White Bird Clinic Leadership

White Bird Clinic Leadership Team

Amée Markwardt – Executive Director

Amée’s 18-year history with White Bird Clinic has distinguished her as a tireless advocate for the vulnerable Lane County residents that White Bird serves. Her experience working toward the agency’s mission, extensive knowledge of its programs, systems and processes, expertise in behavioral health, fine leadership skills, and longstanding relationships with the organization’s partners and funders make her an ideal delegate for this role.

Amée holds a Master’s degree in organizational leadership from the University of Maine and several national behavioral health certifications. She represents White Bird in community-wide meetings with leaders of other local nonprofit organizations seeking to maximize the impact of their work through strategic cooperation and alliances.

Julie Cummings – FQHC Operations Director

Julie’s 30 years of healthcare experience began with hospice patient support and grew into healthcare operations and administration roles. Her in-depth expertise informs her smart, strategic approach to the growth and management of White Bird’s medical clinic.

Her role at White Bird sees Julie returning to her commitment to serving in a mission-driven healthcare organization. Her prior roles at Planned Parenthood, University of Washington and Harborview Medical Center inform her approach to her work.

Julie earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Washington and her MBA from Western Governors University.

Melissa Ward – Human Resources Director

With over 18 years of experience in human resources, Melissa brings a wealth of people-focused skills and strategic insight to White Bird Clinic. In her role, she is dedicated to building and retaining a professional, mission-aligned team that drives our success and impact within the community.

Before joining White Bird Clinic, Melissa was the Chief People Officer at Arcimoto and the HR Director at Gorilla Capital, both high-growth organizations where she played a key role in shaping and nurturing their workforce. Her leadership in these roles underscored her ability to align human resources strategies with organizational goals, fostering environments where employees thrive and contribute meaningfully.

Melissa holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and a Human Resources Management certificate from Oregon State University.

Mike Yoshioka – Director of Programs

Mike brings a substantial breadth of experience in non-profit management to White Bird Clinic, where he plays a pivotal role in ensuring our programs align with, and meet the evolving needs of, our community. His leadership, strategic management, and program development and delivery expertise are key drivers of our organization’s success.

Before joining White Bird Clinic, Mike held significant program director positions at St. Vincent de Paul, San Francisco Housing Development Corporation, and City of Dreams in San Francisco. In these roles, he advanced initiatives in housing and healthcare and leveraged his extensive education and experiential learning background to enhance the impact of the programs under his direction.

Mike holds a bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University.

White Bird Clinic Board of Directors

Mark Erickson – Chair
Mark Erickson grew up on California’s central coast before moving to Massachusetts to study Computer Science and Philosophy at Amherst College. After a brief stint in Boston, Mark returned to the West Coast in 2003 to continue his studies, earning his Master’s in CS at the University of Oregon. He fell in love with Eugene and has since worked in technology roles across local companies, currently serving as a Software Architect at PacificSource. In his free time, he enjoys live music and hiking Spencer’s Butte with his dog, Hermes.

A longtime member of the Oregon Country Fair, Mark first connected with White Bird through his wife’s volunteer work with Rock Med and COVID vaccination clinics. He joined the board in 2023 at the invitation of a friend and became Chair in 2024. With more than 30 years of technical expertise and a strong commitment to serving the most vulnerable, Mark values White Bird as an essential source of compassionate care for our community.

Jenn Salter – Secretary
Jenn Salter is a masters-prepared registered nurse with extensive experience in both community and acute health care settings. With a career dedicated to advancing health equity and improving access to care, Jenn brings both clinical expertise and a deep commitment to serving marginalized populations.

Throughout her career, Jenn has worked on providing patient-centered care, addressing social determinants of health, and supporting individuals navigating complex health challenges. She also has experience in program development, interdisciplinary collaboration, and quality improvement initiatives that enhance patient outcomes.

As a member of the White Bird Board of Directors, Jenn advocates for expanding equitable health care services, supporting harm reduction, and advancing the clinic’s mission to provide accessible compassionate care to all. She believes strongly in bridging the gap between clinical practice and community-centered care, ensuring every individual can thrive.

Tiffany Jones – Interim Treasurer
Tiffany is a clinical pharmacist with more than a decade of experience in diverse practice settings. Though not originally from Oregon, she has spent much of the past decade building a home and community here. She is inspired by White Bird’s employees and the tremendous support they provide, and is committed to using her knowledge and skills to help ensure the organization is in the strongest position to support a community that relies on its life-changing services.

Amy Exah
Amy has over 25 years of experience in education, community development, and nonprofit management, with nearly 14 years spent living and working in Ghana, Guatemala, and Peru. Her time abroad gave her firsthand insight into challenges like housing instability, poverty, and lack of access to basic services, shaping her commitment to addressing systemic inequities through community-driven solutions.

Currently, Amy serves as Director of Special Projects at a nonprofit tech organization that is expanding access to the uncensored internet, particularly in regions under repressive regimes. She oversees partnerships, grants, board governance, and strategy to advance freedom of information and human rights. Previously, Amy combined her passion for arts education and advocacy by leading arts programs in Austin, Texas, for Title 1 schools and directing theater programs internationally, empowering youth through creative expression and character development.

Since relocating to Eugene in 2023, Amy has been deeply inspired by White Bird Clinic’s mission and joined the board in April 2024. She sees White Bird as a critical force for justice and community care in Eugene and is eager to apply her nonprofit leadership and global perspective to support its vital work.

Devin Bowman
Devin is a local father and husband hoping to make a difference by volunteering his time on the board. He is currently a law student at UO with the intent to improve the lives of his fellow Lane County residents. His family is familiar with the services of White Bird Clinic but were often out of service areas, giving him a familiarity with the services but also an outside perspective which he provides to the board whenever they think it would be helpful. A lifelong Oregonian, he is proud to help his state and its people in any small way he can.

Julianna Ormsby
Julianna is a human services management consultant. She has a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) and has worked extensively with state, county, tribal nation and U.S. territory child welfare, court, behavioral health, housing and other community partners to improve outcomes for children and families engaged in the child welfare system and, ultimately, to prevent the unnecessary entry of children into foster care so they may thrive within their own family, with the right support. She resides with her spouse in the SW Hills area of Eugene; they are geeky bird nerds and love co-existing with the deer and turkeys, as well as spending time outdoors, especially the Oregon coast. She is the oldest of four siblings and a proud daughter of a single mom, who passed along her voracious love of reading. Fun fact: Julianna has spent time in 44 U.S. states, DC, and American Samoa (and has lived in 9 different states). She hopes to remain in Eugene and plant deeper roots.

Lorna Middleton
Lorna is a registered nurse with a master’s degree in nursing education and certification in infection prevention and control. She has 13 years of nursing experience in cardiac, medical and psychiatric nursing and 7 years of experience in acute care, critical access, and behavioral health infection prevention and control. Lorna’s professional interests include staff education, patient advocacy, and social justice. Lorna served as a board of directors for White Bird from January 2022-January 2024. Lorna has also served with the Oregon and Southern Washington chapter of the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (OSWAPIC) as a conference planning committee member, nominating committee member, and is currently a member of the board of directors.

John Fox
Bio coming soon

Bryn Anderson
Bryn Anderson is a registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, a Progressive Care Certified Nurse, a specialty credential for nurses who care for critically ill adult patients, and possesses a Bachelor of Science in environmental science. She has nine years of nursing experience with cardiovascular and pulmonary surgical patients, acute care of neurological conditions including post stroke care and traumatic brain injuries and has served as a Charge Nurse delegating and managing a team of caregivers for over five years. She excels in effective and compassionate communication with her team members, patients, and family members. She participates in numerous educational and leadership opportunities to provide the highest level of evidence-based care. Bryn continues to be an active voting member of a hospital Unit Based Practice Council for nine years, advocating for her coworkers and participating in planned organizational change with positive patient outcomes and teamwork in the workplace.

Bryn was raised in Eugene and is passionate for supporting her community by participating in volunteer events in Eugene and Springfield, including the Oregon Country Fair. Her experiences with mental health through the loss of a very close family member to suicide plays a tremendous role in the compassionate care and service she gives to her patients and community and promotes a love for helping others that she inherently feels White Bird supports.

White Bird Clinic seeks engaged, community-rooted individuals to join our Board of Directors. We value lived experience and are committed to building a board that reflects the diverse communities we serve, including expanding representation from the BIPOC community.

We welcome applicants with experience in finance, communications, community outreach, fundraising, or professional development, as well as those connected to medical, dental, behavioral health, harm reduction, or homelessness services. Familiarity with nonprofit governance is important.