Meet our Board

Cass Averill, BS
Co-Founder & Board President
(he/him)

Cass is a man of transgender experience who was born and raised on the rural Oregon Coast and has lived in Eugene since 2001. Starting as a monthly support group in Cass’ back yard, TransPonder was born out of the need to meet and gather with other trans and gender diverse folks. Within and outside of TransPonder, Cass is a passionate activist and advocate for human diversity who believes in the connective and healing power of storytelling. Professionally he works at the local, state, national, and international levels with corporates and nonprofits in creating cultures of inclusion and belonging that provide institutional support for all people–regardless of identity factors–to be able to bring their full and authentic selves to work (and to life) every day.

Jacob Griffin
Co-Treasurer
(he/him)

Emz Avalos
Board Member
(she/her)

Emz is a proud Latina, born and raised in Mexico. She moved to the Lincoln Heights area of East LA at age 11. Experiencing inner city struggles at the underfunded schools, she helped organize and participated in sit-ins, walkouts, and marches to demand better funding and the end of budget cuts. She studied geology at Cal State Dominguez Hills, and in 2014 she moved to Eugene, where she is a strong voice for all human rights, specifically the Latinx (Latine) and transgender community.

Judah Largen
Board Member
(he/him)

Emily Ann Farrell, JD
Co-Vice President
(she/they)

Emily Ann Farrell brings extensive experience in public service and a strong history of equity work, most recently as the Health Equity Administrator for one of Oregon’s Coordinated Care Organizations (CCO), where she is responsible for the implementation of the CCO’s health equity strategy specifically designed to address disparities in care and improve health outcomes through a lens of equity.  She served previously as the Director of Senior & Disability Services with Lane Council of Governments, providing needed services and supports to seniors and adults living with disabilities in Lane County. Her prior career includes managing a successful law practice as a legal practitioner, with a focus on business law, contracts, estate planning, and assisting people through the aging process.

Ms. Farrell currently holds positions on a number of boards and workgroups, including the Oregon Health Equity Alliance and the Eugene Human Rights Commission Economic Opportunities Workgroup. She has previously served on boards for the National Association of Agencies on Aging (USAging), the Oregon Association of Agencies on Aging and Disabilities (O4AD), HIV Alliance, and the Lane County Bar Association.  She has also served as a volunteer attorney for both the Lane County Legal Aid and Advocacy Center (Oregon Law Center) Senior Legal Clinic and the University of Oregon School of Law Domestic Violence Clinic.

Anna Held
Co-Treasurer
(she/her)

Anna grew up in rural Louisiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. She moved to Eugene in 2014 and earned her JD from the University of Oregon Law School in 2017. She has lived in Olympia, Washington since 2020. Anna has been involved in environmental defense, immigrant rights advocacy, and the movement for queer liberation both as an attorney and as an activist in her community. She also serves as Board Treasurer for the Civil Liberties Defense Center.

Cassie Delboy
Board Member
(she/her)

Max Skorodinsky, MS
Co-Founder & Board Member
(he/him)

Max is a Ukrainian Jew and a trans man. Born in Lviv, Ukraine, he immigrated to the US with his family when he was 13. He graduated from a Jewish religious high school, attended college, and is currently an open (out) transgender licensed teacher. He works with local organizations to instruct girls in technology.

Gaby Gardiner
Co-Vice President
(they/them)

Gaby thrives on taking their experience and focusing on LGBTQ2SIA+ specific issues and campaign strategies. They got their start in organizing at the University of Oregon, where they became involved with countless student organizations such as the Associated Student Government, Oregon Student Association (OSA), United States Student Association, Native American Student Union, and the Multicultural Center. Their first high capacity campaign was registering students to vote, and this 2014 registration drive is still the record holder for largest non-partisan voter registration to date. Gaby also worked closely to pass LGBTQ Data Collection, helping clear the way to cultural competency for faculty and educators in higher education. Gaby then went to Lane Community College to serve as their Campus Organizer for OSA to be a full-stop support system for student organizing efforts on the community college level. Gaby has also served as the Organizing Director for OSA, which allowed them to take their years of experience in training new organizers, building statewide campaign plans, and supporting grassroots efforts towards legislative policy changes. They are proud to announce that even during the first pandemic long-legislative session, OSA was able to pass every priority bill. This achieved Basic Needs Navigators on all public college campuses, textbook on-time adoption requirements. and much more. Gaby enjoys fur babies and a good show, and is a tea fanatic.

Maddix Vickers
Secretary
(they/them)

Maddix is a queer, non-binary, and autistic person originally from Chicago, IL. They moved to Oregon without visiting while traveling on Amtrak. They have their BA in Advertising and their Masters in Social Work from the University of Chicago. They have worked in the non-profit field for over a decade supporting marginalized communities by evaluating policies, providing critical resources, and actively sitting down and listening to individuals in crisis. They are a storyteller and have openly shared their lived experiences of living with HIV, mental illness, and gender identity. They utilize storytelling to connect individuals to essential resources in the community.

Killian Kinney
Board Member
(they/them)

Killian is a queer nonbinary assistant-professor at Pacific University in the Claire Argow Social Work Program. Their research and practice expertise focuses on trans health equity and wellbeing. Since 2014, they have practiced with trans youth and adults and their families, which include facilitating gender-diverse therapeutic groups, co-designing and implementing the Riley Adolescent Gender Health Clinic in Indianapolis. and advocating against harmful policies and for more-inclusive policies. Killian conducts community-centered participatory action research on topics important to the community, including gender identity development, support networks, community belonging, the chosen name process, and gender euphoria. Killian moved to Oregon in 2023 with their two black cats and converted school bus.

Chi Mei Tam
Board Member
(they/she)

Chi Mei Tam, is a genderqueer Chinese American immigrant from Oakland, CA. She is one of three founding members of the Umpqua Valley Rainbow Collective. Before moving to Oregon, Chi Mei worked for a social justice organization called Causa Justa-Just Cause, primarily as their Finance & Admin Manager. She was involved with some of their Black/Brown organizing and programming. In addition to that, Chi Mei was a part of the HAVOQ/SF Pride at Work doing LGBTQIA2S+ and immigrant organizing. In Oregon she has been involved with different land communities in Southern Oregon including the Women’s Land Communities as well as some trans/queer/faerie land communities in Southern Oregon. Chi Mei is a realtor in Douglas County and loves helping her clients on their home journey. In addition to being the President of the Umpqua Valley Rainbow Collective, she is on the Community Guidance Council with The Equi Institute, Roseburg Sesquicentennial planning committee, and is a board member of TransPonder. Chi Mei is passionate about creating a more inclusive and diverse community in Douglas County.