About the committee

Information
Chapter 2 of Portland’s new Comprehensive Plan calls for the creation of a volunteer body to oversee the City’s community involvement efforts for land use and transportation planning projects.
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Purpose of the committee

  • The CIC will review and advise City staff on their engagement with the public in land use and transportation planning projects and programs.
  • The CIC does not review content of planning projects; it focuses on the community involvement process.
  • The CIC will work with planning staff throughout the City to ensure that projects have strong community involvement practices.
  • The CIC will maintain and update the Community Engagement Manual.

Projects related to the Comprehensive Plan that are large in scope or that may benefit and/or burden different communities will include CIC review and feedback as early in the project as possible. These projects will also check in with the CIC during the project and present an evaluation after the project is over.

Other projects related to the Comprehensive Plan may come to the CIC for review if the Committee requests it or if staff choose to. The CIC will be kept updated about the status of all Comprehensive Plan-related projects. Planning projects that do not amend the Comprehensive Plan may also ask the CIC for review and feedback at staff’s discretion.

Community Engagement Manual

The Community Engagement Manual will guide City staff when implementing the goals and policies established in Chapter 2 of the Comprehensive Plan.The manual establishes the baseline expectations for all relevant projects. It also supplies a framework for staff, community members, the CIC and others to use when designing and evaluating projects to help keep community involvement work on track.

Background information

The role of this committee is shaped by Oregon Statewide Planning Goal 1, and Policy 2.19 of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan.

  • Oregon Statewide Planning Goal 1 requires that “(T)he committee for citizen involvement shall be responsible for assisting the governing body with the development of a program that promotes and enhances citizen involvement in land-use planning, assisting in the implementation of the citizen involvement program, and evaluating the process being used for citizen involvement.”
  • Policy 2.19 of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan states that “(T)he Community Involvement Committee (CIC), an independent advisory body, will evaluate and provide feedback to City staff on community involvement processes for individual planning and investment projects, before, during, and at the conclusion of these processes.”

Application and Selection Process

The first seven members of the CIC were appointed in May 2018. A second recruitment in 2019 resulted in the appointment of seven new members.

PIAC vs. CIC

Both the CIC and Public Involvement Advisory Council (PIAC) are charged with improving the City’s involvement of the community in government planning and decision-making. Both do their work by setting standards (the City’s Public Involvement Principles and the goals and policies of Chapter 2) and supporting staff to meet those standards.

The PIAC provides citywide support and guidance on public involvement guidelines, policies and practices. In this role, PIAC focuses on specific issues with citywide application and provides input to individual bureaus on efforts to engage the public. Based on its charter and the capacity of volunteer members, PIAC does not work on individual projects within a single bureau, nor does it have any monitoring or oversight responsibilities.

The CIC’s role is limited to oversight of projects related to the Comprehensive Plan. It works on individual projects and has oversight and evaluation responsibilities. While the two committees’ roles are different, they are complementary. The CIC will benefit from ongoing communication with PIAC to share lessons learned and inform each other’s work.

Will the CIC act as a watchdog?

The CIC will not take on an ombudsman role or a policing role, but it will be sensitive to issues rising up from individuals and organizations. Community members with concerns or suggestions about community involvement in Comprehensive Plan-related projects should first contact project staff. This will allow concerns to be addressed more directly and efficiently and give the CIC room to focus on the main body of their work. However, if these concerns are not addressed at the staff level, community members may bring their concerns to the CIC. The objective of the CIC in these situations is to identify what can be improved at a systemic level and support staff to make those improvements.


Committee members

City Code calls for the CIC to have 5 to 12 volunteer members, serving three-year terms.

Current members

Susan Novak

Susan lives in SE Portland and is a partially retired consultant addressing issues of social inclusion, involuntary resettlement, ethnic minorities, and environmental management in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Susan has served a previous partial term on the CIC and is currently on her first full term. She has extensive background in working with different cultures and communities and speaks 4 languages (Spanish, English, French, Khmer).


Mia Goros

A headshot of a smiling woman with long dark hair.

With Mia's experience successfully strategizing and executing community networks and programs, she cares deeply about connecting people from all walks of life to spark change together. Having lived in different U.S. cities and traveled internationally on her own, she has become inspired to help build vibrant and healthy cities. Residing in NE Portland, Mia loves biking around her neighborhood, catching the newest movie in theatres, and trying the latest raved-about restaurant.


Ren Lum

A headshot of a smiling person with short cropped dark hair wearing black button up shirt.

Originally from Northern California, Ren moved to Portland mid-year of 2022. With a background in Special Education, they now work in the nonprofit sector focused on community-based and student-centered practices. Ren’s personal goal with the Community Involvement Committee is to build their understanding of local civic engagement and the community they now call home. In their spare time, Ren enjoys crafting, cooking, and throwing pots on their wheel.


Tim McCloud

Tim lives in Salem with his wife, 3 children, 2 dogs and 3 cats, and a chicken named Penny. His family enjoys athletics, arts, dining, recreation, great BBQ and events throughout the Portland area. He currently works in business development for a manufacturer in Linn County. Over the years, he has been involved in community interests such as alternative transportation advocacy, land use issues, county budgetary issues, and statewide policy. 

He is an active parent volunteer, has organized various community events, and is engaged in the advancement of Oregon civil rights. He looks forward to collaborating on engagement plans for the community outreach process in Portland.


Diana Pearson

Diana is new to community involvement and is committed to seeing Portlanders come up and be happier through a better, more inclusive, uplifting government. She sees the people in her community struggle and wants to help impact better livability.


Janette Clay

Janette Clay lives in North Portland with her family and works in higher education in the Portland area. Her goals for wanting to join the CIC are to gain a better understanding of urban planning and to be involved in making change for the city she calls home. She has a passion for working to remove systemic and long standing inequities and rethinking how community operates to be more inclusive and meaningful. She strives to listen, learn, and engage in opportunities to unite people near and far.

Term: October 2022 – October 2025


Calvin Hoff
Calvin has a passion for empowering community members to participate in processes that impact their own communities. After moving to Portland from south suburban Chicago in 2016, they spent four years working at Venture Portland supporting Portland's 50 neighborhood business districts. As a recent graduate of the University of Oregon's Master of Regional & Community Planning Program, they are currently conducting research on immigrant experiences on decision-making bodies in Oregon. In their free time, Calvin enjoys watching live music and riding their bicycle. 

Term: October 2022 – October 2025


Brian Romer

Brian’s personal mission is to help create a more sustainable society.  He is a consulting editor with a 35-year career in academic book publishing specializing on the intersection of science, technology, and the environment. He also works with nonprofit advocacy organizations on climate education and policy at state and local level. He’s lived in Portland for 25 years with his wife and two children.

Term: October 2022 – October 2025


Hannah Waters 

Hanna (she/her/hers) was born in South Korea and spent much of her life in Central Pennsylvania. She recently moved to Portland with her family and her daughter is a freshman at David Douglas High School. Hannah has a B.A. in Political Science and Government and has spent the last decade working in the nonprofit sector advocating for those that feel they do not have a voice. She is looking forward to being a member of the Community Involvement Committee and volunteering her time to other organizations that focus on marginalized communities.

Term: October 2022 – October 2025


James Gorter 

As a lifelong resident of Portland, Jim enjoys working with others to shape the city's future for all Portlanders.  He was raised in Southeast Portland and currently lives in the Southwest.  He spent his career in environmental education and since retirement has served on city projects including the Residential Infill Project Stakeholder Advisory Committee, the Citizen advisory group for Willamette Park, and has served on a variety of other civic organizations.  Through the Covid 19 pandemic he has worked to ensure that renters in vulnerable populations were able to stay in stable housing during a time of crisis.  In his spare time, Jim enjoys travel, gardening, birding and is still trying to learn a little bit of Swedish.

Term: October 2022 – October 2025


Staff

Harmonee Dashiell headshot

Harmonee Dashiell (she/her/hers) is a Program Coordinator for the City of Portland – Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. She specializes in community outreach and has a passion for working with youth. Harmonee grew up in Portland and started working for the City of Portland at 15 years old and has been able to shape the work that she does to serve the communities that have historically been overlooked. She went to school at Linfield University and studied business with and international emphasis.


Rheanna Murray

Rheanna (they/she) is the new CSA for the Equity & Engagement Team at BPS. They’re a Jack-of-all-trades administrative superstar coming to us from years as a freelance Admin Assistant after working for the Program Teams at Mercy Corps Intl., not including a brief stint as an English teacher in France. Rheanna is passionate about disability justice, queer literature and graphic novels, fiber arts, finding the best croissant in Portland, and her two rambunctious Maine Coon-mix cats.


Former members

  • Valeria McWilliams
  • Daniel Hafner
  • Harranie Chavers
  • Rachel Bernstein
  • Beth A. Rubin, Ph.D.
  • Alexandra Degher
  • Jai Singh
  • Isa Dean
  • Caitlin Burke
  • Claire Carder
  • Tanaira Johnson
  • Kaitlin W. La Bonte
  • Sandra Walden
  • Christina Wienholz
  • Katy Wolf
  • Sofia Alvarez-Castro
  • Natasha Gaskin