Adam Lyons (he/him)
Chief of Staff
Adam began his career managing houseless shelters and subsidized housing for men in inner Southeast Portland. Later, he worked as Emergency Services Manager for a family shelter system in East Portland. Most recently, he served as Communications Director and Policy Advisor for City Commissioner Mingus Mapps.
Adam has a Master of Public Administration from Portland State University. In his spare time, he loves hiking with his wife, running the Esplanade with his dog, and doing art projects with his daughters.
Cristina Nieves (she/her)
Policy Director
Cristina Nieves is the Policy Director for Commissioner Meieran. Growing up as the daughter of a single mother who immigrated to the United States, Cristina naturally grew an understanding of power disparities, a tenacious passion for equity, and the right for everyone to determine their own livelihood.
Her lived experience led her into public service. She previously worked for the City of Portland as a Senior Policy Advisor for Commissioner Amanda Fritz. During her time at the City she worked with community members and elected officials to establish a public campaign finance system that would increase transparency and access to participating in the City’s elections. Following that, she worked for Common Cause Oregon as the Associate Director. There, she continued to advocate for equity in elections and transparent governance.
Cristina has an educational background in Political Science, Media Communications, and Conflict Resolution.
Shelley Ashford (All pronouns)
Constituent Relations Coordinator and Policy Analyst
Shelley Ashford describes themself as a warm hearted and empathetic people-person, a campaigner and introvert-extrovert, a good trouble maker and a Creative. Shelley identifies as an African American mixed with Native American and White American ancestry. Shelley is queer gender fluid/non-binary and uses and accepts all pronouns.
Shelley has a varied employment history, most recently completing a limited duration position as a Specialist for Multnomah County’s Human Resources Employee Wellness Program. Shelley also previously worked for the Multnomah County COVID-19 Call Center and was a Black Cultural Library Advocate Library Assistant at the Hillsdale Library. Shelley has background as a Geology program teacher assistant for Native American teens, as a night shift counselor for domestic violence shelter for women and their children, as a residential counselor for an adult psychiatric care open campus transition to home facility, and as a licensed acupuncturist and instructor of traditional chinese medicine.
Shelley is an active member of the Employee Resource Groups: Queer Trans People of Color, Employees of Color and PRISM. She served as the 2023 Events Chair for QTPOC.