MANAGEMENT

The Board of Trustees consists of a minimum of 25 elected members who serve two consecutive three-year terms. The members are representatives of the Community, the Region at-large and Downtown Businesses. The City Commissioner in charge of Portland Parks & Recreation automatically serves on the Board. Additionally, the President may appoint non-voting Honorary Trustees and Ex-Officio Trustees with the support of the majority of the Board.

Pioneer Courthouse Square Board of Trustees 2023–2024

Mary Lee Alder
Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon

Paul Andrews, Immediate Past President
Melvin Mark Brokerage Co.

Peter Angel
Pearl Real Estate Partners

Jennifer Boehmer
Warner Pacific University

Steve Carter (Ex-officio)
KGW

Han-Mei Chiang, Vice-President

Michelle Cole
Gallatin Public Affairs

Emily Crowley
Emily Crowley Consulting

Peggy Denfeld
Pendleton Woolen Mills

Stanley Geffen (Honorary)
Geffen Mesher & Co.

Greg Goodman (Honorary)
Downtown Development Group

Matthew Goodman, Treasurer
Downtown Development Group

Patrick Gortmaker
Kalberer Company

Randy Gragg

Jorge Guzman
Vive | NW

Jamey Hampton
BodyVox

Michael Harrison
OHSU

Brad Hutton (Honorary)

Tristan Irving

Sergeant Matthew Jacobsen
Portland Police Bureau

Steve Janik (Honorary)
Ball Janik, LLP

Philip Kalberer (Honorary) 
Kalberer Company

Sue Keil

Tom Kilbane
Urban Renaissance Group

Carol Kruse 

Thomas Lauderdale
Pink Martini / Heinz Records

Amber Lavender 
Wieden & Kennedy

Chelsea McCann
Walker Macy

Gregory Miller
Wells Fargo

Chet Orloff (Honorary) 
Oregon History Works

Courtney Posey, President
Nordstrom

Bob Proffitt
Alpha Media

Commissioner Dan Ryan
City of Portland

John Russell (Honorary)
Russell Development Company, Inc.

Tad Savinar

Stephen Schneider (Honorary)
City & Spire

Caitlin Smethurst-Davis, Secretary
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Karis J.A. Stoudamire-Phillips
Moda Health

Kerry Tymchuk (Honorary)
Oregon Historical Society

JC Vannatta (Ex-officio)
TriMet

Kristin Watkins
Oregon State University Foundation

Cameron Whitten
Brown Hope / Streams of Resistance LLC

Dave Zier (Honorary)
MMDC Company

Melvin “Pete” Mark, Jr., Founding President

Board meetings are open to the public and held regularly on the last Tuesday of every other month at 11:30am. Click here for more information.

Staff

Lindsay Gay, Director of Operations

Email Lindsay Gay

Lindsay, a Portland, Oregon native, came to the Square in 2010 to lead the program and event development team as Event Director. In 2016 Lindsay transitioned to serve as the Square’s Director of Operations where she is actively working to enrich the health, safety, and functionality of Portland’s Living Room. In both positions, Lindsay has helped to further the Square’s programming objectives by expanding and diversifying the organization’s civic activities. Lindsay possesses a legal background which further supports the development and communication of public safety initiatives for the benefit of the Square’s visitors, tenants, neighbors, and region-wide program partners. Lindsay earned a BA in American Studies with an emphasis on Popular Culture from the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to her studies, Lindsay competed on the Women’s Division 1 soccer team and served as team captain her junior and senior year. When Lindsay’s not at the office you might find her exploring national parks, traveling the world or spending quality time with her friends and family.

Jennifer Polver, Executive Director

Email Jennifer Polver

Jennifer is a non-profit leader who has created healthy urban public spaces through the development of collaborative public/private partnerships for more than 30 years. Jennifer became the Square’s Executive Director in 2002 to transform the non-profit into an award-winning model for the development of year-round community programming and cross-promotional marketing initiatives.  Prior to joining the Square, Jennifer was part of a leadership team that organized educational lectures showcasing diverse artists, politicians and writers in Portland and Seattle. Jennifer has also held research positions with The Huntington Library and The Whitney Museum of America Art.

With a long-held appreciation of building community through unique moments of shared celebration, Jennifer seeks to enrich the landscape of downtown Portland one partner – and one program – at a time. Jennifer is currently on the board of Portland Mall Management Inc. and has served on several other civic non-profit Boards. She was a member of the 2014 Fix Our Parks Campaign finance committee that helped pass a $68 million Parks bond initiative and has served on Portland’s Central City Committee and Downtown Marketing Initiative, among others.

Jennifer moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1989 to study Art History, with an emphasis in American 20th Century Art, at Lewis and Clark College. In her spare time, Jennifer can be found at her favorite North Portland movement studio or hiking in neighboring Forest Park.

Theresa Vetsch-Sandoval, Director of Marketing

Email Theresa Vetsch-Sandoval

Joining Pioneer Courthouse Square in 2001, Theresa currently serves as the Director of Marketing for the non-profit organization. Primarily responsible for community sponsor development and retention, Theresa enjoys working collaboratively with local, regional and national organizations to bring free community programming to the City of Portland’s Living Room®. Integral components of these efforts include management of media and community relations through the development of multi-agency partnerships to support citywide marketing efforts for Portland’s downtown. Additionally, Theresa oversees the organization’s branding efforts, which includes creative development, design direction and strategic delivery platforms.

Pursuant to receiving an Associate of Arts degree in Business Management, Theresa spent time in Europe before settling in Portland. She enjoys traveling to sunny destinations with her husband and two energetic sons, working out and truly embracing Portland’s brunch and coffee scene with family and friends.

Carl Ward, Janitorial Associate

Email Carl Ward

Carl’s current role as the Square’s Janitorial Associate means he is responsible for much of the day to day, on-site operations of Pioneer Courthouse Square. Between watering plants, pressure washing, collecting debris, there’s not a lot he won’t do.

Carl has been involved with the Square since 1992 when he was started cleaning up after events with the Downtown Clean and Safe program. In 2014, he joined the Square’s team as a part-time production assistant supporting the needs of the many on-site events that take place in Portland’s Living Room. With a longstanding background of caring for the Square and first-hand knowledge of Square events, Carl accepted his current position as a full-time Janitorial Associate to lead the day-to-day ground operations in 2018.

In his free time, Carl enjoys baking, watching movies, and cheering on his favorite sports teams.

Stephanie Wisniewski, Administrative Manager

Email Stephanie Wisniewski

Stephanie joined Pioneer Courthouse Square in 2017. With her extensive experience staffing large committees and managing organizational functions she oversees the day-to-day administrative and technical operations for the Square. Her primary responsibilities include organization and support of Board Member activities, providing financial management support, and implementing the Square’s popular Buy A Brick program.

Originally from Scranton Pennsylvania, Stephanie graduated from the University of Connecticut with a BA in Political Science. Before joining Pioneer Courthouse Square, she spent nearly a decade working as the Legislative Coordinator for MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys photography, spending time with her husband, and taking in the Pacific Northwest’s breathtaking mountain scenery.

Job Opportunities

  • Production Assistant
  • Internship
  • Volunteer