In the Community

Committees

Advisory committees oversee and provide direction for the project. Committee members' expertise reflects diverse professional backgrounds, including minority-owned firms, advocacy groups, workforce development organizations, industry associations and community-based organizations. Some members are leaders and volunteers with strong ties to historic Albina and a wide array of civic and community interests. All members have a strong record of advocating for people, particularly people of color and other diverse groups.

We welcome community members and invite them to comment at the beginning of the meetings for the following committees.

Visit our Events & Meetings page for the list of upcoming committee meetings or subscribe to our email list to receive project updates and meeting notices.

Historic Albina Advisory Board

The purpose of the Historic Albina Advisory Board is to elevate voices in the Black community to ensure that project outcomes reflect community interests and values and that historic Albina directly benefits from the investments of this project. ODOT's Urban Mobility Office formed the Board in December 2020 based on the project's values and feedback from the community, including the project's former Community Advisory Committee (sunset in August 2020).

The Board brings community perspectives into the project's decision-making process concerning elements that most directly support community connections, urban design and wealth generation in the Black and historic Albina community. Areas of advice and recommendations include the following:

  • Highway cover design responsive to community economic development needs, public health and aesthetic desires.
  • Connections between the highway and local streets and paths to improve movements for people within and through the project area.
  • Input to partnership opportunities to support community wealth generation through project area re-development, including potential partnerships between ODOT and other agencies, businesses and organizations.

Board members review project information, discuss and deliberate, and provide interest- and value-based advice and recommendations to project leadership to substantively inform its recommendations to the Oregon Transportation Commission.

HAAB Charter (PDF)

Membership

The Historic Albina Advisory Board is composed of 11 members that include Black Portlanders and those with ties to historic Albina. Members are leaders and volunteers who work with and serve the Black community in Albina and Portland. They represent a wide array of civic and community interests.

Ericka Warren of Try Excellence, LLC, a third-generation Portlander, facilitates the Historic Albina Advisory Board meetings. Ericka supports the members during and between their meetings, ensures a good flow of communication between the Board and the project team and maintains the integrity of the process.

Historic Albina Advisory Board Members

  • Sprinavasa Brown
  • Andrew Campbell
  • Andrew Clarke
  • Bryson Davis
  • Keith Edwards
  • Leslie Goodlow
  • Estelle Love Lavespere
  • Dr. Ebony Amato-Blackmon
  • Kevin Modica
  • Dr. Carlos Richard
  • John Washington

Meetings

The Historic Albina Advisory Board meets monthly on the fourth Tuesday. All meetings are open to the public. Please visit the Events and Meetings page for more details about the Historic Albina Advisory Board meetings.

Community Oversight Advisory Committee

The Community Oversight Advisory Committee works to ensure the construction contractor meets its community and project goals and expectations for contracting with disadvantaged businesses and employing minorities and women. The Community Oversight Advisory Committee brings a broad perspective on community, social, economic and workforce issues in the project area. Specifically, the committee:

  • Reviews the construction team's disadvantaged business subcontracting and workforce plans, participation, diversity, and results.
  • Provides recommendations, comments and resources in support of the successful implementation of the construction team's Diversity Plan during project construction.
  • Provides a culture of success assistance related to disadvantaged business and workforce program implementation.

ODOT, with a neutral facilitator, convenes meetings and provides updates specific to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and workforce program, methods and elements. Recommendations are also made to the project team.

COAC Charter (PDF)

Membership

The Community Oversight Advisory Committee has up to 20 members who represent the minority contracting and workforce communities. The City of Portland and the project team identified and appointed committee members. Members are from minority firms and advocacy groups, diverse workforce development organizations, other contractors (with no real or perceived conflict of interest), association representatives, and representatives from community-based organizations with a strong record of accomplishment of serving racial and ethnic minorities, women and other disadvantaged groups.

Johnell Bell of Espousal Strategies, LLC, is the committee facilitator. In this role, Johnell supports all members, maintains the integrity of the process, and facilitates communication about the process among members and other interested parties.

Community Oversight Advisory Committee Members

  • Michael Burch, NW Carpenters
  • Bob Carroll, IBEW Local-48
  • Katrina Cloud, Northwest College of Construction
  • Lee Fleming, Multnomah County (Purchasing)
  • Kenechi Onyeagusi, Professional Business Development Group (PBDG)
  • Pastor Matt Hennessee, Ministerial Alliance
  • Joe McFerrin, Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc. (POIC)
  • James Posey, Coalition of Black Men
  • Felicia Tripp Folsom, Community Member
  • Art Cortez, LatinoBuilt

Meetings

The Community Oversight Advisory Committee meets quarterly. All meetings are open to the public. Please visit the Events and Meetings page for more details about the Community Oversight Advisory Committee meetings.

EXECUTIVE STEERING COMMITTEE

From the spring of 2020 through the summer of 2021, an Executive Steering Committee advised the Oregon Transportation Commission and ODOT on major decisions related to the project. The committee was formed to provide a forum for agency partners and key stakeholders to work cooperatively on major design details for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, particularly the highway cover. The Executive Steering Committee received and considered advice and input from the Historic Albina Advisory Board, the Community Oversight Advisory Committee and the Independent Cover Assessment team in decision-making. The Executive Steering Committee was sunset after their final meeting on August 31, 2021, at which point they empowered the HAAB to assume their advisory role to ODOT for the project.

ESC Charter (PDF)

Membership

The Oregon Transportation Commission convened the Executive Steering Committee in consultation with ODOT and regional partners. The committee was composed of local government officials and representatives of community-based organizations in our region. The Executive Steering Committee was facilitated by Dr. Steven Holt of Try Excellence, LLC.

Executive Steering Committee Members

  • Chair Alando Simpson - Oregon Transportation Commission, Vice Chair
  • Lynn Peterson - Metro, President
  • Brendan Finn - Oregon Department of Transportation, Urban Mobility Office Director
  • Kristen Sheeran - Governor's Office, Climate and Energy Policy Advisor
  • Steve Witter - TriMet, Executive Director Capital Projects and Construction
  • Nate McCoy - National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC)
  • Dr. Ebony Amato - N/NE Community Development Initiative
  • Julia Brim-Edwards - Portland Public Schools, PPS Board Member
  • Marlon Holmes - N/NE Housing Strategy
  • Bryson Davis - Williams and Russell Project
  • Jana Jarvis - Oregon Trucking Association, President
  • Robert Camarillo - Oregon Building Trades, Executive Secretary

Meetings

The Executive Steering Committee met 14 times in 2020 and 2021. The final meeting was on August 31, 2021, when the project's committees advanced the Proposed Hybrid 3 Cover Concept to the Oregon Transportation Commission. The Historic Albina Advisory Board has taken the place of the Executive Steering Committee in project collaboration and decision-making. For recordings of past meetings, check out our YouTube.