Our Team

We have a team of diverse, passionate, and faithful leaders who serve alongside our neighbors in Rockwood.

lynn

Lynn Ketch

Executive Director

Bio
Lynn has had a life-long passion for healthy communities. Raised by a father who was a pioneer in public health, she lived in first-nation communities in Alaska, New Mexico and North Carolina. She holds graduate certificates from Oregon Health Sciences University and Multnomah University, and a BS from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. In 2011 Lynn relocated to The Philippines with her family to become the Director of ICM’s seven medical clinics. In 2013 she returned to Rockwood and joined the board and staff of the Rockwood CDC.

willie

Willie Chambers

Manager, Sunrise Center Kitchen

Bio
Willie Chambers is a prominent leader in the african-american community of East Multnomah County. He leads several initiatives and networks that are all focused on rebuilding the food systems of our area. Mr. Chambers is the president of food company NOLA Nuggitz.

vanessa

Vanessa Chambers

Certified Community Health Worker and Grandma's Hands

Bio
Vanessa is currently a Community Health Worker serving African American families. She operates a community program specifically for grandmothers called Grandma’s Hands. Vanessa greatly enjoys assisting families in having a healthy life. Mostly, “I like to see people enjoy a healthy lifestyle which includes experiencing and eating special healthy foods. Her favorite pastime is playing tennis.

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Angelica Cortez

Certified Community Health Worker

Bio
My name is Angelica. I am a Community Health Worker working with our Latino/Hispanic community here in Rockwood. I am proud to be a part of Rockwood CDC’s East County Community Health services where we are able to help others. I was born and raised in SE Portland, Oregon. My mother is from Yucatan, Mexico and my father is from Michoacan, Mexico. Family is a huge part of my life; I cherish every moment with all of them. ECCH

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Melisa Crosby

Grant Administrator, Community Health Worker and RELI Instructor

Bio
Melisa Crosby has been teaching English as a Second Language to immigrant, refugee, and international students for over two decades. At last count, she has worked with students from over 65 countries, from a wide range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. As the ESL instructor for the Rockwood English Language Institute (RELI), she strives to build a warm, connected community where adult students develop their English proficiency in basic literacy, communication, reading, writing, and computer skills. She is empowering adult students to participate more fully in work, community life and family literacy.
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Rosa Dominguez

Program Assistant/Certified Community Health Worker

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Marc Gale

Financial Manager

Bio
Marc comes from a background in banking, human resources, church administration, and he concluded his career as the manager of a national commercial insurance program. Once retired Marc began looking for some meaningful work that could use his 40 plus years of experience. Because of their 20-year friendship Brad and Lynn asked him to come and serve part-time at the Rockwood CDC in 2018. Marc has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Idaho and a master’s in business administration from Portland State University. He was married to Diana in 1976 and they have a blended family with five children and twelve grandchildren. They have lived in Gresham all but six out of the last 30 years.
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Rev. Dr. Valerie Holmes

Director of Development

Bio
Dr. Holmes brings over 25 years of experience in grant writing and management, non profit management, event management, and community outreach. In the past, she worked extensively with the NAACP in Maryland and served with the Developing Communities Project (DCP) in Chicago, IL. Dr. Holmes is a holder of a PhD from the University of Chicago, a graduate of Howard University, and a credentialed minister in the United Church of Christ.
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Hai Nguyen

Director of Operations

Bio
Hai, along with his parents and siblings left Vietnam and came to the United States in 1991.  After receiving his Bachelor and MBA in Seattle, he moved back to the Portland Metro area.  His professional background is in Operations, Financial and Risk Management.  Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.
brad

Brad Ketch

Chairman, Board of Directors and CDCO President

Bio
Brad was born and raised in East Portland, Brad has personally experienced the decline and rebirth of the Rockwood area He holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Business. For twenty-five years, Brad developed products and companies in the telecommunication hardware industry. He has served as CEO and CFO of a publicly-traded company; and, has served as CEO of a $90 million manufacturer.
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Shou Mo

Manager, East County Housing

Bio
Shou is a true Renaissance Man and Rogue Scholar whose motto in life is to “learn lots and have fun.” To that end, he enjoys meeting people and working with his hands. Early in his career, he acquired skills in house building, construction and volunteer management. In addition, he managed warehouses & transportation logistics. This provided the bedrock for his work in disaster aid, relief and recovery. Upon return from various deployments, the scales covering his eyes were lifted to reveal the disasters happening in his own backyard…community blight from lack of resources and opportunities. He now translates and applies all those prior experiences to community development and transformation.
sharon

Sharon Mo

Director, East County Business Bridge

Bio
Shou is a true Renaissance Man and Rogue Scholar whose motto in life is to “learn lots and have fun.” To that end, he enjoys meeting people and working with his hands. Early in his career, he acquired skills in house building, construction and volunteer management. In addition, he managed warehouses & transportation logistics. This provided the bedrock for his work in disaster aid, relief and recovery. Upon return from various deployments, the scales covering his eyes were lifted to reveal the disasters happening in his own backyard…community blight from lack of resources and opportunities. He now translates and applies all those prior experiences to community development and transformation.
scott

Scott McCracken

Training and Shalom Rockwood Liaison

Bio
Scott (born in Florida) went into training at International Teams in 1986 where he met the woman he would later marry (Vicki), and they prepared with a team to work with refugees in Austria (http://oasis.iteams.org). They married in 1988 and, after 3 years in Austria, moved to Greece to serve refugees there (www.helpinghands.gr). Five children and 23 years later they left Athens for Portland, where they help raise awareness and work toward the prevention of child sex trafficking.  At the Rockwood CDC, Scott is our public spokesman and coordinates the Shalom Rockwood group.
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Patrik McDade

Entrepreneur Support and Grantwriter

Bio
Patrik McDade works to help local and small-plot farmers find new customers, expand into the Sunrise Center Kitchen, or gain new business and language skills.  He is also the founder and program director for People-Places-Things, building language and culture bridges in our communities. He received a Teaching English as a Second Language certificate from PSU in 1996 and has taught in several countries, and estimates more than 1000 English classes in more than 300 locations, from public schools to universities to basements and living rooms. He has facilitated language skills development in immigrant and refugee communities since 1996. People-Places-Things was recognized with a Spirit of Portland award for Best Business in 2016 by the Portland City Council.
carla

Carla McMahon

Community Health Program Mgr., Certified Community Health Worker

Bio
Carla is from Cali, Colombia. She has lived and worked in the Rockwood community since moving to the United States in 2000. Carla enjoys being part of the community and learning about the various cultures within Rockwood. It has driven her love of traveling and being able to experience firsthand the culture, people, food, traditions among many other extraordinary things each cultural community has to offer.
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Berryl Omollo

Community Health Worker

Bio
Berryl is a community health worker from Nairobi, Kenya. She is passionate about empowering marginalized communities and has worked in Behavioral health for over 5 years. She is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Public Health Studies: Community Health Promotion at Portland State University.
david

Dr. Amos David Sahu

COVID Contact Tracing Manager

Bio
Dr. Amos David Sahu comes from a humble background in a town called Dehradun, India. Born to Christian evangelist parents, he was instilled with compassion for the underserved and grew up aspiring to be a Medical Doctor. After graduating high school life took him to Russia to pursue Medical School. Throughout medical school, Dr. Sahu was able to experience life and overcome many barriers like culture and language. After graduating, he returned to India to work as a doctor. He had the opportunity to manage his father’s church & non-profit organization. In 2018, he moved to the United States to pursue a medical residency. He founded and is President of BIRDS (Blessing for Integrated Rural Development Society) in Portland, Oregon. His focus since his early days in medical school has been to serve the urban poor, people who are caught up in life and struggle to find time or resources to take care of themselves. He aspired to bring meaningful change in educational access and meeting grassroots medical needs among local communities of color and immigrants through his profession as a doctor and the scope of work of BIRDS. From the years of traveling and being an immigrant, while living in diverse communities all over the world, Dr.Sahu learned that communication, optimism, and pragmatism is the most effective form of care. He speaks Russian, Ukrainian, Hindi, Marathi apart from English fluently and is actively learning Spanish. His father, his role model, instilled a passion to look out for the ones who were in most need due to their situations in life and bring positive change to achieve holistic outcomes for society. When not studying or taking care of patients, he loves to cook, read & research, volunteer, and play soccer.
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Christine Sanders

Director of Community Health Program & Services

Bio
Christine holds a Masters in Social Work degree and is a practicing Clinical Social Worker Associate working on her Clinical Therapist license. Living and working in the Rockwood Community for almost 20 years, has been extremely rewarding for her. Throughout various non-profit roles and positions in East County, she always intertwines her work to be inclusive of this community. Her commitment and dedication to serving others is a lifelong journey she embraces every day. During her personal time she enjoys playing with her dogs, spending time with close family and friends, and gardening.
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LaToya Seawood

Administrative Assistant, East County Business Bridge

chuck

Charles Smith

Grandma's Hands

Bio
Charles Smith, MSW coordinates our Grandma’s Hands program, which engages Black families and communities in sharing cultural food traditions.  He is also the co-director for the Black Food Sovereignty Coalition in Portland, which focuses on food production, land access, and economic prosperity for members of the Black community. He is the owner/chief instructor of Portland Soo Bahk Do, and the owner/principal consultant at Charles Smith and Associates LLC- providing consultation, training, program development, and counseling services. Chuck is the father of three children ages 30, 29, and 19.  He is the youngest of six children and was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia.  He has lived in the Portland OR/Vancouver WA area since 1991.  Family time is spent working in his yard, supporting his children, cooking, working in his faith community, and teaching Soo Bahk Do (Korean karate) and Therapeutic Martial Arts in Portland OR and Camas WA.
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Eric Trinh

Community Engagement Manager

Bio
Eric is a first-generation college student who is the proud son of two selfless and loving parents from Saigon, Vietnam. His passion and commitment for racial equity have continued to be primarily influenced by the principles of community development and urban planning, which he can apply in his experience working for both the public and non-profit sectors. Eric holds a BA in Community Development, a Master's Degree in Urban & Regional Planning, and a graduate certificate in Real Estate Development from Portland State University. Eric believes that communities can be prosperous and livable if we provide them the support to engage in community economic development planning, which means celebrating different voices, opinions, and experiences.  Eric also believes that public policies serve the public; therefore, we must ensure the public is included in the decision-making tables. Ambitious, yet humbled by the invaluable experience working with BIPOC communities, Eric is excited to make himself a public servant and a change agent in his professional journey.
rachel

Rachel

Rockwood CDC Bookkeeping Assistant

Bio
I am Rachel, the Rockwood CDC's part-time Bookkeeping Assistant. I have been working in medical accounting for seven years, with a specialty in payroll. I am happy I can provide financial support to the team while also helping the East Portland community. In my free time you can find me gardening and taking care of my cat Andrew!

The Rockwood CDC is part of Oregon Community Development Corporation.

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