ORWARN Board Members
Contact us if you are interested in joining the ORWARN Board (members only).
Chris Wanner, Chair
City of Portland Water Bureau, 971-404-4262
Chris Wanner, Director of Operations for the Portland Water Bureau, is responsible for management of operations and maintenance of surface and groundwater supplies, including treatment, transmission, storage, distribution, pump stations and tanks, system analysis, security and the SCADA system. Mr. Wanner is a veteran NCO having served in US Army Aviation units prior to working for the bureau. He is the designated Direct Responsible Charge for the bureau with the State of Oregon and holds certifications for both Water Distribution (WD4) and Water Treatment (WT4). Mr. Wanner currently serves on the State’s Drinking Water Advisory Committee and is developing a Leadership Symposium as an ad hoc committee for the PNWS/AWWA. He has worked on many facets of asset management including participating in Water Services Association of Australia benchmarking and Leading Edge of Strategic AM efforts.
Gina Johnson, Secretary
City of Klamath Falls
Gina is the Executive Analyst for the City of Klamath Falls Public Works Department and has been with the City for 10 years. She joined the City after spending 15 years in the legal field working as a paralegal and a judge’s assistant. She is currently working to complete training to serve as the public information officer for Public Works Department.
Ken Vaughan, Member-at-Large
City of Bend
Ken Vaughan has been the Public Works Safety & Risk Program Manager with the City of Bend for the last 5 years. He currently provides oversight and support for water treatment & distribution, water collection & treatment, stormwater treatment, streets maintenance, and emergency operations. This includes training, inspections, compliance, accident investigation & prevention, and guidance on safe work practices. Ken is Certified Safety & Health Specialist, and has completed his OR-PRIMA Risk Mangement Certification, as well as his NIMS ICS All-Hazard Safety Officer.
Jeremiah Hunt, Member-at-Large
Eugene Water and Electric Board
Jeremiah Hunt is currently the Supervisor over Water Distribution and Construction with Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB). Jeremiah joined EWEB in 2009, prior to that he has 15 years of Water Distribution and Wastewater Collections experience in Arizona, bringing him to 18 years of experience. Jeremiah holds a Water Distribution and a Wastewater Collections Grade 4 Certification in Arizona and Water Distribution Grade 3 in Oregon. Jeremiah has participated in several Mutual Aid Training Exercises with the Portland Water Bureau and the City of Pendleton.>.
Ronnie Mompellier, Member-At-Large
City of Portland, Bureau of Environmental Services
Ronnie is currently the Bureau of Environmental Services Emergency Management representative. Prior to her work at BES, she worked for the Federal Government for 12 years. She worked with the FBI, State Department, DoD, Secretary of Defense and most recently working on risk and security assessments at the US Army Corps of Engineer dams in the Northwest region. She has a BA in International Relations from UC Irvine, and an MS in Intelligence Analysis from Johns Hopkins University.
Michelle Owen, Member-at-Large
City of Baker City
Michelle Owen is currently the Public Works Director for the City of Baker City. Michelle joined the City in 2001 and has served in many areas of local government including Planning, Human Resources, and Public Works. Promoted to her current position in 2006, she has responsibility for water, wastewater, streets, airport, parks, cemetery and golf course oversight. Michelle has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Chemistry from the University of Minnesota. She has had training as Public Information Officer and also participated in the Operations Section of ICS in various local emergency management training exercises.
Stephanie Penselin, Treasurer
Eugene Water and Electric Board
Stephanie is a Water Operations Coordinator at Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB). She joined EWEB 10 years ago after graduating from Oregon State University. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two young boys.