We’re here for the inspired change-makers. The climate justice fighters. We’re hikers, gardeners, bird enthusiasts, and karaoke stars. We love a lively discussion on equitable policies and when pets make cameo appearances on virtual meetings.
We’re your neighbors.
We want to collaborate with you to create a climate-resilient Portland. Meet your team.
Sam Baraso, Program Manager
Sam Baraso (he/him) is the program manager for PCEF. He brings over 15 years of experience in natural resource management, climate policy, community-based climate action, finance, and data analysis. Sam enjoys leveraging his background and experience to support more collaborative governance between the City and communities that have been historically marginalized. Prior to his role at the City, Sam served as a senior policy advisor in Multnomah County’s Office of Sustainability. In addition to his work at the City, Sam also serves as Vice Chair of Oregon DEQ’s Environmental Quality Commission and a board member of Willamette Partnership.
Al Rose, Climate Action Assistant Project Manager
Al Rose (they/them) supports managing the mini grants program and grantee capacity building, as well as providing overall program-wide support. Their background includes tribal relations, program development, grassroot community organizing, land stewardship, grants management, and community engagement. Their passion for relationship building, environmental justice, and trees is why we’re lucky to have Al on the PCEF team.
Angela Previdelli, Capacity Building Program Manager
Angela Previdelli (she/her) serves as our internal systems and mini grant project manager, touching all the behind-the-scenes steps in the grantmaking process where small dollar amounts support big impacts on climate justice. Angela is also a board member with Pueblo Unido, a small local non-profit whose work centers on supporting people with vulnerable immigration status. She’s also an avid birder.
David Grandfield, Regenerative Agriculture and Green Infrastructure Program Manager
David Grandfield manages relationships with grantees who are planning future work and/or implementing current projects. David’s 12 years include forest surveying, greenhouse management, groundskeeping, landscape design and installation, woody perennial plant propagation, plant procurement, riparian restoration, urban forestry, community garden management, environmental education, first foods cultivation, and volunteer coordination. If it grows, David knows all about it.
Diane Dulken, Senior Communications Strategist
Diane Dulken (she/her) is PCEF’s senior communications strategist and storyteller. As a second generation American originally from New York, she fell in love with Oregon after college (University of Michigan, environmental studies) while working in the forests of the Cascade Mountains. Diane has worked as a journalist as well as a publicist for local and national environmental and social non-profits. For the last decade, she has worked in public service at the City of Portland, serving as spokesperson for the Portland Bureau of Transportation as well as the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. She gets her best ideas while riding her bicycle each day, and every chance she gets (though not often enough) she finds a river or mountain lake to swim in.
Elizabeth Stover, PCEF Strategic Communications Manager
Elizabeth Stover (she/her) is our strategic communications manager. She connects people to the work, to the opportunities, and to each other. Her curiosity about people, processes, and systems inspires her work, and she strives to provide equitable access to information. She comes from a background in graphic design, visual storytelling, and corporate sustainability. In her spare time, she can be found dabbling in photography, fiber arts, woodworking, and miniatures. She has an extensive collection of creative project ideas that she swears she'll get to "someday."
Jaimes Valdez, Strategic Partnerships and Policy Manager
Jaimes Valdez (he/him) leads our organizational and policy development, which involves building internal processes, creating skill-building opportunities for community organizations, and helping guide development of PCEF strategy. His 15 years of work include energy policy and advocacy for Spark Northwest, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, and Renewable NW. He engages with local and state government and industry organizations to provide input on climate and social equity policies to ensure grantees have the tools to implement their vision.
Jason Ford, Finance Manager
Jason Ford (he/him) is PCEF’s finance manager. He performs all our financial analyses including budgeting and forecasting, and ensures proper financial controls and oversight are properly executed. Jason has worked as a financial reporting specialist for Mercy Corps, and as a senior financial analyst for Wells Fargo, IBM, and Equity Residential.
Jay Richmond, Workforce and Contractor Development Project Manager
Jay Richmond (they/them) is one of our workforce development and equity project managers. Their previous work includes several years at Oregon Tradeswomen as the workforce equity manager, increasing equity for marginalized workers in the construction sector. While there, Jay focused on innovative projects such as the Safe from Hate Initiative, the Broadway Corridor redevelopment negotiations, and the Respectful Workplaces Review Committee. Now, Jay guides grantees through PCEF processes, helps advance projects, and ensures those projects are implemented successfully.
Johnny Dea, PCEF Climate Projects Manager
Johnny Dea (he/him) is PCEF's Climate Projects Manager, supporting organizational policy and inter-bureau collaboration on climate programs. Johnny brings 15 years of experience in the sustainability field, with experience working for both nonprofits and local government. Prior to joining PCEF, Johnny was a project lead in creating climate action plans for City of Gresham and City of Beaverton. While earning a master's degree in sustainability education from Portland State University, Johnny worked one of many dirty jobs: managing non-curbside recoverable materials at Portland International Airport. When not at work, you can catch him in North Portland with his son and corgi.
Justine Herrera, Clean Energy Assistant Project Manager
Justine Herrera (she/her) supports the management of multifamily and commercial-centered projects on PCEF's Clean Energy team. With a background in environmental economics and policy, she is dedicated to tracking the ever-evolving industry of clean energy and how it can positively affect our built environment. Her passion for environmental justice is what drives her work at PCEF. In her spare time, she enjoys attending sport events, concerts, and grabbing a cup of coffee from her local coffee shop.
Katya Reyna, Regenerative Agriculture and Green Infrastructure Project Manager
Katya Reyna (she/ella) is one of our regenerative agriculture and green infrastructure project managers. She comes to PCEF from Depave, where she worked as Community Projects Director and eventually Executive Co-Director. She has ramped up community outreach and DEI strategies at multiple organizations, with an emphasis on accountability and working with frontline communities who are already facing the ramifications of climate change, capitalism, and greed. Katya grew up in Chicago and was a community organizer and urban planning student at University of Illinois Chicago. She earned a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from University of Oregon, where her thesis focused on memory mapping and the importance of addressing generational trauma of displacement and racial tension as a part of site analysis. After work hours, you can find Katya community organizing, gardening, making herbal medicine, and dreaming of a resilient and just future. Spanish is her first language.
Kenny Asher, Deputy Program Manager
Kenny Asher (he/him) is the Deputy Program Manager for PCEF. With 25 years of community development experience in the Portland metro region, Kenny has led city departments and initiatives in East Portland, Milwaukie, and Tigard. Trained in architecture and journalism, and a lifelong student of responsible land use and local empowerment, Kenny brings a unique perspective to climate and equity work. He is a board member at Zenger Farm and past president of the Zen Center of Portland.
Kris Grube, Clean Energy Project Manager
Kris Grube (she/her) specializes in the single-family home energy efficiency and renewable portfolio. She has 14 years of contracting experience as the owner of a home energy retrofit business. She has also managed housing anti-displacement projects for the Portland Housing Bureau’s Neighborhood Housing Preservation Program. With a Master of Social Work and deep experience in building science principles as a Building Performance Institute (BPI) certified contractor, she brings a unique environmental justice lens to her work.
Maggie Starr, Workforce and Contractor Development Project Manager
Maggie Starr (she/he/they) is one of our Workforce and Contractor Development Project Managers, helping nonprofits through the grantmaking process and supporting through project completion. Maggie has previously worked for metro-area and statewide nonprofits and is excited to support the great work being done in the community.
Mickey Lee, Clean Energy Project Manager
Mickey Lee has extensive background in project and program management with an emphasis on environmental justice. Working in the past for non-profits, for-profits, and public entities, she excels at bringing stakeholders to the table and making sure projects stay on track. She has overseen workforce and contractor development in several arenas, including the multifamily affordable housing energy efficiency space, a public utility, and with Metro’s Zoo Bond Commission. In her spare time, she can be found winter snowshoeing Oregon and Washington’s trails, enjoying the summer on the golf course, and building home projects.
Mika Barrett, Regenerative Agriculture & Green Infrastructure Project Manager
Mika Barrett (she/her) is a project manager at PCEF specializing in regenerative agriculture and green infrastructure. She is passionate about collaborating with communities to advance climate justice, improve soil health, and increase biodiversity. Her professional background focuses on equitable land access, ecological restoration, and community engagement. Beyond work, Mika is a caretaker for a 47-acre land trust preserve once threatened by logging, mining, and development. She enjoys growing food, trail running, and being a cat mom.
Pramodh Jacob, Transportation Decarbonization Project Manager
Pramodh Jacob (he/him) is a Project Manager on the Transportation Decarbonization team, guiding grantees through the lifetime of their projects focused on walking, biking, public transit, EVs, and more. Before joining PCEF, he was at Forth, an electric mobility nonprofit, implementing projects and conducting hands-on education about EV and e-bikes in Oregon. Pramodh's dedication to climate action and justice drives his desire to empower PCEF priority populations through more sustainable forms of transportation.
He immigrated to the US and grew up in Virginia. In 2020, he moved to Portland after completing a B.A. in Environmental Studies at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. Outside of work, Pramodh loves playing soccer with friends and supporting Arsenal FC and the Portland Timbers. He also enjoys camping, backpacking, and the wonderful vegan food scene in Portland.
Rachel Gilmore, Administrative Specialist
Rachel Gilmore (she/her) coordinates grant processing, advisory body logistics, and more to keep our program moving forward. Her professional experience has focused on nonprofit administration and operations, encompassing development, human resources, and AmeriCorps program management. She is thrilled to continue supporting incredible community organizations in her role with PCEF. She enjoys creating efficient systems and thoughtful processes that enable people to focus on the purpose and mission of their work.
Ricardo Moreno Gonzalez, Clean Energy Project Manager
Ricardo Moreno Gonzalez (he/him) has extensive experience in program and project management in the landscape, design, and construction fields. His work on affordable housing and social enterprise helped him gain an understanding of the nonprofit sector and the issues impacting low-income communities.
Ricardo has led various green infrastructure projects including park construction, habitat restoration, and stormwater management. He was involved in developing and managing Verde’s clean energy and solar projects. His focus has been on creating employment and training opportunities for low-income people and people of color, as well as supporting minority- and women-owned firms in the energy efficiency sector.
When not at work, Ricardo can be found playing make believe with his five-year-old, on a family walk, or taking a joy ride on his vintage motorcycle.
Shannon Todd Roth, Senior Clean Energy Program Manager
Shannon Todd Roth (she/her) leads our clean energy team, guiding delivery for our portfolio of clean energy programs and grants. She comes to PCEF with 12+ years of residential energy efficiency program implementation experience, and 3+ years working with community agriculture nonprofits. Growing up, her family owned a home retrofit company, so she’s been known to demo a wall or two. In her spare time, she loves mushroom hunting, making cheese, gardening with native plants, and chasing her two little children.
Tresor Kukena, Business Systems Analyst II
Tresor Kukena (he/him) conducts business process analysis and translates business requirements and objectives into technical solutions for PCEF. His role is critical in designing and supporting the new grants management system (WebGrants), implementing a new project management tool, and helping implement and support software to centrally track contacts and communications. One of his goals is to improve the end user’s grant management experience for both the community and staff.
Vania Fong, Data Analyst
Vania Fong (she/her) manages the whole lifecycle of PCEF data – from data collection to cleaning to analysis to visualization – and supports the buildout and refinement of internal systems. Her background lies at the intersection of clean energy programs, data analysis, and environmental justice. She is particularly excited about streamlining internal processes, building interactive data visualizations, and promoting technical knowledge-sharing. Vania’s strength is in enabling people to meaningfully engage with the data that informs and results from PCEF projects. Outside of work, she enjoys photography and discovering obscure musicians (sometimes at the same time).
Wendy Koelfgen, Clean Energy Multifamily and Commercial Program Manager
Wendy Koelfgen (she/her) specializes in developing standards and pathways for clean energy projects while managing energy grants. In the energy sector, it’s necessary to keep a close eye on the quickly evolving clean energy world at the local, regional, national, and global level – Wendy tracks all those issues and works with the team on strategies to ensure PCEF-funded work connects to housing stability.