Board of Directors

Ka’sha Bernard

Ka’sha is an attorney in the Center for International Environmental Law’s Climate and Energy Program. Ka’sha’s work focuses primarily on halting the petrochemical infrastructure buildout that threatens the global climate and the health of frontline and fenceline communities, particularly across the US Gulf Coast and Appalachia region. Ka’sha graduated from Louisiana State University with a BA in International Studies, concentrating on Global Diplomacy and the Middle East. Ka’sha then earned her Juris Doctor from Notre Dame Law School. As a former Crag Summer Associate (2017), Ka’sha applied for and was awarded a fellowship from Notre Dame Law School to work at Crag for two years following her graduation from law school. During her time as a Legal Fellow at Crag, Ka’sha helped us stand with communities, fighting on issues ranging from freeway expansion to fossil fuel pipeline development. She worked with all of our staff attorneys to gain experience across a variety of legal issues including environmental justice, wetlands protection, and climate policy.

Lori Ann Burd

Lori Ann works at the Center for Biological Diversity, where she devotes her days to fighting the good fight on behalf of imperiled species and their habitats.  She first joined Crag’s board as a student at Lewis & Clark Law School, where she also gained legal experience working for the Xerces Society, Northwest Environmental Defense Center, Metro, and Earthrise.  After law school Lori Ann worked as Staff Attorney and Restore Mt. Hood Campaign Manager at Bark, protecting forests, waters, and wildlife, and then as a contract attorney for the Center for Food Safety, Center for Biological Diversity, and National Wildlife Federation, where she focused on genetic engineering and pesticide use in agriculture, tar sands pipelines, and mountain-top removal coal mining. Lori Ann has extensive media, public speaking, organizing, and coalition-building experience. She loves to spend her weekends exploring the wildlands surrounding Portland and is passionate about the great work Crag does.

Aurora del Val

After retiring from community college teaching, Aurora now lives in Cascade Locks, Oregon and was the Campaign Director for the Local Water Alliance, a bipartisan community group made up of Hood River County residents working to protect public water from large-scale bottled water operations. Aurora is an active Board member of Hood River’s Rockford Grange, which supports local organic farmers and community members to promote sustainable farming practices, build community resilience, and increase awareness of issues affecting the agricultural community, such as pesticide use and water security.  In addition to her passion for growing food, Aurora enjoys writing, hiking, dancing, and sailing with her husband and dog in the Columbia River Gorge.

Hans Eugene

Hans is a Director within the Valuation & Advisory group of Cushman & Wakefield and is a member of Valuation & Advisory’s Hospitality & Gaming Specialty Practice Group. Over Hans’s career he has completed valuations of individual properties, portfolio valuations, feasibility studies and investment advisory services on behalf of financial institutions, insurance companies, individual property owners and developers, REITs, pension funds and municipal agencies. Hans’s valuation and real estate advisory experience spans a range of property types but now focuses primarily on hospitality, multifamily, and mixed-use properties. Hans has provided valuation services throughout the entire United States with a primary focus in the Pacific Northwest. Hans received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Chicago. Additionally, Hans is an Adjunct Professor in Portland State University’s School of Business Administration: Center of Real Estate. In his role as a member of Crag’s Board, he is acting as an advocate for Crag Law Center in order to support the organization’s mission of legal aid for communities, climate and the wild. When Hans is not analyzing property or teaching, he enjoys backpacking, kayaking, skiing and exploring the natural world.  

Chet Lee

Chet Lee holds Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University.  He moved to Oregon in 1992 to work for the Intel Corporation, starting as a process engineer in semiconductor manufacturing. Since that time, he has managed engineering teams in semiconductor fabrication, systems failure analysis and analog power delivery, while working with diverse partners throughout the world.

A lifelong interest in the natural world led Chet to the Oregon Mycological Society, where he has served as board member, Vice President and an extended stint as culinary chairperson.   He was additionally board member with Bark for seven years, acting as board chairperson for two of those years.  He has instructed classes and seminars for the Mazamas, Lewis and Clark University and Oregon Department of Forestry in mountaineering, mycology and other outdoor skills.

 Chet enjoys the diverse aspects of management and leadership — from making data-based decisions to gaining insights to the human condition. He brings the ability to distill complex situations to key components along with strong cultural awareness and deeply enjoys building capable, independent and nimble teams.

 For enjoyment Chet relies upon his wife Sally and border collie Otto von Fuzipantz. Both outdoors recreation and cooking for friends top the fun list. Chet is at his happiest when these two merge – to visit natural areas, recognize available nutrition, and create a meal to share.

Erin Madden

Erin is an avid hiker, whitewater rafter and mushroom hunter who loves exploring Mt. Hood National Forest and the northern Oregon coast. She has lived in Portland for over 20 years, but her love of the outdoors was born in the woods and farm fields surrounding her childhood home in the suburbs of Kansas City. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and her Juris Doctor with a certificate in Environmental Law from Lewis and Clark Law School. Before law school, Erin worked as the Grassroots Organizer for Oregon Natural Resources Council (now Oregon Wild). She retired from her environmental law practice in 2015 after 11 years representing dozens of non-profit clients, as well as working as a contract attorney for the Nez Perce Tribe. In the past, she has served on boards and committees for the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, Oregon Chapter Sierra Club, Oregon League of Conservation Voters, Bark, and the Oregon State Bar Natural Resources Section. Currently, she volunteers as a “Hands On Owner” with People’s Food Cooperative. She has also volunteered internationally with San Pancho Bird Observatory (Mexico) and Latin American Sea Turtles (Costa Rica), allowing her to combine her passion for environmental change with her insatiable love of world travel. She has visited 28 countries on six continents.

Courtney Rae

Courtney is the Associate Director at Bark, the Portland-based watchdog group for Mt. Hood National Forest, working to engage all communities in Portland in the push for climate smart, culturally responsive management of the public lands. She brings 10+ years of experience in environmental management and advocacy, from working on neighborhood sustainability projects in Ithaca, NY to monitoring pipeline construction for FERC compliance in Nebraska and Indiana. Before coming to Bark, she worked with Columbia Riverkeeper to stop the Tesoro-Savage oil terminal in Vancouver, with Environment Oregon to Ban the Bag, and with the Human Rights Campaign to protect marriage equality. She currently sits on the Board of Signal Fire Arts and on the Portland African American Leadership Forum’s Environmental Justice committee. When she’s not at work or in a committee meeting, she’s contributing to NXT LVL PDX, raising awareness and resources for social justice efforts by curating extra special dances parties to lift up WOC and QTPOC in Portland, OR. Courtney spends her weekends reading critical race theory, afro-futurist literature, and Rilke, camping with her dogs, or hopping a red-eye to confer with radical organizers from around the country.

Mark Tuai

Mark is an estate planning attorney based in Ashland, Oregon. Outside of his law practice, Mark is an avid fly fisherman with a commitment to fisheries conservation. This commitment steered him to Lewis & Clark Law School in 2015, where he pursued a law degree with a focus on environmental law. During law school, Mark served as a summer law clerk at Earthrise and Crag, where he worked on a variety of state and federal environmental matters. While in law school, Mark also founded the Student Angling Law Society, which gave him the opportunity to introduce his classmates to the sport of fly-fishing and the environmental threats surrounding it. Besides his commitment to environmental conservation, Mark is an advocate for animals and serves on the board of the Southern Oregon Humane Society. Outside of his office, Mark is usually waist deep in a stream trying to fool fish.  

Mo Wieser

Mo Wieser (She/They) is a Brazilian-American whose passion for the outdoors started at an early age after learning about Amazon Deforestation. Mo spent her early career as a crew leader for youth corps throughout the United States, coaching youth in environmental conservation, trail building, and maintenance. Currently, with a Masters Degree in Social Impact, Mo works as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Educational Team Lead for Nike, where they focus on creating DEI Education for the entire enterprise. Mo and her pup Woods love being outside, taking pictures, kayaking, and enjoying the beauty the natural world offers.