Yelitza Santiago is a bilingual victim advocate on the Bias Response Hotline, and has been with the CRU team since the Fall of 2022. Before that she was with the DA’s Office for five years as the Family Violence Program Coordinator, working with survivors of DV, SA, robbery and homicide, and helped families navigate the Juvenile system. Yeliza graduated from Woodburn High School and went on to earn a B.A in Sociology from Willamette University. She has lived her whole life in Oregon but has parents who immigrated from Mexico. She is passionate about providing advocacy to Spanish speaking communities and a passion to make services accessible to all.

Amber Penn-Roco is an Indigenous attorney, a partner at Galanda Broadman, PLLC, an Indigenous Rights Law Firm in Seattle, Washington. She has dedicated her practice to the protection of natural and cultural resources and to the preservation of the environment. She has focused on upholding tribal sovereignty and assisting tribes in their economic development. She represents Tribes and Tribal citizens throughout the Pacific Northwest. 

Anthony Broadman is an attorney, a managing partner at Galanda Broadman, PLLC, an Indigenous Rights Law Firm in Bend, Oregon. His practice focuses on representing tribal governments and defending Indigenous rights. Anthony was elected to the Bend City Council in November 2020. He serves as Chief Judge for a Tribal Court of Appeals and a Judge on a Tribal Court of Appeals. He is the past Chair of the Oregon State Bar Indian Law Section and served for eight years as the Editor of the Indian Law Newsletter.  

Born and raised in Redmond, Oregon, Owen Goodrich has always been passionate about participating in and giving back to his community. He was the ASB Treasurer in RHS's Advanced Leadership class and was an intern for the RSD Technology department. After graduating, he completed his associate degree at COCC and transferred to OSU, where he earned a major in public policy and a minor in economics. During his time in Corvallis, he was fortunate enough to get an internship with Representative Emerson Levy. There, he learned a lot about how the Oregon Legislature serves its constituents and was humbled by the opportunity to serve the Central Oregon community through the Representative’s office.

My name is Jason Van Meter. I'm currently the Chief of Police at Black Butte Ranch. Before becoming a Chief in Central Oregon, I was with the Salem Police Department. As a Police Officer in Salem, I was a member of the SWAT team at the Mobile Response Team. The Mobile Response Team specializes in crowd control. I was with Salem PD for 18 years and have been with Black Butte PD for two years. Before I was a Police Officer, I was a US Marine. I was an Infantry Officer for several years on active duty. Once I got off active duty, I quickly joined the Marine Reserves. I've been deployed to Africa, Iraq, and Afghanistan (2 deployments). 

Sheila Miller has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and served as a reporter and editor for more than 15 years, covering cops and courts, education and sports. She worked as the city editor for the Bend Bulletin and the managing editor of Statehood Media, a local magazine group. During the COVID pandemic, Sheila worked as the Public Information Officer for the Redmond School District before taking on the role of Communications Manager at the Bend Police Department.

My name is Ivy Sotelo and I am the current ASCOCC student body president at Central Oregon Community College. I am a Sociology major and hope to get a bachelor's in Social Work and work with children with trauma disorders. As president, I work with the rest of the council to advocate and represent the students at COCC. I love advocating on behalf of students and helping connect them to all the resources available within our college and community. In my free time, I love to write poems specifically I love writing poems about social justice and political change, I am also an avid crafter. 

Hon. Jack L. Landau is Distinguished Jurist in Residence at Willamette University College of Law and Professor Pro Tem at the University of Oregon School of Law.  He teaches courses in Constitutional Law, Legislation, and State Constitutional Law.  He served as an Associate Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court (2011-17) and a Judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals (1993-2010).  He is also a long-time volunteer with the Civics Learning Project.  

Melanie Kebler was elected as the City of Bend’s Mayor in 2022, after first being elected to the City Council in 2020. Kebler grew up in Bend, graduating from Bend High, and returned to her home town in 2018. Kebler has spent her career working for the public, serving for years as a state prosecutor and a crime victims’ rights attorney before being elected to the Council. Kebler attended the University of Michigan, where she received a BA in English and Classic Civilizations, then earned a law degree at Portland’s Lewis and Clark Law School. Kebler lives in Bend with her husband and young daughter and enjoys crafting, hiking, cycling and exploring nature with her family.

Allison (Allie) Platt is a City Planner for the City of Bend. She works on a variety of economic development and urban planning projects that have a significant impact on the Bend community. Currently, she works on projects that support the City’s goal for encouraging more urban, dense development in the core areas of town to help support the City’s climate goals and she is passionate about increasing housing options for Bend community members. Allie studied Environmental Policy at UC San Diego and went on to receive her Masters Degree in Urban Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. She worked as a transportation planner before joining the City of Bend six years ago.

Judy Stiegler moved to Central Oregon with her husband right after finishing law school over 45 years ago. She became the first woman to practice law in Redmond, Oregon, and was a practicing attorney for many years, focusing on family, criminal and juvenile law. She was Director of the CASA Program of Central Oregon for nearly 9 years, before being elected to the Oregon House of Representatives and serving from 2009-2011. Judy is currently a part-time instructor of political science at both OSU-Cascades and Central Oregon Community College. She has also been involved in a variety of community services throughout Central Oregon, much of it having to do with education. She served on the Bend-LaPine School Board in the early 1990's, on the State Board of Education for 9 years, and was President of the National Association of State Boards of Education in 2000.  

Jered Reid is a practicing attorney with offices in Madras and Prineville.  He serves as the City Attorney for Prineville and other municipalities in the Central Oregon region.  In addition to his municipal practice, Mr. Reid also has a general practice serving both Jefferson and Crook Counties.

Sara Odendahl is a veteran public affairs and government affairs professional, having honed her political consulting chops at the Colorado State Capitol for over a decade. Her policy expertise includes health care, non-profit and local government issues, specializing in children’s health, public health, early childhood education and local/regional economic development issues. Prior to her lobbying career, she worked for several advertising and branding agencies focusing on issue-based strategic communications. Since trading in her high heels in Denver for hiking boots in Bend, she and her husband developed and launched Work-Collective, a community coworking office complex in the heart of NorthWest Crossing. When Sara is not tuned into a City Council or State Legislative committee meeting, she and her husband enjoy chasing around their two daughters and exploring the great outdoors with Oliver, their sweet Golden Retriever. 

A Senior Attorney at Baxter Law. Over eight years of experience as a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney. Also dabbled in artificial intelligence product development, graphic design, and acting. Office is full of Lego.

Racheal Egan Baker is the Affordable Housing Manager for the City of Bend. She attended Willamette University then worked as a legal secretary in downtown Portland. Racheal then went to law school in Eugene, passed the bar and married her husband, Scott. They bought a home in Gresham, Oregon and Racheal worked for the Portland offices of Legal Aid Services of Oregon. A year later, the opportunity to move to the Bend offices of Legal Aid Services became available and they made the move to Bend. Between 2001 and 2018, Racheal represented clients with a wide range of legal issues, but particularly enjoyed her work in housing law. So, she eventually brought her expertise in housing law to the City of Bend as an Affordable Housing Coordinator where she serves now. Racheal and Scott share their Bend family home with a son (when he is home from college), a daughter, a dog, and guinea pig. 

Assistant Federal Public Defender District of Oregon

Assistant Federal Public Defender District of Oregon

Paralegal, Office of the Federal Public Defender – District of Oregon

Simon Axten has taught history and government for seven years in both Washington and Oregon. His focus is on teaching the skills necessary for civic engagement, including critical thinking, media literacy, and respectful dialogue. He received his masters of teaching from the University of Washington. Before that, he worked in communications and public policy at Facebook (now Meta). He did his undergraduate studies at Stanford University and lives in Bend with his wife, Sarah, and two children, Lucy and Freddy.

My name is Jason Camacho, I am currently assigned to the patrol division as a Sergeant.  I have been with Bend PD since 2020 and have been a field training officer, child crimes detective, a member of the executive board for the Bend Police Officer Association (union), as well as been active in the department's recruitment and DEI teams.  Prior to joining Bend PD, I was a police officer in Los Angeles County for 12 years where I was a gang investigator, narcotics detective, DEA task force officer, SWAT team member and patrol Sergeant.  When not working, I am a wannabe farmer and gardener.  

My love of journalism started at the tender age of 3, my father would take me to work with him at the Oregon Capitol, where he broadcasted political news. Throughout my youth, I tagged along with him to newsrooms in the Willamette Valley, where I’d wait as he tapped away on deadline. Not surprisingly, I followed in his footsteps, including working in some of the same newsrooms long after he’d retired. As a journalist, I’ve spent my career working in the Pacific Northwest. 

In 2021, I became the executive director of FORJournalism (Fund for Oregon Rural Journalism). The nonprofit is dedicated to stabilizing and sustaining rural journalism statewide. Our nonprofit is committed to supporting community journalism in small communities throughout the state where protecting authentic voices is critical to each community and informs all Oregonians. I am also co-chief editor at The Bulletin. 

Deschutes Defenders

Andrew Ince is a Senior Attorney at Deschutes Defenders who has dedicated his legal career to public defense work. Andrew is a summa cum laude graduate from OSU-Cascades and a 2018 graduate from Oregon Law. Andrew first began working in public defense as a law clerk at the Federal Public Defender in 2016. In 2018 Andrew moved to Bend where he began his practice with Deschutes Defenders, a nonprofit law firm that takes only court appointed cases. Andrew’s law practice consists solely of adult criminal cases with a focus on major felony offenses, where he has presented more than a dozen of those cases to a jury for trial.