OCCV Board
Andy Harris
Andy Harris is a retired Salem ophthalmologist, who went on to have a second career at OHSU as founder and director of Professionals’ Training in Global Health, a course to train health professionals who want to volunteer in low-income countries. He recently retired in January 2018. He has practiced medicine and surgery and taught overseas in Ethiopia, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Moldova, India, China, Mexico and Labrador.
Andy has served on the state and national boards of Physicians for Social Responsibility, winner of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize, including a year as PSR National President.
Andy founded the Salem Free Medical Clinic at Trinity Church, using the church facility to see patients on Saturdays. He is the co-founder of a homeless shelter and training program known as the Salem Outreach Shelter (SOS). For many years he mentored a young boy from a dysfunctional family.
During the Cold War of the 1980s Andy visited Simferopol in the Crimea, part of the former Soviet Union, and co-founded a Sister City relationship between Salem and Simferopol. He is co-founder of the Annual Salem Peace Lecture, promoting dialogue on peace and justice issues, now in its 30th year.
My OCCV connection- It has been a real pleasure to be a member of the OCCV board of directors for the better part of the past decade. When OCCV was founded in 2006 it seemed that the only Christian values in the public discourse were abortion and gay marriage, issues not addressed by Jesus. We felt the need to emphasize Jesus’ call for a more just society, including economic fairness and inclusiveness. We have advocated for the “least of these,” our brothers and sisters, on issues of homelessness, hunger, education, children’s health and access to affordable health care. We promote sustainable care of God’s creation, recognizing our mutual dependence on one ecosystem and knowing that marginalized people are the most vulnerable. It’s a joy to be a part of OCCV, a thriving community of believers who advocate for the poor, offering them dignity, opportunity and hope.
David Groff
David grew up in Sacramento, California, where he attended public schools and Sacramento City College. After graduating with a degree in history from the University of California at Davis, he spent three years serving in the Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa, helping manage an agricultural marketing cooperative and an adult literacy project. During his time in Niger he married his fellow volunteer and UCD graduate, Elizabeth Ussher.
Returning to the US, David completed a PhD in African history at Stanford University based on fieldwork and archival research in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. He came to Portland in 1976 to take a faculty position at Reed College where he spent the next ten years teaching courses in African history and western humanities and serving as Dean of Students. During his time at Reed, Elizabeth gave birth to their two daughters, Rebecca and Julia.
In 1987 David moved to Linfield College as an administrator and occasional faculty member. He worked first in the Division of Continuing Education overseeing degree programs for working adults and then on the Portland Campus where he served as an associate vice president for academic affairs and director of the campus. He also taught courses on western culture and race and ethnicity in America and led travel courses in Ghana and Cameroon.
Since retiring in 2009 he has taught an online Linfield course on the history of slavery in the Americas and engaged in volunteer activities with Operation Nightwatch, a non-profit providing hospitality for the homeless, with his church, Westminster Presbyterian, and with Friends of WEH, a non-profit that raises funds to pay the school fees of orphans in Cameroon. From 2015 to 2020 he served as co-chair of the Interfaith Alliance on Poverty and is currently its treasurer. In 2017 he joined the board of OCCV. He is a proud grandpa of three grandchildren.
John Calhoun
John Calhoun is a retired entrepreneur. He served as a Managing Partner and CFO of a national real estate valuation company, CFO of a medical device company, CEO of a medical informatics company, and Chairman of a software company. He spent 19 years with Intel Corporation in a variety of senior financial and administrative positions, including Corporate Controller and Director of Business Development. He also served as the acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Science and Electronics at the U. S. Department of Commerce. He is a decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War. Mr. Calhoun has a BA degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Stanford University.
Mr. Calhoun has served as an elder in the Presbyterian Church. His background there led him to serve on the board of Neighborhood House, a social service agency in southwest Portland, including a term as President. He is a political activist working on issues of social and economic justice.
Karen Nettler
I’m a native Oregonian, graduated from Portland State University, and then had a career in social services with the State of Oregon until retiring in 2002. I’ve been a member of OCCV since its beginning in 2005, have served as board chair twice, and have been the current board chair since 2013. My commitment to social and economic justice comes from both my experience in working with families in poverty, and my belief that God’s intention for government is that it assure all of its citizens have an opportunity to thrive. I am committed to the work of OCCV because it allows me to integrate my faith with my passion for social justice, and to connect with other people of faith who share that passion.
Reverend Patricia Campbell Schmitt- Biography and Photo Coming Soon