599-2023

Office of Mayor Ted Wheeler

City of Portland

July 19, 2023

As Mayor and Commissioner of Finance & Administration, I request Council confirmation of the following appointment to the Portland Parks & Recreation Board:

Appointment                                     Term                                       Replacing 

Jonathan Beckhart                          06-30-2026                            Paul Agrimis

Patti Miles                                         06-30-2026                            Mike Elliott

Matthew Shipkey                             06-30-2026                            Alejandro Orizola

Reappointment                                           

Ali Berman                                        06-30-2026 (First Full Term)

C.N.E. Corbin                                   06-30-2026 (First Full Term)

Adam Lewis                                      06-30-2026 (First Full Term)

David Staczek                                   06-30-2026 (Second Full Term)

Respectfully submitted,

Ted Wheeler

Mayor

Bios and Statements of Interest of appointees attached.

Jonathan Beckhart

Bio:

Jonathan Beckhart is the Capital Campaign Officer for the Northwest Outward Bound School, building capacity to change lives through challenge and discovery for students across the Pacific Northwest, Portland Metro area, and beyond. Before joining NWOBS, he was a member of the Community Engagement team at the City of Eugene Parks & Open Space division managing resource development, partnerships, and park foundation relations. Previously, he spent 8 years in partnership engagement, business development, and other special project roles for the University of Oregon Alumni Association. Jonathan holds a BS in Recreation, Sport, and Tourism Management from the University of Illinois. He and his family reside in Southeast Portland and can most frequently be found enjoying an area park or trail.

Statement of Interest:

I have a longtime appreciation for parks and recreation, starting from a young age working summer jobs for my local district and developed further in my higher education path. I strongly believe that the community services and opportunities parks and recreation provide represents the best of all of us, tell us what kind of community we are, support neighborhood pride and vitality, and create wonderfully accessible spaces and programs where diverse people can live together to share common interests and feel a sense of belonging. I’m a big believer in collaborative efforts and feel that programs, services, and spaces can only benefit the collective community when there’s been a collective community of ideas that helped develop them. I am excited to join the Parks Board and provide a representative voice and guidance to the bureau as they increase and elevate parks and recreation opportunities for every member of our community.

Patti Miles

Bio:

Patti Miles currently serves as a Project Manager for Walsh Construction Company/OR working on affordable housing, non-profit construction projects and business development. Formally she worked as an Owners Representative/Construction Manager for inici group Inc. (now Cumming Group) on higher education, veterinary medicine, non-profit organizations building projects. Trained as an architect, she worked as a designer and medical planner for over twenty years working on heathcare facility projects in Boston, Chicago, and around the Pacific Northwest.  A native Portlander who grew up in the Beaumont Village neighborhood, in her youth she was an active participant in Portland Park & Recreation summer programs held at Wilshire, Grant Park, and Matt Dishman Community Center. She attended Grant high school, received her undergraduate degree from Drake University in Des Moines, IA and attend Washington University in St. Louis where she received her Master of Architecture. With professional experience in planning, design, construction, as a person of color, and a native of Portland, she will provide a lived lens perspective as a member of the Portland Parks & Recreation Board.

Statement of Interest:

I am excited to have an opportunity to bring my insights and perspective to help guide the future development at Portland Parks and Recreation. Parks played a huge part in my physical fitness foundation and for the love of the outdoor environment in adulthood. Urban parks provide the “backyard” for the community, for people of all ages, cultures, abilities, etc. I feel green space/nature heals the soul and everyone should feel like there is a space for them within the Portland Parks & Recreation system. I look forward to playing a role in enhancing and expanding the park experience for all.

Matt Shipkey

Bio:

Matt Shipkey has been managing the Land Legacy Program for the East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District for over 5 years. He helps the district ensure farmland remains available for current and future generations of farmers and supports regional partners in access to nature / natural area land protection projects. Matt has spent his entire professional career in land protection and has helped secure many thousands of acres. Prior positions included a large non-profit protecting landscapes in the Hudson Valley (NY) and a county farmland protection program in New Jersey. Matt was excited to recently return to the Pacific Northwest, where he had done his Master’s work in Urban and Community Planning at the University of British Columbia. Matt is an active volunteer at Blanchet House and has previously volunteered at Hoyt Arboretum.

Statement of Interest:

Protecting our natural resources and making them accessible and available to everyone has been a personal passion that has driven my career for over 20 years. This work has always been important, but it seems even more critical at this moment in time. I’m excited to help support the work Portland Parks & Recreation is doing. Every day I recharge and refresh at a PP&R facility, and I would like to see that be a desirable option for every Portland resident. 

Ali Berman

Bio:

Ali is the Communications and Marketing Director at Portland Audubon, working to protect wildlife and their habitat, and increase equitable access to nature. Ali is originally from New York and received her B.A. and MFA in writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Before coming to Portland Audubon. Ali spent nine years working in communications at HEART, helping to bring human rights, animal protection, and environmental ethics issues into classrooms. Ali is also a writer. Her first two books “Misdirected” (Seven Stories Press) and “Choosing a Good Life” (Hazelden) were published in 2014. In addition to her work at Portland Audubon, Ali serves on the board of two organizations: Disabled Hikers and Portland Parks and Recreation.

Statement of interest:

It's a privilege to be a part of the Portland Parks and Recreation board, working with dedicated staff and fellow board members to help increase equitable access to nature and recreation for all people, and create a more climate resilient landscape. I care deeply about ensuring our parks are a safe and thriving place for both people and wildlife and am excited by all the work being done to make our parks even better.

Adam Lewis

Bio:

Adam Lewis is a Social Impact Consultant, Strategist and Nonprofit Executive driving social justice and creating a more equitable world through play, sport and community. As a community advocate and changemaker, Lewis has ‘talked’ about play and empathy at TEDx, is the Portland Timbers Community MVP Award winner, a Multnomah Athletic Foundation Impact Award winner, a 2020 Fellow with the New Leaders Council and has been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today and the Oregonian. Currently, Lewis is collaborating with the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 to bring community-changing programs to Oregon youth, and has worked with large companies, city and county governments, athletic clubs, nonprofits and mutual aid groups around the country, and is the Founder and former Managing Director of Street Soccer USA-Portland. Lewis’ work is guided by a belief that in order to address our greatest humanitarian challenges, we must start doing the one thing that makes us human: we all love to play games. 

Statement of Interest:

I am honored to have the opportunity to serve Portland’s diverse communities by joining the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Creating opportunities for Portlanders to find joy, reprieve and a sense of community in our parks is undoubtably a part of my story as a professional and as a person—as using sport and play to make Portland home to everyone is an integral part of who I am. As a lifelong advocate of play, sports and games for youth and adults alike, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help Portlanders fall in love with my favorite part of the city: our parks.

C.N.E. Corbin

Dr. C.N.E. Corbin is a faculty member at Portland State University in the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning. She studies the relationships between society and nature within the built environment. As a mixed-methods interdisciplinary researcher, urban political ecologist, and engaged scholar, her work investigates the concept of the sustainable green city within the United States at the intersection of race, class, housing, and access to green space. In so doing, she examines both sides of environmental (in)justice, the uneven distribution of environmental harms, and the uneven development of environmental goods with a specific focus on public parks, green amenities, and urban natures. Her research shows how historical urbanization processes and current urban environmental policies, influence and contribute to the environmental injustices being (re)produced today while also questioning what that could mean for future populations living in sustainable green cities. 

Statement of interest:

A 21st-century public park system can provide spaces for neighbors to build community, connect residents to nature, cultivate urban biodiversity and maintain healthy ecosystems, support ecosystem services that protect our city during severe weather events, and upholds the democratic right to assemble in public spaces. Yet, these things don’t happen independently or for everybody. This is why I serve on the Portland Parks & Recreation Board, to fulfill the promise and power of parks through civic action and community engagement.

David Staczek

Bio:

David is an architect and designer at ZGF Architects. Originally from Toledo, Ohio, David found his way out west in 1992. In the last 28 years, David has worked to plan, expand, and renovate local and regional hospital campuses. David’s work with healthcare institutions to design nurturing and healing environments has fostered a deep appreciation for the healing power of nature. He is an avid mountain biker, and he is excited to support Portland Parks & Recreation as a member of the Board to make Portland a great place to live, work and play. 

Statement of interest:

As a 23year resident of SE Portland, my family has depended on and benefited from Portland Parks and Recreation for education, recreation and play.  My two daughters learned how to ride their bikes and play soccer in Berkeley and Sellwood parks, and they learned how to swim at Creston, Mt Scott and Selwood pools. I am excited and proud to be able to offer my 30 years of design knowledge and community engagement experience to the Portland parks board. As the chair of the Land Use and Infrastructure working group, I look forward to helping steer and inform the board on the upcoming capital and maintenance projects being developed by PP&R, and guide PP&R to push for equitable access, inclusiveness, and world class facilities and programs for all Portlanders.