Our Board of Directors
Greg Redfern, President
Greg brings more than 27 years of experience as a physical therapist to his role on the board of Project Youth +. A graduate of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, he has called the Rogue Valley home for over 26 years. He was the managing partner of a physical therapy practice that he co-founded in 1999 in Grants Pass. He retired in 2023. Throughout his career, Greg has been dedicated to helping individuals achieve their highest functional level, emphasizing the importance of health and mobility for all.
Greg has been a dedicated board member of the Kids Wellness Network (previously known as Kidzone Community Foundation) since 2009. Their mission has been to promote physical activity for children, teens and their families.
Seeing so many young people in Southern Oregon being helped by PY+ has been inspiring, which is why Greg and his wife, Lisa, have been longtime financial supporters of this great organization. Now, as a newer board member, Greg is eager to contribute to the mission of PY +. He sincerely values the opportunity to work alongside such a dedicated team to support the youth in our community.
Outside of professional commitments, Greg enjoys spending time with his wife and dog Tillie. He enjoys exploring the gravel roads of Oregon on his bicycle, and embracing the great outdoors through hiking, fishing and camping.
Armando Lopez, Vice President
Armando was born in Michoacán Mexico. In 1989, he and his mother and two sisters immigrated to the United States to be with his father and two brothers.
Armando graduated from Southern Oregon University with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Spanish. His first goal was to become a Spanish teacher. While at SOU he had the opportunity to join several leadership programs for minority groups. Once he graduated, he was hired as an Admissions Counselor for diversity outreach and recruitment at SOU. He had the opportunity to meet with so many students and their families, giving them advice on the admissions and the college search process.
In 2009 Armando started to work for his father’s forestry company. This job allowed him to get involved in local organizations such as the Southern Oregon Latino Scholarship Fund, SOU Youth Programs and the Providence Foundation. Armando is the JV Soccer Coach at North Medford High School and enjoys travel, golf, mountain biking and hiking.
Katie E. Mena, Treasurer/Secretary
Nacida y criada en Phoenix, Oregón, Katie se graduó en la Phoenix High School en 2015. Como estudiante de secundaria fue una participante muy activa en el Project Youth+ (entonces llamado College Dreams). Obtuvo su Licenciatura en Psicología y Estudios Liberales y su Licenciatura en Español, así como un Certificado en Estudios Chicanos Latinos y Estudios Globales en la Universidad Estatal de Portland. Ella quería volver a casa para estar con su mamá y sus dos hermanas menores (15 y 12). Este es su segundo año trabajando para los Servicios Migratorios del ESD del Sur de Oregón. Ella está ganando experiencia para determinar su próximo paso profesional, tal vez en la programación de computadoras.
Brenda Patton
Brenda fundó la Fundación Table Rock con su buen amigo Phil Hart en 1996 con la intención de conectar a personas solidarias de todo el mundo con un enfoque en proyectos humanitarios, culturales y medioambientales, creyendo que enseñando a nuestras futuras generaciones la filosofía de la autoestima, así como el servicio por encima de uno mismo, podríamos mejorar la calidad de vida de todos.
Kendell Ferguson
Kendell believes that all children deserve the best and most wide ranging opportunities possible to help them become productive and successful adults.
Kendell was born and raised in Medford, Oregon. She graduated from South Medford High School in 1999. She attended Southern Oregon University and graduated Cum Laude in 2003 with a degree in Chemistry. She then went to law school at the University of Oregon and earned her JD in 2007. She began practicing law in Grants Pass that same year. She was on the Board of Directors for ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum from 2008 to 2013. She was on the Board of Directors for Lovejoy Hospice from 2012 until 2017. She was elected to the Medford School Board in 2023. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family, friends, and dogs.
Linda White
In her 40-year career in the field of education, Linda has been dedicated to seeing, knowing, and helping students who are looking to caring adults around them for stability and support. She believes that "every student is one caring adult away from a success story." As a teacher, principal, and District Office administrator in Medford and Grants Pass, she has stayed true to this purpose.
Currently, Linda is a leadership coach for school leaders in the Rogue Valley and is also an adjunct professor at SOU in the Educational Leadership department.
Linda and her husband, Paul, have five sons and enjoy living in their home in the mountains near Prospect.
Ralph Burrelle
While spending 37 years in public education, 33 of which as a high school counselor, I found no greater professional satisfaction than to see young people find success in whatever they chose to do and to leave high school with a sense of purpose and meaningful goals, whether they involved further education or meaningful employment. To be of some help to students as they matured and developed into young adults with direction and vision was and remains one of the most rewarding parts of my commitment to public service. The feeling of optimism and hope continues in me as those affiliated with Project Youth+ make their way to a brighter future.
While a counselor at North Medford High School, I also served as activities director, department chair, and scholarship chair. I served on school counselor advisory committees for the Oregon University System and the University of Oregon and was a contributing editor for the first edition of Sparks Notes 283 Great Colleges. I remain a member of the Pacific Northwest Association for College Admission Counseling, for which I served as president in 2007-2008. After “retiring” from the Medford School District, I worked part time for both the American College Test company and the admissions office at Case Western Reserve University.
I have previously been a board member of the Anna May Family Foundation, OnTrack Rogue Valley, and the Medford Schools Foundation and have volunteered with a number of community service organizations, including the Oregon Community Foundation, SMART Reading, CASA, the Fairy Godmother Scholarship Committee, and the Gray Family Foundation. I live in Medford with my wife of 38 years. We have a daughter, an attorney for the Walt Disney Company, who lives in Valencia, California with her husband and our granddaughter.