Guiding the Work, Strengthening the Impact
Our Board of Directors brings together a range of experiences that reflect the work we do every day, from clinical care and public systems to finance, technology, and community leadership. Their guidance helps ensure our programs remain effective, accountable, and responsive to the needs of children and families.
Sue Colasurdo, M.D.
Chair, Board Member
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
Dr. Sue Colasurdo is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist with decades of experience serving children and families across Oregon. Her work focuses on community mental health and supporting youth with complex behavioral and developmental needs. She brings extensive experience working with children served through the Oregon Health Plan and community mental health agencies, with a strong understanding of the comprehensive care these families require.
Dr. Colasurdo currently works with the Oregon Psychiatric Access Line for Kids (OPAL-K), providing psychiatric consultation to pediatric and primary care providers across the state. She also works with children and teens with neurodevelopmental disorders through OHSU at the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center and maintains a small virtual private practice. Her approach emphasizes collaborative, research-informed care that supports not only medication management, but the broader systems surrounding a child, including family, school, and community.
Dr. Colasurdo has been involved with OCP since its earliest days. She began working with the Treatment Foster Care Oregon model in the late 1980s and served as OCP’s first consulting child psychiatrist. She later joined the founding Board of Directors and continues to serve as a steady source of clinical insight and institutional knowledge.
She remains committed to OCP because of the integrity and quality of its work. The agency’s dedication to interventions that are scientifically proven to be effective, and to implementing those models with fidelity, sets it apart. For Dr. Colasurdo, it matters deeply that families receive care that is not only well-intentioned, but truly works. As a parent of four, she also brings lived experience and perspective, grounded in the understanding that supporting families is complex, demanding, and profoundly important work.
Kathleen Hynes
Vice Chair, Board Member
Attorney/Public Administrator, Retired
Kathleen Hynes is a retired attorney with a career grounded in administrative law, public administration, and human services. Her work has consistently focused on supporting children and families through both direct service and systems-level roles. Over the course of her career, she worked in nonprofit organizations, local government, and state agencies, building a broad understanding of how policies and programs impact families in meaningful ways.
Kathleen began her career in public service as a VISTA volunteer, advocating for individuals navigating public benefit systems. She later worked on Capitol Hill with a focus on labor, education, health, and women’s issues before pursuing a legal career in Oregon. Her professional experience includes roles with Lane County’s Commission on Children and Families and as Legal Director for the state’s child care division, where she led work related to rulemaking, licensing, and regulatory oversight of child care providers.
Kathleen has served on the Oregon Community Programs Board of Directors for nearly a decade, bringing a longstanding commitment to supporting children and families. She was drawn to the organization through her focus on strengthening families through effective, community-based services. She is especially passionate about OCP’s treatment foster care program and the stability and opportunity it provides for youth with complex needs.
In addition to her professional experience, Kathleen brings lived experience as a kinship caregiver, having played a significant role in raising her granddaughter. This perspective deepens her understanding of the complexities families navigate and reinforces her commitment to programs that provide stability and support. After retiring, she has remained engaged in her community, including several years on the Citizen Review Board, where she supports oversight of child welfare cases. She remains engaged in public policy and community issues and has served on multiple boards supporting children, families, and community well-being. Outside of her volunteer work, she enjoys spending time outdoors and exploring Oregon’s natural beauty.
Julie Atkinson
Treasurer, Board Member
Senior Manager, Jones & Roth
Julie is the Treasurer of the Oregon Community Programs Board of Directors and a Senior Manager at Jones & Roth. She works in assurance services, specializing in audits, reviews, and compilations for a range of clients, including nonprofit organizations, private companies, and retirement plans. Her background in accounting and finance provides a strong foundation for supporting financial oversight and sustainability at OCP.
Julie brings expertise in financial management and nonprofit accounting to her board service. Through her work at Jones & Roth, she helps organizations maintain transparency, accountability, and sound financial practices. She also leads internal initiatives focused on community engagement, helping connect colleagues with opportunities to give back and support local organizations.
Julie has been involved with OCP since approximately 2018. She was drawn to the organization by its meaningful impact in the community and the opportunity to use her skills to support children and families. She especially values OCP’s commitment to evidence-based treatment and its focus on using proven methods to create lasting, positive outcomes for the families it serves.
Julie’s commitment to helping others began at a young age. Growing up, her family emphasized the importance of giving back, including small acts of service such as supporting foster care agencies during the holidays. Those early experiences shaped her perspective and continue to influence her work today. She is also a parent and enjoys spending time with her family, as well as working with her hands through gardening, building projects, and learning new skills outside of her day-to-day work.
Lt. Nathan Reynolds
Board Member
Chief of Strategic Relations and Initiatives Office of Resilience and Emergency Management, ODHS | Manager, The Reynolds Group | Police Lieutenant, Retired
Nathan Reynolds serves as Chief of Strategic Relations and Initiatives for the Oregon Department of Human Services. In this role, he leads special projects and works across local, state, and federal agencies to strengthen coordination, emergency response, and public safety systems. His work focuses on disaster response, mass care services, and strategic planning, including statewide evacuation management and collaboration with public safety and emergency management partners.
Nathan brings more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement, having retired as a Lieutenant with the Eugene Police Department. Over the course of his career, he served in patrol, supervision, SWAT leadership, and executive command roles, with extensive experience in policy development, legislative analysis, crisis response, and intergovernmental coordination. His background provides a unique perspective on child welfare, foster care, and the systems that intersect with vulnerable children and families.
Nathan has served on the OCP Board of Directors for more than a decade. He was initially invited to join the board because of his law enforcement experience and longstanding professional relationships within the community. Over time, he has developed a deep appreciation for the impact of OCP’s evidence-based programs and the measurable outcomes they achieve for children and families.
After decades of witnessing the long-term consequences when families do not receive timely support, Nathan values OCP’s role in providing meaningful intervention and stability. He is a father of four and a proud grandfather, with another grandchild on the way, and remains committed to strengthening systems that support children and families across Oregon.
Ken Kato
Board Member
Director of Location Innovation Lab, University of Oregon
Ken Kato is the founder and Senior Director of the Location Innovation Lab at the University of Oregon and serves as Director of Innovation for the Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments (IROCE). Over the past 25 years at the University of Oregon, his work has focused on geospatial technology, software development, and building more resilient organizations. Through the Location Innovation Lab, Ken leads teams that design and implement smart software systems that support campus operations, emergency management, planning, and business continuity.
Ken’s professional work centers on helping organizations operate more effectively and respond to complex challenges. His experience developing systems that improve coordination, safety, and operational resilience informs his perspective as a board member at Oregon Community Programs. He brings a systems-oriented lens to conversations about how organizations grow, adapt, and continue delivering high-quality services.
Ken joined the OCP Board of Directors five years ago after being encouraged by fellow board member Nathan Reynolds, with whom he had a prior professional relationship. As he learned more about OCP’s work, he developed a deep appreciation for the organization’s commitment to supporting not only children, but also the parents and families who play a critical role in long-term success.
Outside of his professional work, Ken spent many years coaching youth sports through Kidsports and other community programs. Through that experience, he saw firsthand the positive impact that belonging to a team can have on children facing challenging circumstances. For many kids, practices and games provided a sense of connection, encouragement, and stability that helped them navigate difficult situations beyond the field.
Dr. James Grimm, MD, MPH
Board Member
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Retired
Dr. James Grimm is a retired child psychiatrist with more than 30 years of experience in the public sector. His work focused on foster care, juvenile delinquency, and community mental health. Throughout his career, he dedicated himself to serving youth who are often overlooked within traditional systems of care. He worked in a variety of clinical and community-based settings, supporting children and families navigating complex behavioral health challenges and barriers to access.
Before joining the OCP Board of Directors, Dr. Grimm spent 26 years as OCP’s child psychiatrist. He was drawn to the agency’s strong evidence-based foundation and reputation, influenced in part by his graduate mentor, Rolf Loeber, at the Oregon Social Learning Center. His long history with OCP gives him a deep understanding of the organization’s model and its impact on children and families.
Dr. Grimm believes strongly in expanding opportunities for foster youth and increasing access to thoughtful, practical care. That commitment continues to guide his board service.
Since retiring, his dedication to underserved communities has extended beyond Oregon. After reading about the treatment of individuals with mental illness in West Africa, he became involved with the Saint Camille Association and now supports its work developing mental health care systems in Benin, Togo, and the Ivory Coast. He approaches both his international volunteer work and his board service with curiosity and humility, grounded in the belief that there is always more to learn.
Judy Newman
Board Member
Associate Professor of Clinical Practice
Judy Newman is an Associate Professor of Clinical Practice at the University of Oregon and a longtime leader in early childhood systems development. Her professional expertise centers on early intervention and early childhood services, spanning direct service, special education, research, and large-scale systems building. She is the co-founder and former co-director of Early Childhood CARES, where she spent nearly four decades developing and strengthening coordinated services for young children and families in Lane County. She currently serves as a Strategic Advisor to Early Childhood CARES and the Early Childhood Hub of Lane County.
Judy brings deep experience in education policy, governance, and funding systems. Throughout her career, she has worked at both the local and state levels to shape legislation, funding formulas, and cross-sector collaboration to better support children with disabilities and their families. She has served on the Eugene 4J School Board since 2017 and continues to contribute to statewide advisory groups focused on education, early intervention, and systems improvement. Her work consistently reflects a commitment to research-based practices and measurable outcomes for children and families.
She was drawn to OCP through her longstanding connection to the Oregon Social Learning Center and her familiarity with Treatment Foster Care Oregon and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. She has long viewed OCP as a disciplined, research-driven organization that remains faithful to interventions proven to make a difference.
Outside of her professional work, Judy enjoys hiking, skiing, and supporting the arts, especially local theater. A longtime Oregonian, she remains deeply invested in strengthening systems of care so children and families can thrive.