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Board of Commissioners

To ensure accountability to the interests of our communities, Home Forward is governed by a nine-member citizen commission.

Volunteer Commissioners establish Home Forward policy, approve the annual budget, and hire the Executive Director. Four Commissioners represent the City of Portland, two represent the City of Gresham, two represent Multnomah County, and one, who participates in one of Home Forward’s housing programs, represents our residents and program participants. Commissioners are recommended from the area they serve, appointed by the Mayor of Portland, and approved by the Portland City Council. They serve four-year, renewable terms. There are currently three vacancies.

Matthew Gebhardt Vice Chair
Matthew Gebhardt
Chair
Bio
Jenny Kim Board Treasurer
Jenny Kim
Vice Chair
Bio
Damien Hall Board Chair
Damien Hall

Chair Emeritus and Treasurer

Bio
Jessy Ledesma
Commissioner
Bio
TomiRene Hettman Commissioner
TomiRene Hettman
Commissioner
Bio
Breann Preston
Commissioner
Bio
Shannon Olive
Commissioner
Bio

meeting information

Attendance: Home Forward’s board meetings are open to the public — all are welcome.

Frequency: Once every month.

Date and Time: The third Tuesday of the month at 5:30 PM, via Zoom, until we announce our return to in-person meetings.

Location: Meetings are virtual with the link available in the agenda.

Meeting Materials: The agenda and documents related to the meeting are posted on this page the week before the meeting.

Work Session: The Board also meets for a work session, quarterly at noon on the first Thursday in February, May, September and November. Work sessions are held at Home Forward’s main offices, 135 SW Ash St., Portland, OR 97204 unless otherwise announced.

You may send comments via letter or e-mail to:

          Home Forward Board of Commissioners c/o Home Forward

          135 SW Ash Street Portland, Oregon 97204

          E-mail: board@homeforward.org

Or you may participate in the “Public Comment” portion of monthly board meetings. Please read the guidelines for public comment.

AGENDA AND MATERIALS FOR MONTHLY BOARD MEETING

May Board Packet

Past Meeting Records

Records of Home Forward’s Board of Commissioners meetings are freely available to the public, here.

Meeting records before 2018 can be accessed via a public records request.

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Matthew Gebhardt Vice Chair

Matthew Gebhardt
Chair

I strongly believe that safe, stable, and affordable housing is vital for health and well-being. I am excited to help Home Forward sustain their current portfolio while continuing to develop new housing for people experiencing poverty across our community.

Matthew Gebhart is an Assistant Professor at Portland State University. He has spent the last fifteen+ years studying housing authorities, and recently worked with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on the Choice Neighborhood Initiative. Matthew holds one of the City of Portland’s seats on the Home Forward Board of Commissioners. He received his MA in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned a PhD in Urban Planning from Columbia University.

Jenny Kim Board Treasurer

Jenny Kim
Vice Chair

I look forward to a time when everyone in our community has a safe, stable and affordable place to call home. Serving on this board is an amazing opportunity to listen to the people we serve and to work with my colleagues to equitably deliver the housing, programs, and services they need.

Jenny Kim holds one of the two Multnomah County seats on the Board of Commissioners and brings more than 20 years of board experience from organizations like the National Korean American Coalition, Portland Montessori School, and American Cancer Society. She graduated from the University of California with a degree in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. Jenny has a proven track record of helping organizations grow and meet new challenges and she has been a dedicated leader in our community for many years.

Damien Hall Board Chair

Damien Hall
Chair Emeritus and Treasurer

Quality, stable housing is the foundation that allows people to break the cycle of generational poverty.  I’m excited to help guide our community’s largest provider of affordable housing in its work to provide people with that opportunity.

Damien Hall brings legal expertise in land use, urban planning, and real estate development, as well as extensive civic involvement to the Board of Commissioners. He is an attorney at Ball Janik LLP, where he has helped both property owners and governments navigate land use requirements and work collaboratively to establish common objectives. He is a member of the Portland Development Commission’s Central City Budget Advisory Committee and serves on the board of non-profit Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, Inc. Previously, he chaired PDC’s Urban Renewal Advisory Committee for the Oregon Convention Center area and participated in the development agency’s Advisory Committee for Economic Development in N/NE Portland. He received his degree at law from Lewis and Clark College and has a Bachelor’s Degree in public policy, planning, and management from the University of Southern California.

Jessy Ledesma
Commissioner

Jessy Ledesma has more than 17 years of development experience in the Portland area, much of that time focused on affordable housing development. She is the Founder and Principal of HomeWork Development and co-developer of Shortstack Housing. Jessy founded HomeWork Development in early 2021 with a vision to build a new model for inclusive and responsive housing development.

Prior to HomeWork, Jessy was Director of Development at Beam Development and previously developed affordable housing for both for-profit ownership and non-profit ownership. Jessy has transacted over $200M in development volume across 18 projects. This includes over 600 affordable housing units and 200,000 SF of commercial developments. Jessy brings a unique perspective to her role on Home Forward’s Board of Commissioners, understanding both non-profit and for-profit development models. She believes our industry must collaborate and create new models to address our deep housing shortage.

TomiRene Hettman Commissioner

TomiRene Hettman
Commissioner

I joined the Home Forward board as my way to show my appreciation for housing, which has helped to save my life. I am deeply committed to Home Forward’s mission and I want to do all that I can to help the agency fulfill this mission. I feel that, because of my own personal experiences and my long commitment to helping to build support in and around my own community, I am able to give a voice to the disenfranchised.

TomiRene Hettman holds one of the five City of Portland seats on the Board of Commissioners as Home Forward’s Resident Commissioner. Hettman has been a resident at Hollywood East Apartments since 2009. She brings her personal experiences and history of recurring homelessness to this position. She has served on Home Forward’s Resident Advisory Committee and has an impressive list of volunteer experiences, not only within her Home Forward community, but including the Hollywood Farmer’s Market, Lean on Me Program, Humane Society, and as a housing advocate serving on congressional roundtables.

Breann Preston
Commissioner

Breann has lived in four countries, five states, has a bachelor’s degree double major in Economics, Experimental Psychology and a minor in Sociology from the University of South Carolina and holds a master’s degree in Economic Development (Development Studies) from the University of Cambridge. She currently lives in Portland with her husband and small rescue dog.

Breann Preston is currently employed as the Economic Research Consultant at the Port of Portland. She supports the Trade and Economic Development Division as they work to increase economic inclusion and equity in the Greater Portland area. Her focus is on understanding the current economic conditions, barriers, and opportunities for future economic prosperity. She believes in the power of qualitative and quantitative data to support the creation of policy and programs that produce measurable positive impacts for diverse individuals and communities. Breann has written and researched multiple economic reports and supported the launch of a multi-jurisdiction smart region initiative.

Shannon Olive
Commissioner

Shannon Olive was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She is 45 years old with two boys 27 and 25 who also lives in Portland. After graduating from Concorde Career Institute with her Medical Assistant in 2004 it was incredibly challenging to find a job. Later that year, she was introduced to Oregon Action by Johnnie Gage during the George Bush vs John Kerry 2004 Presidential Election, and they were recruiting for their voter registration campaign.

Shannon never voted, but that year she discovered that she could make a difference and was glad to be a part of something different. Shannon was unstoppable, and now had joined the Social Justice Movement, fighting for our rights, addressing issues then and now that would make Oregon a better place for low-income communities of color.

Her first organizer position was with OPAL (Organizing People, Activating Leaders) and Environmental Justice Group in SE Portland in 2008. She organized their first Bus Riders Campaign and they informed over 2,000 Bus Riders about the fare increase and budgets cuts. After her work with OPAL, Shannon returned to Portland Community College to further her education with an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice. While attending school she became an employee working with ASPCC Student Government for two years as the Director of Legislative Affairs. In June 2015, Shannon received her Associate Degree, Shannon has been serving her community since 2004 part of the Social Justice Movement. Now she is the Founder/President for a new women’s organization for called WomenFirst Transition & Referral Center (WomenFirst) working to serve women in re-entry and recovery supporting them to rebuild their lives to succeed. WomenFirst has been serving women for 6 years as of March 17th, 2017.

Shannon is resilient when it comes to doing what it takes to supporting the women to become successful and productive today. In March of two years right after celebrating her 3rd Anniversary for WomenFirst, Shannon was one recognized by Oregon Women Health Network as nominee for the (Maya Angelou) “Phenomenal Woman 2020 Award” and “Shero Award” in 2024. Shannon will never stop. The fight is in her and she will continue to fight for change until it comes.

Statement of Interest:

As I have being serving in the last 7 years with women who are and have experienced challenges and barriers with housing, its important to me as a Community Leader to work together to dismantle the disparities and create solutions for all. Having a place to call home gives women hope and a sense of belonging. The goal is to also offer them with the necessary tools, education, and supportive community, so they are able to thrive, advocate for themselves, and empower others to do the same.

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