Our Team

John Trumbo, retired Umatilla County Oregon Sheriff, began his law enforcement career in 1973 and rose through the ranks of leadership. Sheriff Trumbo served as Sheriff from 1997 to 2013. He retired in 2013. During his career and even in retirement, Sheriff Trumbo has served in several capacities including as President of the Oregon State Sheriffs Association (2004), Executive Board of the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association (2004-2013), President of Oregon Livestock and Rural Crime Investigators Association (2004-2011), Chairman of Umatilla/Morrow County Law Enforcement Association (2007- 2013), Director of Pendleton Round-Up Association (2007-2014), Board member of Pendleton Cattle Baron’s Weekend (2013-present), and Vice-President of Pendleton Round-Up Association (2015). Sheriff Trumbo was also an original member of the Governor’s Meth Task Force and an original member of the Governor’s Medal of Honor Commission (2010 to retired). John Trumbo is a founding Board Director of CLEAR Alliance.

Marlys Alger is a retired educator who taught at the elementary and middle school levels (Redmond, 4 years), served as a school counselor K-12 (Madras, 5 years), and was a school administrator K-8 (Madras, 13 years). Mrs. Alger earned a BS in elementary education and an MS in counseling, both at Oregon State University; and credentials for school administration at Lewis and Clark College. Mrs. Alger earned and maintains her Licensed Professional Counselor credentials in the state of Oregon. After retiring from schools Mrs. Alger served as a therapist at Best Care Treatment Center in Madras, after which she served as a Supervisor for students working toward their MS in Counseling at OSU-Cascades in Bend for 2 years. Currently, she serves as a Board Director for Children Learning through Education and Research, CLEAR Alliance, and as an advisor for the curriculum development and teaching of CLEAR Alliance on their Teen Marijuana Education Course, TMEC. Mrs. Alger has held a life-long passion for the education and development of students of all ages.

Belinda Ballah, Director for the Hood River County Prevention Department, received her Bachelor’s degree from Eastern Oregon University.  She worked in the Hood River County School district for many years before transitioning into the Prevention field. She received her Prevention Specialist certification from the Addictions Counselor Certification Board of Oregon in 2013 while working at the HRC Prevention Department. In 2015 she became the director. During her tenure, the department has received a Drug Free Communities grant to start an “underserved population” coalition, a federal STOP Act grant to reduce underage drinking, three Knight Cancer Institute-Oregon State University grants to reduce smoking and increase cancer survivor opportunities regionally, and a Juvenile Crime Prevention Youth Outreach worker grant to reduce risky behaviors at the high school level. During this time, our H.E.A.L.T.H. (Helping to Educate, Advocate and Lead Towards Health) Media clubs have led their peers in prevention education by producing multimedia products and impacted parents through their work in prevention. Belinda is also a TMEC instructor.

Senior Judge Gary Thompson is a retired Circuit Court judge from the 22nd Judicial District. Judge Thompson received his Bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University and his J.D. from Willamette University in 1972. Judge Thompson served as District Attorney from 1972 until 1990. While District Attorney he served as President of the Oregon District Attorney’s Association (ODAA). Judge Thompson served as Judge from 1990 until 2008. While on the bench, Judge Thompson formed the 22nd Judicial District Drug Court and served as its judge until retirement. Judge Thompson served as a Plan B Judge from 2008 until 2013. He is currently a Senior Judge for the State of Oregon. Gary Thompson is a founding Board Director of CLEAR Alliance.

Connie Ramaekers is the Founder and Program Director for Tigard Turns the Tide. Mrs. Ramaekers, a Certified Prevention Specialist with the Addictions Counselor Certification Board of Oregon, has been in the prevention field for more than 30 years. She has formed countless drug and alcohol youth movements including STUDD (Stop Teen Underage Drinking and Drug Use) with more than 100 students enrolled. In 1982, when a group of moms were shocked to find out that many high school students were using alcohol and marijuana, Connie was spurred to action and decided to do something to influence students to make good choices. In 1984, they organized the first alcohol and drug free graduation party. Fast forward to 2007, when they applied for and received a grant to set up Tigard Turns the Tide. In 2012, they received another grant to continue the work. The program has been making a difference, as reflected in the drop-in alcohol use rate in 8th graders by 50% since 2007. Connie Ramaekers is a founding Board Director of CLEAR Alliance.

Kent Vander Kamp has been in law enforcement as a full-time Deputy since 2008. He is currently assigned as a Sergeant with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division. Kent’s current and previous experience as a Detective include investigating serious crimes against persons and property to include but not limited to: homicides, assaults, sex crimes, child abuse and neglect, burglary, major thefts, fraud, and computer crimes. In addition, Sgt. Vander Kamp assists with serious crash investigations, DUII investigations, and proactive traffic enforcement and education. As a Sergeant, Detective, and Deputy Sheriff, Kent Vander Kamp has experience in the enforcement of DUII and traffic laws. Since beginning with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, he conducted about 200 DUII investigations per year. As part of his career training, he has completed several SFST/DUII Detection programs, Drugs that Impair Driving courses, the Advanced Roadside Impairment Detection Enforcement course (ARIDE), and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training. In addition, Sgt Vander Kamp is a certified SFST and DRE Instructor. Sergeant Vander Kamp is also a licensed Emergency Medical Technician in the State of Oregon and trained to detect and treat medical and traumatic emergencies, including symptoms of alcohol and illicit drug use. In addition to his law enforcement career, Kent serves as a Teen Marijuana Education Course (TMEC) Trainer for CLEAR Alliance and was asked to join the CLEAR Alliance Board of Directors in 2018. Kent has his pilot’s license and also owns and operates a west coast mortgage and real estate company. Kent is a seasoned entrepreneur with multiple multi-million dollar exits. He has an eye for analyzing trends, investing, asset acquisition, and a diverse sales and marketing background. Additionally, Kent has lead several investments in the mobile gaming space, one of which that generated 2.5 million active monthly users and $72 million in annual run-rate revenues, before executing a $100+ million exit to a leading media company. Kent remains the Executive Managing Member of a social game investment firm. Kent has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Public Administration, with cum laude honors.

Mandi Puckett, Certified Prevention Specialist, is co-founder and Executive Director of CLEAR Alliance, a statewide educational non-profit organization focused on substance abuse and impaired driving prevention education. Puckett has worked in public service for over 20 years (16 years in Substance Abuse Prevention and 4 years in Juvenile Justice Probation). Prior to her statewide educational outreach, Puckett worked locally for a non-profit for 12 years as Prevention Supervisor and coordinator of alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention efforts in Jefferson County Oregon. Her efforts included supervising other prevention specialists, developing community partnerships, spearheading the Jefferson County Prevention Task Force, its Meth Task Force subgroup, and numerous community prevention projects – including adopting the county-wide Jefferson County Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Protocol (the first such protocol in the state of Oregon). After graduating college in 1997, Puckett started her public service career as a Juvenile Justice Officer in 1999, which inspired and led her to move to the substance abuse prevention field in 2002. She received her certification as a Prevention Specialist (CPS) from the Mental Health Addiction Certification Board of Oregon in 2007. During her 20 years of service, she has been recognized with several awards including a Special Recognition Award from the Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association, Outstanding Prevention Program Award from Oregon Partnership, Citizen Impact Award from the Jefferson County Sheriff, Catalyst for Change Award from the National Smart Approaches to Marijuana non-profit, and the Oregon DUII Prevention/Treatment Provider of the Year Award from the Oregon DUII Multi-Disciplinary Training Task Force. In February 2020, CLEAR Alliance received the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) National Award from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Jim Carroll for “Outstanding Public Safety/Public Health Collaborative Effort” for its Tobacco Marijuana & E-cigarettes Course (TMEC). Puckett is a Tobacco Marijuana & E-cigarettes Course (TMEC) Trainer who teaches the course to school students in Oregon, trains TMEC Instructors in Oregon, and has expanded to training TMEC Instructors across the nation.

Alicia King joined CLEAR Alliance in June 2020 as Graphic Design Coordinator. She is excited to bring her creative perspective to the team and is working toward becoming a TMEC instructor.

Alicia found a passion for working with youth early on, volunteering her time as a leader for middle and high school students – encouraging them through the challenges that can come with being a teen. She looks forward to using those experiences to help her in educating the young people in her community.

Alicia earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Applied Visual art at Oregon State University – Cascades. She graduated in 2018 and continues to create commissioned work, art prints, and greeting cards.

McKaylie Capps joined our team in March 2019 as an intern with a focus on graphic design. She is eager to learn and gain experience all while providing a unique perspective to help educate teens.

McKaylie graduated from Redmond High School. She was a 4.0 student and three sports varsity athlete in cross country, basketball and track. McKaylie was an active member in her school and community as a member of clubs like National Honors Society, Key Club and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She is passionate about serving her community and getting involved as much as possible.

McKaylie started attending the University of Oregon in the fall of 2019 to pursue a major in Art and Technology. Someday she hopes to become a graphic designer and follow her passion for art and design in her professional career.

Working with young people has been one of Ramona’s passions, especially for those who are struggling with challenges—whether that be physical challenges, family dynamics, or substance abuse. Although retired from the public school system, she is always looking for ways to give back to our youth.

History has also been a strong interest of Ramona’s for many years, especially local history. She has always loved to hear the stories of folks who have lived in the community she loves, as well as the stories of military veterans and those who have forged the hardships and adventures that have made up our country.

When Ramona retired, she joined the Crook County Historical Society Board, and continues to gather local historical stories from our community members in Crook County. In early 2000, she became involved in the Library of Congress History Project with the CTE class that she was teaching. It proved to be such a valuable history lesson that she continued with the project over the years, sometimes on her own, and sometimes with students interning and learning how to do interviews.

To date, Ramona has 10 interviews in the Library of Congress of veterans of Vietnam, World War II, and Korean War. She also has done several video interviews for community history as well as veterans’ history for Bowman Museum as a volunteer.

Ramona believes that her former experience as a teacher, media instructor, law enforcement instructor, and a writer/reporter, are experiences she can contribute in some way towards helping our youth in making good choices through this organization, CLEAR Alliance.

Oscar Baldwin is an Oregon high school student. He has struggled with substance abuse throughout his high school career. He moved to Hood River after his Freshman year at Oregon City High School. Oscar has been to residential treatment twice in the last 12 months. Following his stay at Hazelden Betty Ford in Minnesota, he has been sober for almost nine months. He has been working with the Hood River Prevention Department and has recently founded the Young People of Hood River AA Meeting. Oscar is passionate about helping other young people cope with addiction and ultimately hopes to study social work and drug counseling.

Angela Capps has been teaching Health and Physical Education since 1993-94.  She began her teaching career at Myrtle Point High School where she was also the JV/Varsity Assistant girls basketball coach. After budget cuts, Angela landed in Redmond, taught at Hugh Hartman Middle School, Elton Gregory Middle School, and currently at Redmond High School. She has worked closely with CLEAR Alliance for the past 3 years, piloting the TMEC program in her Freshman and Junior level Health I and II classes. She has also worked closely with the Oregon Department of Education on the Curriculum Adoption Team. Angela received her Master’s Degree in Secondary Education from Western Oregon University, along with a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Grand Canyon University. Angela has been coaching Girls Basketball for 26 years and is currently the Varsity Head Coach at Redmond High School. She is married to Troy, a middle school science teacher at Terrebonne Community School and has 3 daughters. Capps was involved in focus groups and evaluation of the Teen Marijuana Education Course (TMEC), and is also trained as a TMEC Instructor.

Chris Gibson was appointed as the Oregon-Idaho (previously Oregon) HIDTA Executive Director on November 1, 2006. Mr. Gibson is a past Chairman of the National HIDTA Director Committee and currently serves as the Chairman of the National Emerging Threat Initiative’s (NETI) oversight committee and as Vice President of the National HIDTA Directors Association. On February 5, 2015 Chris was recognized by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy with an Outstanding Support to the National HIDTA Program award during the 2015 National HIDTA Conference in Washington, D.C. Chris was again recognized by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy with the Edward Williams Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2018 National HIDTA Conference in Washington, D.C. Prior to his appointment as Oregon HIDTA Director, Chris served for 18 years in local law enforcement and achieved the rank of Deputy Chief of Police. Chris graduated in 1990 from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Science in the Administration of Justice and again in 2011 with an Executive Master’s Degree in Public Administration. Chris is also a graduate of the 205th session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy. In addition to his duties as Oregon-Idaho HIDTA Director, Chris serves as a member of the Lines for Life Executive Board and Vice President of the Oregon Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association. The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA Executive Director is responsible for the successful implementation of the Oregon-Idaho HIDTA Executive Board’s strategy and policies. The Executive Director provides day-to-day administrative, financial, and program management for the operations of the HIDTA; facilitates and encourages the development of innovative approaches to drug law enforcement; ensures that HIDTA Initiatives are in compliance with HIDTA program requirements; and advises the Executive Board concerning the performance of HIDTA Initiatives. The Executive Director oversees the Oregon-Idaho HIDTA Management and Administration Initiative staff, which includes a Budget and Program Analyst, Program Coordinator and Administrative
Assistant. www.oridhidta.org

Eric Martin, MAC, CADC III, CRM, CPS is the Past President & Director Emeritus of the Addiction Counselor Certification Board of Oregon. Eric serves as both trainer and supervisor of the 4th Dimension Youth Recovery Club and Peer Support Program. Eric is the Director of the MetroPlus Association of Addiction Peer Professionals. Eric is an Adjunct Faculty member with the University of Oregon SAPP program and a contract instructor with Oregon’s Child Welfare & Self Sufficiency Divisions. Eric is a state & nationally certified addictions counselor with 32 years of clinical experience in Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitalization, Residential and Outpatient Addictions Treatment, Recovery Support Services and ATOD Prevention. Eric is an international presenter and recovery advocate. Eric has served on several Governor’s advisory boards, the Governor’s Council on Substance Abuse Programs and the Governor’s Advisory Board on Drugs & Violent Crime. Eric has also produced a number of videos, including “Reunited” a video designed for methamphetamine-addicted mothers entering the child welfare system. Eric has been honored with numerous awards in light of his 30 years of service in Addiction Treatment & Prevention. Most notably, he is the recipient of the Governor’s Council Award of Excellence, presented by Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, and he is the recipient of the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors—National, William F.Callahan Award for Sustained and Meritorious Service at the national level to the profession of addiction counseling, presented in Washington D.C. in 2010. Eric currently serves in a leadership capacity to numerous community boards including; 4th Dimension Recovery Center, New Columbia CREW, Chair of the Miracles Club, Voices of Problem Gambling Recovery, Legislative Liaison for the Addiction Counselor Certification Board of Oregon, and immediate past Co-Chair of the State’s Traditional Health Worker Commission.

Rick Nickell and his wife Debbie, a teacher, have lived in Central Oregon for 40+ years. Rick served as a teacher for Redmond School District for 30 years and has taught Driver Education for 25 years. Presently, Rick is the Driver Education Manager for High Desert Driver Education Program, which has 40 instructors that teach around 1,000 students through the program per year in 11 high schools in Central Oregon.

Pam Pearce is a wife, mother, community leader, and a person living in long-term recovery. Currently in her 23rd year of recovery she takes advantage of every opportunity to share her passion for the gifts and hope recovery has given her.

Pam is a certified recovery mentor with a passion for prevention and currently serves as the Executive Director of Community Living Above in West Linn, Oregon. Community Living Above works to support youth and families, with substance use prevention education, access to support resources, and peer-to-peer encouragement.

Over the years Pam has been a contributor and prevention resource for online prevention and recovery sites and has shared her personal experience in recovery and as a prevention leader on blogs and through speaking engagements. Her passion for prevention/awareness education led her to get involved with local, state, and national groups supporting prevention, awareness, and recovery. She is a member of the Clackamas County Prevention Coalition the Mental Health and Addiction Council.

She has been honored at the local, state, and national levels for her work in prevention awareness and supports. She was awarded Volunteer of the Year in the West Linn Wilsonville School district for her work with youth to engage, empower, and educate them on drug/alcohol prevention and recently won the Freedom Award, an honor given to those who help battle the stigma of addiction by sharing their story of recovery and giving back to the community in a meaningful way.

Pam’s impact on the prevention and awareness landscape in Oregon has also taken her to the national level, where she is part of Facing Addiction with NCADD’s (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence), action and affiliate networks.

Community Living Above was selected for Facing Addiction’s Pilot Project, making it one of just 15 cities to be selected by the national nonprofit — the project works to reform the public response to “face addiction” in communities via a grassroots-driven strategy.

Most recently Pam co-founded the Oregon Recovery High School Initiative, a diverse coalition of recovery advocates, educators, health system professionals and business leaders committed to launching the first recovery high school in Oregon for students impacted by substance use disorders. Pam feels this is her highest recovery calling thus far. Her mess is now her message and redemption is the blessing.

Marnae Thompson Powell is the devoted mother to four boys ages 15, 13, 10 and 7 and wife to Brian Powell. She recently became an independent Real Estate Broker and works with the Powell Team and Fred Real Estate in Bend, Oregon. Marnae received her Bachelor of Science from Brigham Young University in 1999. She majored and certified in Secondary Health Education with a minor in physical education/fitness. For the last 13 ½ years she has and does still currently teach 2-5 fitness classes per week at Redmond Park and Recreation. Marnae also helps out at CLEAR Alliance as much as she can help with various projects. She has been a stay at home mom for the most part for the last 15 years until recently working with Clear Alliance and Fred Real Estate. Marnae has always had a passion for health and wellness. She knew she wanted to help people live a healthy lifestyle from a young age. CLEAR Alliance and its cause became a passion for her in 2016 when she her son began to struggle with substance abuse. She has been down roads she never knew she would travel, roads she had only heard bits and pieces of from others. Until experiencing such a journey of her own, she did not fully understand or empathize with parents of struggling children. She is here today to help support the education of our youth. Marnae believes in the mission of CLEAR Alliance and wants to be a light for other parents who struggle and to help educate families and communities.

April Ratliff is an active law enforcement officer, a Drug Recognition Expert, and Teen Marijuana Education Course (TMEC) Trainer for CLEAR Alliance.

Caleb Ratliff is an active law enforcement officer, a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE), a DRE Regional Instructor, and a Teen Marijuana Education Course (TMEC) Trainer for CLEAR Alliance.

David Rosenberg, MD is a board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. He currently works for Central Oregon Emergency Physicians at St. Charles Medical Center (SCMC) in Bend Oregon, where he has worked for the past 10 years. He was born and raised in the Washington DC area. He attended medical school at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA and completed residency in Emergency Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Before coming to Bend he worked at the Washington Hospital Center and Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Currently, he is physician advisor for Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire and EMS, chair of the Bioethics Committee at SCMC Bend.