(he/him)
Jesse Beason is Northwest Health Foundation’s President & Chief Executive Officer. He leads the Foundation in pursuit of its vision of health for everyone in Oregon & Southwest Washington. Before this, Jesse served as the foundation’s Vice President of Strategy & Public Affairs. He also served, among other roles, as Executive Director of Proud Ground and a Senior Policy Director for then-Commissioner Sam Adams. Jesse keeps saying yes to serving on boards—too many, really. It's a terrible hobby. He moved from Denver, Colorado to Portland to attend Lewis & Clark College a score and a quarter ago. Jesse is a proud guncle, a semi-closeted sci-fi geek and a middling beekeeper

he/they

Aaron Blaise Garber-Paul (he/they) is a data nerd for good. Driven by a lifelong passion to make better tools for social justice outcomes, Aaron is focused on empowering community through data. Aaron serves as the Equity Data Analyst, Citywide, for the City of Portland's Office of Equity and Human Rights. Background in Sociology (public health, gender, communications), Data Analytics& Programming, and Association& Event Management. Current project work relating to: Equity & Privacy Impact Assessment of surveillance technology, automated decision-making algorithms, and audits of AI and GenAI solutions; Title VI compliance; enterprise performance reporting; Open Data; Data Privacy; population health and demographic data collection, interpretation.

Blaise developed his approach to community-driven Data Justice in early roles supporting equity movements, including GLSEN, PFLAG, and ACLU-IL; working on the Illinois death penalty moratorium project (1990s); the National Anti-Violence Project and NY-AVP; as a full board member of the Princess Diana Memorial Fund, US, delivering capacity-building tools to youth-driven organizations; and as the tour manager of a rural-focused national queer arts company.

In addition to Pride in Numbers, Blaise serves on the Board of Howards’ Heart (VP), supporting teens in foster care; and as a costumer with FUSE Theater. When not working or volunteering, Blaise can usually be found in St. Johns relaxing with his husband and their dogs, exploring the Pacific Northwest, cooking feasts or making art with friends.

(she/they)

After 25 years of community based social work Allison retired January 1st , 2020. In retirement Allison is an activist on social issues within our community.

“Ensuring accessibility, equity and safety in all systems.”

She has served on several boards.

10 years. Oregon Sexual Assault Task Force (SATF), serving on; Prevention

and Education, Victim Response and Legislative and public policy

committees and 8 years as a Sexual Assault Training Instructor (SATI)

19 years. Oregon Department of Justice, Crime Victims Survivors’ Service Division, Advisory Committee.

8 years. Equity Foundation, board of directors, grants committee coordinator for Lane County grants and scholarship fund.

4 years. Rural Organizing Project, board of directors

Allison was a founding member of the Association of Queer University Women (AQUW) and Gender Positive Systems Advocacy Committee (GPSAC). Founding Director of The Gender Center.

Allison was a certified A.L.I.C.E Institute Trainer, training constituents for a response to an Active Shooter/violent intruder.

Allison was a 2012 recipient of the Oregon Department of Justice, Crime Victims’ Service Division, Crime Victims’ Rights Week Award: “In recognition of your advocacy for marginalized communities, collaborative approach to working with diverse voices to end domestic and sexual violence, and commitment to advancing gender and sexual minority rights”.

Allison received the 2017 Midori Hamilton Award from Oregon Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence; “in honor of her leadership and commitment to end Domestic and Sexual Violence”

Allison’s very limited education is in social psychology with some work in applied psychology and communication. Allison was trained as a mediator. Her personal time includes photography, hiking & biking. Allison is a great-grandparent and Vietnam era veteran.

she/her

Reina Estimo (she/her) is a born & raised Oregonian and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Her parents are Alfred Estimo, Sr. and Mina Shike. Maternal grandparents are Atwai Raymond Shike and atwai Charlotte Shike. Paternal grandparents are Atwai Della Smith and Tom Estama. She is employed for the non-profit organization Warm Springs Community Action Team as the Education and Workforce Program Manager on the Warm Springs Reservation. 

Reina identifies as a 2 Spirit person and is currently working on tribally and culturally specific leadership and allyship curriculum. This is how she got connected to the PiN Project.

Reina is currently admitted to the Warm Springs Tribal Bar and has served 3 separate terms on the Education Committee for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. She is also the co-founder of a local group that provides resources around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (People). Reina enjoys watching live sports and music. She is a Portland Trailblazer, Oregon State Beavers, WNBA, March Madness, and country music fan. She likes doing beadwork and other crafts. She has two sons named Dominic and Freddie. Her family and dogs bring her joy, but she gets joy from watching other people experience joy themselves most of all.

(he/they)

Eliot Feenstra (he/they) is a community organizer, performer, teacher, artist, and gardener. Since 2011, he has been rooted in rural Josephine County. As an organizer, Eliot participates in movements for place-based culture, rural organizing, reparations and landback, building queer community, and lifting up radical histories and counternarratives. During COVID, he worked to elevate the needs and strengths of LGBTQ+ community in southern Oregon as a community organizer at the Rogue Action Center. As part of that work, he helped to lead a LGBTQ+ community survey project in Josephine and Jackson County. As an artist, Eliot uses poetry, dance, storytelling and theatre to connect people with place and each other. A few recent examples are his radio show Behind the Fence on KXCJ where he interviewed neighbors in the Illinois Valley (2024-2025); OUT Dance Project, a virtual rural queer storytelling and dance project (2020); and The (w)HOLE: Beyond Boom & Bust, a documentary dance-theatre project about the impact of cannabis regulation in southern Oregon (2019). He serves on the board of the Rural Organizing Project and leads reflective dialogue facilitation trainings with Oregon Humanities.

(she/they/ella)
Bianca “Fox” Ballara, Indigenous latina, Taino and Ciboney of the Caribbean on both my mother and father's family lines. I am Co-Founder of NativeWomanshare, a Land Back project for the Takelma Tribe of Southern Oregon and Inter-Tribal Native women and Two-Spirit to reconnect with land, traditions, and stewardship. I have worked as BIPOC Environmental Justice activist for Beyond Toxics, 350.org, and with the immigrant farmworkers of rural Oregon; also as bilingual Project Manager for the 2020 U.S. Census in efforts to reach greater diversity. I make a damn good cup of café con leche and: I am farmer, Indigenous land steward, astrologer and also co-lead House Del Mar for Southern Oregon 2SLGBTQIA+ event and party organizing.

(she/her)
Kari is a professional nerd, and has spent 20 years as a public servant supporting research and evaluation activities for Oregon Public Health Division and Multnomah County Health Department. She sparkles when she gets to hear the stories of people and communities, and loves working as part of a larger team using data for action, policy change and preservation. Kari feels so lucky to be part of Pride in Numbers!

(He/Him)
Iraq War Veteran. Rural Queer Advocate. Klamath Tribal Member. First-Generation College Graduate. Parent. Partner. Nature Wanderer. Bridge Builder.

JD Hermann wears many hats—sometimes all at once. As a proud member of the Klamath Tribes and a fierce advocate for rural and Indigenous LGBTQIA2S+ voices, JD works at the intersection of identity, community, and justice. With a background shaped by military service in Iraq, and a future grounded in healing and equity, JD brings lived experience and deep compassion to every space they enter.

A first-generation college graduate, JD understands the power of education and the barriers that come with it. Whether mentoring youth, fighting for inclusive affirmative behavioral healthcare, or building systems that uplift the often-overlooked, JD is committed to doing the hard, heart-centered work that change demands.

When not working, JD is likely out in the woods, recharging in nature, or home surrounded by a beautifully chaotic household: three incredible kids, a husband who’s in it for the long haul, two pugs who believe they run the show, and a 16-year-old cat who definitely does.

JD builds bridges between worlds—rural and urban, tradition and innovation, pain and possibility—always with humor, heart, and a clear sense of purpose.

(yehuatl/yeh)
liliana (yehuatl/yeh) was born in Salinas, California and comes from a migratory family that originated from both coasts of anahuac. liliana was raised around tables and in circles tended to and cared for by matriarchs who offered love and is a descendant of storytellers, teachers, pathmakers, bridgebuilders, and community conveners. yeh has lived in redmond, oregon since 2015,  engaging in education, advocacy, community building and gardening during that time.

(She/They)
Hello! My name is Kaylie. I was born in Springfield, Oregon and currently located in Eugene, but have moved around a lot throughout my life, primarily between Oregon, Texas and Louisiana. I earned my degree in Emerging Media and Digital Arts from Southern Oregon University in 2021 and have used what I learned to support causes that I care about through art and social media platforms. I have a lot of passion for the QTBIPOC community as a biracial (black and white) queer person. I have experienced my fair share of struggles from poverty to mental health and am excited to continue to help make Oregon a safer and more enjoyable place for all Two-Spirit, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC folks!”

(she/her)
Khanya is initially from Michigan but has made Portland, Oregon, home. She identifies as a queer woman of color of biracial Swazi and white descent. She is the Data Manager at the Coalition of Communities of Color. In this position, Khanya is responsible for organizing, developing, and maintaining datasets. Khanya and her colleagues support justice and equity efforts by building data capacity among BIPOC community-facing organizations and collaborating with dominant institutions to make way for community-desired solutions. Khanya is trained in Prevention Science with a focus on mental health promotion and suicide prevention in the LGBTQ+ community.

(she/they)
Nina is a dedicated organizer and artist who has been lucky enough to be involved in rural queer community since 2019. She graduated from Southern Oregon University where she did social media and marketing for different resource centers and collaborated on projects with the student body, before going on to work for the LGBTQ + Listening Project with Rogue Action Center. This led them to joining Pride in Numbers in 2023. She currently works for Oregon’s Kitchen Table, a statewide program that engages Oregonians in public policy and decision making. You can catch them attending local poetry open mics, eating their heart out at the best food trucks, or hanging out at the many beautiful parks that Portland has to offer. They are so proud and ecstatic to be a part of Pride in Numbers! 

(they/them)
Marika Straw is a lover of new, creative, collaborative projects for social change, which is why they are so thrilled to be a part of the PiN team. Some of their favorite projects in the past have been an ethnomusicology project on drumming and social change in India (2012 & 2016) and co-creating and leading a songwriting course at a women’s prison in North Carolina (2019). In the summer of 2024, they piloted the “Rural Queer Open Mic Tour,” traveling with their fellow “Fruit Snaxxx” to 11 small towns in rural Oregon/Washington to create space for rural queer joy, vulnerability, and belonging. In July 2025, they released their first album as a singer-songwriter on piano and voice, “Love, the Heartache,” which is chock-full of - you guessed it - queer love songs. When they’re not helping start up People Like Us, Wallowa County’s new 2SLGBTQIA+ nonprofit, or wrangling students as “the cool sub” (they hope), Marika is almost certainly petting their cat, Gorgeous.

(she/her)
Erin Waters is a passionate educator and advocate for marginalized communities. She has spoken at hospitals, colleges, universities, and conferences across the country throughout her roles as organizer, speaker, facilitator, program director, and board member. Her work has ranged from both small federally qualified health clinics to large-scale non-profit healthcare systems, where she has helped build and stabilize access to care for thousands of people.