Clean Rivers Cooperative is excited to introduce you to its new General Manager, Vanessa Green. Vanessa joined the Cooperative in early October 2023, replacing Curtis Cannizzaro as he has now transitioned into the role of Executive Director of the Merchants Exchange. Vanessa comes to the Cooperative with a wealth of experience working with non-profit organizations. Prior to coming on with Clean Rivers, she served as the Executive Director for the nonprofit Network of Oregon Watershed Councils (NOWC). In that role, she developed resources, technical training/professional development, and convening opportunities for 55 nonprofit organizations that conduct environmental restoration across the State of Oregon and represented them with state agencies and elected officials. Prior to her ED role with NOWC, Vanessa worked for OHSU for 11 years developing an education program for a Science and Technology Center that studied river-to-ocean ecosystems of the Columbia River. Vanessa attended college as an undergraduate in Vermont and then went on to earn a MS degree in higher education administration from Syracuse University in upstate New York. Early in her career, she helped establish, taught, and managed a private boarding school before transitioning to college/university administration, advising undergraduate students, and developing curricula.
When asked about her experience with Clean Rivers during her first two months, Vanessa says “I’m ~8 weeks in, and I’ve had the best onboarding experience with Clean Rivers! My predecessor Curtis has prepared a thorough introduction to Merchants Exchange, Clean Rivers, and our oil spill readiness/response capabilities. I am inspired by the tremendous responsibility of the Clean Rivers mission, and how the staff stands ready – resourced, organized, and prepared – to meet that need. I think Clean Rivers meets the “belt and suspenders … and a belt for your suspenders” standard! It will be a privilege to steward Clean Rivers into the next chapter. I am excited to fully learn and grasp all of the Cooperative’s policies and processes, complete my training and join the response schedule, deepening my understanding of how everything works. I am excited to get to know and work with the Board to continue and build upon the goals described in our strategic plan.”
Originally from Longmont, Colorado, Vanessa has lived in Vermont and upstate New York before settling in Hillsboro, Oregon in 2005 where she lives with her husband, Jason and their three children Eli (16), Jacob (11), Nora (6), and their standard schnauzer Thorin Barkenshield Stinkybeard. She says that most of her free time is spent with her children at their activities that include marching band, guitar lessons and swim classes. When she does have a moment for her own agenda, she likes to fill her time with reading, hiking, or snowboarding, cooking, baking, and volunteering for community organizations. Vanessa shared that the best piece of advice she has ever been given is “I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy; I woke and I saw that life is all service; I served and I saw that service is joy.” ~Khalil Gibran.
