Who's Who at City Club: Board of Governors

Sharon VanSickle-Robbins co-founded KVO Advertising and Public Relations in 1983 and was responsible for directing the firm's operations and providing strategic oversight for its public relations department. Previously, she served as public relations director for Tektronix, Inc. and worked for Willamette Week. Sharon also chaired the Portland metropolitan area's Regional Arts & Culture Council and is a member of the University of Portland's Board of Regents. She operates a cut-flower business with 20,000 peony plants on Sauvie Island. Sharon has been a City Club member since 1996 and chaired the Club's business environment study committee.

John Horvick is the project director for the Parents and Children Together study at Oregon Health & Science University. He is also a research associate at the public opinion firm Davis, Hibbitts and Midghall. John graduated from University of Minnesota in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology. He joined City Club in 2004, soon after moving to Portland from the Midwest. John co-chaired the Club's New Leaders Council, has served on two research committees and is a member of the Research Board. Outside of the Club, he is a volunteer with Portland's neighborhood mediation program.

Leslie Morehead is a consultant providing financial management services for small businesses. Leslie holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Reed College and an MBA in business management and a Ph.D. in systems science, both from Portland State University. She has been a private business owner, a consultant in information systems design and analysis, and a business software analyst in both the high-technology sector and the banking industry. Leslie served on City Club’s Research Board from 2002-2008. She served as Research Advisor to the Measure 36: Defense of Marriage ballot measure study in 2004 and also as Research Advisor to the Club's 2008 study of the Initiative and Referendum system in Oregon. She received the Club's Research Award in 2007. Leslie is currently the Board Liaison to the Agora committee. She has traveled and worked abroad, consulting and teaching business management courses in Eastern Europe and Russia.

Tom Cox is a Beaverton resident and owner of a management consulting firm specializing in leadership training, strategy, operations and process improvement for CEOs. Tom was the 2002 Libertarian Party candidate for governor of Oregon and is now active with the Oregon Republican Party, chairing the 2009 statewide Candidate Recruiting Committee. Tom has been a City Club member since 2003, served on the Friday Forum Committee for five years, and was elected to the Board in 2008. He has also served on the Club's Strategic Planning Committee and currently serves on the Governance Task Force.

Barnes H. Ellis is a partner at Stoel Rives LLP where he practices in the area of business litigation. Barnes previously served as a member of the City Club Board of Governors in the 1970s. He has been a continuous member of the Club since 1964, except for the period when the Club voted to decline admission to women and Barnes, along with many others, resigned until members reversed that decision. He served on two City Club study committees relating to the form of city governance: one in 1968, and as chair of the other in the 1990s. He acted as chair of the Oregon Commission on the Judicial Branch, was a White House Fellow assigned as a special assistant to the United States Attorney General and is currently chair of the Oregon Public Defense Services Commission. In 2007 he received the Judge Learned Hand Award from the American Jewish Committee. He is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School.

Steffeni Mendoza Gray works in the city of Portland's Office of Government Relations as a government relations specialist. Steffeni has a bachelors degree in architecture from University of Oregon. Her professional experience includes six years managing and expanding a small retail business and over 20 years in executive nonprofit management positions. Her professional and volunteer experiences also include serving on numerous public and private sector policy advisory committees and task forces, particularly in the areas of work/family issues, at-risk youth services, community development, urban design and planning, parks and open space advocacy, civic engagement, business and economic development and education advocacy. She currently serves on the board of the American Red Cross Pacific Northwest Blood Services, Portland Schools Foundation and Urban Greenspaces Institute. Oregon Business magazine selected her as one of Oregon's Top 50 Business Leaders in 2004. Steffeni is also a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum of Oregon.

Melody Rose is chair of the Division of Political Science at Portland State University. She holds degrees from U.C. Santa Cruz (B.A. with honors and Phi Beta Kappa, 1988) and Cornell University (Masters in Public Affairs, 1991; M.A. in Government, 1995; Ph.D. in Government, 1997). She is also the founder and director of NEW Leadership™ Oregon, which offers public service leadership training programs to college women in Oregon. She has authored a number of books, articles, and chapters on the presidency, social policy, and elections. Her third book, Playing the Gender Card? Media, Gender, and Hillary Clinton’s Race for the White House (with Regina Lawrence) will be published in 2009. Melody's teaching, research, and community service — including her service at City Club — reflect her broad interest in citizen engagement and political participation. She is a regular political analyst on local, state, and national media on matters of elections, voting, and women's political action. In 2007, she was chosen by the Northwest Women's Journal as one of Northwest's “100 Most Powerful Women,” and in 2008, she received PSU's Alumni Association's Distinguished Faculty Award. Melody joined City Club in 2004 and chairs the Friday Forum Committee.