Board

Charlie Ward, President

Charlie is a life-long resident of Eugene and has been a Board member of MRT since 1991. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon. After a thirty year career in public accounting he was Vice President of Finance at Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon from 2007 through 2011. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, West Africa from 1984-1986. Past associations include Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority, Eugene Challengers Baseball and Willamette Valley Babe Ruth Baseball. He is an avid gardener and outdoor enthusiast. He and his wife, Cathy, have two adult sons.

Ben Miller, Vice President

Ben is an attorney with Harrang Long Gary Rudnick P.C. in Eugene, Oregon. His practice focuses on defending local governments in civil litigation and enforcing air quality laws. Prior to entering the private sector Ben worked for the Oregon Department of Justice in the areas of litigation, energy, forest and water law. He holds a BS in Fisheries and Wildlife Science from the Oregon State University Honors College and a JD from the University of Oregon School of Law. He also serves on the Board of the Northwest Habitat Institute. Ben has spent his entire life in Oregon and hasn’t run out of places to explore. Most weekends you can find him fishing for steelhead, snowshoeing, bird hunting, or backpacking in one of Oregon’s wilderness areas.

Jim Pendergrass, Treasurer

Jim retired from Wells Fargo Bank after serving as Greater Oregon Regional President for a number of years. He has a B.A in Anthropology from Stanford University. A native Oregonian, he is also a board member of the Long Tom Watershed Council and a volunteer diver at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. He and his wife Christine also work as scientific divers supporting research projects for the US Forest Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and REEF. Jim plays ice hockey in the local adult league and enjoys birding, skiing and traveling with his wife in their spare time. They live on a small farm west of Cheshire where they have a large organic garden and raise sheep.

Jim Reichman, Secretary

Jim retired from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was Director of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. He is a past President of the American Society of Mammalogists and Chair of the Board of Directors of BIOSIS Corporation. He served as a Program Officer in Ecology at the National Science Foundation, as Associate Vice Provost for Research and Director of Konza Prairie at Kansas State University, and as Assistant Director for Research of the National Biological Service (Department of Interior). His interests include traveling, hiking and camping with his wife, and fly-fishing.

Roger Robb, Lands Committee Chair

Roger is a retired Chief Financial Officer with PW Eagle, Inc. He is a past board member for Oregon Field Ornithologists and Eugene Ballet Company and a founding member and regional coordinator for the New York State Breeding Bird Atlas. Roger hold a BS in Wildlife Biology from Cornell University and MBA from the University of Oregon.

Margie Paris, Development Committee Chair

Margie is a faculty member at the University of Oregon School of Law, where she teaches and writes about criminal law and criminal procedure. She also served as the law school’s dean for five years. Born and raised in Chicago, she earned her bachelor’s and law degrees from Northwestern University. She was a criminal defense lawyer in Chicago for a number of years before moving to Eugene in 1992 with her husband and two children. Her membership on the MRT Board enables her to drawn both on her legal expertise and on her passion for the natural world. She has been an avid birder since childhood and spends her free time birding, hiking, and biking.

Bill Sheppard

Bill served as Executive Director of Planned Parenthood for Southwest Oregon from 1977-2006. He was an assistant professor and research associate at the University of Oregon, 1967-1976. Bill is a University of Michigan graduate earning a BA in 1964, MA in 1965 and Ph.D. in 1967. His interests include whitewater rafting, skiing, fly-fishing, international travel, and gardening. Bill has been married to Patricia Sheppard for 40 years.

Kit Larsen

Kit is a retired systems analyst with the Computing Center at the University of Oregon. He is a founding member of Friends of Eugene Springfield Habitats and past treasurer and board member for Oregon Field Ornithologists. Kit is a past board member, field trip leader, and field notes editor for Lane County Audubon Society and sat on the Oregon Breeding Bird Atlas Steering Committee.

Galen Phipps

Galen Phipps has been working in human services in Lane County since 1981. He is currently the Assistant Executive Director of Programs at ShelterCare a local non-profit serving homeless families, people living with severe mental illness, and acquired brain injuries. Galen is an avid outdoorsman enjoying fishing, hiking, back packing, and hunting in Lane County and throughout Oregon. He has been a board member since 2005 and he lives in McKenzie Bridge near the head waters of the McKenzie River watershed. Galen is committed to the preservation of clean water, ancient forests, pristine habitat, and special places in perpetuity so current and future generations can enjoy the great outdoors.

Rolf Anderson

Rolf served forty years with the U.S. Forest Service throughout the state of Oregon. He was a founding member of the Sweet Home Community Foundation and is currently an active member of the Long Tom Watershed Council and the Friends of Fish Lake, volunteering his time and knowledge on projects. He enjoys being outdoors at home in Alvadore, OR, working on volunteer projects, or on birding trips.

Bob Parker

Bob is an instructor in the University of Oregon’s Planning, Public Policy and Management Department and is director of the Community Planning Workshop. Bob is an associate with ECO Northwest, a regional consulting firm and is an active member of the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) and American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Bob is also a McKenzie basin landowner.

Douglas DuPriest

Prior to retiring, Doug practiced law for 30 years. He was a shareholder with Hutchinson, Anderson, Cox, Coons & DuPriest, P.C. of Eugene and his practice emphasized real property and land use law. He is a past president of the Oregon Environmental Council and Lane County Home Health Agency and past board member of Oregon Environmental Foundation and Friends of the University of Oregon Museum of Art.

Charlie Zennache

Charlie is a circuit court judge in Lane County. He is a former board member of BRING Recycling and the Oregon Country Fair and has served on the Eugene Police Commission and a number of professional organizations. In addition to his JD from the University of Oregon, he has a BS in natural resources management from the University of Connecticut. He loves hiking and canoeing with his wife, Bonnie Henderson.

Abe Sorom

Abe is an Otolaryngologist – Head and Neck surgeon – working in Eugene. He is currently a board member of the Eugene Hearing and Speech Center and of the Day Surgery at Riverbend Surgery Center.  He is an avid outdoorsman and fly-fisherman who grew up in the Washington Cascades and now calls Eugene home. He covets time in the outdoors with his two boys, Theron and Haakon, and his wife Denise.