OHSU

Board of Directors

The OHSU Board of Directors has 10 members. Mandated positions on the board include the president of OHSU, a member of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education and an OHSU student. The other seven members serve at the governor of Oregon's discretion and must be confirmed by the Oregon Senate. The university president serves on the board throughout his or her presidency, the student board member serves a two-year term, and each of the other members is appointed for a four-year term.

Charles Wilhoite

Chairman

Charles Wilhoite
Principal and director, Willamette Management Associates, Portland office

Charles Wilhoite comes from a firm specializing in financial consulting, economic analysis and business valuation services. His practice areas focus on business valuations, gift and estate tax planning, economic damages estimation, financial consulting, intellectual property appraisal and dispute resolution services, with a heavy emphasis on the health care industry. Prior to joining Willamette he was with the accounting and consulting firm KPMG.

Jay Waldron

Vice Chairman

Jay Waldron
Portland Attorney 

Jay Waldron joined the OHSU board October 2007. He is an attorney practicing in the areas of environmental and energy law with Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt, a regional, multi-service law firm. Waldron recently completed six years as president of the Port of Portland Commission. He also has been the chairman of the American Bar Association's Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section's environmental law committee.

Rom?n D. Hern?ndez

Román Hernández
Portland attorney

Román Hernández joined the OHSU board June 2006. He is an attorney with Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt, a regional, multi-service law firm. Hernandez is the immediate past president of the board of directors of the Portland Hispanic Chamber and currently serves on the chamber's board. He also serves as regional president for the Hispanic National Bar Association for the Pacific Northwest region. 

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Rachel Pilliod
M.D. candidate

Rachel Pilliod joined the OHSU board July 2009. She is an M.D. candidate in the School of Medicine. Prior to starting medical school, Rachel worked on education policy for the Nevada State Assembly and for the Committee for Economic Development in Washington, D.C. She’s served previously on the Oregon University System Board and was student body president at the University of Oregon.
Joe Robertson, M.D., M.B.A.

Joe Robertson, M.D., M.B.A.
President, OHSU
Ex Officio 

Joe Robertson, M.D., M.B.A., appointed OHSU's president in 2006, has led numerous initiatives aimed at providing improved health care access to Oregonians. Other professional interests include the development of healthcare delivery systems and the application of cost accounting principles to medical practice, with the goal of reducing expenses for care while enhancing patient outcomes. He began at OHSU as a resident in 1979 and held numerous posts, including director of the Casey Eye Institute, and most recently, dean of the School of Medicine. Robertson is an acclaimed surgeon and researcher who has participated in numerous clinical trials. 

Maria Pope

Maria Pope
Chief Financial Officer, Portland General Electric

Maria Pope joined the OHSU Board March 2010. Prior to this appointment, she served on PGE’s Board of Directors.  She was previously the vice president and chief financial officer at Mentor Graphics.  She also has served as vice president and general manager at Pope & Talbot, Inc., as well as in management positions at Levi Strauss & Co., and at Morgan Stanley. Pope currently serves on the boards of Premera Blue Cross, where she is the lead director, chairing the executive committee and serving on the compensation committee; and TimberWest Forest Corp., where she chairs the audit committee. She also serves on the OHSU Foundation Board of Trustees.  She is a past chair of the Council of Forest Industries and the Oregon Symphony.
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MardiLyn Saathof
Chief Governance Officer and Corporate Secretary for NW Natural Gas Company

MardiLyn Saathof was appointed to the board of directors of OHSU in October, 2009. In addition to her current position at NW Natural, she has worked for Tektronix, Inc. as Assistant General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. Before that position, she served as General Counsel to Oregon’s Governor Kulongoski and was also his Business and Economic Development Advisor. Saathoff has played a variety of legal roles in her career, including operations counsel at Tektronix, as well as a supervising attorney for the Oregon Department of Justice, Business Transactions Section. Saathoff began her legal career at Stoel Rives, LLP, where she focused her practice in corporate, securities and finance.

Meredith Wilson

Meredith Wilson
Civic leader and community volunteer

Meredith Wilson is a rancher and co-owner of Wilson Cattle Co., located in North Powder in eastern Oregon. She has been involved with various nonprofit and community organizations, including PEO International Education Fund, which promotes educational opportunities for women, and the Northeast Oregon Area Health Education Center, which is one of four such centers OHSU operates in partnership with Oregon communities to improve the education, training and distribution of health care professionals in Oregon. 

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David V. Yaden
Retired executive director of policy and planning at Tri-Met

David V. Yaden was appointed to the board of directors of OHSU in October, 2009. He also serves on the Oregon State Board of Higher Education. Now retired, he has more than 35 years experience in public affairs in Oregon. In addition to chairing the Sustainability Initiative Committee of the State Board of Higher Education, he is on the board and has been chair of Sightline Institute, a regional sustainability think tank based in Seattle. He has also been an independent public policy consultant and international environmental advisor; served as director of the Oregon Department of Energy; worked in corporate planning in the private sector; served as special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and as chief-of-staff to a U.S. Congressman; owned his own public opinion research firm; and worked in various local government positions.

R. Jon Yunker

R. Jon Yunker
Civic leader 

R. Jon Yunker joined the OHSU Board of Directors October 2008. Mr. Yunker brings to the OHSU Board an array of valuable experience.  Mr. Yunker worked for the Department of Administrative Services from 1980 – 2004, serving as its Director from 1995 – 2000.  In April 2004, Mr. Yunker joined the State Board of Higher Education to serve as chief operations officer and executive vice chancellor for the Oregon University System. Mr. Yunker was retained to lead System efforts to evaluate and improve current business operations.  Currently, Mr. Yunker serves as a public member on the Oregon State Commission on Children and Families.