SPJ Oregon members are welcome to attend the Board of Directors’ monthly meetings, which are usually at 6:15 pm on the third Wednesday of the month. Email the board for more information about the next meeting, or view agendas and minutes.

K. RAMBO, PRESIDENT

K. Rambo is the editor-in-chief of Street Roots in Portland. They also covered public safety and Oregon State University for the Mid-Valley Media Group as a staff reporter and completed internships at The Oregonian/OregonLive and IowaWatch. As a trans journalist and someone who used to be homeless, both areas warranting increased coverage and regular reexamination of best practices, they believe the representation and perspective they can bring to the SPJ board is invaluable. They have extensive experience navigating public records laws and teaching workshops on public record requests, both in college and as a professional. They aim to continue advocating for better coverage of homelessness and transgender issues, as well as improved government transparency and sensible public records laws.

Penny Rosenberg, Vice President

Penny Rosenberg is a regional editor at Lee Enterprises, managing three newspapers in the Pacific Northwest, including the Albany Democrat-Herald and Corvallis Gazette-Times in Oregon. She earned a Master of Legal Studies from UCLA School of Law. Recent awards include Best Limited Podcast from Online News Association (national); regional awards for podcasting from SPJ; and Best Editorial Page and Best Editorial from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. She currently serves on the ASUCLA Communications Board overseeing the university's student media and on the Alumni Council of the UCLA School of Law MLS Alumni Association.

Antonio sierra, Secretary

Antonio Sierra is a rural communities reporter for Oregon Public Broadcasting. He first began working as a professional journalist as a freelancer, writing columns for his college town newspaper and posts for a California crime blog. In addition to secretary, Antonio has served as vice president and president of the SPJ Oregon board. Despite all the challenges journalism faces, he believes we can work together to help level the playing field with the institutions journalists cover through education, advocacy and recognition.

Julia Shumway, TREASURER

Julia Shumway is the deputy editor of the Oregon Capital Chronicle, a nonprofit news organization founded in 2021 to fill a growing gap in state government and political coverage. She previously reported on state and local government in Arizona, Iowa, Nebraska and Bend. Julia lives in Salem and serves as president of the Oregon Legislative Correspondents Association, or Capitol press corps, leading the group’s efforts to maintain and expand access to the Legislature, governor and state agencies.

Nick Budnick, Freedom of Information Committee Chair

Nick Budnick is an editor for The Lund Report, a nonprofit news organization covering health care in the region, and before that worked as a reporter for several newsrooms. He aims to be a resource and likes to hear about the challenges reporters are facing with public records. He assists with SPJ’s open government advocacy, and has seen how input from talented journos around the state has fueled important records reforms.

Ben Botkin, BOARD MEMBER

Ben Botkin is a politics and policy reporter for Lookout Eugene-Springfield, where he covers the impact of government actions on Lane County residents. Prior to that, he covered state government for the Oregon Capital Chronicle. He started his two-decade career in eastern Idaho and worked for four years in Las Vegas, covering government and state politics. In Oregon, he has worked for newspapers in Bend and Salem and The Lund Report, a nonprofit outlet that covers health care.

Yasser marte, BOARD MEMBER

Yasser Marte is a general assignment reporter for the East Oregonian, a weekly newspaper covering Umatilla and Morrow counties and serves as a regional news source for northeastern Oregon. He started as a regional photojournalist, documenting stories across the area, before transitioning to writing to cover community issues. On the board, he aims to represent rural journalism and advocate for the preservation of local newspapers.

abbey mcdonald, BOARD MEMBER

Abbey McDonald is the community, homelessness and housing reporter at Salem Reporter, where she’s worked since October 2022. Before that, she worked at The Astorian. Abbey graduated from the University of Oregon and Clark Honors College in 2021, with degrees in journalism and anthropology. She had summer internships with the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week. Abbey joined the Oregon SPJ board to help build community among journalists and protect public records access.

kimberly cortez, EDUCATION SEAT

Kimberly Cortez is an award-winning, Portland-based journalist covering various topics and is pursuing a Social Work degree at the University of Portland. She previously interned at Street Roots and is also a member of The New York Times Corps program. They prioritize highlighting marginalized voices in their work, largely influenced by her parents, who are immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala. When she isn’t doing work, you can catch Kimberly thrifting, hanging out with friends, binge-watching shows, listening to music and cuddling with her cat.