Board of Directors

The Board of Directors sets agency policy, enacts legislation (taxing and policy ordinances) and reviews certain contracts.

Board members must live in the geographical districts they represent. The term of office is four years, but a Board member serves at the pleasure of the governor. Board members are volunteers and can serve up to two four-year terms. A Board member whose term has expired shall continue to serve until the governor appoints a successor.

Dr. LaVerne Lewis
President

Dr. LaVerne Lewis is the first Black President of the TriMet Board of Directors. She served as Vice President from 2023–2024.

Dr. Lewis has a broad range of experience in business, civil rights, criminal justice and education. She currently works as an adjunct professor of accounting at Portland Community College. Previously, she taught at Mt. Hood Community College for eight years, providing instruction in criminal justice and accounting. She spent nearly 18 years in law enforcement, as a deputy with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and a training instructor at the Oregon Public Safety Academy’s Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. Dr. Lewis is also a small business owner, with 40 years of experience in the area of taxation, accounting and consulting.

Lewis holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, a Master’s Degree in Education and Human Resource Development and a Doctor of Education degree. She also serves as president of the Faith Northwest United Methodist Foundation’s Board of Directors and is active in her local church.

Dr. Lewis founded the Women-SEW Global Foundation to create “global awareness and a response to women and girls engaged in sewing collectives with intended outcomes of economic and leadership empowerment.” She volunteers in communities around the world.

 

Thomas Kim
Vice-President

Thomas Kim is TriMet’s first Vice-President of Asian descent and the youngest to serve in the role. Kim was also the youngest-ever member to join the TriMet Board of Directors when he joined the Board at age 29. Prior to joining TriMet, Kim served as president of the Hillsboro Planning Commission for three years and as secretary of the Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association. He also served on the American Bar Association’s Law Student Division as chair, representing the entire 120,000-plus law students in America. While serving on the American Bar Association, Kim successfully advocated for undocumented law school graduates to not be denied bar admission solely based on immigration status and to obtain admission to practice law in all U.S. states and territories. Kim is a “Dreamer” and was the first Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival-status (DACA) attorney in Oregon.

Currently, Kim serves as a voting member on the Metro Policy Advisory Committee, which advises the Metro Council on the amendment or adoption of the Regional Framework Plan. In addition to his planning and public policy background, Kim serves as Senior Assistant Attorney General at the Oregon Department of Justice. Kim obtained his law degree from Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematical Economics and a Minor in Statistics from Pacific Lutheran University.

Outside of work, Kim volunteers at the Oregon Law Center, providing pro bono legal service for low-income individuals with past criminal records, helping them overcome barriers to obtaining housing, employment and financial aid.

 

Erin Graham

Erin Graham currently serves as President and CEO of OMSI. She has worked with the nonprofit in various roles, including COO, for more than a decade. She sees her role on the TriMet Board as a relationship-builder, engaging with and stewarding diverse partners and community relationships. Her vision for transit includes shared economic prosperity and environmental stewardship, driven by innovation.

“Investing in upgrading and electrifying public transportation and increasing ridership are critical to reaching our climate goals and reducing impacts on human health,” Graham said.

Before OMSI, Graham worked in nonprofit fundraising, operations and as in-house counsel for arts and technology industries. She holds a JD/MBA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon. Graham is a member of the American Leadership Forum of Oregon as well as the International Women’s Forum.

 

Robert Kellogg

Robert Kellogg brings years of transportation and planning experience to the board as a former member of the Tualatin City Council and two transportation steering committees.

During his tenure on the Tualatin City Council, he focused on local transportation issues, leading a successful $20 million bond measure which looked at reducing bottlenecks and improving traffic and pedestrian safety. Kellogg began his public service career with an appointment to the Washington County Future Transportation Study, which examined opportunities for the county’s transportation systems fifty years into the future. Recently, he served on the Southwest Corridor Light Rail Project Steering Committee, which looked at expanding MAX service to Tualatin Park & Ride at Bridgeport Village.

In addition to his transportation planning background, Kellogg has also run a successful general law practice for 17 years. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Truman State University before graduating Magna Cum Laude from the College of Law at Syracuse University. Kellogg then worked in New York City, beginning his career with the Latham & Watkins law office and represented creditors during the bankruptcies of Global Crossing, WorldCom, and Enron. His experience in NYC inspired his passion for public transportation and its ability to improve people’s lives and shape vibrant communities.

Outside of work, Kellogg serves on the board of Directors of Neighbors Nourishing Communities, a local non-profit that gives plant starts and seeds to groups and individuals who commit to donating at least 25% of their harvest to local food banks. In 2022, the organization contributed more than 3,000 pounds of fresh produce.

 

Tyler Frisbee

Tyler Frisbee is well-versed in active transportation and has a range of experience in coalition building, two vital skills that will help steer TriMet as we rebound from lost ridership due to the COVID-19 pandemic and add back new and improved transit service.

Frisbee most recently worked in Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s office as a strategic advisor with a focus on transportation, environmental policy, and agricultural policy. Frisbee also spent more than six years with Metro, the regional government for Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. During her time there, Frisbee worked primarily with Metro’s Government Affairs and Policy Development team, collaborating with local government partners to deliver on Metro’s goals of creating affordable housing, implementing efficient land-use policies and curbing carbon emissions. Frisbee also served as the Policy Director for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and has experience consulting on transportation issues for the firm WSP Parsons and Brinckerhoff.

 

JT Flowers

An inner Northeast Portland native, JT Flowers currently serves as the Director of Government Affairs and Communications at Albina Vision Trust. His work centers around placemaking, economic development and generational wealth-building for Black and historically displaced Portlanders.

“Transit is inherently a question of equity,” Flowers said in his application to serve on the Board.

As someone who spent his childhood riding TriMet bus lines 6 and 72 and the MAX, Flowers vowed to center his decisions on the region’s “most marginalized communities.” He believes transit creates opportunities, not only through connectivity but also with technology and innovation.

“I’m extremely interested in working creatively to leverage expansion and fleet electrification as a generational workforce development opportunity for working-class and under-represented Oregonians,” he said.

Flowers also serves on the board of Williams & Russell CDC. He previously worked in the office of Rep. Earl Blumenauer as a field representative, consultant for the nonprofit Campaign Zero and as a public lands coordinator for a nature conservation nonprofit.

At 30 years of age, Flowers will be the youngest member of the TriMet Board. He is a first-generation graduate of Yale University, the first Black Rhodes Scholar in Oregon’s history, a Truman Scholar and holds master’s degrees in U.S. History and Music Performance from the University of Oxford.

 

Kathy Wai
Secretary/Treasurer

Kathy Wai is TriMet’s first Secretary/Treasurer of Asian descent and the youngest to serve in the role.

Wai has worked in community-based organizations for more than a decade with expertise in community engagement and policy advocacy. In her current role as Field Director for the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), she works to improve health and economic outcomes for diverse communities. From 2009 to 2012, Wai served on the APANO Board of Directors.

In addition to her role on the TriMet Board of Directors, Wai serves on the North Clackamas School Board and the NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon PAC Board. She is a Steering Committee Member for the Burmese Refugee Health Project.

Born in the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, Wai immigrated to the US with her family at the age of six. A first-generation college graduate, she attended Portland State University and St. Mary’s Academy, traveling to and from school on TriMet.

Wai received The Asian Reporter’s “Exemplary Community Volunteer” award in 2010 and the “We Are Portland” award in 2012 from the City of Portland’s Office of Equity and Human Rights for her community organizing and advocacy efforts.

 

 

* TriMet Board members whose term has expired will continue to serve on the Board until they are reappointed or a replacement is announced.