Dan Bryant is co-founder and currently Executive Director of SquareOne Villages, a non-profit that provides transitional shelter and permanent housing for the homeless using villages of tiny housing.

Dan is a native Oregonian who has lived across the country and in Europe before coming to Eugene in 1991 as the Senior Minister of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) from whence he retired in April of 2020.  He has been an outspoken advocate on homelessness and other social issues for which he has received awards from Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, the Jewish Federation of Lane County, Catholic Community Services, United Way of Lane County, the Eugene Human Rights Commission, City Club of Eugene, the Lane County chapter of the National Association for the Mentally Ill, the Nobel Peace Laureate Project and Volunteers in Medicine. He and Judy Bryant, his spouse of 40 years, have two children, a daughter who is an assistant camera operator in L.A. and a son who is a physicist at the Department of Energy in Washington, DC.

Visit their website HERE.

Heather Quaas-Annsa is Director of Philanthropy at Community Supported Shelters. As Director of Philanthropy for Community Supported Shelters, Heather is responsible for mid-level and major gift fundraising, donor relations, planned giving, public relations, marketing, and advocacy. She leads the Development staff, supports the Development Committee, and assists with donor stewardship and event planning. Heather is also the liaison for the CSS Board of Directors.

In 2011, Heather and her then-3-year-old son struggled with housing stability and food insecurity after she escaped an abusive marriage. After receiving support from local nonprofits, Heather was able to rebuild her life. In 2014, Heather received a Master’s in Business Administration, focusing on project management while working full-time and raising her three children. This degree’s coursework allowed her to expand her public relations and communications knowledge, strategic and tactical planning, and organizational management. Heather was recognized in 2017 as a “20 under 40 Rising Business Star” for her commitment to career excellence and making the Eugene-Springfield area a better place for all residents. In 2019, Heather became a Certified Fund Raising Executive- one of only 72 in all of Oregon!

Visit their website HERE.

Adam Woods is a 57 year old cancer survivor who has been unhoused for 2 years due to economic reasons. He has been in the CSS program for close to 2 years. Before his cancer he was an HVAC specialist for 35 years and was a professional musician most all his life.  He has been working diligently with the local housing programs to secure permanent, stable housing. Through his personal experiences, it has been important to him to advocate and outreach to help others who are unhoused.  

Timothy Williams has been doing community outreach in Eugene along with his wife and four children. Timothy’s family decided to reside at the Nite Inn on 6th Avenue between Chambers and Polk streets, meeting, feeding, and continuing the “real” conversations with those in need. This became their outreach to the disinherited in Eugene, Oregon; doing this work from the hotel for 4 1/2 years.

Carly Boyer (they/she) is a Program Manager for Oregon Climate and Agriculture Network (OrCAN), currently leading the 3rd annual Climate Resilience Training for Oregon Agriculture Professionals. She is a 4th generation Oregonian and has stewarded her family’s Century farm in Polk County, for the past 22 years. They have a degree in Planning, Public Policy and Management from the University of Oregon, with over 5 years of experience in the non-profit sector. Carly is a Land Advocacy Fellow with National Young Farmers Coalition and serves as a Board Member for Rogue Farm Corps and Rewild Portland. They are passionate about the intersection of agriculture, conservation, and equitable access to land, water and food.

Visit the Oregon Climate and Agriculture Network website HERE.

Jennifer Denson is the Executive Director for Burrito Brigade. “I have lived in Eugene most of my life. I got involved after seeing Facebook request for more volunteers when Burrito Brigade was in a home in the Whit (June 2014). I have always wanted to help others and this is a great way to give back. Bonus is, I get to share this wonderful project with my brothers Charles and Steve.”

Visit The Burrito Brigade website HERE.

Melissa Fery is an Associate Professor for the Oregon State University Extension Service serving small farms in the southern Willamette Valley. She has been supporting Oregon agriculture in the areas of soil health, livestock and pasture production, land stewardship and direct marketing for over 20 years. Melissa and her family live on a small farm in Lane County where she enjoys a rural lifestyle, growing plants and raising animals.

Visit the OSU Extension Services Lane County website HERE.

Genevieve Schaack is the Executive Director of Willamette Farm & Food Coalition. Having grown up in her parents’ restaurant in Chicago, Genevieve began to share the love of food with those around her and became increasingly inspired to alleviate the inequity of access across the food system. Starting at Food Not Bombs and free diners in back home, when she moved to Oregon 20 years ago she began to look more critically at where our food comes from.

As the Executive Director of Willamette Farm and Food Coalition, she is delighted to work in support of small, sustainable farmers while increasing access to locally grown food for all residents in Lane County and beyond.

Visit the Willamette Farm & Food Coaltion website HERE.

Shelley Schuler, Farmer & Food Artisan, is all about radical sharing of that farm to table love. Her jam is capturing flavor and food waste from the field as ferments, sauces and preserves. She’s a long standing supporter and activist in the local food scene and definitely wants to make you dinner. Shelley started Moondog’s Farm with her partner Dan four years ago and launched Lane County Bounty at the onset of the pandemic to help our community get access to the highest quality food the county has to offer safely and conveniently.

Visit the Moondog’s Farm Facebook page HERE, and the Lane County Bounty website HERE.

Kara Smith, FOOD For Lane County’s Food Resource Developer since early 2020, has been involved in anti-hunger work for over a decade. She has a graduate degree from the University of Oregon specializing in Political Science, Public Policy and Food Systems and a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management. Prior to earning her degree, she held a year-long internship with the local Lane County Food Policy Council. In 2009, she began her FOOD For Lane County (FFLC) career working with over 150 organizations as the Agency Relations Coordinator. In 2013, she assumed the role of FFLC’s Community Engagement, Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator. While in this position, she empowered FFLC partners and individuals across Lane County in successful advocacy work at the local, state and federal level. She served as the co-chair of the Oregon Food Bank Statewide Network Advocacy Committee and continues to serve on the state of Oregon’s Hunger Task Force. In her current role, Kara is responsible for creating and supporting partnerships that foster food donations to FFLC and the communities we serve. She develops solicitation strategies for donations, and coordinates logistics and processing of donations with FFLC’s Operations Team. She also leads communications with local food business partners on the impact their donations have on FFLC’s mission, while providing guidance and training to staff, donor partners and volunteers.

Visit the FOOD For Lane County website HERE.