Meet the passionate Board who lead our efforts to serve families affected by wildfires in our Valley!
Blancaluz "Lucy" Brossard - President
Blancaluz "Lucy" Brossard was born and raised in Southern Oregon to a migrant family who worked in the orchards around Phoenix and Medford. She understands the barriers the Migrant and Latino/a/x communities face. Blancaluz spent the past 9 years in education working with at-risk, homeless youth, and students with exceptionalities. Most recently at Phoenix-Talent Schools where she was an integral part of fire recovery efforts post-Almeda Fire. Her work with fire recovery also led to a shift in her career, recently joining Oregon Housing & Community Service as the Regional Disaster Recovery & Resilience Coordinator.
Brandon Thoms - Vice President
Born and raised in Southern Oregon, Brandon Thoms has always held a passion for volunteering and helping those in need. After an 11 -year career in banking, Brandon combined his experience in finance and housing with his passion for helping those in need and joined the Rogue Valley Habitat for Humanity team. As the Director of Programs and Operations, his main goal is to grow and develop its mission of affordable homeownership while expanding programs to meet the needs of the community. Brandon is also an Oregon licensed real estate broker with Signature Realty, LLC.
Mark Pedersen - Treasurer
Mark Pedersen grew up in Central Point, graduated from Crater High School, and attended Southern Oregon University. He raised his eight children here and is very happy the majority of his twelve grandchildren are here in the Rogue Valley! Thirty years ago, Mark and his partners started All-Ways Trucking, Inc., where he currently serves as President of the company. Mark’s service to community has included the Rogue Valley Community Organizations Active in Disaster (RVCOAD), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Parker House Project, the United Way Day of Caring Committee, and even as a volunteer Cross-Country coach for The Valley Middle School.
Caitrin O'Connell
Born and raised in the Rogue Valley, Caitrin Sevcik is currently a school psychologist in the Central Point School District. She currently resides in Talent with her daughter. She has always worked towards helping children and families and enjoys coordinating service in counseling, wraparound services, and trauma-informed care. She enjoys connecting with people and building relationships. Caitrin enjoys golf, dancing, and spending time with her family in her free time.
Cassandra Cornwell
Cassandra Cornwell was born in Ashland in 1971 and moved to Talent in 1977. She attended both Talent Elementary and Talent Junior High School, then graduated from Phoenix High School in 1989. She has been living in the Rogue Valley her whole life. She and her sister lost their home in the Almeda Fire. “Going to the Zone Captains’ meetings saved my life and my sanity.” Cass wants to help other fire survivors recover by steering them towards resources. “Ultimately, I want to see my community thrive again, and will do whatever I can to make that happen.” When not directly assisting fellow survivors, Cass is researching the numbers—learning what parks are rebuilding and how, and gathering data to tell the story of her community’s recovery. Outside of work, Cass is passionate about bio-regeneration. Mushrooms, plants and animals are important to her. She hopes to incorporate her love of botany and mycology to aid in the recovery of the Bear Creek Greenway and the wildlife habitat that was lost in the fire.
Dalia Silva-Moore
Dalia Silva-Moore is a 27-year-old bilingual/bicultural Latina woman. She was born and raised in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and raised by an amazing single mom who spent many years doing agricultural work to support her and her 4 brothers. She is the Community Impact Director for Transportation at United Way of Jackson County, and received her associate degree from Rogue Community College in the Human Services Program. In her spare time, you’ll find her taking long walks outdoors with her husband to soak up as much sun as possible.
Echo Fields
At Southern Oregon University, Echo advised and mentored students in SOU's Human Service major for more than 20 years, teaching courses on racial & ethnic relations in the US, social policy, families & poverty, non-profit organizations, and on characteristics of resilient communities in rural areas. Currently, Echo is a member of the Ashland Housing and Human Services Committee. Professor emeritus of sociology, Southern Oregon University. Education: PhD. Sociology, 1984, University of Oregon. BA Sociology, Oklahoma City University, 1975.
Elib Crist-Dwyer
Elib Crist-Dwyer has lived in the Rogue Valley since 2002. He spent 14 years building scenery for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, worked as the Education Program Coordinator at ScienceWorks, and helped run the Fire Relief Center as a member of Rogue Climate. Elib is working as the Disaster Relief Team Lead Organizer for Rogue Action Center (RAC). In the weeks after the Almeda Fire the RAC, along with other community partners opened a mutual aid center that served hundreds of survivors a week for nearly a year, and continue to operate mobile pop-up supply events at the various communities where survivors are housed.
Ellie Holty
Ellie grew up all over the place—in six states and four countries—before settling in Ashland in 2011. She was called to return to social justice work in 2020 when COVID, the death of George Floyd, and the Almeda Fire combined to shatter her community and catalyze her choice to create the change she wanted to see in the world. She is delighted to work with this heartful bunch of rabble-rousers and really loves to swim.
Leigh Madsen
Born and raised in Montana, Leigh moved to Oregon after graduating from the University of Chicago. He currently works for Jackson County Library Systems as a Resource Specialist. This is his 7th career, having previously served as an executive director of a nonprofit, a safety consultant, a nursery owner-operator, a property manager, a sales manager, a landscape contractor, and a direct salesperson. In his free time, you can find him mushrooming, fishing, birding, hiking, and playing with his dog. Together, he and his partner spend several weeks each year enjoying our beautiful country in their small RV.
Melanie Doshier
Melanie Doshier, ACCESS Support Services Director, oversees a multi-divisional nonprofit housing stabilization department, with a focus on trauma-informed, people-first, wraparound care. Melanie’s experience scales across industries with an expertise in creating foundations to support growth, both in people and process, and to provide service delivery holistically. Melanie believes that trust in relationships is imperative for effective supportive service delivery models and is passionate about ensuring all have equitable access to the resources and care teams they need to move forward in their recovery. She strongly believes, and embodies through action, that access to housing that meets the needs of the households in service is the only path forward.
Vanessa Houk
Vanessa Houk is a writer and has been a community activist in the Rogue Valley for more than three decades. Together with her husband Jason, they've built a community meal program in Ashland, organized winter and cooling shelters, and has dedicated her life to helping others. Like thousands of neighbors, the Houk family lost their home, belongings and pets in the Almeda fire. She has a deep understanding of poverty as well as the power of community.
William North
William North, CEO, Rogue Community Health has 25+ years of experience creating organizational change, William has worked enhancing operational productivity, developing and executing business plans, collaborating with executive-level decision-makers, and directing market-based initiatives to support business objectives. A skilled negotiator, process facilitator, and conflict mediator, William seeks to create sustainable, integrated, and systemic win-win solutions for all parties. William has served on a variety of state/national boards and committees and brings an extensive knowledge of the public policy arena, legislative/regulatory processes, and system dynamics. William has a comprehensive understanding of strategy, policy, and change management in the nonprofit arena.
