Board of Advisors
Dr. Harry Anastasiou
Dr. Harry Anastasiou is a core faculty at the Conflict Resolution Graduate Program and an affiliate of International Studies at Portland State University, USA. He is a long-standing academic in inter-ethnic and international Peace and Conflict Studies, and an experienced practitioner of conflict-resolution. Anastasiou has played a leading role in inter-ethnic rapprochement in the ethnically divided island of Cyprus and in Greek-Turkish relations. He has also been a participating member of "The Harvard Study Group," a bi-communal think tank addressing the Cyprus problem. From a Peace Studies perspective, he has published works on Cyprus, Nationalism, Peace Building and the EU.
Adam Davis
Adam is a partner in Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall, Inc., an opinion research and consultation firm in Portland that specializes in public policy and planning projects. Since 1977, he has been doing statewide telephone surveys and completing focus groups across the state. Adam has also completed many research projects to support strategic planning efforts for clients ranging from the Oregon Economic Development Department to the Oregon University System, and he has assisted ballot measure and candidate campaigns. He designed the 1992 and 2002 Oregon Values and Beliefs Studies and continues to research values and beliefs related to issues ranging from education and land use to public health and economic development. Adam is a graduate of Portland State University and the University of Oregon School of Law.
Ryan Deckert
Ryan Deckert is President of the Oregon Business Association.
Ryan previously served as State Senator, representing Senate District 14, which includes much of Beaverton and Aloha, as well as Garden Home and Raleigh Hills. For the 2007 legislative session, Senator Deckert was the chairman of the Senate Finance & Revenue Committee, as well as a member of the Ways & Means Education Subcommittee, and the Business, Transportation, & Workforce Development Committee. Senator Deckert previously served two terms in the State House of Representatives. During this time he was a member of the Oregon Internet Commission and was on the advisory board of the U.S. Internet Council.
Jerry Elliott
Jerry is President of Elliott, Ostrander & Preston, a law firm founded in 1995. Jerry assists clients on business, real estate and nonprofit matters, including formations, financings, mergers and acquisitions, and he provides general counsel to closely-held companies. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and the University of Illinois College of Engineering, magna cum laude. He previously practiced with McDermott, Will & Emery and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton in Los Angeles, where he specialized in business transactions, securities law, and venture capital financings. Mr. Elliott is a member of the Oregon, Washington and California State Bars. He also participates in Rotary and in many other community organizations, including serving as a board member for various nonprofits.
Sue C. Hildick
Sue has been involved in public policy, advocacy and non-profit management for over fifteen years. Sue holds a bachelor’s degree in government from Georgetown University and she has worked as legislative director to former U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield, as government relations director for Oregon Health Sciences University and as executive director of the Oregon Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross. The common link in all of her work has been her passion for deepening the quality of life in Oregon.
Sue is currently the President of Foundations for a Better Oregon and the Chalkboard Project. The Chalkboard Project is a unique collaboration from five of Oregon’s largest foundations to unite Oregonians around a new vision for its K-12 public schools. Through a civic engagement process involving citizen input and academic research, Chalkboard has identified the nexus between public will in Oregon and best known educational practices, resulting in a 15-point Action Plan to improve the quality, accountability and financing of Oregon’s schools.
Sue was recently named Nonprofit CEO of the Year (2007) by the Portland Business Journal and has been recognized in 2006 and 2004 as one of Oregon’s Fifty Great Leaders by Oregon Business Magazine.
Phil Keisling
On July 1, 2010, Phil Keisling joined the Hatfield School of Government as the first permanent director of the Center for Public Service (CPS).
The Center for Public Service draws on the extensive faculty and research capabilities of the Public Administration, Political Science, and Criminology and Criminal Justice divisions of PSU's Mark O. Hatfield School of Government. The Center's broad mandate is to connect PSU's expertise and public service mission of PSU with real-world challenges in the public and nonprofit sectors, while forging productive and sustainable relationships with leaders at the local, state, federal, and international levels.
Phil served as Oregon Secretary of State from 1991 to 1999, and as an Executive Vice President with CorSource Technology Group, an Oregon-based software services firm, from 2000 to 2009. He also served as an Oregon State Representative (1989-91); staff assistant to then-House Speaker Vera Katz (1985-88) and as a campaign aide to former Governor Tom McCall (1978). Keisling's journalism experience includes working as an investigative reporter for Portland's Willamette Week (1978-82) and as an editor for the Washington Monthly magazine (1982-84).
Phil currently serves on the boards of the Oregon Public Affairs Network, the Software Association of Oregon, and Smart Grid Oregon. He holds a degree in American Studies from Yale University.
Tom Kelly
Tom became President of Neil Kelly Design/Build Remodeling in 1979 and in the years since, has built the business into the region’s largest remodeling firm by doing quality work, respecting his employees and clients, and championing Portland’s neighborhoods and citizens.
In 1997, the firm embraced the principles of The Natural Step, as a progressive way of approaching daily business that reduces environmental impact and boosts efficiency. Clients will clearly note Neil Kelly Company’s environmental ethic as part of every proposal and every project.
Over the years, Tom has served in a number of national and regional industry and community positions, while demonstrating the importance of continual professional improvement and underscoring the need to nurture Portland’s neighborhoods.
Michael Riley
Michael is the Managing Partner of Riley Research Associates, specializing in market research and public opinion polling. He is the past president of the Oregon Chapter of the American Marketing Association, an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America (APR), and holds a Professional Researcher Certification.
John Schmitt
John Schmitt is the founder and President of OakTree Digital, an Internet design and development agency. Their client list includes companies such as Intel, FEI, OHSU, FLIR, Pacific Crest, Cadence Management Corporation and many others. John is on the board of the Oregon Chapter of the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS). John earned a BA in Economics and a MBA in MIS from the University of Minnesota.
