Currently, three residents, Suzanne Cooper, Jackie Petersen, and Kat Topaz, have expressed interest in filling these positions. The following paragraphs introduce each individual. There will be opportunities to meet them at future Association and island events.
Suzanne Cooper
My name is Suzanne Cooper, and I moved to Sauvies Island Oct 17th, 2022. Previous to that date, I drove almost every day for the last 6 years to Sauvies Island from my home in NE Portland, as my daughter and I had our horses boarded at Sauvies Island Stables.
I remember how it felt to see the three mountains from the Sauvies Island Bridge and feeling the tension and stress of the city fall away as I drove along the dike road. What a dream to get to move here.
I worked as a nurse practitioner for Kaiser for 15 years and still work 2 days a week, just to keep my hand in. Prior to that, I worked as an RN at OHSU for 12 years in a variety of areas—Emergency, Family Practice, Post Anesthesia Recovery, Cardiac step-down unit. I really enjoyed working with the interns and residents. At OHSU, as part of the NCAP (Nurse Career Advancement Program) I wrote protocols for the travel clinic on malaria prophylaxis and recommended vaccines for international travelers, among other things.
Prior to that, I was one of the few women to work as a paramedic for Buck Ambulance, now AMR. It has been quite a health-care education.
My son Wilson is currently staying with me and he just finished teaching a quarter of statistics at Portland State. My daughter Julia is a devoted horse woman and works as a social worker for Providence.
I very much appreciated the SI Grange panel on the CEI (Critical Energy Infrastructure) or “Tank Farm”, along Highway 30, and hope to encourage our politicians to clean up that site for the safety of us all.
As I learn to drive a tractor and try to improve my pastures, I am deeply grateful to the friends and neighbors of Sauvies Island, who have been so kind and supportive.
Jackie Petersen
Hello, I am Jackie Petersen. I am applying for an At-Large position on the SICA Board. I have lived on the island for 37 years. I love it here. I was secretary for SICA a few years back. I really appreciate SICA’s commitment and involvement to the island and its residents. And its involvement in keeping residents in the know with NEWSLINKS. The reason I previously left the board was a conflict with my job hours (am retired now).
I love the community and its residents; I know over half of them. Everyone is caring and willing to help a neighbor in need. I am a Deaconess at the Island church, a Grange member, and worked with the Fire Dept. on several projects. I have a certificate in CPR/AED. I am the captain for my neighborhood for Emergency Preparedness.
Kat Topaz
My name is Kat Topaz.
My husband, Jim Abeles, and I moved to Sauvie Island at the end of 2014. The Sauvie Island community has been incredibly supportive to us, both as neighbors and as farm owners. I can’t think of a better way to give back to the community that has helped us in so many ways than to be an active member of SICA.
I have served for several non-profit organizations, most recently as the rentals committee lead at the Sauvie Island Grange. Previously I served as a school board member for seven years, at International School of Portland, a local independent school. During that time, I spearheaded the successful effort to be awarded the Custom House building. This was a $2.5M acquisition awarded to the school on behalf of GSA and DOE. This was an 18-month process that required coordinating many stakeholders including legal, marketing, education, and finance. I am extremely proud of this project, and grateful for all the experience I gained and local contacts made during the process.
During my professional life, before Jim and I bought our farm in 2020, I spent three plus decades in design, tech, and marketing. I had my own design firm in Portland for many years. During this time, I also taught at PNCA. Following this, I co-owned a technology company that was eventually acquired by a NASDAQ company.
This was an incredibly exciting time, as our company was one of the first companies in the country to create digital publications, which are now known as apps. During that time, I designed Nike’s first app, along with the first apps for many other high-profile clients. At this level, my skills had to grow way beyond leading and running projects, to sales and marketing of multi-million-dollar projects.
That said, the entire time I was lucky enough to work on high profile projects, I always was committed to the community. Even now as farm owners, we make sure to donate space and time to several non-profit groups including the Sauvie Island Center, CHAP (the Children’s Healing Arts Project), Wisdom of the Elders and the Canoe Family to name a few.