The AHIC Board of Directors

Ann Marie Badeau, MA

Ann Marie has been working as a personal care assistant for Michael Volpe here at CoHo for a year. She has a background in neuroscience and finds working with a MS challenged person rewarding. Her daughter also has MS and her work with Mike has been a rewarding experience for them both.

Ann Marie is also an artist and has been the owner of a gallery here in Corvallis. Her participation here at CoHo as Mike’s assistant, and also as a friend of CoHo has brought her many rewards. A Home in Community exemplifies many of the values and dreams that she has had for many years and she enjoys serving as a valuable part of AHIC.

Rob Dietz, MS

Rob has recently accepted a position as the director of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting a healthy and stable economy in the United States. Prior to that, he worked with federal agencies and private companies to conserve wildlife and solve environmental problems. Rob and his family are dedicated to building a sustainable way of life, an idea exemplified by cohousing and A Home in Community.

Juva DuBoise, MS LPC

Juva has had her own successful counseling practice for thirty years. She has also worked as a Medical Social Worker in hospitals and nursing homes, as well as supervising nursing home Social Workers. Juva was the lead Mental Health Worker in the Lane County Red Cross Chapter during the Thurston School shootings, providing leadership and expanding the mental health role during that difficult time. She has led trainings for other mental health workers up and down the west coast. She has introduced Compassionate Communication techniques to CoHo and helped members know and use these skills. Her leadership and facilitation skills have been honed over the last six years, during the creation and development of CoHo Ecovillage in Corvallis, Oregon.

Colleen Dyrud

Colleen is a former primary teacher who has spent the last 20 years providing technical assistance and support to afterschool programs for elementary kids here in Oregon. During that time, she collaborated with the State Library to create a literacy curriculum for afterschool staff. She was also involved with the establishment of Opening Doors, an initiative to support the inclusion of children and youth with disabilities in their community afterschool and recreational programs and activities. Colleen has recently returned home to Corvallis after many years in Portland, and is looking forward to the next fun adventure life has to offer.

Jessica Groom, M.Ed.

Jessica Groom has been employed as a teacher, a reading specialist, and a home therapist for children with autism. While teaching at the Columbus Jewish Day School, she served as the Resource Specialist, as well as the Coordinator of Community Services. She has served on the board of the International Dyslexia Association - San Diego Branch since 2004. Jessica currently resides in Vista, California, where she is the stay-at-home mom of two young children.

Debby Vajda, LCSW

Debby Vajda has been a practicing clinical social worker for 30 years. For half of that time, she worked in non-profit counseling agencies, with the remainder being spent in private practice. She is a previous board member of her local chapter of the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics and is currently the Certification Coordinator for the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology. She is also the developer of the Energy Therapy Network of the Mid-Atlantic States.

She and her husband moved from Maryland to Oregon to join the community of CoHo Ecovillage. Interested people are assigned a buddy to help them through the membership process. Mike served as their buddy, and an instant connection was made!

The AHIC Stewardship Council

Juva DuBoise, MS LPC

Juva has had her own successful counseling practice for thirty years. She has also worked as a Medical Social Worker in hospitals and nursing homes, as well as supervising nursing home Social Workers. Juva was the lead Mental Health Worker in the Lane County Red Cross Chapter during the Thurston School shootings, providing leadership and expanding the mental health role during that difficult time. She has led trainings for other mental health workers up and down the west coast. She has introduced Compassionate Communication techniques to CoHo and helped members know and use these skills. Her leadership and facilitation skills have been honed over the last six years, during the creation and development of CoHo Ecovillage in Corvallis, Oregon

Peter Erskine

During the years 1989 through 1992, Peter Erskine created a new interactive Solar Spectrum Environmental Art medium called Secrets of the Sun: Millennial Meditations (SOS). Since 1992, Erskine has exhibited his Solar Environmental Art in international installations including the ancient Roman Forum, the Rome, Milan and Florence railway stations, Berlin's 2000 Olympic Festival, and Los Angeles' historic Union Station. SOS has received broad coverage in the world media including seven magazine cover stories in four languages, over 150 articles in magazines and newspapers, and six global satellite TV broadcasts. TV and radio stories featuring Erskine's Solar Spectrum Environmental Art have been broadcast in over 150 countries. Peter is currently creating permanent Solar Spectrum Environmental Art commissions for a new Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters, and the public libraries in the California cities of Lafayette and Fontana.

Peter is moving to Coho Ecovillage to enjoy the intergenerational social connections and friendships created by living together in a small voluntary community, including deepening his new friendship with his downstairs neighbor and buddy, Mike Volpe. He looks forward to living in a village with folks who share so many of his values and interests.

Renee Hart

As an experienced property manager, it was an easy decision for Renee to become active in a Home in Community. At twenty-three she had an undiagnosed hip disease. For seven years she endured severe pain before a diagnosis was reached. For three years, she lived in low-income housing for the elderly and disabled. “The isolation I experienced during those years was profound. I couldn’t get around and my friends were so uncomfortable being around me. I missed being around children and people who shared similar interests with me.”

Although still undergoing surgeries, Renee chose to leave her low-income housing. She went on to become the President of the Northwest High Tech Career Expo; one of the two largest high tech job fairs in the US. Since selling her business, she’s put her focus on her family, real estate and becoming a member of CoHo Ecovillage, a cohousing community. She is delighted to serve on the board and passionately believes in the importance of creating homes for persons with disabilities in cohousing communities.

Bruce Hecht

After working for Hewlett Packard for nineteen years, I currently do volunteer work for the Corvallis Environmental Center, coordinate the Corvallis Chapter of The Oregon Natural Step Network (an organization promoting sustainability for businesses and organizations) and co-coordinate the work of the Corvallis Chapter of the Northwest Earth Institute. I helped to found CoHo because it is a more sustainable living solution for our planet and because I feel living in community is something that will make my life whole.

Judy Hecht

After a career in advertising, working at San Diego Magazine, the San Diego Union Tribune, and the Albany Democrat Herald, Judy decided to begin her new career as a parent. She began to pursue her interest in food security by working at the local soup kitchen and serving on their board. Judy began and now runs the South Corvallis Food Bank which distributes food to those in need.

After a spending a summer traveling with her family and visiting cohousing projects and ecovillages, she became excited about it and, with her husband Bruce, started CoHo Cohousing.

Ron Karpf, Ph.D.

Ron Karpf has worked for almost 40 years as a statistician and researcher primarily designing and building medical information computer systems. Before moving to Corvallis he was a partner in ADDIS Incorporated, a small company that ran the data center for the National Cancer Institute’s drug discovery program, and also for the U.S. Army’s infectious disease drug discovery program. He recently moved to Corvallis, Oregon with his wife to live in CoHo Ecovillage.

John Jo Lewis

Prior to founding Sub Aviator Systems, LLC in 2006, John Jo Lewis was the president of The Lewis Company, a corporation that successfully developed and managed commercial and industrial properties for investment groups in the Western United States for over 25 years. John Jo continues to participate in select real estate and other entrepreneurial ventures. He feels honored to serve on the board of A Home in Community and as a participating member of CoHo Ecovillage, both of which he expects will become paradigms in the world of sustainable community development.

Mike Volpe

I was born north of Chicago and left my hometown after high school to pursue a college degree in Minnesota. After earning a degree in forestry, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a day after receiving my degree. I attempted to follow a career path in urban forestry, however the progression of my MS encouraged me to try several different jobs in a fairly short amount of time. I eventually came to the conclusion that living in Minnesota with extremes in temperature was not a good place for me to live and participate in my community.

I moved to Oregon in 1985 and earned a degree in teaching English as a second language. I worked in the field for several years until the degree of my MS encouraged me to try a different area of interest. I chose to advocate for people with disabilities, first at the county level in a local disability advisory services council. After gaining experience, I joined several statewide advocacy groups. Staying connected with my community is extremely important to me and I envision that CoHo will give me the best opportunities to do that.