Fall 2023 Facilitator Bios

Keynote Speaker

Marina Martinez-Bateman (they/them)
CEO, New Coyote Consulting

Marina Martinez-Bateman is the CEO of New Coyote Consulting, a person-first consulting firm born of many years’ experience applying equity and human-centered systems to communications strategy. They are a serial entrepreneur and a grassroots communicator with more than 20 years’ experience motivating people to take action on behalf of political, cultural, and commercial interests. Their ongoing equity and workers’ rights practice has made them a popular speaker, trainer, and peer mentor in the industry.

Marina has successfully created, consulted on, planned, and launched multiple businesses and projects that make money without sacrificing principles or values. Their success in business is directly tied to their lived experience and those of their ancestors, who live on through them.

Their identity as a queer, non-binary, disabled Latine (Latinx, Latin@, Latina/o) person informs their sense of place in this world. Their family history and personal experiences of racism, sexism, oppression, transphobia, and ableism in and out of the workplace fuel their need for justice.

They believe that the work of anti-racism, decolonization, and recovery from the trauma of capitalism is a life-long journey, one they started more than 21 years ago. Marina deeply believes in pay equity and wealth generation for BIPOC and other marginalized people.

They live in the Rockwood neighborhood of Portland, Oregon with their family and pets. You can learn more about them on their personal website www.marinaforhire.com, or connect on LinkedIn.

Morning Meditation

Touk Keo, they/them/theirs, I’m a part of the Cambodian diaspora, queer, non-binary, parent to a gender liberated child, and I’ll be facilitating your meditation at Fall Summit.

I have been meditating for over 15 years and Theravada Buddhism was introduced to me as soon as we built our temple walls outside of Portland, Oregon. I began practicing because I worked in public education and found myself spiraling and becoming unwell because of illness of public education. It began as a daily practice, everyday at 5am listening to a guided meditation by Jewish Buddhist, Tara Brach, and continued in my community organizing. Which includes Meditation for Black Lives, Red House Series, interviews with Portland Center Stage, Seeding Sovereignty, Corporeal Writing, Metro's Parks and Nature, Oregon Food Bank, Street Roots and right now: Radical Meditation for BIPOC.

I am not an expert, I am not certified from the Shambala or Dralas, or Insight. Much of my practice that I’ll share with you comes from Thich Nhat Hanh and or Zen practices.

In July 2016, Radical Meditation for People of Color was conceived... It all began from living in Portland, Oregon, one of the whitest cities in the United States and because of how dysregulated when I was living and participating in gentrification of a historically Black neighborhood in NE Portland. As a displaced person, who knew nothing about culture, spirituality, or traditions, I wanted to begin by reclaiming my body and spiritual practices through meditation.

My institutional background is a bachelors in Gender Sexuality Studies major and a master's in school counseling and education. Prior to working for myself I oversaw the Mental health, Disability, Immigrant & Refugee, and Advisory Bodies at the city of Portland.

If You Build It, Will They Come?

William Sarcos Cortez (he/they)
Accessibility Project Manager, Metro Parks & Nature

Will Cortez is Metro Parks & Nature's Accessibility Project Manager. The role is a direct result of accessibility emerging as a priority in the Parks & Nature Bond passed by voters in 2019. Will comes to Parks & Nature having co-led the Oregon Zoo's accessibility work & drafting their ADA Transition Plan and as a champion of sustainability work, he co-wrote the draft of the Zoo's Sustainability Plan. Will also co-chairs Metro's People of Color Employee Resource Group.

Will is an experienced educator, construction project manager, social justice advocate and community activator. As an avid cyclist, he co-founded and manages BikePOCPNW, a collective of over 500 BIPOC folks in the Portland Metro area interested in bicycles, drawn together by their desire to create spaces for personal growth, community, and learning.

will.cortez@oregonmetro.gov

Laura Lepley (she/her)
Park Ranger, Metro Parks & Nature

Laura has worked for Metro for 10 years and has been a Park Ranger for Oxbow Regional Park for the last 5 years. Currently she is working as the Interim Lead Ranger at Oxbow and enjoying this opportunity to gain insight into park operations and managing park projects. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Science from Portland State University and a Masters Degree in Education.

Since becoming a Park Ranger and being commissioned, Laura realized the impact that wearing a uniform and badge can have on members of the community that have been historically excluded from parks and natural areas. As someone who is part of the LGBTQ+ community, she understands what it feels like to not be welcome in some spaces. Her passion is to collaborate with community partners to help facilitate safe and welcoming spaces at Oxbow Park.

In her spare time away from work, she enjoys activities such as hiking, swimming, gardening and camping.

Creating a Culture of Care

Nel Taylor (they/them) Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
Founder and Steward, Now This Consulting

Nel Taylor, they/them/theirs (Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation), is a nonprofit development, equity, HR, and fundraising strategy consultant with over 10 years of nonprofit experience, bringing a strong justice lens to indigenizing fundraising, systems, and strategies in the nonprofit sector.

Their introduction to nonprofit work came out of their transition from houselessness when they were 18 years old, advocating as a program participant in fundraising efforts. After experiencing exploitation at the hands of the nonprofit industrial complex, they set out to shift traditional harmful practices in fundraising, and then the internal systems that perpetuate harm throughout the nonprofit sector.

Their firsthand experience working within non-hierarchical organization structures, co-leadership models, and shared power systems, as well as being an impacted community member with lived experience of relying on the support of nonprofits, uniquely position them to guide organization leaders through the reckoning required for systems-change.

Taking Charge of Nonprofit Finances

Michael Jonas, JD, MBA (he/him)
Co-Owner & Consultant, Narwhal Nonprofit Consulting

Michael is passionate about building business and community. Instead of working at a law firm that may not align with his moral makeup, Michael formed Rational Unicorn Legal Services, a community-based business law firm in 2017. The firm offers pay-as-you-go legal services to small businesses, nonprofits, and artist/entertainer clients.

Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a doctorate in law (JD), and an executive masters in business administration (EMBA). In addition to Michael’s formal academic education, he has completed several public service and leadership training programs.

Passionate about community engagement, Michael dedicates time to volunteering with several nonprofit organizations (both on and off of boards). He is excited to work with the Narwhal team in order to help nonprofits who already do outstanding work, grow and thrive.

Chris Aiosa (he/him)
Co-Owner & Consultant, Narwhal Nonprofit Consulting

Chris is an Air Force Veteran and Do Good Multnomah’s founding executive director, who launched their first shelter program—13 beds in Downtown Portland—on Veterans Day 2015.

Chris is a seasoned professional in the field of community development and affordable housing solutions. As the Founder and former Executive Director of Do Good Multnomah, Chris played a pivotal role in developing and implementing programs that provided accountable, equitable, and Veteran-centered services to the community. Under Chris's guidance, Do Good Multnomah made significant strides in enhancing affordable housing and support services, leaving a lasting legacy in the Pacific Northwest. As the current Executive Director of Evergreen Community Partners, Chris works alongside community members to build quality affordable housing throughout the Pacific Northwest. Chris's passion for social equity, dedication to community well-being, and proven leadership make him an asset for supporting any organization.

Creating LGBTQIA2S+ Affirming and Equitable Spaces

V Rosales (they/them)
Bridge 13, New Avenues for Youth

V Rosales (they/them) is the LGBTQ+ Community Education Specialist with the Bridge 13 program as part of New Avenues for Youth. They've been working with LGBTQ+ folks for the past 5+ years and are passionate about supporting their community. On their off time, you can find them discussing the most recent piece of queer media they're loving or looking for their new favorite gluten-free spot in town.

Bridge 13

Bridge 13 provides educational workshops on the concerns/needs and joy/celebrations of LGBTQIA2S+ communities, with particular focus on how to better serve, support, and affirm LGBTQIA2S+ youth and individuals. The program offers educational and technical support in variety of settings—organizations, businesses, schools, healthcare providers, government agencies, and more—in and around Multnomah and Clackamas counties.

In response to youth-identified community need, and with youth leadership, the program was created over 15 years ago as the 13th “bridge” (at the time!) in Portland to connect communities and build understanding through education. As bell hooks put it, “education is the practice of freedom”—with that belief at the heart of our work, we center the lives, struggles, and joy of LGBTQIA2S+ youth and individuals in order to imagine a different future for us all.