July 1, 2022

OPB today announced changes to the leadership of its Board of Directors. At its quarterly meeting in early June, the board elected Rukaiyah Adams as board chair. Adams, who has been an OPB board member since 2015 and has previously served as vice chair and treasurer/secretary, succeeds Betsy Cramer. Cramer has been OPB’s board chair since 2019.

At the June meeting, Sean O’Hollaren, a board member since 2018, was elected vice chair and Roger Cooke was re-elected as secretary and treasurer. Cooke has served on the OPB board since 2015 and O’Hollaren has chaired OPB’s board governance committee for the past two years.

The three leaders will serve terms beginning July 1. In addition to new leadership, the OPB board elected new member Sheryl WuDunn.

“Rukaiyah, Sean and Roger bring passion, wisdom and commitment to their work with OPB,” said Steve Bass, OPB president and CEO. “Their leadership and the addition of Sheryl WuDunn, will further OPB’s public service mission as we become more central to the region’s journalism ecosystem.”

“While the business of journalism is changing rapidly, its role in our democracy has not changed — it is more important than ever. At a crucible moment for our state, this country and the world, the new Board leadership team is honored to serve,” said Rukaiyah Adams, incoming OPB board chair.

“OPB has become part of the lives of many Oregonians, and I look forward to seeing its reach spread even more across the state and the region,” said Sheryl WuDunn, incoming OPB board member.

OPB is an independent nonprofit organization, governed by a board of directors that is currently comprised of 20 voting members.


About Rukaiyah Adams

Adams is currently the chief investment officer at Meyer Memorial Trust (MMT) responsible for leading all investment activities to ensure the long-term financial strength of the organization including investment policy, asset allocation, performance measurement, manager selection and risk management. Under her leadership, MMT invests in a diversified portfolio of global equities, fixed income, private equities (including venture, buyout and distressed securities), real estate, commodities and hedge funds. Before joining MMT, she was the Director of Investment Management at The Standard. She holds a BA with academic distinction from Carleton College, a JD from Stanford Law School and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

About Sean O’Hollaren

O’Hollaren is a retired senior vice president for Government and Public Affairs at Nike and oversaw Nike Flight Operations. He has also served as a commissioner on the Oregon Transportation Commission, commissioner at the Port of Portland, board chair at the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry, and as a trustee and board secretary at Willamette University. O’Hollaren’s other previous positions include former White House legislative affairs deputy, assistant secretary of transportation, U.S. Senate Staff, and a corporate executive at Honeywell and Union Pacific.

About Roger Cooke

Cooke is a retired senior vice president and special counsel for Precision Castparts. He moved to Portland from New York City in 1992 to join Fred Meyer, Inc. where he served as vice president, general counsel, secretary, senior vice president and executive vice president. He also previously worked at Pan American World Airways and the Pan Am Corporation. He completed his undergraduate work and received his law degree from Georgetown. In addition to OPB, he currently serves as one of four independent directors of The Jensen Portfolio and has served on boards of several social service and arts organizations in Portland.

About Sheryl WuDunn

WuDunn is a business executive, writer, lecturer, and Pulitzer Prize winner. A senior banker focusing on growth companies in technology, new media and the emerging markets, WuDunn also works with double bottom line firms, alternative energy issues, and women entrepreneurs. She has also been a private wealth adviser with Goldman Sachs and was previously a journalist and business executive for The New York Times. She is now senior managing director at Mid-Market Securities, a boutique investment banking firm in New York serving small and medium companies.