Our Team
Kellen Klein • eXECUTIVE dIRECTOR
Kellen's passion lies in community and relationship building. A skilled facilitator and unabashed expert generalist, he's spent his career bringing people together to tackle complex social and environmental challenges.
After earning a degree in Human Biology from Stanford University and a master's in Environmental Science & Management from UC-Santa Barbara, Kellen spent nearly a decade in the sustainability and social impact fields. His work at the non-profit consultancy Future 500 focused on forging common ground and collaboration between corporations, non-profits, investors, and other key changemakers. He then worked at Center for Humane Technology, where he grew and stewarded a global community of over 10,000 technologists committed to building more ethical products and services.
Kellen has long sought out opportunities to support organizations engaged in community building and social change. He previously served on the Emerging Leaders Board of Oregon Environmental Council, the Advisory Board of Social Impact 360, and the leadership team of the California Water Action Collaborative. He and his wife recently co-founded the Family-Friendly Restroom Team, an action team of Age-Friendly Sisters Country with a mission to create more safe and inclusive restrooms here in town.
Although a recent transplant to Sisters, Kellen is a born-and-raised Pacific Northwesterner. When he’s not in the C4C office, you’ll likely find him scarfing donuts at Sisters Bakery, quaffing saisons at Funky Fauna, or rolling around town on bikes, boards, or blades with his wife, two young children, and dog Jojo.
Board of Directors
Sarah McDougall • president
Raised in Vermont, Sarah grew up with an affinity for real maple syrup and was lucky enough to visit Ben & Jerry’s original scoop shop. She was active in her school community, playing the flute, excelling on the math team, and learning of her passion for volunteerism through related activities.
Sarah earned a bachelor’s degree in business, with a minor in mathematics, from Colby College in Waterville, Maine. During her sophomore year, her roommate recruited her onto the track team, beginning her lifelong passion for being active.
A 20-year career in information technology, with diverse roles in programming, project and resource management, brought Sarah the opportunity to grow her listening and problem-solving skills. She worked mostly with financial clients such as Capital One Bank, Chase Bank, and Navy Federal Credit Union. During her career, she earned her master’s in management information systems from the University of Virginia.
Sarah has been an active volunteer throughout her adult life, not only because she enjoys supporting initiatives, but because this is a great way to find people with similar enthusiasm. She joined the C4C board intent on fostering better communication in her community.
Sarah loves being engaged with the Sisters community. She and her husband moved to Central Oregon in 2006 and now live in Sisters with their two cats.
Jane Paxson • Vice president
Jane grew up in the small town of Vermillion, South Dakota and attended the university there. Inspired to see the world, she learned some German and French and went to Europe three times during her college years. She finished a degree in education at Portland State University and taught elementary school for the Beaverton School District for 24 years. Jane also completed a master’s in education administration at Lewis and Clark College.
After retiring in 2014 and traveling in a motor home for six months, Jane and her husband moved to Sisters. She says her work on C4C’s Values and Visioning quilt project helped affirm her interest in local volunteerism.
“I and other volunteers asked residents about their vision for the future. It was rewarding seeing the many things which bind Sisters’ residents together—among them a love of nature, mountains, clean air and water, and our small-town feeling. This is a wonderful place to live, and still it can be better!”
Before taking the reins as C4C president, Jane served as chair of the C4C Program Committee for three years. Jane now serves as C4C vice president.
Bruce Rognlien
Born in LaPorte, Indiana, Bruce earned a business science degree from UCLA and served in the U.S. Navy before working as an automotive aftermarket rep for a decade. He then moved into a very successful career in the travel industry. After purchasing Associated Travel from Cardillo in 1980, he led it to become the 13th largest corporate travel management company in the U.S., employing 550 people across 28 states.
Bruce retired from Associated Travel as Chairman Emeritus in 1998 and went on to teach a course in entrepreneurship for four years at UCLA’s Anderson School of Business. For many years he has enjoyed finding—and investing in—promising startups.
Given my past experience, it seems natural to help promote smart, healthy growth—in this case, by promoting civility within our community. I’m not shy about speaking up about the importance of civility. And I believe the Sisters Country Civility Project and Speak Your Peace basically help reinforce the “golden rule” in a manner that will help our community build—and rebuild—trust.”
Among his many contributions to C4C, Bruce coordinated the 2019 Free Speech event and helps lead fundraising efforts for the organization.
He and his wife, Marleen, are Sisters residents. They also enjoy visiting Southern California, where their children still reside.
Jaclyn Kordell
Jaclyn’s journey into community building started at a young age as her father, Lee, took her to help out with community projects in Central Arizona. Her passion grew, and in high school she spent a summer helping a summer school program in Guaymas, Mexico.
The passion continued as she earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology and elementary and middle school education in southern Wisconsin at Beloit College. Following her undergraduate studies, Jaclyn was a motivated changemaker and immersed herself in a rural community in the Dominican Republic, where she worked with local residents to build a community library as part of her service in the Peace Corps. Following the Peace Corps, she taught elementary school in under-resourced neighborhoods of Chicago, Phoenix, and East Palo Alto.
Jaclyn’s master’s degree in sustainable development was earned from the School for International Training and included another period of cultural immersion, in Montero, Bolivia, managing a nutrition center for women and children. Most recently, Jaclyn spent almost a decade in nonprofit program development and management focused on education equity, college attainment, and parent engagement for immigrant Latino youth and families in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 2017, Jaclyn and her family moved to Sisters, where she is now happily raising her two young boys and supporting positive community growth.
James Barnett • TREASURER
Jim has been an Alaska attorney in private practice in Anchorage, Alaska since 1974. He is former deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and elected member of the Anchorage Municipal Assembly—the city council of Alaska’s largest city. He and his wife recently established a second home in Sisters Country.
“Given both my legal background and involvement in Alaska public policy issues over the years, I am keenly aware of C4C’s mission and see its use as an opportunity to change the manner of political discourse locally. If done well, C4C’s processes can serve as a model for other parts of the state and even the nation in these turbulent times.”
Jim has been a volunteer in a number of organizations in Anchorage and currently serves on the board of the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. He was the longtime president of the historical society in Anchorage and recently chaired the community’s centennial celebration. He has written and edited a series of history books on Alaskan themes, including Arctic Ambitions: Captain Cook and the Northwest Passage (Univ. of Washington 2015), as well as more recent projects published by Washington State University Press and the University of Alaska Press.
Scott Crabtree • SECRETARY
As the Founder and Chief Happiness Officer of Happy Brain Science, Scott Crabtree knows that the #1 factor in happiness for most of us is the quality of our relationships with other people. So when he heard about C4C’s mission to build a connected community, he wanted to be a part of it. After volunteering to present The Science of Being Happy and Productive at Work with C4C, he was delighted to be asked to join the board.
After earning a degree in cognitive science from Vassar College, Scott went on to lead the design and development of video games and other software. He discovered the science of thriving (positive psychology and other brain sciences) in 2003 and immediately became a passionate student and teacher of that research. He resigned his senior leadership position at Intel in 2011 to found Happy Brain Science. His repeat clients include DreamWorks, Nike, Kaiser-Permanente, Boeing, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and NBC.
“I am deeply concerned about divisions in our community and our country, and I know nobody is coming to save us; we have to save ourselves. C4C can help.”
Scott loves living in Sisters, and loves exploring in Oregon with his wife, two daughters, and mutt.
Adam Koller
Adam comes from the world of sporting and the outdoor industry, working with companies like Nike, Adidas, YETI, and NAU.
Working as a brand director taught him how to focus on the only things that really matter, the people you serve. An Oregon native, Adam grew up in Portland and invested in a growing community, the outcome of which was both wonderful and challenging. The biggest issue we face, as with most communities, is communication.
The mission of C4C to facilitate conversations that lead to meaningful growth and building a community was extremely appealing to Adam. In the middle of 2022, he was accepted as a board member of C4C.