Karen Lillebo
President

Ms. Lillebo is a research chemist at Bend Research, Inc. located in Bend, Oregon. She has lived in Central Oregon since 1984, has been a member of Central Oregon LandWatch since 1986, and a board member for the past ten years. Ms. Lillebo is a longtime environmental advocate and a member of Oregon Wild and the Oregon Natural Desert Association and currently serves as the Board President.

Madeleine Landis
Vice President

Ms. Landis holds a degree in geography and has a long history of outdoor advocacy. She worked on wilderness and other public lands issues in the Sierra Club’s Northern CA/NV field office, was a national outings leader, and owned an outfitter guide business with her husband in Central Oregon. She's been a supporter of LandWatch (formerly the Sisters Forest Planning Committee) since 1988 and joined the board soon after. She was also an active board member of Friends of Metolius for 12 years, most recently fighting against two proposed destination resorts near the Metolius River. Ms. Landis is a member of Oregon Wild and Wilderness Watch and is currently the Vice President of the Board.

Michel Bayard
Treasurer

Mr. Bayard, a realtor and former physicist, is LandWatch’s newest board member, having been elected in 2005. Mr. Bayard is a longtime resident of Central Oregon, and has been an extremely active advocate, having fought development near critical open space, formed a neighborhood association, fought a proposed Wal-Mart, and worked with city councilors on numerous community and environmental issues. Mr. Bayard is currently the Board Treasurer.

Paul Dewey
Secretary

Mr. Dewey is one of the co-founders of Central Oregon LandWatch and has been active in the organization since its inception in 1986. Mr. Dewey is an attorney, having received his law degree from the University of Virgina, and has practiced law for more than 25 years. He also serves as the group’s litigation director, and has been working pro bono for the group since it first began. Mr. Dewey is the Board Secretary.

Charlie Ringo
Charlie Ringo was born and raised in Corvallis, Oregon. In 1980 he graduated from the United States Air Force Academy, and subsequently served five years active duty and another seven years in the Air Force Reserve. In 1985 Charlie received a Masters in Business Administration from Boston University. In 1989 he graduated from Northwestern School of Law, in Portland, and commenced practicing law in the Portland area. For the last 21 years Charlie has specialized in civil litigation.

Charlie’s devotion to the natural environment led him to become active with the Sierra Club. In 1997 he was elected Chair of the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club. In 2000 Charlie was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives. Two years later he was elected to the Oregon Senate, representing citizens from Beaverton and Northwest Portland. In the 2005 legislative session, Charlie was Chair of the Senate Committee on Land Use and the Environment. In this position, Charlie worked tirelessly to address the difficult issues surrounding Measure 37.

After the 2005 legislative session, Charlie decided to retire from politics, and in 2006 he and his family moved from Beaverton to Bend, where they enjoy a closer connection to the natural environment. Charlie and his wife, Julie, have been married for 12 years. They enjoy taking their two boys, ages 10 and 11, hiking, skiing, boating, camping, fishing, and hunting for lizards.

Brenda Pace

Brenda Pace grew up in Oregon and attended the University of Oregon for undergraduate work and UCLA for graduate work in Regional Economics. She operated her own consulting firm for some 20 years, doing feasibility work for developers and economic impact work for local governments. Subsequently, she helped establish and operate a non-profit organization to manage mitigation land (presently 52,000 acres) for its natural resources.

Now retired, Brenda was on the Deschutes County Planning Commission for seven years and has been instrumental in legislation extending Oregon’s Adopt-A-Highway program to include noxious weeds. She is also presently on the Deschutes County Weed Advisory Board. Her reasons for joining the Central Oregon LandWatch Board include finding incentives for conserving farm and open space lands and promoting efficient development in cities.

Catherine Morrow
Catherine has lived in Oregon since 1971. She has a degree in Geography from Oregon State University. In 2008, after serving as the Deschutes County Planning Director, she retired from a 20-year career as a land use planner. During 15 years with Deschutes County she worked on groundwater quality issues, transferable development rights, destination resort policy, transportation, comprehensive planning and development of land use policy and zoning regulations. She served on Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) committees reviewing industrial land policy and natural hazards. As a private consultant, she worked for West Bend Property Company coordinating the design, zoning and approval of NorthWest Crossing, an award winning mixed-use development in Bend.

Catherine and her husband have owned a rural property in Grant County since 1978. Prior to her career as a planner, Catherine worked for the U.S. Forest Service and served on the Grant County Planning Commission. She was a founding member of the Grant County Conservationists. Since retiring from Deschutes County she is happy to return to Grant County to garden and work again for the Forest Service as a fire lookout.