OCT 1st, 2022

Deputy Secretary of State

Ms. Myers'​ professional background includes public policy, organizational leadership, economic development, public education/youth advocacy, and a history of assisting organizations to construct equitable cultures and embed collaborative practices. Her prior public service roles include Director of Economic & Business Equity in the Governor’s Office, Chief of Staff for the Higher Education Commission and as Operations & Engagement Director for Educator Advancement in the Chief Education Office and 8 years as an elected school board member. Her longstanding private sector business ownership lends insight into the varying aspects of unique business needs. She is the second person of color and the first person from the Asian American community to serve as Oregon’s Deputy Secretary of State. Myers began life as an orphan in Korea before she was adopted by an Oregon family and raised in a SE Portland working-class family. She is deeply committed to community with service on local and national boards. She enjoys their floating home life with family and puppy, sharing meals with friends, paddle boarding, boating and riding her Harley.

General Partner, Oregon Venture Fund

Jon is a General Partner at one of our region’s most active venture firms, the Oregon Venture Fund. At OVF, his focus is on working with companies prior to starting diligence for investment, as well as working with the community ecosystem to help support entrepreneurship everywhere in Oregon. Prior to OVF, Jon was an entrepreneur, founding and exiting several companies in the technology field.  

CEO, Chapul Farms 

Pat Crowley is founder and CEO of Chapul Farms, a project development company building insect farms as a means to address waste management, increase soil health, and produce sustainable foods. He has a diverse career path, from surf guide to hydrologist to entrepreneur where he has raised millions of dollars in capital from a diversity of sources: from crowdfunding, angel investors, venture capital, private equity, state and federal grants, and even on television from Mark Cuban on ABC’s Shark Tank. He is considered a global authority in his field, and has sat on Boards of Directors from local community gardens to international science research centers. When he is not working, he can be found on or in water, either surfing, fishing, rafting, or swimming, usually with one or more of his 3 children.  

CEO, Oh! Strategic Branding

As CEO of Oh! Strategic Branding (formerly Koopman Ostbo) in Portland, Oregon, Craig Ostbo brings more than 30 years of branding and marketing experience in the natural, organic, and sustainable food and beverage consumer products category and the financial services sector.

Craig has provided strategic branding direction for numerous consumer product brands, including Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods, Kettle Chips, Franz Bakery, Rogue Creamery, Umpqua Dairy, Beaverton Foods, Smucker Natural Foods, Kroger’s Naturally Preferred Brand, Santa Cruz Organic, and Kombucha Wonder Drink, to name but a few. He has also worked with retailers Wild Oats Markets, Nature’s, New Seasons Markets, Pharmaca, Market of Choice, and Kroger.

In financial services, Craig has provided branding and marketing counsel for Mortgage Market, Point West Credit Union, LoanStar, Foundation Home Lending, and PACRES Mortgage, a fast-growing national brand where Craig currently acts as their Chief Marketing Officer. An enthusiastic supporter of local business and entrepreneurs, Craig has spent the past 15 years

as a member of the Board of Directors of the regional business bank, Pacific West Bank.

Craig’s passion to share his experience and expertise has allowed him to be a featured speaker at Brand Packaging’s “Packaging That Sells” Conference, Petfood Forum, Farm to Label, The Packaging Management Council, The Future of Dairy Conference, The Marketing Educators’ Association, The Sustainable Packaging Forum, USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant National Conference, Harvest New England, Idaho Milk Processors Association, and the Academy of Marketing Science to name but a few.

With a degree in International Business from Linfield University, Craig serves on Linfield’s Business Advisory Council providing strategic direction, advocacy and development for the institution’s business programs. He’s a member of the advisory board of Portland State University’s Center for Retail Leadership, where he serves as an adjunct professor for PSU’s Summer Business Institute, Consumer Products Goods Strategic Marketing, International Business, and International Marketing. As a member of Oregon State University’s Food Science & Technology board of advisors, Craig provides branding, marketing, and communications counsel on behalf of this preeminent program.

As an entrepreneur, Craig and his business partner, his son Christian who is both a trained Chef and a certified Personal Trainer, are about to release their first product in the health, wellness and sports nutrition category, LUV Protein.