Who are we?
Julia Adam is the WCVA's Stakeholder Development Manager, responsible for community and industry outreach. Her role as liaison perfectly suits her independent nature; you'll often find her at work or at play in different corners of the county, uncovering the area's hidden gems and learning new tidbits about long-time favorites.
An avid traveler, Julia is a recent East Coast transplant, and her love of adventure and respect for Oregon's tourism industry prompted the 3,000 mile move. Her small-town Pennsylvania upbringing gave her a grounded nature, and nearly 10 years of big-city living in New York developed her try-anything-once approach to life.
Julia loves turning the mundane into the magical, a skill acquired during her undergraduate studies in Dramatic Writing at NYU. A Masters degree, also from NYU, in Tourism and Travel Management prepared her for a career doing her second most favorite thing in the whole world: talking about travel!
In her free time, Julia has been testing out her new mountain bike, sipping lots of lovely Washington County wines, and searching for local hot-spots to call her own. When time permits, you'll find her taking long trips to far corners of the globe (her very favorite thing in the whole world); currently at the top of her list are South Africa and Jordan.
Heather Anderson is the WCVA's Sales and Promotions Coordinator; she assists the sales department with day to day operations and special projects. She is also the main contact for catering, tour operators and international travel leads for Washington County. She is an almost "True Oregonian," living here most of her life after moving from Alaska at a very young age.
As a graduate of Mt. Hood Community College with an A.S. in radio broadcasting, Heather found herself leaving the hospitality world and immersed in radio as an On-Air Host and Promotions Director. Her passion for travel and catering brought her back into hospitality, tourism, and travel and in March she landed with an amazing team at the WCVA.
In her free time, Heather is always looking for a memorable outdoor adventure, music festival or just some good family fun! Being a Washington County resident since the age of 6, Heather makes time to share with her daughter the favorite local activities she once enjoyed as a kid. She is still astonished that she can find new things to do in Washington County after living here so long!
Terry Goldman graduated from Washington State University in 1994. He earned a degree in Hospitality Business Management. He was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington, and has been an Oregonian for the last 14 years. Terry is passionate about his family and loves spending as much time with his wife and two kids as possible. The family related activities of Washington County and the surrounding area is what interest Terry the most, looking for something the whole family can enjoy, but he and his wife also enjoy finding the time to do things on their own. When he is not working as the General Manager of the award winning SpringHill Suites by Marriott - Portland Hillsboro, or volunteering his time with the Washington County Visitors Association as a member of the executive board, he can be found trying to learn more about local wines and exploring the local farmers markets.
A Midwest native, Gerald has lived in Oregon for about 10 years, but has only just begun exploring the places and experiencing the events of the Beaver State. Gerald has an educational background in government and politics, with a BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Masters in Public Administration from Arizona State University.
Gerald and his wife - an almost-native Oregonian - are avid runners. They've run Hood to Coast numerous times, and recently completed the Helvetia Half Marathon in the lovely rolling hills of Washington County. Pairing fresh, local foods with Oregon wines is a favorite pastime, as are hiking, camping, Nordic skiing and beach combing. Gerald also has a passion for the arts, and eagerly attempts to keep up with the many plays, concerts, exhibitions and other offerings around Washington County.
Veronique Meunier is a native of Grenoble, France, Veronique Meunier is the Public Relations Manager for Sustainability at Travel Portland, the official destination marketing office for Portland, Ore. Veronique relocated to the "City of Roses" in 2003 with her husband and became a U.S. citizen this summer. A voracious traveler since childhood, Veronique enjoys exploring her new country, especially the great outdoors.
Before joining Travel Portland's Communications and Public Relations Department in 2006, Veronique worked as a producer for Henry V, the West Coast's oldest event production company. At Travel Portland, she started out as the Media Relations Supervisor for the Portland Metro Region. As the main contact for numerous visiting journalists, her knowledge and enthusiasm in promoting the area helped garner extensive media coverage for both Portland and Oregon.
An environmentalist at heart, Veronique is a member of Travel Portland's "Green Team," an internal employee coalition that encourages the adoption of green practices by the company, as well as working with several eco-tourism nonprofit organizations. When the position of Public Relations Manager for Sustainability was created, it was only natural that Veronique would fill that role.
When she isn't courting media attention or volunteering her time for a variety of causes, you can find Veronique hiking and biking Oregon's numerous wilderness trails, kayaking its pristine waterways or enjoying Portland's unparalleled quality of life.
Sylke Neal-Finnegan is the WCVA's Communications and Public Relations Manager. A native of Las Vegas, Sylke escaped the land of neon for greener pastures, and has proudly called Washington County "home" for the past year (and counting).
Although she feels like an Oregonian - her often unconventional personality is a much better fit for the Pacific Northwest - this University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) alumna is proud to be from "Sin City." However, she doesn't miss the arid, desert heat, and embraces the cool, rainy days and looks forward to the changing seasons, especially when spring is in bloom and tulips and daffodils color the green landscape.
When not shopping or catching a movie, Sylke often spends her weekends scoping out the area in search of new experiences. Being relatively new to Oregon, nearly everything is a new experience, so there's a lot of stuff for her to discover. So far, her goal is to visit every shop, winery and restaurant listed on the WCVA website, and to find new and undiscovered places to explore. This should keep her busy for the next few years.....
Cherie Prochaska is a native Texan who relocated to the Silicon Forest after her husband's job transfer to Intel. They have truly come to enjoy working, living, and playing in wonderful Washington County, Oregon! Some of her favorite hobbies include shopping and enjoying a delicious glass of wine, both of which are unmatched outside of this area. Cherie recently completed the Mazama's Beginning Climbing Education Program (BCEP), and summitted Mount St. Helens. The 23-mile snow-covered hike complete with overnight snow camping was quite the feat for this Texas girl. She has since slowed down on the climbing since she and her husband discovered that they are expecting twins! Thank goodness they just moved out of their apartment into a house that can accommodate the growing family.
As the Sports and Group Sales Director at the WCVA, Cherie uses her outgoing, problem-solving personality to form relationships and bring overnight guests to the area. She spends quite a bit of the time on the road at different conferences promoting Washington County's sports, meeting, and tour group attractions. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University and still roots for the Aggies at every opportunity.
Kaleigha Ramey is the WCVA's Publications Designer/Editor, responsible for developing and managing in-house graphic designs, publications and assisting in production. She is a native of Spokane, Wash., and recently graduated from George Fox University of Newberg, with a degree in Writing/Literature.
She spent her time at George Fox playing on the Women's Basketball team, who traveled to the NCAA Division III National Tournament three out of her four years.
Kaleigha has always had a love for design and layout, and snatched the opportunity to jump on board at the WCVA in April.
Choosing to do what she loves for a living creates very little room for "free time," but when a spare moment pops up, she is most likely to fill it by reading, shopping for things to read, playing basketball or planning her upcoming nuptials.
Rhiannon West is the WCVA's Online Marketing Manager, responsible for all things web related. Rhiannon is a native Oregonian who prides herself in being 'extra quirky'. A resident of Canby until she was 18, she affectionately refers to her hometown as 'The Motherland' and will talk about Canby to anyone who will listen.
In her free time, Rhiannon loves to find out new and fun things to do in the area, especially in Washington County. Rhiannon enjoys playing outside, knitting, and being a homebody with her fat cat, Gelsey. Rhiannon attended University of Oregon on a journalism scholarship, but received her communications degree from Portland State University. Nonetheless, she is a passionate Ducks fan and claims to bleed green.
