Hood River County
A scientist’s perspective on education, land conservation, and the work that matters close to home.
OraLee brings the rigor and curiosity of a research scientist to every community role she holds. Whether it’s evaluating educational programs, analyzing land-use data, or understanding soil ecosystems, the approach is the same: ask good questions, study the evidence, and make decisions that compound over time.
Columbia Gorge Community College
Elected Board of Education Member
Serving on the board that governs the community college serving Hood River, Wasco, and Sherman counties. Focused on expanding access to education and workforce training in rural Oregon, where the nearest four-year university is over an hour away.
Thrive Hood River
Board Member · Land Conservation
Advocating for the land protections that Hood River County needs to retain its community character, agricultural heritage, and ecological resources. An evolutionary ecologist’s perspective on why conservation decisions made today determine what the valley looks like in fifty years.
Certified Master Gardener
OSU & Columbia Gorge Programs
The Master Gardener certification connects OraLee’s ecological research background with hands-on sustainable growing. Through the OSU Extension Service and Columbia Gorge Master Gardener programs, she combines scientific training with community education on soil health, native plants, and pollinator habitat.
Mount Hood Honey Company
Co-owner with Dave Lawler
A small-scale honey operation on the family farm in Parkdale. The bees are both a business and a research interest—pollinator health is an ecological indicator that connects directly to the landscape-level conservation work OraLee advocates for through Thrive Hood River.
Why Parkdale
After decades in major cities—Atlanta during graduate school, the DC area at NIH, Birmingham at UAB, New York at NYU—OraLee chose a small farm town at 1,800 feet on the south slope of Mount Hood. The choice wasn’t a retreat from her career. It was an extension of it.
A scientist who spent her career studying how populations adapt, how diversity is maintained under pressure, and how systems stay resilient when conditions change—that scientist looks at a rural agricultural valley surrounded by national forest and sees exactly the kind of system worth protecting.
She enjoys skiing and trail biking while appreciating all the beauty and wonder of Oregon’s natural treasures. The research continues remotely. The community work happens in person.