Board of Directors 2024

William B. Conerly, Ph.D. – Chair

Mr. Conerly is an economist and owner of Conerly Consulting, LLC. He lives in Lake Oswego.

Gilion Dumas – Vice Chair

Ms. Dumas is a lawyer with Dumas & Vaughn, Attorneys at Law. She resides in NE Portland.

Ruppert Reinstadler – Secretary

Mr. Reinstadler retired as Vice President of Employee Benefits at Coordinated Resources Group in Portland, a division of HUB International Northwest. He is a Trustee of The Challenge Foundation, a family trust interested in school choice, and resides in Tigard.

Patrick Cummings – Treasurer

Mr. Cummings is a founder and partner in The Inter Alia Group of RBC Wealth Management. He and his family live in Portland.

John A. Charles, Jr. – President & CEO

Mr. Charles has worked for Cascade Policy Institute since 1997 and has been Chief Executive Officer since 2004. He is a resident of Tigard.

Manuel Castañeda

Mr. Castañeda is founder and owner of PLI Systems, an Oregon-based soil and foundation stabilization company. He lives in Aloha.

William Udy

Mr. Udy was a financial analyst with NW Natural Gas for 35 years and is now retired. He lives in Camas, Washington.

Peter Wendel

Mr. Wendel is a semi-retired nonprofit executive search consultant and former chief financial officer for a high-tech public relations and advertising firm in Portland. He lives in NW Portland.