About CUB

mission - staff & board of directors - contact information

Mission

Our mission is simple: to represent you, the residential utility customer. We know that utility customers have lives of their own; that's why we have devoted ours to making sure you are represented in the best way possible. The Citizens' Utility Board of Oregon is the only group in the state funded by Oregon ratepayers to challenge rate increases and other matters brought before the Public Utility Commission and State Legislature by the private utility companies.

CUB also understands that although money is a big concern, it isn't the only concern. That's why, in addition to fighting rate hikes, we fight for clean and efficient energy alternatives. In the years since 1984 when CUB was founded by voters through a ballot initiative, CUB has saved consumers over $3.9 billion and won important policy victories that have protected consumer privacy, the environment (particularly through our work on global warming issues) and low-income Oregonians.

Staff

Bob Jenks, Executive Director

Bob Jenks is the Executive Director of CUB and a national expert on utility-related issues.  Bob started working for CUB in 1991, and has participated in nearly every major Oregon Public Utility Commission case since that time, including dozens of cases dealing with utility mergers, rates, and deregulation. He also regularly represents ratepayers before the Oregon Legislature. Governor John Kitzhaber appointed Bob to a Blue Ribbon Panel on Low-Income Energy Issues, and Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed Bob to a Task Force on Telecommunications Law and Policy. Bob has on numerous occasions been flown across country to speak on utility issues before such groups as the California Legislature, the Northwest Public Power Association, and the Consumer Federation of America. Bob sits on the board of Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center, and is the Oregon representative of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA). Bob is a native Oregonian, and has an economics degree from Willamette University.

Jeff Bissonnette, Organizing Director

Jeff Bissonnette has served as CUB’s Organizing Director since June 1998.  Since coming to CUB, Jeff has led the Fair and Clean Energy Coalition to create progressive energy policy for the state of Oregon and has directed CUB’s legislative advocacy efforts.  He has been appointed by the Public Utility Commission to represent the Fair and Clean Energy Coalition on the Portfolio Options Committee, overseeing the utilities’ renewable energy products offered to customers.  Jeff also served on the Oregon Universal Service Advisory Board, ensuring that all customers have access to affordable basic telephone service. Jeff’s first political volunteer experience was in 1984 as a freshman student at the University of Oregon working to pass Ballot Measure 3, the initiative that created CUB.  Since then, he has dedicated both his work life and volunteer time to community organizing and advocating for public interest issues.  He worked for community groups and campaign organizations in Washington, DC, Illinois and New York before returning to Oregon to work for CUB. In his off-time, when he is not serving on the board of Portland Community Media or the Steering Committee of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters’ Multnomah County chapter,   Jeff enjoys gardening, hiking, camping and talking about politics.

Catriona McCracken, Staff Attorney

Catriona was born and raised in Northern Ireland, studied in England and China and worked in Taiwan and the USA. Catriona and her family have resided in Oregon since 1990 - Oregon is home! A 1993 graduate of Willamette University College of Law, Catriona spent three and a half years in private practice doing municipal insurance defense work and then nine years with the Oregon Department of Justice in the General Counsel Division. Catriona has a passion for environmental issues and is on the board of the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides - NCAP. When not at work, and not volunteering, Catriona and her family love to be in the great outdoors, gardening, canoeing, horse-riding, camping biking and hiking. Catriona started working at CUB in October 2008.

Karen Jaffe, Development Director

(Portrait courtesy of Olive Eisdorfer)

Karen Jaffe has worked for CUB as Development Director since January of 2001. As such, she solicits and processes CUB donations, and serves as a liaison between CUB and its thousands of Oregon members. Before joining CUB, she worked in non-profit fundraising for Telefund, Inc and the Fund for Public Interest Research, working for groups like Save the Children, CUB, Sierra Club and candidates including Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA). She graduated from the College of William and Mary in Virginia with a degree in History and Economics.

Gordon Feighner, Utility Analyst

Gordon Feighner began working for CUB as our Utility Analyst in November 2008. He researches the technical and financial aspects of utility rate cases. Gordon has previously conducted research modeling CO2 emissions for the Environmental Protection Agency, and most recently worked as an analyst for the City of Portland's Stormwater Marketplace Program.

Gordon holds a Masters of Environmental Management degree from Duke University and a BA in Economics from Reed College. A Georgia native, he first moved to Oregon in 1997. He enjoys biking around town, gardening, snowboarding, and traveling.

SA Anders, Business Director

SA Anders is originally from Tennessee, and while she loves Oregon she will never forget where she came from. She started working for CUB in January 2009 working on the business and financial side of CUB. She works hard to keep the lights on, as everyone else works to keep the lights less expensive! She has a BA in Communications from Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, and a MA in Practical Ethics from the University of York in York, England. When she's not crunching numbers you can most likely find her at one of Portland's many fine music venues, keeping the beat rolling on.

Contact CUB!

Email us at cub@oregoncub.org
Phone (503) 227-1984
Fax (503) 274-2956

Citizens' Utility Board of Oregon
610 SW Broadway, Ste 308
Portland, OR 97205