6 RIVERS - Key Persons
Andrea (she/her) is a certified mediator with advanced training and practice in Restorative Justice, Family Mediation, Agricultural Mediation, and Conflict Dynamics Coaching for individuals and teams. She learned to mediate as a licensed geologist (RG/PG) in the U.S. and abroad, before becoming trained in the interest-based negotiation model by master trainer Marti Kantola Dane. She has been involved with Six Rivers since 2014, and was selected to serve as Executive Director in 2021.
She has served as Co-President and Vice President of Resolution Washington, the member association of 21 Dispute Resolution Centers across Washington state. She currently represents Six Rivers with Resolution Oregon and the Coalition of USDA Certified Agricultural Mediation Programs.
Outside of work, she is outside, learning, playing, surfing and napping.
Job Titles:
- Restorative Justice Specialist
After studying criminology at Florida State University, Andy completed seminary and became a Chaplain serving at a state prison in Virginia. Andy worked with people and groups around issues of harm, loss, forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace as a congregational minister. Andy began mediation in 2017 and volunteered with Multnomah County Circuit Court's Small Claims Department. In addition to his work with Six Rivers, Andy is an RJ facilitator with Lutheran Community Services NW on cases from the Multnomah County Juvenile Court as well as with the Portland Police Bureau supporting a pre-arrest diversion program.
Becci has extensive experience working in social services with at-risk youth and families as well as a natural curiosity about people and in what brings us together. One of Becci's greatest strengths is to build relationships with people through mutual respect, compassion, and open communication. Becci has been a community mediator with Six Rivers since 2019 and is excited to serve as a member of Six River's Board of Directors. Becci is proud of the expansion and growth in services of Six Rivers in recent years and she looks forward to continuing supporting her community with conflict resolution options. Becci received her Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Cultural Anthropology from the University of North Dakota in 1990; her Masters in Legal Studies from Pepperdine Law School in 2019, and her Masters in Dispute Resolution from the Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution in 2020.
Becci has live in the Gorge since 1991 and continues to be awed and inspired by the beauty that surrounds us. She loves time at the beach, watching competitive surfing, and hiking with her dogs.
Bill Lennox was raised in Venezuela and in 1960 moved to Washington D.C. where he was influenced by the strong activism of the civil rights movement and his own Quaker family background. His intercultural/bilingual experience and family's involvement with humanitarian efforts developed Bill's personal commitment to social justice concerns.
After studying in New York and Philadelphia Bill moved to Portland and began work with the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office resolving neighbourhood disputes. It was during this time when he had a profound personal experience and recognized the power of the mediation process as an important tool for resolving conflict.
With an opportunity to move out of the city, he was offered a position with the Wasco County Sheriff's Office where he received specialized training in conflict resolution and crisis intervention through the University of Virginia and Willamette University. Bill spent many years as a child abuse/major crimes investigator and as the Chief Deputy used mediation as an underlying process in an effort to deescalate conflicts outside and within the workplace.
In 2003 Bill received an opportunity to work overseas with the United Nations through the US State Department. In that capacity he worked with the resettlement of refugees and in mentoring Kosovo Police in the investigation of human trafficking and family abuse. He worked with a diverse international contingent represented by over 40 countries and helped facilitate communication training in resolving intercultural disputes.
After returning to Oregon he was elected and served as Wasco County Commissioner from 2007 through 2011 and is still active on government and non-profit boards.
Bill has been involved with Six Rivers Dispute Resolution Center since its inception and continues to volunteer as a mediator.
Carolyn R. Smale came to Six Rivers as our first Mediation Apprentice, sponsored in part through the Oregon Office of Community Dispute Resolution at the University of Oregon School of Law. She completed her apprenticeship in June of 2023. Carolyn continues with Six River assisting with the bookkeeping. Carolyn enjoys mediation work and also volunteers her time for mediations.
You may know Carolyn as the Gorge's local bankruptcy attorney. Carolyn continues to practice bankruptcy law and help those facing financial difficulty. The listening and facilitation skills she learned as a mediation apprentice have been invaluable in her bankruptcy practice, allowing her to fully hear her clients and their story.
Carolyn lives in Hood River with her husband. She enjoys walking their dog Stokely, riding bikes, playing pinball and exploring all the Gorge has to offer. carolyns@6rivers.org
Colleen took Basic Mediation Training from Six Rivers in 2019 and knew immediately that she wanted to help people find peaceful solutions to conflict. She has been an active mediator with Six Rivers since, and has advanced training in Family Mediation (WA), Domestic Relations and Parenting Time Mediation (OR) and Equity-Informed Mediation. Previously, she worked in international relief and development, and has served the Gorge as a contracted project manager and grant writer with numerous local non-profit organizations and coalitions. She has a B.A. in Romance Languages (Italian & Spanish) from the University of Oregon, and a Master of Public Administration from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. She is a Gorge local, having grown up in Hood River. She lives in White Salmon and is a proud mom of a daughter and a son. colleenr@6rivers.org
Job Titles:
- Restorative Justice Coordinator
Debra Pennington Davis is honored to coordinate Six Rivers' new Restorative Justice Grant Program, which is funded through the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. Currently, Debra and the Six Rivers team are working with community partners to build a survivor-centered alternative that is effective, is research-supported, and improves the lives of those impacted by acts of harm. Prior to her work in restorative justice and mediation, Debra worked as a writer and teacher, with experience in both public school and university settings. Debra earned her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Alaska Anchorage and her BA in English from the University of Puget Sound. Debra received her Basic Mediation Training in spring 2020 and is thrilled to be part of the Six Rivers team, bringing restorative justice and conflict resolution skills to the Mid-Columbia region. Originally from Alaska, Debra loves snow, dogs, family time, and the fiber arts. debrap@6rivers.org
Laurie has extensive experience working with a variety of non-profit organizations in the conservation, mediation, historic preservation and other fields. She has been a community mediator with Six Rivers since 2017. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of Oregon (1974), MS in Zoology from the University of South Florida (1986), and mediation certification in 2017. Laurie was Florida Director for the national nonprofit organization Defenders of Wildlife - combining science and advocacy to work for the protection of biological diversity, endangered species, wildlife habitat, and a network of land and water natural resources. She has served on a number of commissions composed of people with diverse perspectives from the private, public and governmental sectors, and has testified twice before US congressional committees. She is currently the board chair of Six Rivers.
As a student, teacher and practitioner of nonviolent/compassionate communication for nearly 20 years, Lori believes that how we talk (and listen) to one another matters. Lori did her basic mediation training with Six Rivers in 2010; experiencing the destructive results of unresolved conflict in community groups inspired her to become a mediator. This led to specialized trainings in Facilitation, Restorative practices, and Foreclosure mediation. Lori is a volunteer facilitator for the Restorative Dialogue program (for juvenile offenders and those they've harmed) with Lutheran Community Services Northwest. Lori enjoys tai chi, foraging for wild edibles, and growing food. info@6rivers.org
Job Titles:
- Oregon Early Resolution Specialist
- Specialist for Six Rivers As Part of Oregon 's Housing Mediation
Michael Reid is the Early Resolution Specialist for Six Rivers as part of Oregon's Housing Mediation program. His work follows a career as an attorney with the federal judiciary. Before obtaining his law degree Michael was a mediator for the American Association of Retired Persons, serving as an outreach specialist at three sites helping vulnerable older populations in Washington, DC. Later, as a staff attorney with federal courts in Oregon and Virginia, Michael pursued extensive collaboration with judges, court staff, attorneys and parties in support of alternative case resolution. A highlight of this work was participating in a pilot program in the District of Oregon that created a forum for alternative dispute resolution of federal cases that were calendared for trial. Michael also volunteered in Clackamas County as a mediator, served as an outreach activist for community services, and worked with judges and staff to promote facilitative mediation in the Eastern District of Virginia. Michael has a daughter in graduate studies at UCLA, and is excited to be back in the Pacific Northwest and to be contributing to the important work of housing mediation. michaelr@6rivers.org
Rachel has a background in nonprofit management, marketing and law. From her experiences throughout her varied career, Rachel has seen a great deal of conflict and the growing need for mediation. After moving to the Gorge, she was excited to take the Six Rivers Basic Mediation training and soon thereafter become a member of the Board of Directors. She is excited to be a part of such a dynamic organization and looks forward to helping support the community with its varied services.
Rachel revels in the beauty of the Gorge and playing outside with her husband and her black lab, Finn. She also loves adventuring overseas and lived in Cambodia and Thailand for eight years where she worked as a labor attorney with the International Labor Organization helping improve working conditions in factories and for a NGO that used soccer to teach children about the dangers of Cambodia. Rachel studied economics at the University of Virginia and received her Juris Doctorate at Lewis and Clark School of Law.
Ruth ha s been mediating in the Gorge since 2003, working privately, volunteering for Six Rivers, and serving as a mediator for the court system. After graduating from UC Davis Law School (1991), Ruth clerked for a judge in Alaska and then worked for a law firm in San Francisco. The case she is most proud of involved representing the National Organization for Women, in a Title IX lawsuit against all 19 campuses of the California State University for cutting women's teams. Ruth also litigated some of the famous and tragic cases involving sexual abuse of altar boys in the San Francisco Diocese. Becoming a mother shifted Ruth's urge to litigate and when she moved to Hood River in 2001, she focused on mediation rather than litigation. When not problem-solving, Ruth loves to kid around the Gorge and jump on her bike, hike with her dog Stormy, ski in the mountains, or write stories for The Gorge Magazine. She co-authored all three of the Kidding Around the Gorge Books - The Hood River Area's Ultimate Guide for Family Fun. Ruth recently joined the 6-Rivers Board and is thrilled with the opportunity to promote mediation in our community.
Ona earned her B.A. in communication studies and relational conflict management from St Cloud State University. She brings 10 years of experience in community mediation, Restorative Justice and project coordination and design. Ona is a trained mediator and is a passionate believer in the positive effects of resolving disputes through mediation. She lives in Goldendale, WA with her husband and pets. earlyresolution@6rivers.org