Pam Pearce, CRM
Executive Director

A long-time Oregon resident, Pam is passionate about helping others prevent substance use concerns in youth, families, and the community. She has three children, all of whom were brought up in the West Linn Wilsonville School District. Pam is a person living in long-term recovery.

Over the years, Pam has been a contributor and prevention resource for prevention and recovery arenas. She has shared her recovery experience as a prevention leader on local and national blogs, magazines, and news sites. In addition, she regularly speaks at local and statewide engagements like OHSU, county agencies, and youth groups, as well as national speaking engagements like her college alma mater, the University of Southern California, where she shared her story with families.  

Her passion for primary prevention awareness has led her to get involved with local, state, and national groups supporting prevention education. She is a member of several groups/councils/boards: The Clackamas County Prevention Coalition, which works to create healthy communities that support prevention education and support; an executive board member of the Mental Health and Addiction Council with Clackamas County; an appointee member of the Oregon Alliance to Prevent Suicide and a prevention subcommittee member of the Alcohol Drug Policy Commission, Prevention Subcommittee.

Her work involves board participation, too. She is a founding member of the Oregon Council of Prevention Professionals. She is a board member of Oregon Recovers, a movement of people in recovery, their friends and families, and the healthcare workers fighting on the front lines of Oregon's addiction crisis. She is also a board member of 4D Recovery Centers. She is also a committee member of the Alcohol Drug Policy Commission Prevention Subcommittee.

She has been honored personally and professionally at the local, state, and national levels for her work in prevention and recovery awareness and support. Serenity Lane’s 11th Annual Community Leader Service Award Winner. Recognized as the Volunteer of the Year in her local school district, where her work to engage, empower, and educate youth on drug/alcohol prevention started. Chosen in 2018 as the Freedom Award winner given by Fora (formerly DePaul) Treatment Centers, an honor given to those who help battle the stigma of addiction by sharing their story of recovery and giving back to the community meaningfully.

National organizations have recognized her work professionally for work in her local community. Facing Addiction with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence launched a Pilot Project to reform the public response to “face” addiction. Community Living Above was one of 15 cities selected in the national search. In addition, the Addiction Policy Forum, a leading national nonprofit, recognized Pam’s work with Community Living Above in its Oregon Innovations to Address Addiction report, spotlighting innovative programs in Oregon that address addiction and provide support for families and communities.

Pam co-founded the Oregon Recovery High School Initiative, a coalition of leaders committed to launching Oregon’s first recovery high school, Harmony Academy. The Recovery High School is the first of its kind in our state. Pam’s mission is to create communities where youth receive the information they need to protect themselves (prevent) having a substance use concern. Where young people can grow and heal from the effects of substance use disorders and other high-risk behaviors.

Pam feels her work supporting young people, their families, and the communities she serves is her highest calling thus far. Her mess is now her message, and redemption is the gift.

Steve Burch
Board President

Steve and Stacey are native Texans who moved to Oregon several years ago to begin a new life chapter. Their three children have all been students in West Linn School District. Steve is a Certified Financial Planner with View Pointe, and Stacey is thankful to be able to stay at home to wrangle the children and their crazy schedules. They are active in the community, have served on PTO boards as facilitators for Financial Peace classes, regularly volunteer in various positions, and have been known to attend a city council meeting or two. They are honored to be a part of the prevention work being done in their community. Like many others, their lives have been touched by substance use, and they look forward to working with other community members to bring about awareness and positive change.

Ryan Opsahl

Ryan Opsahl is the Director of Clinical Outreach for Crestview Recovery Services. Ryan manages and maintains various marketing processes and is responsible for developing and maintaining referral sources nationally while generating referrals from clinicians and other sources. Ryan has worked in the addiction treatment field since 2010 and is passionate about helping guide individuals down a path to successful long-term recovery. He uses his experience as a recovering alcoholic/addict to help referral sources access any helpful resources that will assist their clients in achieving growth, change, and wholeness.

Lee Stewart
Treasurer

Lee Stewart is an art historian who has taught Art History part-time while raising her three sons. She graduated from Princeton University and received her PhD in Art History from Columbia University. Originally from the East Coast, she moved to Oregon with her husband in 1992 and taught at Portland State University and Oregon College of Art and Craft. 

Lee is alarmed by the increasing normalization of cannabis use among teens in Oregon. With cannabis commercialization, youth perception of risk has decreased while their actual risk has increased exponentially with the creation of high-potency products. She, therefore, seeks to educate on the harms to youth from cannabis and to advocate for more primary prevention and protective policies. She is a certified parent educator through JJohnny'sAmbassadors and a member of the Parent Action Network of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. In addition to Community Living Above, she is also on the Big Village prevention coalition board. She sat on the Community Impact Subcommittee of CPOT (Cannabis Policy Oversight Team) and is a member of the OLCOLCC'sles Advisory Committee.

Anne Marie Lowe
Operations Director/Manager

Anne Marie is a career financial director, bringing over 20 years of banking and nonprofit management experience to local nonprofits. Her financial expertise includes working as a commercial banker in Portland, bringing various financial products and services to a commercial banking client base. Anne Marie has worked in the nonprofit sector throughout her career, bringing relationship and cash management needs to the nonprofit industry. Her nonprofit experience includes organizational advancement through development and fundraising initiatives, fiscal management, budgeting, grant writing, workshop creation and facilitation, event management, and strategic planning facilitation for various nonprofit missions within the Portland metropolitan area.

Lowe holds a degree in International Business from Linfield College. Anne Marie, an active West Linn community member, is an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Portland, where she served as president from 2010 to 2011. Her other community involvement includes serving on the Salvation ArmArmy'svisory board and the Royal Rosarians.

Garth Swanson

Garth is an Oregon native and a person in long-term recovery. He is the Director of Outreach at Atlas Treatment Center of Portland and has been a recovery peer mentor at 4D Recovery Centers. Growing up in West Linn, he experienced the problems associated with teenage drug and alcohol use and came out the other side in recovery. He joined CLA to see how he could make a difference in the community he grew up in.

Coalition Members

Representatives from community sectors organize and meet to address local youth substance use. Together, as a coalition, they are driven by local conditions to implement local solutions to build a safe, healthy, and drug-free community.

Steve Burch, View Point Wealth

Ellen McMillan, CLA Advisor

Rosemary Reynolds, Retired KXL Radio

Nalini Velutrein, MD

Sergeant Oddis Rollins, West Linn Police Department

Jennifer Epstein, Song for Charlie

Robin Henderson, PsyD, Chief Executive Behavioral Health Providence, and Chief Clinical Officer, Work2BeWell

Ryan Opsahl, Regional Director of Clinical Outreach, Crestview Recovery and Bayview Recovery

Representative Jules Walters

Kathleen Self, Riverwest Church

Lee Stewart, Parent

Cheryl Wilson, LSW, West Linn Wilsonville School District

Claire Peate, CLA Board Member, Student Representative

Brian McCrady, Drug and Alcohol Prevention Specialist, Children, Family & Community Connections, Clackamas County

David Goode, West Linn Rotary

Garth Swanson, CLA Board Member

Kelly Sloop, Community Member, School District Board Member

Priscilla Koczian, Young Life West Linn

Tracy Swartley, Parent West Linn Community