Heather Knapp

Chair

Hillsboro Water Department

Heather serves as the Emergency Coordinator for the City of Hillsboro Water Department and Joint Water Commission (JWC). She graduated from Eastern Oregon University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She specializes in emergency planning and coordination for the utility as they prepare for past, present and future emergencies that might affect the water supply and ability to distribute water. She has cultivated a robust network within the water sector and actively participates in local emergency planning exercises and collaborates with a variety of emergency planning agencies.

Kim Gupta

Co-Chair

Portland Water Bureau

Kimberly Gupta is the Director of Operations for the Portland Water Bureau. She is responsible for operating and maintaining the Bureau’s water supply, treatment, and distribution systems; ensuring compliance with drinking water regulations; operation of an accredited drinking water laboratory; and managing the Bureau’s Security, SCADA, and Technology Groups. Kim is a registered professional civil engineer in both Oregon and California; a certified water distribution (D4) and treatment operator (T4) in Oregon; and serves as the Bureau’s Direct Responsible Charge.

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.

Stephanie Penselin

Treasurer

Eugene Water and Electric Board

Stephanie is a Water Operations Coordinator with Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB). She joined EWEB’s Water Division after graduating from Oregon State University. She currently plans and coordinates the Backflow and Cross Connection program. She is an OHA certified Cross Connection Specialist and Backflow Tester. Stephanie has participated in various emergency management training exercises.

Kim Parsons Anderson

Member-At-Large

City of Portland

Kim Parsons Anderson is an Emergency Manager for the City of Portland Water Bureau, where she manages the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), maintains Bureau emergency plans, recruits and trains 109 emergency responders, and oversees employee emergency response training. For the Portland Water Bureau she has served as EOC Manager for a number of disaster response activations including wildland fires and extreme weather events, and provided City-wide support and comprehensive reporting during the Covid-19 pandemic. Kim has completed a broad range of emergency training – all general courses and FEMA Basic Academy certificate, Business Continuity practitioner, and Exercise Design. Kim presents regionally and nationally on business continuity, emergency response, and water response coordination. She is currently in the process of completing her certification as a FEMA Incident Command System instructor.

Jeremiah Hunt

Member-At-Large

Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB)

Jeremiah has been working in the water industry for roughly 30 years with a primary focus in Water Distribution Operations. His career started in Arizona as a temporary employee in the utility field, later hired as a meter reader and worked his way up the ranks. Jeremiah has been working for EWEB since 2009 and holds the position as the Water Distribution Operations Supervisor and the current Direct Responsible Charge (DRC) for the utility. He holds the following certificates; Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Water Distribution Grade 4 Certification, DEQ Water Treatment Grade 2 Certification and DEQ Wastewater Collection Grade 4 Certification. Jeremiah was the previous ORWARN Board Chair and has spent 8 years assisting the board in various ways.

Troy Beck

Member-At-Large

City of Bend

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Jerry Smith

Member-At-Large

City of Salem

Jerry has worked for the City of Salem for 23 years and for the last 10 years he has been the Field Supervisor of the Wastewater Collection System Cleaning and Inspection. He has 35 years of work experience in the utility industry having worked for private companies prior to joining the City of Salem. He is certified as an Oregon DEQ Wastewater Collection System Operator IV. Jerry has completed FEMA ICS 100, 200, 700 and 800 plus 10 additional FEMA classes. He has helped lead public works staff through several emergency events including, 2012 and 2025 flood events, 2018 Cyanotoxin Water Quality events, 2021 Ice Storm, and numerous other small events.