Board of Directors

Renee was born in San Francisco, CA. She majored in mathematics at UCLA and started her first teaching job in Compton,CA. while waiting for her Peace Corps assignment to begin in Liberia, West Africa. When she returned home she taught mathematics in Berkeley CA. until she accepted the position as the Director of the Mathematics, Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) Program at San Francisco State University and was recruited in 1985 to start a MESA Program in Portland, OR for Portland Public Schools. Saturday Academy (SA) recruited Renee to become their Outreach Director, and was charged to increase the number of students of color participating in Saturday Academy workshops and the internship program. Renee returned to teaching in 2000 to 2012 because she missed the students and the teaching schedule allowed her to be with her two children during their school breaks. Renee presently serves as Treasurer for the Oregon Alliance for Black School Educators. She is also the Program Coordinator for the Black Student Success Network and Vice Chair of the African American / Black Student Success Advisory Group for the Oregon Department of Education. She also volunteers in a number of nonprofit organizations including the NAACP, WorldArts and PassinArt. Renee is committed to doing whatever it takes to make sure that ALL students get the education they deserve.

Jessica is an experienced educator and cross-sector systems collaborator and has spent the last 10+ years leading and coordinating efforts to improve outcomes for the children who face the most barriers. She is currently the Chief Impact Officer at Greater Than (formerly “I Have a Dream” Foundation of Oregon), an education nonprofit working in the Reynolds and Hillsboro school districts. As a member of the Leadership Team at Greater Than, she drives decisions and strategy for the organization’s Impact Model. In addition to her work at Greater Than, Jessica has served on several statewide committees and boards including the Governor appointed Ethnic Studies Advisory Committee, the Student Success Act Rules Advisory Committee, the Legislative Policy Committee with Oregon School Board Association, and with the National School Board Association as a member of the Delegate Assembly. Jessica also spent 8 years with the Women’s Foundation of Oregon in multiple roles including Board Member, Board Vice-Chair, Grants Committee Chair, and Treasurer. She lives in Gresham with her family, enjoys the outdoors, long distance running, and absolutely loves being a new mom. ​

Elected as its youngest member, Danny brings well-rounded community and government experience as a staffer in the Oregon legislature and a nonprofit leader currently working at Participatory Budgeting Oregon. Working at the intersection of sustainability and education, Danny helped craft and lead the drive with Portland Public Schools to implement its climate policy, which is one of the strongest climate policies in the nation for a school district to adopt. Danny has served on several local and statewide committees and boards, including the Governor-appointed Oregon Environmental Justice Council and as Vice-Chair of Portland Public Schools Climate Committee. Danny lives with his family in Northeast Portland and, when not doing community work, enjoys reading and getting outdoors.

Katrina brings over a decade of experience as a health educator / public health professional with a passion for reproductive justice and community organizing. She is currently the Assistant Regional Testing Coordinator for Region 2 on Oregon Health Authority's (OHA) COVID-19 Response and Recovery Unit (CRRU). As a member of the Oregon Adolescent Health Alliance (OAHA) board, she drives community collaboration and works hard to ensure that all Oregon youth have access to comprehensive health education and reproductive health services. In addition to her work with OHA and MESD, Katrina serves in leadership roles on the board of the Oregon School Board Association (OSBA), as the founder of Northwest Quality Care (NQC) and is an active volunteer for a variety of nonprofits like NWAAF. Katrina lives in South-East Portland and enjoys baking, gardening, her ducks Abbi and Ilana, and creating fun fundraisers.

Born into a tri-ethnic, Black & immigrant family in post WWII Washington DC, and educated in the newly desegregated DC Public Schools, Samuel D. Henry, matriculated through a pre-engineering high school program and attending a HBCU: DC Teachers College, graduating with a BS in Education. Following active duty, he began teaching in DC secondary schools, while still serving in the DC Army National Guard—including its federal mobilization after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After teaching English and social studies, and service as a community school administrator, Samuel attended Columbia University Teachers College in NYC, and completed an NIE-funded research study of the intersection between the high school curriculum and culture contact in a poly-ethnic desegregated high school. He is married to Ana Maria Meneses, a court and medical Spanish language interpreter; and they are the parents of tri-lingual Millennial: Antonia.

Denyse O. Peterson was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and graduated from Jefferson High School. Her focus professionally has been on regional government and education. She worked in the 72nd and 73rd Oregon State Senate Legislation session for Senator Avel Gordly, mediating with various agencies to bring resolutions to the challenges of affordable housing, employment and food. She also has 12 years of experience at Metro E-R Commission serving seven commissioners and the general manager. She served for six years as a Personal Family Counselor for Dignity Memorial, at Caldwell’s Funeral and Mortuary assisting families in “Planning ahead 4 All the Right Reasons”. For the last 14 years, she has worked at Portland Community College and currently serves on the Executive Council for the college’s union, the A.F.T., and is the V.P. of Political Action, which affords her a meeting with an elected official each month. Denyse has been an active volunteer with faith based and community organizations since she was a child. For 25 years, she has mentored homeless women helping them to transform their lives, liaising with DHS and the courts in working towards reunification with their children. Denyse has coordinated the Portland Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Breakfast with the Skanner News for more than 20 years.

Helen’s professional career encompasses 30 years of experience as a mathematics teacher, high school counselor, and high school vice-principal. Currently, she serves as a hearings officer for a local school district. In addition to her professional work, Helen has also been very active in the community. She is currently serving on a myriad of boards and in leadership positions involved in education, health care, civil rights, environment, and social justice issues. Her vision is to connect the dots for a better world. She is living that out through her mission to engage and empower people to take action in improving their communities. Helen holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Education and Counseling from Portland State University. She is fluent in Chinese.