The GRO Board of Directors is comprised of up to ten members who donate considerable time and effort in the interest of helping GRO and Sisters High School graduates grow and prosper. The Board members are selected for their professional expertise, dedication and consistent support. The Board's main responsibilities include overseeing the management and administration of GRO and its assets. Board members are advocates for GRO and serve as volunteers in a variety of fulfilling roles.

KAREN HENSLEY

Karen has a backgound as a Commercial Real Estate Associate Broker specializing in commercial real estate development and property management. She has achieved the designation of Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). She attended Western Oregon University. Karen has wide volunteer experience, having served on various Salem community fundraising committees, working with the Salem Chamber of Commerce, as well as volunteer work with Elk Meadow Elementary School in Bend and the ASPIRE program at SHS.

DAN SARACENO - Sisters High School Counselor / ASPIRE Site Supervisor

Dan is the seniors' counselor at Sisters High School, assisting seniors with individual counseling, career planning, class scheduling and the college/scholarship process. He has served as the Dean of Students at SHS and as a counselor and Health instructor at Sisters Middle School. He is also the Director of "Heart of Oregon Corps," an alternative/vocational program to serve Special Education and Alternative High School students, which includes an extensive range of job training. He was an English as Second Language and Outdoor instructor at Kyoto International School in Kyoto, Japan. Dan has also worked at Meadowlark Manor, a residential treatment program for at-risk female adolescents in Bend, as a Residential Counselor, Family Counselor and Treatment Director. Prior to this, Dan served in several counseling positions with the Deschutes County Mental Health Dept. He holds an MSW from Portland State University and a Masters in School Counseling from Pacific University, and graduated from the University of Oregon with a BS in Community Health Education.

ANN THOMPSON

Ann worked for 17 years at the brokerage firm of Smith Barney, and retired as Senior Vice President and Regional Administrative Officer in 1999. She had previously worked in the Trust Dept. at U.S. National Bank and in management and marketing at an investment advisory firm. She holds a BA in Anthropology from Portland State and completed various graduate level courses in banking and management, and previously held Securities licenses 7, 8 and 63. She has been active in many volunteer organizations throughout Oregon, having served ten years as a Trustee of the University of Oregon Foundation, a member of the Oregon Humanities Council Board of Visitors, ASPIRE and others.

"Throughout my career I always tried to do something to better the community in which I lived, and which had given me so much. When I retired, I realized that, for me, spending more time working with and for students was the best way to do that. Volunteering with SHS seniors, looking to their future, opened my eyes not only to the need for scholarships, but to the generosity of the Sisters community; and GRO is the vehicle to build on that generosity to support and encourage our kids."

KAREN LORD

Karen works as a CPA in the tax, estate and trust area. She was a partner and founder of Lord and Melhorn CPAs in Salem from 1995-2004. Karen has served on the Adjunct Faculty at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, has worked as Tax Manager for a CPA firm in Salem and Bend, and held several other accounting positions. She holds a BS in Management Accounting and completed graduate coursework in Oregon State University's MBA program. She is a Public Member on the Oregon State Bar Board of Governors, a member of the Oregon Society of CPAs, and has served as a board member for Planned Parenthood and the YWCA.

“Access to educational opportunities makes an enormous difference in opening up opportunities both intellectually and economically, and I want to be part making that happen for others."

SUSANNA HARRISON - ASPIRE Assistant Site Supervisor

ASPIRE coordinator at Sisters High School and ASPIRE volunteer since 2007, Susanna also teaches French at SHS and has taught Latin and Spanish as well at the middle, high school and college level. She was a Fulbright Exchange Teacher in English in Senegal, West Africa. She holds an MA in French from the University of Cincinnati; Magistere, French Civilization from the Sorbonne in Paris; and a BA in Language Studies. She has been active in a number of volunteer activities in the Bend/Sisters area.

JOE HOSANG - Sisters High School Principal

Joe is currently the Sisters High School Principal and the District Curriculum Director. He earned his BA in history and MA in education from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and an Education Specialist in Administration degree from Oakland University.  He has a wealth of educational research and practice.  As a second year teacher he worked collaboratively with another teacher to implement an interdisciplinary class combining the curriculum of English and Social Studies into thematic units.  As an assistant principal he led a taskforce to create a comprehensive student-leadership program.  During Joe’s tenure as a principal he led key initiatives that created a systematic approach to educating our youngsters.  Some of these initiatives were the implementation of common assessments, and creating a grading system that was based on learning.

MARCY EDWARDS

Marcy has BA degrees in Political Science and Communications and holds a J.D. from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College. She Is Senior Intellectual Property Counsel and formerly General Counsel for Datalogic Scanning, Inc. in Eugene. Previously, she was the founder of TechKnowledge Legal Counsel, LLC in West Linn and prior to that, served as Corporate Attorney for several corporations in Oregon. She was also a Litigation Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office, U.S. Department of Justice Field Office in Portland.