CUB Policy Center Staff

Bob Jenks

Bob Jenks is the Executive Director of CUB and a national expert on utility-related issues.  Bob started working for CUB in 1991, and has participated in nearly every major Oregon Public Utility Commission case since that time, including dozens of cases dealing with utility mergers, rates, and deregulation. He also regularly represents ratepayers before the Oregon Legislature. Governor John Kitzhaber appointed Bob to a Blue Ribbon Panel on Low-Income Energy Issues, and Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed Bob to a Task Force on Telecommunications Law and Policy. Bob has on numerous occasions been flown across country to speak on utility issues before such groups as the California Legislature, the Northwest Public Power Association, and the Consumer Federation of America. Bob sits on the board of Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center, and is the Oregon representative of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA). Bob is a native Oregonian, and has an economics degree from Willamette University.

Jeff Bissonnette

Jeff Bissonnette has served as CUB’s Organizing Director since June 1998.  Since coming to CUB, Jeff has led the Fair and Clean Energy Coalition to create progressive energy policy for the state of Oregon and has directed CUB’s legislative advocacy efforts.  He has been appointed by the Public Utility Commission to represent the Fair and Clean Energy Coalition on the Portfolio Options Committee, overseeing the utilities’ renewable energy products offered to customers.  Jeff also served on the Oregon Universal Service Advisory Board, ensuring that all customers have access to affordable basic telephone service. Jeff’s first political volunteer experience was in 1984 as a freshman student at the University of Oregon working to pass Ballot Measure 3, the initiative that created CUB.  Since then, he has dedicated both his work life and volunteer time to community organizing and advocating for public interest issues.  He worked for community groups and campaign organizations in Washington, DC, Illinois and New York before returning to Oregon to work for CUB. In his off-time, when he is not serving on the board of Portland Community Media or the Steering Committee of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters’ Multnomah County chapter,  Jeff enjoys gardening, hiking, camping and talking about politics

Catriona McCracken

Catriona was born and raised in Northern Ireland, studied in England and China, and worked in Taiwan and the USA. Catriona and her family have resided in Oregon since 1990 - Oregon is home! A 1993 graduate of Willamette University College of Law, with a concentration in environmental law, Catriona spent her first three and a half years in private practice honing her litigation skills.  Catriona then spent the next nine years as an Assistant, and then Senior Assistant, Attorney General at the Oregon Department of Justice (General Counsel Division) providing the equivalent of in-house counsel services to a multiplicity of agencies.  Catriona joined CUB as a Staff Attorney in October 2008.  Now as General Counsel, and Regulatory Program Director, Catriona supervises CUB’s legal staff.  “Being General Counsel to CUB, the CUB Policy Center (CPC) and CUBConnect’s, in addition to being CUB’s Regulatory Program Director, is a huge, and hugely rewarding, experience.  I am really fortunate to have a great staff to help me keep all the balls in the air.  I cannot speak highly enough of our legal team and their dedication to CUB’s mission.” When not at work Catriona loves to camp, sail, horse ride, hike, bike, or canoe.  She also loves to read, knit, sew and garden.  Travel is still a must!

Karen Jaffe

Karen Jaffe has worked for CUB as Development Director since January of 2001. She solicits and processes CUB donations, and serves as a liaison between CUB and its thousands of Oregon members. Before joining CUB, she worked in non-profit fundraising for Telefund, Inc and the Fund for Public Interest Research where she had the pleasure of working for groups like Save the Children, CUB, Sierra Club and even political candidates including Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA). She graduated cum laude from the College of William and Mary in Virginia with a degree in History and Economics.

Gordon Feighner

Gordon Feighner began working for CUB as our Utility Analyst in November 2008. He researches the technical and financial aspects of utility rate cases and is CUB’s point person for emerging technologies like electric vehicles and the Smart Grid. Gordon has previously conducted research modeling CO2 emissions for the Environmental Protection Agency, and most recently worked as an analyst for the City of Portland’s Stormwater Marketplace Program. He also serves on the Portland Utility Review Board (PURB), a citizen panel that advises the City of Portland’s water, sewer, and solid waste utilities on rates and other issues.

Gordon holds a Masters of Environmental Management degree from Duke University and a BA in Economics from Reed College. A Georgia native, he first moved to Oregon in 1997. He enjoys biking around town, gardening, snowboarding, and traveling.

SA Anders

SA Anders joined CUB’s team in 2009, overseeing the operations of CUB and developing the organization’s programs. She maintains CUB’s sound financial health, liaises with CUB’s Board of Governors, works closely with Executive Director Bob Jenks to strategically develop the organization, and identifies new projects and opportunities for CUB and its sister organization, the CUB Policy Center, that will expand and serve CUB’s core mission. She is a graduate of the University of York’s Masters Philosophy program, and received her BA in Communications from Berea College in Kentucky. SA works tirelessly to insure that every dollar you give in support of the Citizens’ Utility Board is spent in service of Oregon’s consumers and the public interest. SA is a transplant to Oregon, and loves exploring Portland’s arts, music, and natural beauty. She volunteers her spare time with Basic Rights Oregon, AESP Northwest Chapter, and other non-profits in the city.

Andrea Crosby

Andrea started working for CUB in 2010 as the Project Manager for CUB Connects – guiding the project from a proposal to a functional and useful tool for Oregon consumers. She happily finds herself in the northwest after living in Ecuador where she was the Project Coordinator for an international conservation foundation and a Peace Corps volunteer in a small coastal village. Before taking off to South America, Andrea researched global climate models at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. She has a BS Degree in Environmental Sciences from Duke University.

Ghassan Ammar

Ghassan grew up in Pennsylvania, earned a BA Degree in both Writing and Media Arts from Emerson College in Boston, and spent the past few years atop a mountain in upstate New York, working as a manager for a Tibetan Buddhist retreat center. He is very happy to now be enjoying the fresh air of the Pacific Northwest.

Sommer Templet

Sommer, a native Texan, moved to Oregon in 2007 to attend law school at the University of Oregon.  Her interest in energy law and policy began with an internship at Public Citizen’s Texas office during her senior year of undergrad at the University of Texas.  Sommer continued to pursue her passion for energy law and policy during her law career, earning Certificates of Completion in Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Sustainable Business Law.  While pursuing her J.D., Sommer also gained practical experience through work with Western Environmental Law Center, Vestas-American Wind Technology, and as a law clerk working on regulatory and environmental issues.  Naturally, CUB has been a great fit with Sommer’s interests and she is very happy to be a part of the CUB team as a practicing attorney.  While not at CUB, Sommer enjoys hiking, traveling and spending time with friends and family.

Ray Myers

Ray Myers is a native Oregonian.  He is a graduate of the University of Oregon with a BA in journalism and a graduate of Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College.  Ray has been practicing law in Oregon for over 30 years with experience as a litigator, administrative law judge and appellate attorney.  Ray is “retired,” but has been working part-time at CUB for over a year.  He works on special projects such as the BPA settlement and an Amicus Brief supporting the PUC’s approach in the Trojan litigation.  He also backs up the other legal staff at various proceedings as needed.

Ray is married and has two grown children.  Away from work, Ray likes to hike and work-out at the local gym.