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For the past 32 years, Carrie Hoops has managed and led programs and fundraising efforts for Oregon nonprofit organizations spanning social services, state-wide nonprofit association, arts and culture, humanities, and education. Her path has been one of fostering institutional growth and strength while developing volunteer and staff leaders.
She served for ten years at Literary Arts, first as Program/Development Director, and then as Executive Director. In addition, she has served as Consultant, Interim Executive Director and permanent Executive Director specializing in turnarounds and consulting for a wide range of local nonprofits, including Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, The Armory Opening (home of Portland Center Stage), Portland Children’s Museum (Opal School), Oregon Council for the Humanities, Oregon Ballet Theater, Artquake, and the Contemporary Dance Season at Portland State University.
Carrie also served as the Executive Director of the Nonprofit Association of Oregon where she led the shift of identity from management support and training organization to statewide membership association with a new advocacy emphasis. These efforts resulted in a more visible, influential, and resilient nonprofit sector in Oregon. She is known for her expertise in fundraising, earned income strategies, communications, and arts and culture programming.
Most recently she led William Temple House, a social services agency in the Portland metropolitan area, providing low/no-cost mental health counseling, food pantry, navigation services and a thrift store.
As a lifetime Oregonian and devotee of the Arts, Carrie brings a unique personal history and perspective to her work with nonprofits. She loves gardening, hiking the beautiful trails of Oregon, and laughing as often as possible.
Michelle Reynolds has been with the Miller Foundation since 2012. Prior to joining the foundation, she worked for a dozen years in leadership roles in fundraising, with a focus on the arts, including Oregon Repertory Singers, Chamber Music Northwest, Oregon Ballet Theatre and Portland Opera. She began her non-profit career at a community-based health organization for migrant seasonal farmworkers in rural Washington State and spent ten years in human services, focused on children and families.
An enthusiastic advocate of trust-based philanthropy, Michelle “gives beyond the check” by providing fundraising and leadership training to non-profit leaders and boards and has served on non-profit boards for over 25 years, most recently as Secretary for Willamette Valley Development Officers.
Michelle is a life-long musician and has performed with orchestras and choruses from British Columbia to Southern California. She and her partner, Robert, enjoy spending time on the Willamette River and the Salish Sea in their little fishing boat with his two children.
Jennifer joined the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation after twenty-five years working with arts and education nonprofits, most recently as Executive Director of Friends of the Multnomah County Library. Jennifer spent over a decade as Director of Programs for Oregon Humanities, leading statewide programs, partnerships and grantmaking. Prior to that, she worked in development and communications for the Food Alliance and Ecotrust and was involved as a volunteer and board member for Write Around Portland. With roots in, and a passion for, rural Oregon, Jennifer brings skills in evaluation, facilitation, and community engagement to her role as Program Officer and Learning and Community Engagement Director. When she's not working, Jennifer likes to spend time reading, singing, and exploring the outdoors with her family.
Yaelle moved to Portland in 2015 to serve as the Programs Curator at the photography nonprofit Newspace; later she co-curated the 2019 Portland Biennial and the inaugural year of exhibitions at University of Oregon’s Center for Art Research (2020-2021). Prior to moving to Portland, she spent 12 years in New York, trying on many hats in the arts ecosystem and beyond. In her ongoing writing and curatorial projects, she examines the ways in which the exhibition space can serve as a tool in community building, with a primary focus on artists whose practices supplement the initiatives of existing social movements.
When not at Miller, she spends time with her partner, two young kids and beloved pup Vinnie—experiencing art, swimming in the PNW’s many lakes and rivers, and carrying on a quest to find the region’s perfect pastries.
Alma joined the Miller Foundation in 2019 as Accounting and Operations Manager. She has experience in financial accounting, reporting, internal controls in both large nonprofit and for-profit organizations. She holds a B.A. in Spanish & Minor in Business from the University of Oregon.
Alma is originally from Mexico but has called Oregon her home for over 30 years. She is passionate about building partnerships and instrumental in driving strategic initiative across an organization. When she is not working, she spends time with her family and two dogs exploring the beautiful NW, and going to concerts. Passing down traditions and teaching her children about their Mexican heritage is very important to her. Her favorite sports teams are the Trail Blazers, Timbers, Seahawks, and she loves to watch the FIFA World Cup. You will hear her cheering loudly for her team from miles away!
Lacey Matney joined the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation in 2019. She holds a master of science degree in urban studies from University of Nebraska-Omaha’s School of Public Administration. She was delighted to make Oregon her home in 2016, after the invitation to work as a Hatfield Resident Fellow through Portland State University. Her nonprofit experience includes positions administering emergency relief funds, grants to individuals, and supporting foundation program teams. She previously worked as Grant and Program Coordinator at The Reser Family Foundation.
Lacey is passionate about people and community building. Before Oregon, she worked for Tulsa Community Foundation and George Kaiser Family Foundation. She has volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, supported foster child advocacy efforts and provided respite foster care. Away from work, you’ll probably find her at the dog park, or on a road trip. Lacey visited all 50 States in 2015. If it’s summer, she’s working on her goal to conquer the standing-up part of stand up paddle boarding.
John Tapogna arrived in Oregon during his 8th grade year by way of Pomona, California and Arlington, Texas. He’s a graduate of Beaverton High School, the University of Oregon, and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Mr. Tapogna is passionate about creating measurable, positive change for people and communities with fewer opportunities. This passion inspired him to study social policy in graduate school, evaluate welfare reforms at the Congressional Budget Office, serve with the Peace Corps in Chile, design award-winning safety net prescreening websites, and volunteer on the boards of nonprofits that serve children and families. Across his 25-year consulting career, he has assessed the effects of a wide range of social, education, housing, pension, and tax policies in every corner of Oregon.
Mr. Tapogna and his wife Ingrid, a middle school Spanish teacher, live in Portland.
Bill Swindells is a fifth-generation Oregonian. His earliest ancestors arrived in the late 1880’s and were involved in the railroad and lumber business, in which they were active for three generations. He was raised in Salem, graduated from the University of Oregon with a BS in Economics and received his MBA from University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, which led to careers in banking, real estate development and publishing.
Mr. Swindells has a long history of public service, including eight years as a Lake Oswego School Board member. He served on the boards of Clackamas Community College Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, Jesuit High School, University of Oregon Foundation, Trillium Family Services and volunteered for Oregon Community Foundation.
In addition to his service on the Miller Foundation board, which he joined in 2011, he has served on the boards of Oregon Public Broadcasting, Wild Salmon Center, OHSU Foundation, Ann & Bill Swindells Charitable Trust and The Chalkboard Project. He and his wife, Heather, live in Lake Oswego.
Kali Ladd was raised in New England. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Psychology from Boston College and earned a Master’s Degree in Education Policy from Harvard University.
Ms. Ladd comes to the board as a social entrepreneur and passionate advocate for equity and education transformation with a background that spans from teacher to policy maker over the last 23 years. After spending four years as Education Director for former Mayor Sam Adams, Ms. Ladd co-founded KairosPDX, a nonprofit dedicated to closing opportunity and achievement gaps for historically marginalized children. In 2021, Ms. Ladd became the Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Institute, a statewide advocate for early learning and the healthy development of young children.
In 2012, Ms. Ladd won election to the Portland Community College Board of Directors, a board she chaired. In 2016, Ms. Ladd was appointed by Governor Brown to the Early Learning Council of Oregon, where she also currently serves. Ms. Ladd has also worked overseas in South Africa teaching and supporting the development of two community based-projects: a community library and a women-owned bakery.
Ms. Ladd resides in Portland with her husband, Billy, two children and a friendly black lab.
Peter Koehler is a fifth-generation Oregonian and President of the Miller Foundation board. He attended Boalt Hall School of Law, Berkeley, receiving a J.D, in 1982, and graduated with Distinction from Stanford University in 1978.
Mr. Koehler is the principal of Koehler ADR, LLC, which offers arbitration and mediation services for commercial and sports-related business disputes. He retired in October 2014 as Vice-President, Legal, for NIKE, Inc., where he managed the global Legal Department and advised the business. Prior to NIKE, he was a partner with Tonkon Torp LLP, Portland Oregon, including serving as the Managing Partner from 1997–2002.
Mr. Koehler has served on a number of non-profit boards including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (past President), Oregon Environmental Council, Classroom Law Project (President), Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (past President), the Volunteer Lawyers Project (past President), Artists Repertory Theatre (past President), and the Multnomah County Legal Services for the Poor Committee (past President). He joined the Miller Foundation board in 2015.
He and his wife Noel Hanlon, a poet, live in north Marion County on a working farm.
Giyen Kim has spent the last twenty years in public service in the non-profit and government sectors. Her passion for serving her community started in Seattle's affordable housing sector, where she became a strong advocate for increasing housing opportunities for underserved populations and communities of color. Since then, Ms. Kim has worked on advancing both urban and rural land conservation policy, served as part of the Seattle Mayor's homeless response team, and coordinated the city's cybersecurity response efforts.
Since moving to Portland in 2019, Ms. Kim has worked as Portland's City Arts Manager and oversaw the city's federally funded pandemic relief efforts. She currently works for Metro, helping to reimagine how government engages with communities in decision-making and leading the conversations on the future of the Expo Center. In addition, Ms. Kim serves as a Board member of the Oregon Film Creative Made Foundation and supports the city's efforts to develop a new cultural arts plan for the region.
Ms. Kim resides in northeast Portland, where she spends her free time writing, painting, and building community.
Don Grotting grew up one of six children in Coquille, Oregon and served in the U.S. Army right out of High School. He graduated from Linfield College in Elementary Education. He earned his master’s degree in Educational Policy, Foundations and Administration from Portland State University in 1996, and achieved an Administrative License from Portland State University two years later. Mr. Grotting attained his Superintendent’s License in 2001 from Lewis and Clark College.
His dedication is evident in his past work and accomplishments as a teacher, principal, and Superintendent in the Powers, Nyssa, David Douglas, and Beaverton School Districts. He was named Oregon Superintendent of the Year in 2014 while serving in the David Douglas School District. He was also selected as the Oregon Music Administrator of the Year in 2015.
He is currently serving his second term as vice-chair of Governor Kate Brown’s Educator Advancement Council, a member of the Oregon Association School Executives and its leadership council, Oregon Association of School Executives Early Learning Workgroup, past chair of the Portland State University Graduate School of Education Advisory Committee, and he has served multiple terms on the Oregon School Activities Association Board as president and board member, focused on advancing opportunities in speech, dance, music, cheerleading, and athletics where he received the National Federation of High Schools Service award in 2016.
Mr. Grotting is married to his wife, Lisa, and has four children, three grandchildren (soon to be four), and two great grandchildren.
Suba Ganesan-Forbes is a curator, arts administrator, choreographer, and former Creative Laureate of Portland (2018 – June 2021).
As a Bharathanatyam artist, Ms. Ganesan-Forbes has been learning, teaching, performing, and presenting this art form for over four decades. She founded Natya Leela Academy in 2008, where she teaches and explores universal expressions of Bharathatyam. Her contemporary works include deep collaborations with acclaimed artists and arts organizations including Mike Barber (Founder, Ten Tiny Dances), Michelle Fujii (UNIT SOUZOU), Sabina Haque, Amna Mawaz Khan (Pakistan/Germany), Anita Menon, DJ Anjali, Third Angle New Music, PICA, APANO, and Portland Center Stage.
She founded New Expressive Works (N.E.W.) in 2012. Through residencies, artist conversations, and performance seasons, this vibrant performing arts venue celebrates bold new works created by multicultural independent performing artists. N.E.W. has received the Regional Arts & Culture Council’s 2018 Juice! Award and White Bird’s 2019 Community Engagement Award for providing critical and affordable creative space for local, diverse artists. In her most recent project, she led a 6-month “Supporting Community Healing Through Art” Initiative through the Portland City Arts Program.
Ms. Ganesan-Forbes is an Adjunct Professor at Pacific University, teaching arts advocacy, an active Community Advisory Committee member of the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Portland Parks Foundation as well. She and her husband, Scott, live in Portland.
Charles Putney is one of two original trustees appointed to the Miller Foundation by Mr. Miller and remained President of the foundation board since its earliest inception through 2022.
Mr. Putney was born in Oregon and raised in Portland and Medford and graduated from Portland State University. He began working as a stockbroker at Blyth & Co. It was at Blyth & Co. in the 1960s that he forged his relationship with Mr. Miller, who was then President of the company and living in New York. Mr. Miller, an Oregonian, kept strong ties to Oregon throughout his life. Mr. Miller appointed Mr. Putney and Mr. William Blount as trustees when he created the foundation following a move back to Oregon in the late 1990's.
Blyth and Co. was eventually bought out by Paine Webber/UBS Financial Services, where Mr. Putney was the Senior Vice President and Resident Manager for 13 years.
Mr. Putney works for RBC Wealth Management and he divides his time between Portland, Oregon and Tucson, Arizona.
James F. Miller was born in Linton, Oregon to a poor family. He was small, non-athletic, quiet and reclusive. He hungered for education and was a voracious reader. His success as a scholar made him unpopular with his fellow students and he was frequently the victim of bully gangs. About himself he said, “When I left Lincoln High School I weighed only about a hundred pounds. I was the smallest kid in the class and the best student. I was resented. They used to lay in wait for me and my brother after school.”
When Miller graduated from Lincoln High School he was on the Honor Roll. About graduation he says, “One of the most heartbreaking things in the world was I thought that I would be able to go on to college. But my parents couldn’t afford it. They didn’t have the money. Neither did I.”
Without the prospect of college Miller explained that his two options were to join a street gang or get a job. A friend of his family introduced him to an employment opportunity and in the interview the 17 year old was told the following: “Now we’re going to hire you, and it’s an office boy job and there’s nothing really great about it, but if you do your job properly and keep your ears and eyes open and learn something about this business, you might be rewarded because this is going to be a great business.”
During this phase of his life he read everything that Charles Dickens had written. Naturally, he was inspired by the Dickens’ characters that pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps.
Quickly he called attention to himself in the office boy job and he was invited to move to Seattle, to work for the same company, while attempting a college education. He continued working, focused on arts, literature and history in upper division college classes, and promptly became ill and ran out of money. He dropped out of college forever.
Miller returned to Portland, only to be told that he could not have his office boy job back. The company wanted him to go out and sell securities, which was a pretty rough experience because, “I didn’t know anybody that had any money, and they didn’t know me either. So it was pretty presumptuous for a 21-year-old to go out and talk to people about buying investments.”
He hated selling. He was insecure, self-conscious, had no confidence. He would sit in an office waiting room before a sales call and grow cowardly. He began to hate himself for his weakness and in his self-loathing he says he experienced an epiphany that changed his life. In true Dickens’ fashion, he told himself that if anyone could sell securities he could sell securities. So he made a list of the 50 toughest businessmen in Portland and he set out to call on every one of them. He began to succeed.
He tells a poignant story of helping the widow of a prominent Portlander. “She was a great lady. When her husband died she inherited a $100,000 Fourth Liberty Loan bond. Despite its high rating I had no confidence in the bond so I convinced her to buy equities in a number of corporations. I was an admirer of Time magazine and I persuaded her to put some money into Time. Well, out of that Time investment she gave a million dollars to her son, a million to her daughter and left a very substantial estate.”
About his own investment philosophy he says, “Something that I’ve learned better than anyone else, including Warren Buffet, is the patience to hold something. Everyone who I know in the business is happy to get a windfall, pay the capital gains taxes and look for something else. I had the good fortune and common sense to buy and to hang on to it. For example, I bought 250 shares of Willamette Industries in 1946. Those 250 shares have become 16,000.”
His successes in forest products are legend. He began by helping Dant and Russell family members restructure closely held, diverse holdings into a broadly held company. His successes mounted and he was transferred to New York City where, quite by accident he made his mark.
When college roommates Owen Cheatham and Robert Pamplin went to New York looking for cash to buy Oregon timberlands to create Georgia Pacific, Miller was already working in New York. Bankers turned down Cheatham and Pamplin because the banks feared forest fires and loss of collateral.
Miller, a mere rookie on Wall Street at the time, spoke up. “I came from the State of Oregon and I witnessed the Tillamook forest fires. I stood on the top of fences and watched these trees exploding in mid-air. Millions of board feet of timber went up in flames that night. But the asset is still there because they salvaged marketable timber out of the blackened mess and 25 years later they’re still taking marketable timber out of the Tillamook.” ”The bankers listened, hired the Portland consulting firm Mason, Bruce and Girard to confirm Miller’s claim, and made the loans which created Georgia-Pacific Corporation.
Miller, always self-effacing, now says, “Reputations are made in peculiar ways. While I’m not actively involved in New York anymore, I’m still referred to as an expert on timberlands. It was one of those things that arrived by accident and not by design.” And an expert in timberlands he is.
He profoundly shaped the forest products industry in America through his assistance in creating financing. Weyerhaeuser, Crossett Western, Willamette Industries, Pacific Lumber Company, Pope and Talbot, Bendix Corporation...are just a few that he touched. In the process he made money for his clients and for himself.
Philanthropy became his interest. Philanthropy in New York City and philanthropy in Portland. He created a fund at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He gave a million dollars to the Metropolitan Opera. He supported a number of smaller New York interests, including parks and hospitals. But his major focus was Portland. The Oregon Historical Society, the Oregon Community Foundation, the Oregon Symphony, Lewis and Clark College, the World Forestry Center, Oregon State Parks and other sacred Oregon institutions have been profoundly touched by Jimmy Miller.
About his philanthropy he often said, “I can’t do anything about the homeless waifs. I can’t do anything about the drug addicts or the guys laying in the gutter from booze. I can’t do anything for them. It’s impossible. But I can do something for education and I can do something for the arts, and I do.”
James F. Miller, born in Linton, Oregon in 1905, shows no signs of mortality. He’s bright, quick, agile, and clever. Having moved to New York City in 1958, he has returned to live in Portland. He’s now alone after losing his wife of 68 years, the woman he married the year the stock market crashed.
He thinks about what he wants people to say about him. He wants them to first say, “His word was good.” Secondly, “He was honest.” Thirdly, “He was truthful.” Fourth and he has trouble with this because it conflicts with his humility, “He wasn’t exactly a tightwad. He recognized the things that are important to the future of people.”
Written November 2002 by John Blackwell, former President of World Forestry Center.
James F. Miller passed away in 2004. He lived to age 99.
There's no mystery around why the Miller Foundation funds the arts and education in Oregon. Founder James F. Miller grew up poor but hungry to learn. An honor roll student when he graduated from Portland's Lincoln High School in 1921, Miller planned to go onto college — a plan crushed by lack of money.
Decades after the blow, he still described the barrier as "heartbreaking." In his early 20s, he reluctantly began selling investments. He never imagined that one day he and future wife, Marion, would be wealthy enough to donate millions to causes that mattered to them.
When work took the Oregon-based couple to New York City, they deepened their shared love of the arts and cultural learning. Beginning in the 1940s, the Millers gave generously to organizations in New York, Oregon, and across the U.S.
After 68 years of marriage, Marion passed away in 1998, leading James ("Jim") to return to Portland and carry on their tradition of supporting the arts and education. In 2003, he memorialized her contributions to their joint causes by creating a foundation in both their names: the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation.
Though Jim died in 2004, the Foundation continues to honor the Millers' passion for education, the arts, and Oregon. The Foundation’s efforts focus solely on communities across Oregon, where we support K-12 education, artists, arts education, and a wide variety of art organizations.
