To support our volunteer efforts and enable us to do as much as possible, we have added five part-time employees over the past several years. Through their creativity and hard work, they have become essential to the success of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition.
Bree Walters – Administrator
Bree Walters grew up in suburban Los Angeles and graduated from UC Santa Barbara with degrees in English and Psychology. After college, she was an avid volunteer with Tree People and devoted her Saturdays to restoration and reforestation work in the Santa Monica mountains and Angeles National Forest. Craving better access to natural spaces, she moved to Corvallis in October 2019. She is passionate about making community connections and integrating sustainable practices into her day-to-day life, so she was ecstatic about joining the Coalition as our Administrator in January 2023.
Kathy Thompson – Program Assistant
Kathy has lived in the Corvallis area since the 1960s. She received an AA in Political Science from LBCC and a BS in Sociology from OSU. Raised by social justice advocates, she has volunteered with and led several community organizations, such as the Willamette Valley Forum, Homeschool Central, the Community Alliance for Diversity, and the Pride Corvallis Festival. Kathy co-led the Community Inclusion Action Team before becoming the Coalition’s Program Assistant in 2016. She enjoys time with family and friends and the diverse natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Jeanette Hardison – Program Director
Jeanette has worked as a waste prevention and recycling professional since 1993, after receiving her BA in Communications from OSU. Named statewide “Individual Recycler of the Year” in 2000, Jeanette has served as Co-Leader of the Coalition’s Waste Prevention Action Team since its inception. She also volunteers on the Coalition’s Development Committee and our Communications Committee. As a Coalition employee, Jeanette founded and directs the No Food Left Behind program and administers our Saving Green and Benton To Go programs. She finds great joy through singing harmonies, ecstatic dancing, organic gardening, and helping others.
K’René Kos – Outreach Specialist
K’René (“kay-renay”) brings over 10 years of public relations experience and journalistic credentials to her work with the Coalition. She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado, and, prior to her work with the Coalition, represented voluntary carbon reduction programs for major Oregon utilities. Since 2018, she has been engaging people at Corvallis-area Farmers’ Markets in proactive solutions for reducing residential food waste through our “No Food Left Behind” program. K’René also helps promote other Coalition programs at public-facing events. She is the proud Beaver mom of a recent OSU graduate.
Kjersten Hallin – Youth Outreach Specialist
Kjersten (she/they), also known as “Magic Mama – EcoEdutainer”, is a community organizer, song leader, beauty activist, educator, musician and Youth Outreach specialist with the Sustainability Coalition’s “No Food Left Behind” program. Kjersten believes that sharing beauty and songs in community can activate and amplify the potency of our collective healing, expanding our capacity to engage in the necessary shift toward a life-affirming worldview.