PORTLAND – The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has announced the newest members of its Portland Branch Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2023.
The new bank-appointed directors are Alicia Chapman, owner and chief executive officer of Willamette Technical Fabricators in Portland, Oregon, and Andrew Colas, president and chief executive officer of Colas Construction Inc. in Portland, Oregon.
Alicia Chapman
Alicia Chapman
Willamette Technical Fabricators is a structural metal manufacturing company focused on custom, complex transportation and clean energy projects. Prior to her current role, Ms. Chapman led the Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center’s research and development for Boeing and other industry partners. In other previous roles, she served as a National Science Foundation-funded research fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Solutions, focused on monetary and non-monetary valuation of ecosystem services. She also led supply chain and economic development programs for the U.S. Agency for International Development in post-conflict areas including Palestine, Afghanistan, and Libya.
She currently serves on the board of trustees of the National Small Business Association and on the boards of directors of Business for a Better Portland, the Manufacturing Council of Oregon, and the Women’s Transportation Seminar International ED&I Committee. Ms. Chapman completed doctoral studies in public policy at Portland State University and is a graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative Education Program. She holds a bachelor degree from American University and a master’s degree from George Washington University.
Andrew Colas
Andrew Colas
Colas Construction Inc. is a family-owned general contractor focused on innovative, sustainable construction, and one of the largest Black-owned construction firms in the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Colas is actively involved in the firm’s business development and daily operations. He formally joined the company in 1999, serving as an apprentice to his father and the company’s founder, Hermann Colas, Jr.
Mr. Colas is also the co-founder of the Black Business Association of Oregon (BBAO). He currently serves on the board of directors for several organizations, including Black Business Association of Oregon, National Association of Minority Contractors Oregon, New Avenues for Youth, and the Portland Business Alliance. Mr. Colas holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon.
The Bank also announced that Cheryl R. Nester Wolfe, president and chief executive officer, Salem Health Hospital and Clinics, Salem, Oregon was appointed by the Board of Governors after previously serving as a Bank-appointed director. She has also been designated as Chair of the Portland Branch Board for 2023.
In addition, the Bank announced the reappointment of Maria Pope, president and chief executive officer, Portland General Electric Company.
The remaining Portland Branch Board of Directors include:
- Gale Castillo, president, Canopy, Portland, Oregon
- Stacey Dodson, market president, Portland and Southwest Washington, U.S. Bank, Portland, Oregon
- Graciela Gomez Cowger, chief executive officer, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, Portland, Oregon
About the Boards of Directors
The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 requires each of the 12 Reserve Banks to operate under the supervision of a board of directors. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Head Office is governed by nine directors who represent the interests of the 12th Reserve District and whose experience provides the Bank with a wider range of expertise that helps it fulfill its policy and operational responsibilities. The nine directors of each Reserve Bank are divided evenly by classification: Class A directors represent the member banks in the District; Class B directors and Class C directors represent the interests of the public. In the case of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, its four branches in Los Angeles, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Seattle each have a separate seven-member branch board.
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (SF Fed) works to advance the nation’s monetary, financial, and payment systems to build a stronger economy for all Americans. As part of the U.S. central bank, the SF Fed serves the Twelfth Federal Reserve District, which covers the nine western states—Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai’i, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington—plus American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. By pursuing our two key goals of maximum employment and price stability—known as the Fed’s dual mandate—we work toward supporting an economy that works for everyone.