PRESS RELEASE: Jaz Bias and Sarah Weber-Ogden Appointed as Co-Executive Directors of Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, in a Collaborative Organizational Structure

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 2, 2023
CONTACT: Jacki Ward Kehrwald, Communications Lead | (971)222-4662  |  [email protected]

(PORTLAND, OR) – Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon has announced the appointment of Jaz Bias and Sarah Weber-Ogden as Co-Executive Directors, finalizing an alternative organizational structure of flattened hierarchy. 

Bias and Weber-Ogden both bring a wealth of experience and expertise to their new roles.  Bias has a rich history of food systems and equity work, including recently serving as the Equity Advisor at Oregon Community Food Systems Network, and as the Community Education and Stewardship Lead at Metro Regional Government. Weber-Ogden comes from a deep background in policy and advocacy – she co-founded Sunrise PDX, for example, and worked with multiple Oregon state legislators. 

In their new roles, Bias and Weber-Ogden work collaboratively in an innovative Co-Executive Director leadership model to pursue the organization’s vision of a state where everyone is healthy and thriving, with access to affordable, nourishing, and culturally appropriate food.  

Bias is the Executive Director of Team Support, while Weber-Ogden serves as the Executive Director of Community Food Justice. In line with the organization’s values of sharing power and transparency, the two Co-Executive Directors each hold unique responsibilities, but share decision-making and leadership power. 

Filling the Co-Executive Directors positions marks the culmination of a years-long restructuring process for the organization. In order to create an internal work culture that reflects their anti-oppressive values, the organization found inspiration in “holacracies,” and consulted with Harmonize and Subduction Consulting to develop a new organization model with distributed leadership.

“Sarah and I bring a lot of complementary experiences to our roles and are in deep alignment with the ways we hope to steward change within the organization,” says Bias. “Shared leadership is an incredibly valuable model, as it creates opportunities to integrate a multitude of perspectives into our decision-making processes, and to share and shape ideas with the support of our peers. This creates space for us to embody our values of collective work and sharing power.” 

Currently, 1 in 10 Oregonians are facing hunger. Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon is championing multiple campaigns including advocating for Food for All Oregonians which will expand food assistance to immigrant and refugee Oregonians; working to bring free school meals to all Oregon school children, and increasing access to food assistance on college campuses.  

“I’m honored to be a part of the team that has so much commitment to equity and action,” says Weber-Ogden. “This is an exciting time at Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon. We are galvanized, and ready to follow the leadership of impacted communities in the fight for food security and sovereignty.”

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About Partners for a Hunger Free Oregon

Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon envisions an Oregon where everyone is healthy and thriving, with access to affordable, nourishing, and culturally appropriate food. To bring that vision into reality, we work alongside those most impacted by hunger and poverty to advocate for systemic changes and better access to food.

www.oregonhunger.org