OUR BOARD
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Peter Baer is President and founder of Pinnacle Architecture. He is dedicated to enhancing communities and lives through Pinnacle’s projects. Specializing in affordable housing, rural healthcare, senior housing and public service projects, he actively helps his clients transform their visions to reality. Raised in Central Oregon, Peter is committed to building a community he’s proud to call home.
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Craig Chenoweth
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Garrett Chrostek is an attorney with Bryant Lovlien and Jarvis and focuses his practice in the areas of land use, real estate, and municipal law. Garrett is experienced in drafting ordinances and agreements, researching and adjudicating municipal code provisions, completing real estate transactions, and navigating regulatory regimes that result in efficiency and cost savings to his clients. Prior to joining BLJ, Garrett worked on a variety of legal and administrative matters for the City of The Dalles pertaining to land use, public contracting and economic development.
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Sandy Garner is a native and lifelong resident of Central Oregon. She has held an Oregon real estate license since 1979 and has practiced continuously since then with realty companies in Redmond and Bend. Building upon this success, Sandy formed The Garner Group as an independent real estate company in January 2008. She has earned man regional, national and international sales awards over the course of her career.
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John Gilbert owns Acadia Properties, a company that develops urban infill locations with a focus on mixed-use and higher density residential developments. He is also co-owner of Pacific Crest Affordable Housing, which develops apartment buildings for low-income seniors. These projects are among the most environmentally sustainable affordable housing projects in the United States. Originally from New York City, he now lives in Bend with his wife and two children.
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Gretchen Palmer is the principal of Palmer Homes and Palmer LLC and has been in the residential building industry for more that 33 years, working with her husband and business partner, Vern Palmer. They’ve built more than 3,000 homes throughout Central Oregon. Since 2009, Gretchen has served as Director of Education for the Central Oregon Home Builders Association, providing continuing education for contractors, realtors, architects and designers and the general community.
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Allison Platt works as a Senior Planner with the City of Bend. Her work focuses on long range land use and infrastructure planning related to Growth Management. Allison received her Masters Degree in Urban Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University in 2016 and holds a B.A. in Environmental Policy from the University of California San Diego. She worked as a Transportation Planner for two years before joining the City of Bend in 2018. She is honored to serve as the BBB's newest board member and to continue the legacy of educating this wonderful community on growth, planning and development best practices.
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Stacey Stemach is the founder and principal of Stemach Design & Architecture. Stacey started his career in New England and relocated to Bend in 2003, first working as a project manager for many public agencies in Oregon. He has provided expert guidance on a variety of urban-situated office, industrial and housing facilities across Central Oregon. Stacey’s passion for careful, unique design and a dedication to holistic sustainability has led to a number of successful, award-winning solutions for urban renewal and building renovation.
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Karen Swirsky is a Transportation Planner with Kittelson & Associates, Inc. Karen's lived in Bend since 1989 with her husband, Nils Eddy. She has both private and public land use experience. Karen has served on many state and local boards and committees, including the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and is the main author of a national award-winning publication, Main Street, When a Highway Runs Through It. She has been a BBB board member for the last 9 years.
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Dale Van Valkenburg is an Oregon native who grew up in a small town in the mountains of southwestern Oregon. A Bend resident since 1990, he has had an active role in shaping the fabric of Bend from seats all around the table as a planner for Deschutes County, with the law firm of Bryan Lovlien & Jarvis, with the City of Bend, and since 2006 as the Director of Planning & Development for Brooks Resources. Dale enjoys the wide range of outdoor activities outside his doorstep in Central Oregon from mountain biking to whitewater rafting.
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ADMINISTRATOR
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As Marketing Director for one of the oldest and most respected real estate developers in the region, Valerie Yost has a keen interest in how Bend grows. Moving to Bend in 1999, Valerie spent six years as an advertising agency executive before joining Brooks Resources in 2005. In addition to her work with Building a Better Bend, Valerie also serves on the board for the Family Access Network and is co-facilitator of an Opportunity Knocks team. Valerie is a native Oregonian, Graduate of Oregon State University (Go Beavs!) and is proud to call Bend home with her husband and two children.
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