New Faces for Willamette Falls Trust

We’re excited to announce that we gathered for our largest virtual board meeting two weeks ago, in which we had the pleasure of bringing a group of new faces, many long time advocates for the Falls, together on behalf of Willamette Falls Trust’s mission.

Willamette Falls Trust is pleased to announce new leadership within the organization. On July 6, the Trust’s Board of Directors voted to approve the following new board members, a cohort that represents a number of the communities with ties to Willamette Falls. 

The success of this project is not possible without meaningful collaboration with Tribal governments and communities and as such, this group strengthens our capacity to support the cultivation of multi-Tribal engagement at the Falls. In addition, this group allows us to form new ties to organized labor and the philanthropic sectors. 

Welcome Aaron Barber-Strong, Jon George, Annette Kendall, Robert Kentta, and Armand Minthorn.

Aaron Barber-Strong, Political Coordinator, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. 

Jon George, Secretary, Grand Ronde Tribal Council; Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.

Annette Kendall, Senior Relationship Manager at First Republic Bank. 

Robert Kentta, Treasurer, Siletz Tribal Council; Cultural Resources Director, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. 

Armand Minthorn, Member of the Board of Trustees, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

In addition to the Board Leadership, we are pleased to announce that Gerard Rodriguez has joined the Trust as Associate Director of Indigenous Community Engagement and Tribal Affairs. 

Gerard is Yaqui/Nahua and brings years of experience working with Portland area groups doing Native American programming and engagement, notably the Friends of Tryon Creek State Park and the Confluence Project. He supported Metro in its Indigenous community engagement for the successful Parks and Nature Bond that was so innovative in its broad engagement of communities of color. He has called Oregon home for most of his life and has deep ties to Portland’s urban Indigenous community.

Together with our expanded team, the Trust is excited to continue working to create a place where the voices of multiple communities come together with an opportunity to restore the environment, learn and gain understanding of past wrongs at Willamette Falls and with Indigenous communities, and to provide space for a greater, community-wide healing.