LandWatch Board Gains Depth & Breadth
New Board Members Bring Experience Well Suited for the Role
Over the past year, LandWatch added staff and board capacity to keep pace with the rapid change in our region, expand our impact, and achieve our ambitious vision for the future. Our team is more capable (and busier) than ever guiding sustainable growth for our communities, preserving irreplaceable agricultural land, and safeguarding critical resources on our wild lands and in our waterways.
This fall, LandWatch held an open application period for anyone interested in serving on our Board of Directors. We were humbled by the number of incredible candidates who came forward, each with unique skills and experience that would meaningfully shape our organization's success. Deciding who to add from such a remarkable pool of candidates was no small task, and it’s heartening to see so many individuals motivated by the opportunity to support our mission to plan and defend for Central Oregon’s livable future.
Now, we’re excited to introduce four inspiring community members who we’ve added to the LandWatch Board of Directors. Get to know Jackie Dingfelder, Nancy Hinnen, Erin Rifkin, and Peter Shepherd below, and please join me in welcoming them to the LandWatch Board!
Ben Gordon, Executive Director
Jackie Dingfelder, PhD
Why she’s excited to join the LandWatch board:
“I support COLW's mission and commitment to defend Central Oregon's natural resources and plan for a livable future given growth demands. I have also been immersed in Oregon water issues for over 30 years, and I am excited that water advocacy is part of COLW’s portfolio. With climate and growth demands facing Central Oregon, COLW’s advocacy and policy work is more important than ever. I am excited to be part of this effective and impactful organization and look forward to collaborating with COLW staff and fellow board members.”
— Jackie Dingfelder
An environmental policy leader, Jackie Dingfelder brings judgment born of four decades of environmental consulting, an academic’s access to new insights, and an elected official’s leadership abilities. Jackie serves as a Senior Fellow at Portland State University’s Hatfield School of Government, where she earned her PhD in 2017 after serving as a Fulbright/Ian Axford Scholar in New Zealand.
Jackie brings over 40 years’ experience in the environmental planning field in the public, private and non-profit sectors. She also directed two environmental non-profit organizations and served as senior advisor to Portland, Oregon Mayor Charlie Hales where she managed development of Portland’s 2035 Comprehensive Land Use Plan, No-New-Fossil-Fuels Ordinance, and award winning 2015 Climate Action Plan.
In addition to her extensive professional portfolio, Jackie represented NE and SE Portland in the Oregon Legislature from 2001 to 2013. During her legislative tenure, she served as chair of the House and Senate Environment, Energy and Natural Resources committees where she championed numerous significant environmental, energy and public interest policies including creation of Oregon’s first Renewable Portfolio Standard, Oregon’s Global Warming Commission, the Clean Fuels Program, updating and expanding Oregon’s landmark Bottle Bill, creating Oregon’s E-cycles computer recycling program and Oregon’s first marine reserve program. Since retiring from the State Legislature in 2017, she has served as President of the Climate Solutions Board, as a Board Member of 1000 Friends of Oregon, and currently chairs the Governance Committee for the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.
Jackie holds a PhD from Portland State University, a Masters in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a BA in Geography/Ecosystems from University of California, Los Angeles. A part-time resident of Bend since 2013, Jackie is now a full-time resident. She has explored Central Oregon extensively over the past 30 years via bike, skis, kayak and on foot.
Nancy Hinnen
Why she’s excited to join the LandWatch board:
“I appreciate the organization's multifaceted approach in seeking to build a path forward where we can balance living in this unique region that we call home, while respecting the natural balance.”
— Nancy Hinnen
During her career, Nancy practiced securities law in private practice, including serving as the lead outside lawyer for Nike in its acquisition of Hurley and of Converse.
She has previously served on the board of the Oregon Zoo Foundation and the Ainsworth Foundation. She has also volunteered as a lacrosse coach and for the Lincoln High School Counseling Center.
Nancy and her husband, Rob, live at Black Butte Ranch outside Sisters, where they are committed to preserving the well-being of wildlife and the land. Along with her board service at LandWatch, Nancy leads efforts at Black Butte Conservancy, a “hyperlocal” conservation organization which sponsors environmental education, hosts community work parties, and supports restoration efforts in collaboration with other local environmental groups.
Why she’s excited to join the LandWatch board:
“What is most interesting to me is the focus on upholding Oregon's unique land use laws and the priority around protecting natural resources, farmland, and forests while promoting smart urban growth. I also believe the community element Central Oregon LandWatch brings to the table helps voices within the community be heard. Their use of data such as water use, timber, and development projects helps drive the right awareness and decisions in Central Oregon.”
— Erin Rifkin
Erin Rifkin
As an executive in the technology sector, Erin has run large scale transformation projects at Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google. She has been able to work at the rare nexus where social impact meets a business need by building and launching programs to help people learn, gain skills for the future, and create economic opportunity. Erin has managed process improvement, product and engineering, and communication channel development, and drove cross-organization strategic alignment for large scale initiatives. She's invested time in developing culture and DEI programs and served as an executive sponsor for Women, DEI, and LGBTQIA+ employee resource groups.
Erin serves on the board at Tetherow. Like a true Pacific Northwesterner, she and her wife, Morgan, love to golf and are active in many adventurous pursuits: hiking, climbing, biking, skiing, and more.
Why he’s excited to join the LandWatch board:
“The unique statutory and regulatory structures that Oregonians have created for ourselves to nurture our landscape depend on the vitality of “watchdog” organizations like Central Oregon Landwatch. I know from my experience that state and local custodians of our system of laws and regulations sometimes need to be reminded why Oregonians created and have repeatedly affirmed their collective commitment to protection of our natural environment and thoughtful regulation of inevitable growth. And I also know that managed conflict between well-framed competing interests can sometimes yield creative consensus. A watchdog is ‘one that guards against loss, waste, theft, or undesirable practices.’ I want to help COLW continue to safeguard interests that lie close to the center of what makes me proud to be an Oregonian.”
— Peter Shepherd
Peter Shepherd
Pete’s public service career started as Legislative Assistant to a State Senator, included several roles within the Oregon Department of Justice, and concluded with eight years as Oregon’s Deputy Attorney General.
In 2009, he entered private civil, administrative, and government affairs practice with a regional law firm. Former clients include the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians; PERS and other State and local public bodies; and, private enterprises. In April 2016, Pete stopped representing clients to serve as Interim Director of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
Since 2016, Pete and his spouse have resided on the banks of Whychus Creek. Between fishing, woodworking, and traveling, Pete takes part in an eclectic mix of local civic activities — including volunteering as Circuit Judge Pro Tem in Crook and Jefferson Counties and serving on the boards of Legal Aid Service of Oregon and the Oregon Law Center, nonprofits that deliver legal services to low income Oregonians. In 2018, Pete was on the volunteer committee that created the Sisters Country Vision Action Plan to help ensure that choices about land use and more are grounded in a broadly shared vision of the community’s collective future.
A life-long Oregonian, Pete has camped, backpacked, and fly-fished all throughout Oregon and across the American West.
