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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Cheri Jamison joined Alberta Abbey as Executive Director in September 2024. Cheri brings over a decade of experience in strategic leadership within the arts and nonprofit sectors, making her uniquely qualified to lead Alberta Abbey into its next phase of development and community impact. 

Cheri is a passionate advocate for the arts and still finds great joy in singing. She is a lifelong learner focused on personal development while having fun enjoying music, travel, and reading. Cheri leads an active, balanced lifestyle and loves hiking to waterfalls with her husband.

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ARTIST & PATRON SERVICES MANAGER

Ronnie Carrier joined the Alberta Abbey team in the summer of 2022. As a musician in Portland for over 10 years, she is an advocate for the thriving Rose City music community. She is passionate about creating diverse and accessible programming that more wholly represents all the cultures in Portland, and looks to create those opportunities at Alberta Abbey.

Her background includes working for independent bookstores, community radio, and teaching music to kids. She is an active live musician, and her original music has appeared on television, radio, and in podcasts. She holds a BA in English Literature from San Francisco State University, and spends some of her time working with a local non-profit teaching reading skills to elementary school children.

Her efforts to foster creative opportunities in her community expands beyond The Abbey. She is also host and curator of Writers 'Round PDX, which is part of a nationwide songwriting collective that provides a welcoming space for artists of all ages, genres, and career stages to perform, connect, and support local music and venues.

Last, but not least, Ronnie has an extremely cute cat named Clementine who is arguably more vocal than Ronnie is, and likes to sleep on her keyboard when she's trying to work.

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EVENTS & PROGRAMMING PROJECT MANAGER

Linna is a PMP-certified Project Manager who loves turning chaos into order. She's spent her career jumping between public health, mental health, entertainment, and events – basically anywhere that needs someone to wrangle multi-faceted processes and get teams working and communicating more efficiently.

Linna's superpower is mixing her creative brain with serious project management skills. And when she's not tracking tasks and streamlining workflows, you might catch her on stage, in front of a camera, or behind a microphone as a SAG-AFTRA actor, singer, and voiceover artist. She's worked on everything from commercials and indie films to video games and audiobooks.

She brings an inclusive approach to every project, recognizing the strength of having diverse perspectives and getting people with completely different working styles to not just collaborate, but actually have a good time doing it. Her secret? Understanding that behind every work package, timeline, and budget are real people trying to create something meaningful.  

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TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Sean Flora has been running the technical side of things at Alberta Abbey since September 2022, bringing his 30+ years of music production and sound engineering experience to this amazing historic venue.

As a musician and producer in Portland since '93, Sean has gotten to know this city's music scene inside and out. Besides the Abbey, you might know him from his time doing sound at Alberta Street Pub and Alberta Rose Theater, or as the recording engineer for The Moth's Portland events. His passion project for years was hosting and producing StationToStation, a live-on-air music performance radio show that featured live performances from James Mercer of The Shins to Tuvan throat singers.

At the Abbey, Sean gets to use all these experiences to make sure every performance is a moving and memorable experience for performers and audience alike. It's his dream job combining everything he loves about music and production. His sweet pup, Miss Dolly Parton, assists him in all things.

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DIGITAL ASSETS & MARKETING MANAGER

Beck joined the Abbey as a freelance audio technician in late 2021 and now serves as Digital Assets and Marketing Manager. She is an ardent supporter of equity in the arts and hopes to drive awareness of and support for the Alberta Abbey. She is intrigued by the intersection of art and technology as well as the ways in which we can utilize technological advances to make the arts accessible to all.

Beck has been a technology professional in live events for over a decade, providing audio, lighting, design, and stage management solutions. She cut her teeth in the Detroit music scene and has gone on to work with events of all kinds. Now she works mostly in the digital realm, managing apps, integrations, and ads. She is a lifelong supporter of independent venues and prioritizes working with community-minded projects and enriching the local music scene.

Originally a B.A. in Theater, she obtained her B.S. in Cybersecurity and Data Assurance during the pandemic. When she's not managing digital assets or supporting live events, you can find her creating mixed-media jewelry.

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FACILITIES MANAGER

After a long and storied career in video production, Ben turned his talents toward fixing things and solving problems. Keeping a 100 year old building up and running requires both. His other passions include restoring Hammond organs and hanging out with his wife and kids.

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BAR MANAGER

Olivia Stonner graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a BFA in photography, but her path to Alberta Abbey was paved through the music world. She spent five years bartending at a cabaret-style nightclub in NYC, where she fell in love with being able to watch shows while she worked and experience all types of music she hadn't been exposed to growing up. Music has always been central to her life, from family radio sessions to concerts (her first was Bone Thugs and Harmony in 5th grade) to supporting friends' bands throughout her youth.

Having always wanted to work for a nonprofit, Olivia found the Abbey to be a perfect fit that combined her cabaret experience with her values. Coming from New York's rich diversity and culture, she's passionate about the Abbey's mission to bring more opportunities to underrepresented communities in Portland, helping create the kind of diverse cultural space she feels the city needs.

Outside of the Abbey, Olivia continues her photography work (mainly pictures of her dog), supports the local music scene, and runs her own dog grooming business, On the Tail PDX. She spends as much time as possible with her beloved pup, Barracuda.

Alberta Abbey has an amazing pool of part-time event staff and volunteers.

Special thanks to our Volunteer Coordinator, Ilene Stark. 

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BOARD PRESIDENT/SECRETARY

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Brian Gillis’s work is rooted in service related to social equity and access. By using platforms, approaches, and points of exchange in art, he creates opportunities for access to socially valuable information and support. Much of this work involves institutional partnerships that connect individuals and communities to resources associated with food insecurity, housing, mental health, substance abuse, and criminal justice. All ongoing, multigenerational issues in his family and community.

Gillis uses a variety of production strategies and conceptual approaches, often drawing from specific sites, histories, and related partnerships. Outcomes range from functional and sculptural objects and installations to edited publications, educational initiatives, and public actions. In this way, his role is often fluid and responsive, and lines between artist, designer, educator, community organizer, and anonymous steward are frequently blurred.

Gillis has completed projects with a range of partners and institutions, including the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, CUE Art Foundation, the Mint Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum, Mildred’s Lane, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Heilongjiang University (China), the University of Applied Sciences in Koblenz (Germany), the Moth Radio Hour, the American Red Cross, Feeding America, the City of Roja (Latvia), and Seattle Public Schools.

Gillis is currently a Professor of Art at the University of Oregon where he was the founding Director of the Center for Art Research (CFAR).

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Chef / Owner of Southern Grill Catering

JP is a dedicated community volunteer and activist passionate about helping those disadvantaged and forgotten people in society get another chance.

For him supporting and promoting local musicians and feeding the homeless is priority one and the tip of the iceberg in helping people rise from poverty and share in the American dream of equality for all.

JP attended Linfield College on a full athletic scholarship and went on to pursue his Oregon real estate license. Since then, JP has worked with Corporate Investments NW, Nike, and JFP Investments. In 2011 JP formed his own company, Southern Grill Catering. He has brought good food, good music, and good community to Portland through his work with the Jack London Revue, Botanist, and now the Alberta Abbey.

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For Jeana Woolley, the opportunity to empower the Black community in Northeast Portland and make it stronger and more economically viable is personal. The longtime community activist and business owner has worked for more than 45 years on a variety of economic development initiatives and projects intended to benefit Northeast Portland, its residents, and its business owners.

In 1997, Woolley developed Allen Fremont Plaza, the first affordable housing project ever sponsored by a Black organization in Oregon. She was a founding board member of community development organizations such as Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives Inc. and Albina Community Bank (now Beneficial Bank) that continue to serve the Black and BIPOC communities today.

Among the other projects Woolley has developed are Vanport Square and The Heritage Building on MLK Jr Blvd. She also specializes in economic development and public outreach and facilitation consulting services to ensure the participation and inclusion of feedback of diverse and underrepresented communities in large public projects. She currently serves on the City's Community Advisory Committee for the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center and is a member of the Mayor’s Council of Economic Advisors.

As the longest-standing member of the Alberta Abbey Board, as well as living near the Abbey, she is deeply committed to seeing that the Abbey is developed long-term as an entity that can serve as a meaningful resource for emerging Black and BIPOC artists and creators, as well as be a community performance venue for the broader arts community.

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TREASURER

Dorianna is a seasoned professional with a wealth of experience in talent acquisition, professional development, career coaching, and marketing communications. She currently serves as the Director of Attorney Recruiting at Fisher Phillips, a prominent international labor and employment firm. Dorianna’s extensive background in leadership, coupled with a commitment to helping others thrive and grow has brought her to the Abbey.

Dorianna has a passion for empowering individuals which extends beyond the legal realm. As the former founder and CEO of I.N.SPIRE Consulting & Coaching, she provided tailored solutions and guidance to clients, fostering their personal and professional growth. She is also an accomplished motivational speaker and a committed community leader advocating for women's empowerment, diversity and inclusion, and social justice.

Dorianna is grounded in core values such as daring greatly, employing vulnerability, continuous education, courage over comfort, compassion paired with drive, and laughter. “I grew up with a single mother who worked tirelessly to ensure my brother and I had access to music, art, education, and activities to enhance our lives and to bring our community together. It is of the utmost importance to me to honor her and the many mentors who have helped me grow by serving others and sharing what I have had the gift of learning.”