By Kieran Lee, CNA Chair
Hey Concordians! I’ve had the opportunity to meet a few of you during our holiday party in December, as well as at board meetings and other events over the past year. My name is Kieran Lee [keer-ahn], and I am your Concordia Neighborhood Association Board Chair for 2023. My pronouns are he/him/his. We’ll get to know each other better throughout the year, but nice to meet you in our community’s two-dimensional space.
In my first column entry, I’d like to start by thanking Peter Keller for leading CNA over the past two years as chair. Under his leadership, we worked through the pandemic, started our relationship with the new University of Oregon Portland campus, and achieved internal approval for the Concordia Community Partner agreement, to name a few accomplishments. Thank you, Peter!
I’ll do my best to carry an open mind and open ears into 2023. In the past year while on the board, I’ve observed engagement that is motivating. We have a community of passionate neighbors, and I encourage you to continue to use the CNA as a forum to initiate important discussions impacting our neighborhood. Personally, I have set my primary goal as chair in these first months: to establish a 2023 budget and use it as an opportunity to discuss where CNA can expand its impact over the next years.
As always, feel free to send me a direct message via email if there is an opportunity for the CNA Board to be your megaphone. Our volunteer-based group is here to serve the neighborhood, and we start with listening.
Meeting notes
The 2023 CNA Board met in January with a few fresh faces to get our year started. We began by running our yearly officer elections, which are voted on by the board after nomination and majority approval. I’d like to congratulate the following board members and also thank them for taking on these additional duties!
- Vice Chair – Brittany van der Salm
- Treasurer – Heather Pashley
- Secretary – Matt Roberts
We also had a vacancy on the CNA Board for our At-Large 5 position, for which we held an election. With out-of-sequence vacancies, the CNA Board may nominate any person that meets the CNA bylaws guidelines. I am happy to announce that Michelle Fitzgerald was nominated and approved by unanimous vote to fill this position. Welcome to the team, Michelle!
Lastly, CNA Board “freshman” Rich Burton was appointed Land Use & Transportation Committee chair—thank you for stepping into the role, Rich! Rich wants to hear your concerns for land use and transportation within Concordia and will begin holding regular monthly meetings soon.
Kieran Lee works as an automotive engineer and has volunteered in youth development. He particularly enjoys living in Concordia for a variety of reasons, including its diversity, accessibility, and local business community.