Pacifica

Tim Thompson

Chairman and Board Member, is the President of  the strategy firm, Revolution Thinking, Inc.  Tim lives in Williams, but continues to support motion picture and television production clients in New York and Los Angeles.  He received his B.A. in media and arts from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, CA, and an M.A. in theology from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA.  In addition to his work with Pacifica,  Tim founded The Church Works, a ministry dedicated to helping others discern their life’s calling, and teaching the skills to pursue it.  Tim and his wife Katie home school their 5 boys and enjoy being active members of the local community.

Ray Prag

President and Board Member, received a B. A. in Botany from the University of Wisconsin, followed by an M. S. in Horticulture from the University of California, Davis.  His masters work was especially concerned with plants for revegetation.  In addition, however, the combination of botany and horticulture and a great love of plants provided Ray with an excellent basis for growing a wide variety of plants from all over the world.  He and his wife have developed a nursery producing over 5,000 kinds of plants, one of the largest mail order offerings in the country.  Ray has been the Williams observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for thirty-five years and writes a monthly summary of the Weather for the Williams news. He was a member of the Williams Town Council for nineteen years.

Dr. Lee Price

Treasurer and  Board Member, retired as the managing Director of Dresdner RCM Global Investors in the year 2000.  Dr. Price was with Dresdner RCM Global Investors since 1972, becoming a Partner in 1976.  During his tenure he filled the positions of financial analyst, Equity portfolio manager, economist, strategist and director of MIS.  Dr. Price has a BS from Stanford in engineering, an MS from MIT in nuclear engineering, and a Ph.D. from Stanford in Business.

Al Cook

Board Member and long time Rogue Valley resident, Al graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Park Administration.  Al worked for Oregon State Parks until 1991, when he moved to Grants Pass and became a Region Manager for Oregon Water Resources Department.  He is now retired and is the current President of the JoCo Master Gardeners’ Association, and serves on the Josephine County SWCD board.   He is an avid gardener and outdoor enthusiast.

David James

Board Member – Founder of Greenleaf Industries, which  is a private, non-profit corporation, serving as the Northwest’s largest horticultural training center, providing training and employment opportunities to eighteen men and women who have varying degrees of developmental disabilities.

Peg Prag

Board Member, received her BA in Psychology from the university of California, Davis. In Partnership with her husband, she has created one of the top rated mail order nurseries in the country.  In the beginning, Peg shared every task necessary to grow plants, modeling her commitment to hands on learning.  She is the bookkeeper for the nursery and produces two 500 page catalogs per year.  She was instrumental in  the design and development of  a computer system to track inventory, orders, plant work, client base and other functions necessary to support the nursery.  She is an artist and founder of the Pacifica Arts Guild.  Ray and Peg have lived in Williams, Oregon for thirty-six years.  She and Ray were co-founders of the Williams Community Scholarship Fund.

Dr. Rodger Miller–Emeritus

Retired Treasurer and Board Member, retired to Williams,Oregon in 1994.  Prior to that, he practiced general dentistry  in Vacaville, California for 25 years.  Dr. Miller graduated from the University of the Pacifica School of  Dentistry in 1969.  He then completed a tour of duty at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego and a year in Viet Nam as a Navy dentist attached to the Marine Corps.  He began his private practice in 1970 and over the years served as Ethics Chairman and later as the president of the Napa-Sonoma Dental Society. In addition to his service to Pacifica, Dr. Miller serves on the boards of the Williams Creek Watershed Council and Communiversity.  Communiversity is a Williams , Oregon nonprofit involved in community based education.  Dr. Miller also operates Williams Valley Ranch, an organically oriented farming operation producing row crops and grass fed cattle.

Sue Thomas–Emeritus

Retired Board Member, is currently the Environmental Education Specialist for the Portland, Oregon, Parks Department.   From 1982 through 2001, Sue was the Program Director for the Hoyt Arboretum in Portland.  Prior to that, she was a teaching assistant at Oregon State University and a high school teacher in Portland.   She brings a strong background in plants and education to Pacifica. She is a past member of the Oregon Hardy Plant Society and the West Slope Community Library.  She has been Adjunct Professor of Environmental Education for Prescott College (Arizona).  Sue holds a B.A. in Biology from Reed College and a M.S. in Plant Genetics from Oregon State University.  She has also engaged in graduate studies in Molecular Biology ( M.I.T.) and in Science education (University of Montana).

Pat Street–Emeritus

Retired Board Member, is a Williams Valley resident who, with her partner, operates a small ranch.  They produce sheep, wool and lavender for market.  Pat has lived in southern Oregon for 17 years and originally comes from Hawaii.   She holds an Associate Degree in Dental Hygiene from the University of Hawaii and a Bachelors Degree in Health Promotion from Southern Oregon University. Pat has served on the Board of Directors of the Rogue Valley Dental Hygiene Association. For many years, she has been a driving force in the development of the Pacifica Arts Guild.  Pat is a hand spinner and a fiber artist.

Kelley Leonard–Emeritus

Retired Board Member, was born and raised in Palo Alto, California, where she began her horticultural career at age eight. Kelley spent her youth observing and getting to know the flora and fauna in the marshes and wildflower fields surrounding her home.  She then studied the redwood forest ecosystem.  Upon moving to Hawaii’s Big Island, Kelley became an orchid grower as well as a founding member fo the Puna Forest Preserve Geothermal Committee.  Kelley returned to the mainland and owned and ran a commercial landscape company in Chester, Pennsylvania.  She then moved to Medford, Oregon, and owned and ran a small wholesale specialty nursery.  She became a Master Gardener in 1993.  She designed and installed the landscape at the OSU Hanley Road Research and Extension Building.  She is a long time member and former President of the Siskiyou Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society.  She does consulting work related to rock gardens, native plants and garden design.  Her current interest is focused on repairing disturbed ecosystems.