The SAR Foundation Board

Ann is a retired Army Medical Specialist Corps Colonel. As an Army Dietitian she held a variety of leadership and developmental positions. In 1992 she received her MS in Sports Nutrition from Georgia State University and in 2000 she earned a PhD in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology from Oregon State University (go Beavers!). Her area of technical expertise is nutrition and physical performance. In the military she used the culmination of her skills and knowledge to design and implement a Masters degree program (US Military-Baylor University Graduate Program in Nutrition) for all Military Dietitians. After graduating the inaugural class of Masters degree students in 2008 she retired and moved to Bend, Oregon.

Throughout her Army career Ann was involved in local community outdoor activities including the Mountaineers, Appalachian Mountain club, and Corvallis Mountain Rescue. When she retired in 2008 she joined the Deschutes County Search & Rescue team and currently serves on their Administrative Board, Academy planning committee as well as numerous ground teams. In Aug of 2010 she joined the Search & Rescue non-profit board and currently serves as the board president. Ann enjoys anything with the word “adventure” as well as hiking, biking, and skiing.

Teri Shamlian and her husband Bob, retired to Bend in 2008. Shortly after moving here, a TV ad recruiting for Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search & Rescue team caught her attention. SAR is now a big part of her life. Besides being on the team, she is very actively involved in leadership roles; the Administration Board, as a Logistics Chief, on the Academy Planning Team, and now recently elected to the Search & Rescue Foundation. Teri says, “In SAR I found a group of very talented, caring people, who will do what it takes to help others. These people have become my friends and extended family because we have so much in common.”

Teri came to Bend from Houston, where she worked for Continental Airlines as a Sr. Buyer and Event Planner. Her lifelong volunteer activities were many, but organizing outdoor cycling events for the Continental Airlines Cycling Team, building bikes at Christmas with Elves and More, and working with the Harris County Citizen Corp as a CERT Coordinator were her most recent Houston projects.

Her 3 year involvement with the Citizen Corp is what motivated her to be involved with SAR. Teaching CERT, Community Emergency Response Team training, and being involved in the disasters affecting Houston, Hurricanes Katrina and Ike, provided an excellent background in Emergency Services.

Teri enjoys all the outdoor activities that can be done in Bend, does stained and fused glass art, and enjoys nature photography; is on the Board of Bicycle Rides Northwest, in addition to being a SAR Volunteer.

Alissa is passionate about serving her community through the Search & Rescue Foundation. She has always loved working in a professional environment. While living in Las Vegas she attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas and was a Peer Advisor/Office Assistant for the Student Organization Resource Center for two years. Alissa then moved to the office of Nevada Corporate Planners. In 2009, after living in Las Vegas for 21 years, she got married to the man of her dreams, Jet Cowan, and moved to Central Oregon. Alissa has a two year banking background, during which time she was a Vault Teller. She currently leads a dance team, designing dance garments and banners, and has danced at conferences throughout the United States for the past 12 years. She loves taking care of her newborn son while staying active in her community.

Jeffery Flones is well versed in guerilla marketing techniques, internet marketing solutions, marketing budget analytics, target market diagnostics including untapped market potentials, psychological approach to memorable service methods, hiring tactics, social media consolidation and innovative community marketing designed for client loyalty and brand recognition.

Jeffery is the Chief Marketing Consultant and CEO of Spooky Dawson Marketing Group of Central Oregon, which is based in Bend, Oregon.

Jeffery lives in Bend, Oregon with his amazing wife Kira and their dog Luna. He has one child, his son Sam, who is the center of his universe.

The reasons why I wanted to become a member of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search & Rescue team are threefold: to help people in need, to give back to my community, and to hang out with an extraordinary group of talented, dedicated, and committed people. Apart from individual mission-to-mission responsibilities, I felt like I could also offer SAR some professional tools that I had acquired over some 30 years in the communications field, i.e. providing help with writing, producing, and directing videos and/or television projects designed to document as well as educate the public as to what SAR teams do in actual emergencies and how their extensive training and expertise contributes to saving lives.

I’ve enjoyed a rewarding professional career as a writer/producer having written and/or produced more than 100 television shows and commercial videos for local and national broadcast, specializing in cultural documentaries and ocean sports programming. Over the past 30 years, I have been fortunate to have interviewed more than 800 people on camera, ranging from children to celebrities. It is from this background that I developed my love for documenting the human story. Now it is time for me to help SAR document their story.

A Telly Award and Pele Award winner, I am also honored to have had three documentaries featured in the Hawai’i International Film Festival entitled: Pele the Fire Within, Na Himeni O Ka Ekalesia, and Beach Break.

Gayla Nelson comes to the DCSAR Board with over 35 years of volunteer work in Event Planning and Fund Raising with a variety of organizations. For the past 22 years she has worked with the American Diabetes Association annual Auction in Portland, Oregon. For three years chaired and organized the walk for Diabetes in Redmond, OR.

Gayla earned a degree in education at San Diego State (now University) with graduate work in the specialized field of reading. Gayla was a self employed business owner and Real Estate Broker. As a Reserve Deputy Sheriff with Multnomah County in Portland, OR she was a member of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Posse Search & Rescue. While a member of that organization she organized and ran a horse program in conjunction with PAL (Police Activities League) for at risk-inner city kids.

Gayla brings enthusiasm, energy and a variety of skills in organization and leadership to the Board and is excited to have the opportunity to help develop funding and public awareness for one of the top SAR organizations in the country.

Mark has lived in Central Oregon for over 25 years and brings a vast array of skills and experiences to the Foundation. He holds a MS in Organic Chemistry from the University of Oregon and was the first scientist hired by Bend Research (polymer chemist) and helped turn out 7 patents and 19 publications. He continues to be passionate about the field and teaches at Chemistry part-time at COCC. While living in Bend Mark was a member of the National Ski Patrol and racked up 27 years of experience. While active in the National Ski Patrol he served as the Patrol Director, Patrol Avalanche Advisor, Ski and Toboggan Instructor, Outdoor Emergency Care Instructor, and Level II Avalanche Instructor. In addition, Mark served as the Patrol Fundraising Chair and consistently exceeded the fund raising goals. His interest in joining the SAR Board was to continue to exercise his fundraising skills and help the Foundation bring long-term support to the Deschutes SAR volunteers and the community. In his free time Mark enjoys spending time with his wife Jody, their 2 Border Collies (Bailey and BC), as well as geocaching, mountain biking, canoeing, camping.

Jet has high energy and enjoys outdoor activities. He has done martial arts since he was 7, mountain bike racing, and has won 2 International Tournament Champion Titles in Mounted Archery, all by the time he turned 20. His hard work and dedication shows.

He has an 8 year background in the Audio/Visual industry, having been the lead technician for events such as "The Portland Green Show", "The NW Sportsmen's Shows" and many other local events. He also worked in Las Vegas as an Automated Lighting and Electronics Tech. In 2009 he returned to Central Oregon, newly married to his wife Alissa, and opened his own Audio Visual company which he ran from Spring 2009 to Fall 2011. Due to not wanting to travel as much and the birth of his son, he sold the business. Yet keeping with his strong entrepreneurial heart, Jet got his Real Estate license in March 2011. He is currently working with "Team Birtola Garmyn" in Bend, OR as an Exclusive Buyers Agent.

Jet joined Deschutes County Sheriff's Search & Rescue in Spring 2011 and is currently part of our Medical, Mountain Rescue, ATV, Horse, IMT, Ground and Fire Evacuation teams. He also received the 2011 Rookie of the Year Award.

Jet Cowan joined the Search & Rescue Foundation in October 2011 and was reelected to serve on the board for an additional two year term.

Chris has over 30 years of senior experience building and leading teams in the private, public and non-profit sectors. Trained as an attorney, Chris has worked the past two and a half decades in communications and brand building for businesses ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies and, most recently, as the Senior VP of Strategic Communications at World Wildlife Fund in Washington, DC.

Early in his career, Chris was elected District Attorney in Salem, Oregon where he also served as the Chair of the Oregon District Attorney’s Legislative Committee. Following his term in office, Chris joined Nike, Inc. as East Coast Legal Counsel in Washington, DC. During his 17-year tenure with Nike, Chris moved from legal work to a focus on communications and brand building, working as Marketing Director for Nike’s U.S. apparel division and later as Regional Marketing and Brand Director for Nike’s Asia Pacific office in Hong Kong. Following Nike, Chris held a senior position at Patagonia, Inc. where he was VP of Marketing and Product Development. In 2004, Chris co-founded Nau, Inc. and was its President and CEO.

Chris currently serves on the Boards of two social change and conservation organizations in Oregon: Caldera and The Oregon Natural Desert Association.

Jane is originally from Iowa but due to her husband’s career has moved 11 different times in 25 years. They have lived in several different states in the U.S. as well as Russia, The Netherlands and recently, Indonesia. They retired in May 2011 and chose to live in Bend because of the wide variety of outdoor activities available here.

Jane has spent most of her career in the financial industry working at banks, a mutual fund company and an international brokerage firm. She attained her Registered Representative license and worked closely with Investment Advisors in several different areas. She has also worked as an Accounting Technician and as a Project Specialist for a real estate/building management firm. In Jakarta, Indonesia she volunteered at a local foundation that worked closely with the disadvantaged communities to improve water and sanitation conditions.

A good friend introduced her to SAR. She was struck by the dedication, commitment of the members and the wide variety of skills required for their rescue missions. After meeting some of these people she thought it would be a great place to volunteer. She is currently their Historian.

Jane enjoys several outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, mountain biking and running. She also paints and is a member of Sagebrushers Art Society.

Chuck Christopher was born and raised in Colorado, growing up mostly in the Denver area, and was graduated from the University of Colorado. He and his life partner, Patsy, then moved to Evanston, Illinois to attend Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. Following his ordination as an Episcopal priest, Chuck and his family served in a variety of communities in Colorado. In 1991 they moved to the Northwest, living in Richland, Washington until 1999.

They moved to Ashland, Oregon in 1999 where Chuck served as an associate at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church while he completed his dissertation for a Doctor of Ministry degree. Chuck took early retirement in 2002, starting his consulting business for churches and non-profits.

Chuck has consulted with congregations of various denominations throughout the northwest, but is now mostly retired and focuses on fly fishing when he isn’t volunteering for Deschutes County Search & Rescue, serving on the Logistics, Incident Management and Tracking teams.

Patsy and Chuck have two daughters and one granddaughter, all of whom are residents of Oregon.

Cynthia Armstrong’s background in fundraising and non-profit development spans thirty years of professional service to a wide array of organizations, locally, nationally and internationally. While serving in management positions and as a consultant, Cindy has directed campaigns, annual fund drives, and planning and feasibility studies. She has managed board and volunteer development committees. She has developed and implemented strategies for soliciting major gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations. Throughout her experience, Cindy has employed the methods of personal gift requests, direct mail, special events, and grant writing to secure philanthropic gifts.

Cindy’s current community service includes serving as Board Director and volunteer for several local organizations. As a volunteer Special Advisor to the Search & Rescue Foundation Board, Cindy brings an enthusiastic commitment to helping the Foundation fulfill its purpose and a desire to assist with securing the resources necessary for our extraordinary Search & Rescue teams to successfully and safely complete their missions.

Patrick grew up in the Willamette Valley and attended OSU, where he received a bachelor of science in liberal arts and a masters of fine arts in creative writing. While living in Corvallis, Patrick was very involved in the community, serving on the Corvallis City Council for six years, including two years as Council Vice-President and two years as Council President.

He and his wife, Amy, love to travel and moved to Cork, Ireland, in December, 2007, where they lived for 18 months. The rain drove them away and they spent another year traveling in Europe, Mexico and South America, eventually seeing over 30 countries on five continents. When they travel, they always have a plan and never follow it.

Patrick was drawn to Bend for its outdoor opportunities, and he immediately set his sights on joining Search & Rescue after the couple moved to Central Oregon in 2010. He graduated from the SAR Academy in the spring of 2011, and is a member of the SAR Ground, Air Operations, and Medical Teams.

As an online instructor for the OSU English Department through the University’s distance education program, Ecampus, Patrick gets to work with students from around the world.

Hal has over thirty years experience in the outdoor industry, with over twenty years as the Creative Director for Chouinard Climbing and Skiing (Now Black Diamond) and it’s sister brand, Patagonia Clothing. More recently he was one the founders of Nau, an outdoor clothing company, based in Portland Oregon.

Hal recently relocated to Bend with his wife Darcy, and is excited about the opportunity to bring his skills to bear on helping Search & Rescue Foundation with their communications and outreach programs, in order to increase public awareness and acquire additional funding for the operation overall.

In addition to the Foundation, Hal and his wife are excited to participate in on the ground rescue efforts as members of the SAR team.

My greatest accomplishments in life are my children. I am a mother of four and grandmother of 12. I have always been what you would call a “team” player, a lifetime learner and perpetual teacher. I was raised with 5 brothers and 1 sister.

I moved back to Oregon after being gone for about 15 years exploring this great United States we live in. I landed in Colorado for 10 years where I learned my way around a horse and discovered that the country life is the life for me. I grew up a Girl Scout and spent almost every summer camping in some woods on top of some mountain or another.

I have a great love for the outdoors and am at home most often on the back of a horse in the woods or gliding across a smooth glassy lake in my kayak. Helping others, teaching others, and just being one with nature is what made joining Search & Rescue a natural fit for me. I am honored to be a special resource for Search & Rescue Foundation’s Community Education program.

Roger graduated from Willamette University Law School in 1963. He has been a sole proprietor his entire career mainly in the Portland area. The lure of life in Central Oregon finally brought him to Sisters where he now maintains his office.

His Law practice focuses mainly in the areas of small businesses, real estate, estate planning, tax preparation and charitable organizations (501) (c) (3).

Roger was a marathon runner in the past and now enjoys hiking, biking and spending time at their cabin in the Wallowa Mountains. Having graduated from the University of Oregon he is passionate about the Oregon Ducks!!!

After 50 years in Alaska, Carol came to Bend as part of a long-time dream. A semi-retired wildlife/fisheries biologist who has worked from the Arctic to the tropics, she is an environmental consultant in Alaska. Having been both an alpine and Nordic back country ski patroller, she brings over 40 years experience in SAR and has been a K9 handler since 1995. She is now handled by a Border Collie named Meg who is trained in avalanche, wilderness, urban disaster and human remains search.

Skiing, snowshoeing, ocean kayaking, and gardening are current favorite activities. She recently discovered fat tire biking. Fish used to fear her, now they just cast a side glance. But she always aspires to land the big one, be it marlin, peacock bass, salmon or humble trout.

Among her many former exploits are garbage truck driver, coffee roaster, ski lift attendant, helicopter foreman, commercial salmon fisher, dog trainer, Peace Corps Volunteer, Girl Scout Leader, and Master Gardener. She has studied coral reef fishes, bears, elk, beavers, and salmon, trekked throughout South America and Bhutan, driven dump trucks and dozers, boated on the Gulf of Alaska and kayaked Alaska’s coastal waters. The best adventure is the next one, which in the near future is walking the 500 mile Camino Santiago in Spain.

Carol assists the Foundation with grant writing and fundraising. She serves with the Ground SAR Team and is training in Logistics Management.