MESD Board of Directors

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Home > About > MESD Board of Directors

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Jessica Arzate 
Position 4, Zone 4 - Term Ends 6/30/25
jarzate@mesd.k12.or.us
 
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. ​

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Mary Botkin 
Position 3, Zone 2 - Term Ends 6/30/25
mbotkin@mesd.k12.or.us
 
Mary grew up in SE and NE Portland, attending Glencoe Grade School before moving to NE Portland, attending Vernon, and graduating from Jefferson High School in the mid 60’s. Mary studied labor law at the Pacific NW Labor College at Marylhurst and Labor Studies and History with Melvin Dubofsky at SUNY Binghamton. She is retired after working at Oregon AFSCME, a public employee union, for over 30 years. She spent most of these years working for and in the Oregon Legislature.  Her work primarily included passing the first pay equity laws, the MLK Holiday, and many years working on PERS Retirement, mental health, corrections and juvenile justice policies, budgeting, and reforms. Mary and her husband Mike married in 1970, were both born and raised in Oregon, and have one adult son who also lives in Portland.  

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Kristin Cornuelle
Position 6, At Large - Term Ends 6/30/23
kcornuell@mesd.k12.or.us
 
Kristin is an intellectual property attorney at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and maintains an active pro bono practice in the areas of trademark and copyright law, homelessness, housing, immigration and domestic violence. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and her Juris Doctorate at UC Hastings. Kristin is a parent of two children in the Portland Public School system, a member of the Bridlemile Elementary School Foundation and Co-President of the Robert Gray Middle School PTA. She is committed to equity for all students, with a special focus on at-risk youth and youth with disabilities. Prior to her legal career, Kristin was an executive for a non-profit organization serving youth and adults with developmental disabilities, a manager of vocational rehabilitation services, and the Director of the Workforce Investment Board for San Mateo County.  Kristin lives in Southwest Portland with her husband, children and young Labrador.

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Katrina Doughty (2022-2023 Vice-Chair)
Position 7, Zone 3 - Term Ends 6/30/23
kdoughty@mesd.k12.or.us
she/her

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.

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Dr. Samuel Henry
Position 1, Zone 5 - Term Ends 6/30/25
shenry@mesd.k12.or.us

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.

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Denyse Peterson (2022-2023 Chair)
Position 5, Zone 1 - Term Ends 6/30/23
dpeterson@mesd.k12.or.us

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.

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Helen Ying
Position 2, At Large - Term Ends 6/30/25
hying@mesd.k12.or.us
 
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.  

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