Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission

Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission Board Member Profiles

OCHC’s Board and Honorary Board are composed of members regionally and nationally recognized for their writing, film, creative work, and cultural impact. Look for highlighted names for writing and creative samples by Board, Emeritus Directors and Honorary Board members.


David Milholland, President, is a co-founder of OCHC. Born in 1946 in Greeley, Colorado, David served as Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala before receiving a B.A. in 1971 from Lewis and Clark College. For years David was editor and art director of the Clinton Street Quarterly, a publication that showcased contemporary culture. A Portland resident and prize-winning filmmaker – Blackjack's Family, The Thorne Family Film – editor and author, David received the 2004 Stewart H. Holbrook Award for “significant contributions to Oregon’s literary arts.” David is associate producer for Finding David Douglas.


Walt Curtis, Secretary, a co-founder of OCHC, is a poet, perhaps best known for his 1977 autobiographical novella Mala Noche, which inspired Gus Van Sant’s first feature film. Walt is a passionate advocate for preserving Oregon’s literary and artistic heritage. He received the 1991 Stewart Holbrook Award.

Charlotte Rubin, Treasurer, is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. She has had more than twenty-five years of banking and finance experience. Currently, Charlotte uses her financial knowledge assisting small businesses and elderly clients on a private basis. 

John Concillo has lived in the Pacific Northwest since 1972. He resided in Southwest Washington, near Mt Rainier where he worked in the woods, hiked and camped in many of the same places that William O. Douglas wrote about so eloquently. This formative time fostered a lifetime interest in all places wild. John worked in broadcast television programming and production in Portland, Oregon for more than twenty-five years. He is the Producer and Writer of the work-in-progress Liberty and Wilderness: The William O. Douglas Film Project..

David Hedges is a 2003 recipient of the Stewart H. Holbrook Award. He is a cultural activist and was long president of the Oregon State Poetry Association. David traces his Oregon roots to his great-grandparents’ arrival in Canemah, founded by his great-great uncle at the head of Willamette Falls south of Oregon City. David attended Oregon State University, experienced life in Greenwich Village, and graduated from Portland State University. His books include Steens Mountain Sunrise (2003) and A Funny Thing Happened on my Way to a Geology Degree (2011).

David A. Horowitz is a native of the Bronx and a graduate of Antioch College. David received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Minnesota and has taught U.S. cultural and 20th century history at Portland State University since 1968. In 2007, he received the Millar Prize for outstanding PSU faculty achievement and in 2012, the John Eliot Allen Teaching Award, student selection as Outstanding Professor within the Portland State Department of History. His academic publications, journalism, media commentary, and public talks have focused on 20th century popular culture and social and cultural conflict in American civilization.

Dory Hylton is a veteran jazz singer and professor of rhetoric and communication. After a long career on the road, she settled in Portland, Oregon, to take her place in the region’s vibrant jazz community, and to complete her doctoral dissertation on the Vietnam War protests at Portland State University.

Mark Moscato is co-founder and executive director of Know Your City, formerly the Dill Pickle Club. An artist, curator and activist, Mark’s short films and videos have screened at film festivals and spaces across the country.

Tom Webb is a co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Bear Deluxe magazine, a leading national environmental arts publication. His B.A. is from Vassar College in New York.

Phil Wikelund owns Great Northwest Bookstore, which specializes in regional literature and history. A Reed College graduate, Phil is a widely recognized appraiser of our region’s literary and cultural works.


Emeritus Directors

Tim Barnes
Eliza Canty Jones
Janet Kreft
Sally Lawrence
Rick Rubin
Joan Sears
Marian Wood Kolisch   (1920-2008)
Rob Tuttle                      (1923-2008)
Fred DeWolfe                (1928-1997)
Brian Booth                   (1936-2012)
Jim Kopp                       (1952-2010)

OCHC Board members at
Brian Booth’s First Citizen banquet – 1999

Honorary Board

OCHC's Honorary Board is drawn from experts who occupy prominent positions in their fields
and have extensive knowledge about our areas of interest.


Penny Allen   Ilka Kuznik
Shannon Applegate Lois Leonard
Bud Clark Mike Lindberg
John Concillo
Steve McQuiddy
Molly Powers Dusenbery Michael Munk
Patrick Forster
Gloria Myers
Jane Glazer    Sheldon Renan
Arlie Holt Melissa Sillitoe
Trisha Kauffman Primus St. John
Pete Kent
Gus Van Sant
Carolyn Kizer George Venn




Nez Perce chiefs at OCHC C.E.S. Wood Memorial
unveiling at Multnomah County Central Library