Special Event: Young Elected Officials Town Hall

Julie Fahey was elected to the Oregon Legislature in 2016 as the State Representative for Junction City, Bethel, and parts of the Churchill and Santa Clara neighborhoods in Eugene. During her first term in the state legislature, her work has focused on addressing rising health care costs, improving our education system, increasing access to reproductive health care, advocating for workplace policies that support working families, and making housing more affordable. Professionally, she works in the private sector as a business consultant, helping employers pay their employees fairly, build skilled workforces, and create the kind of environment and culture that makes an organization a great place to work.

 Sean VanGordon. Springfield City Councilor 

Twitter: @sean_vangordon | Facebook: Sean VanGordon Springfield City Council | Linkedin: https://bit.ly/2obtHkp

Sean VanGordon is the Springfield City Councilor for Ward 1 (Gatway/International), and the President of the City Council.  He has been on the city council since 2011.  He is married to his wife, Elaine, and has 2 year old twin girls (Katie and Livy). In his spare time, he likes to travel and read books about history, economics, and politics.

Sonya Carlson. EWEB, Commissioner 

EWEB Commissioner, Sonya Carlson, represents Wards 6 & 7 which covers part of Bethel, River Road, Santa Clara, Trainsong and Whiteaker neighborhoods in Eugene.  She is the Director of Business Operations at Wise Woman Herbals with projects ranging from operations, supply chain management, contract negotiations, account management, to systems development. She earned her MBA in Sustainability from the UO and undergraduate degree in Economics from Lewis and Clark College. She also serves on the board of BRING and enjoys doing all kinds of quirky and enriching activities with her husband and son.   

Melanie Muenzer. LCC, Board Member

Melanie previously worked at the U.S. Department of Education where she served as White House liaison, chief of staff in the policy office, and deputy assistant secretary for higher education policy. Prior to her work at the Department of Education, she served on President Obama’s 2008 campaign and his Presidential Transition Team.

Kate Reid. LTD Board Member

In her second year of public service, Kate serves in many ways on the LTD board. She sits on the LTD Strategic Planning Committee, the Main McVay Governance Team, the Metropolitan Policy Committee, the Oregon Metropolitan Planning Organization Consortium, and the State Transit Improvement Fund Advisory Committee for Lane County. She has lead the board in major initiatives, including Transit Tomorrow which is a comprehensive operations analysis of the district and an ad-hoc Committee focusing on rethinking fare policy for the community. As an advocate for young political engagement, Kate expects her service on the LTD board to be a great introduction to a long and engaging political career.

Kara McDaniel. Junction City, City Councilor.

Born and raised in Seaside Oregon, Kara graduated from Seaside High School and attend Eastern Oregon University.  She has lived in Junction City for the past 10 years, with her Husband and their 4 kids, Kaden (12), Keaton (7) Kyler (4) and Kwynn (1).  Kara has worked in banking for 17 years including working for US Bank in Oregon and California for 13 years, and moving 4 years ago to Pacific Continental Bank (now Columbia Bank).

Her involvement with local government started in 2014, when she joined the Junction City Budget Committee. In the fall of 2014, Kara applied and was appointed to the Revolving Loan Fund Committee for Junction City, as an industry profession.  In the summer of 2017, she applied and was appointed to a vacant position on the city council. 

Kara volunteers for many non- profit groups, including Bags of Love, School Garden Project, Project Hope and Soroptomist International.  She also currently sits on the Junction City Historical Society Board, as well as the Junction City Athletics Board and Education Together Foundation Board.  Kara was selected for the 2017-2018 class of Leadership Eugene Springfield (LES) and graduated the program in May of this year.  In her spare time she enjoys running and coaching her 7^th & 8^th grade co-ed soccer team, and for the first time, is participating in the Hood Coast Relay!