offered anything positive, it is that they’ve illuminated the fundamental connections among public health, economic vitality, justice and the resilience of social and natural systems. These issues simply cannot be addressed in silos.”