About OCJ

Oregon Consumer Justice is a non-profit organization committed to ensuring that all people in Oregon experience a safe and fair marketplace. We advance the rights of consumers through advocacy, research, education, and engagement. We work to bring consumer justice into balance for all Oregonians.

OCJ Story

A Cy Pres award distributes unclaimed class action settlement money to a charitable organization and is how OCJ came to be.

In March 2015, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed her first bill into law. Prior to House Bill 2700, companies that lost class action lawsuits were allowed to keep unclaimed settlement money as their own. Bill 2700 changed that in mandating unclaimed funds be used to the benefit of consumers, not the corporations that harmed them.

The law was applied for the first time in 2019 in class action lawsuit Scharfstein v. BP West Coast Products LLC. Judge Jerome LaBarre directed that unclaimed funds from the class action lawsuit be used to establish a consumer advocacy non-profit organization. Three board members were named to lead its design.

Board of Directors

Named by Judge Jerome LaBarre in 2019, the OCJ Founding Board is growing to include other leaders committed to creating a more just and equitable Oregon and will reflect the diversity of people and issues it aims to help.

Henry Kantor

Chair

Founding Board Member

Meet Henry

Justin Baxter

Secretary

Founding Board Member

Meet Justin

Emily Reiman

Treasurer

Founding Board Member

Meet Emily

Sayer Jones

Finance Committee Chair

Board Member

Meet Sayer

Startup Staff

In 2020, OCJ hired ASCETA to deliver and launch a strategy advancing an equitable and sustainable system of consumer justice in Oregon. ASCETA engaged, listened and learned from experts working in and towards consumer justice throughout Oregon to identify gaps and opportunities, develop programs and organizational capacity, and is leading recruitment of the OCJ Board of Directors, Advisors and Staff.

Sophia Tzeng

Interim Chief Executive Officer

Meet Sophia

Tia Coachman

Interim Chief People Officer

Meet Tia

Lester Thompson

Interim Chief Financial Officer

Meet Lester

Laura Caputo

Interim Director of Programs

Meet Laura

Emily Lindsay

Interim Director of Operations

Meet Emily

ReJeana Orr

Executive Assistant and Administrator

Meet ReJeana

Mariana Lindsay

Interim Program Associate

Meet Mariana

Working towards consumer justice

Oregon Consumer Justice is looking for people committed to creating a more just and equitable Oregon. If you think you may be that person, join our team.

Work with OCJ

Henry Kantor

Chair and Founding Board Member

A trial judge in Multnomah County for over 22 years, Henry Kantor graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, earned his JD from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, and has been a member of the Oregon State Bar since 1979. Prior to taking judicial office, his practice focused on trial and appellate law in Oregon’s state and federal courts, emphasizing complex consumer cases, commercial litigation, and class actions. Henry was appointed to the court in 1994 and was elected and re-elected by the voters to four terms of office, retiring in 2017. He then worked two years as Special Counsel to the Oregon Attorney General. Henry continues to serve the public as a senior judge.

Justin Baxter

Secretary and Founding Board Member

A trial attorney with Baxter & Baxter, LLP, Justin Baxter has shared his clients’ stories with state and federal juries in credit reporting, fair debt collection, mortgage, and privacy cases. A member of the Oregon State Bar since 1999, Justin received his JD from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College. In addition to OCJ, he sits on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Consumer Advocates. He is the past Chair of the Oregon State Bar Consumer Law Section and the past Chair of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association’s Consumer Protection Section.

Emily Reiman

Treasurer and Founding Board Member

Emily Reiman is the CEO of two affiliated non-profits: DevNW (a CDC focused on developing affordable housing, creating financial opportunity for low-income families, and building equitable, thriving neighborhoods/communities) and Community LendingWorks (a CDFI that provides safe, affordable consumer and micro/small business loans for people typically un or underserved by the financial mainstream). The organizations serve much of Western Oregon, with offices in Springfield, Corvallis, Salem, and Oregon City. Prior to her work in community economic development, Emily spent ten years working with at-risk youth, mostly centered around the foster care system. She attended Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts, but is otherwise a lifelong Oregonian.

Sayer Jones

Sayer Jones is a business consultant working with institutions structuring and measuring the impacts of their investments. Prior to his current work, he led the regional impact investing practice at Meyer Memorial Trust on the program related investment and mission related investment portfolios for 12 years, deploying over $50 million. Sayer has chaired city and state boards focused on impact investing and managing public portfolios for impact. He has led investors in workshops to align social values with financial and cultural returns, and has experience as an entrepreneur, representing asset owners, and managing fund managers and consultants. Sayer is the co-chair of the Oregon Growth board, the Treasurer of APANO Communities United Fund and is on the board of Indian Lands Capital Company.

Sophia Tzeng

Interim Chief Executive Officer

Sophia Tzeng Principal and Managing Director of ASCETA, a strategic design consultancy known for social venture leadership, equitable and inclusive strategic planning and innovation. A former attorney, entrepreneur and non-profit executive director, Sophia recently served as Interim Executive Director of Innovation Law Lab, which was recognized by the Financial Times as Legal Innovator of the Year during her tenure. A graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Law School, Sophia is a member of the New York State Bar since 2002 and Oregon State Bar since 2010, was founding Board President of Period. The Menstrual Movement and has served on the Boards of DePaul Industries, Campfire Columbia and the Oregon Environmental Council. Sophia was also a longtime Partner with Social Venture Partners Portland.

Tia B. Coachman

Interim Chief People Officer

Tia Coachman is a Human Resources Leader and Founder of Affirma Consultancy, a bespoke HR advisory firm focused on workforce solutions. Shaped by roles in the advertising industry at Wieden + Kennedy and 24/7 Laundry Service as well as the Federal and District of Columbia Government, Tia is rooted in the community and committed to the progress of African-Americans and women. She has served on the Boards and committees for the Black United Fund, Bitch Media, Portland Workforce Alliance, and Jack and Jill of America, Inc. A Howard University graduate with a BBA in International Business and Marketing, Tia earned her MBA at the University of Maryland University College and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, a service organization. She also holds the SHRM-SCP Certification.

Lester Thompson

Interim Chief Financial Officer

Lester Thompson has over 30 years of in-depth experience working with the financial, tax, human resources and strategic needs of nonprofit organizations. He served as a key leader in the nonprofit practice of an international accounting firm, performing services for nonprofits including representation of large-scale IRS audits, development of sophisticated employee benefits arrangements, managing and developing merger and acquisition strategies involving nonprofits as well as consulting on complex tax matters related to tax exemption, lobbying, compliance and other matters. In addition, he has practical management experience having served as CFO of 2 local nonprofit organizations, taking them both through substantial financial restructuring and growth strategies.

Laura Caputo

Interim Programs Director

Laura Caputo is an experienced leader building adaptive non-profit organizations—which sometimes requires wearing multiple hats, like Chief of Staff, IT Director, Director of Conferences, and Chief Governance Officer. In her previous life as a lawyer serving the Northern District of Illinois, Laura personally filed over 2,000 bankruptcy cases for individuals of every racial/ethnic group and socioeconomic status, handling foreclosures, evictions, fraudulent loans, and internet scams. Association Forum recently recognized Laura in their Forty Under 40 competition for her accomplishment in non-profit leadership.

Emily Lindsay

Interim Operations Director

Emily Lindsay has extensive experience managing programs and projects in non-profit healthcare, global health, and education. Prior to her role at OCJ and ASCETA, she was the Director of Administrative Excellence at AltaMed in Los Angeles (one of the largest FQHC’s in the country). She is passionate about collaborative design that improves access and services with and for populations that have historically have been underserved and marginalized. She has certifications in Project Management, Process Improvement, and Change Management and holds an MPA from Seattle University. She has been honored to assist at orphanages in the city of her birth, Kolkata, and for a year with Aman Bhiradiri serving Delhi’s street children as an American Indian Foundation Fellow.

ReJeana Orr

Executive Assistant and Administrator

ReJeana Orr is an administrative and human resources professional with more than 20 years of experience in a wide-array of fields. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She attended Grant HIgh School and is a University of Oregon graduate with degrees in International Studies (with an emphasis in International Business and specializing in Hispanicworld), Spanish, French and Political Science. ReJeana has extensive experience with office startups, growth and development as well as team development in the public, private and non-profit sectors. She also holds a Society of Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) Certification. Through her SHRM affiliation, she has worked with the Wounded Warrior project in Hawaii to assist military personnel transition from military service with resume writing, interview and job search assistance. ReJeana has a strong interest in community assistance.

Mariana Lindsay

Interim Program Associate

Mariana Lindsay is a nonprofit executive coach, program designer, and facilitator who’s passionate about supporting organizations where the most impacted folks thrive. That means placing equity, inclusion, and anti-racism at the center of the conversation, while leading with compassion, collaboration, and dogged determination.

Previously, she implemented the Urban Rural Connection project for the American Leadership Forum of Oregon. Before that, she was Interim Executive Director at the Center for Women’s Leadership, where for nearly five years she helped create and implement leadership development programs for diverse women and girls across the state. Prior to CWL, she was the Associate Director of Next Up, an organization that amplifies the voices and leadership of diverse young people to achieve a more just and equitable Oregon.

She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Oregon and previously served on the Advisory Board for the Rural Resiliency Research Project and the State of Oregon Construction Contractors Board.