Board of Directors
Helen Robinson, President
Columbia Trust Company
Helen Robinson specializes in Special Needs Trusts, personal trusts and estates. Helen graduated from Cannon Financial Institute and received her Certified Trust and Financial Advisor accreditation in 2006. Helen is an active participant of the Estate Planning Council of Portland.
Hon. Juliet Britton, J.D., Vice President
Ms. Britton has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from the University of Hawaii Richardson School of Law. Ms. Britton is currently the Presiding Judge at Beaverton Municipal Court. Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of the Oregon Psychiatric Security Review Board and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program in Kansas. She began her career working as a staff attorney for the State of Hawaii Senate Majority Office and practiced administrative, civil and criminal law as an active duty judge advocate in the United States Army for over six years.
Susan Daigle, J.D., Secretary
Susan is drawn to the work of Guardian Partners because of her own family’s experience with the guardianship and conservatorship of an aunt. Susan has worked in the area of trust administration, estate planning, and charitable gift planning for over 20 years working at U.S. Bank, Allen Trust Bank, and Cavanaugh, Levy, Bilyeu LLC prior to joining the Oregon Zoo Foundation.
Timothy Porter, Treasurer
Geffen Mesher & Company, P.C.
Tim joined Geffen Mesher in 2013 after spending three years at a boutique CPA firm specializing in employee benefit plan audits, where he gained extensive experience auditing a wide range of employee benefit plans. He earned a bachelor’s degree in both Accounting and Finance at Portland State University while holding a supervisory position at United Parcel Service. Tim has earned the prestigious Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) designation, which denotes proven expertise in fraud prevention, detection and deterrence.
Dr. Mahnaz Ahmad
Kaiser Permanente
Dr. Ahmad is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine, with a Masters in Health Education from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Dr. Ahmad obtained her medical degree from Dhaka Medical College in Bangladesh. Dr. Ahmad was named as a Top Doctor in Portland Monthly and also was named as one of America’s Top Geriatricians in the “US News and World Report.” Dr. Ahmad is passionate about elder care, and has published and spoken about elder care, elder abuse, and the diagnosis and treatment of dementia.
Sibylle Baer
Senior Assistant Attorney General | Oregon Department of Justice
Sibylle Baer joined the Oregon Department of Justice in May 2019 after 13 years at the firm of Cartwright Baer Johansson. Before joining the firm she was a trial attorney at Multnomah Defenders, Inc. Ms. Baer has been a trial attorney since 1992 and has extensive courtroom experience. Her varied trial experience makes her skilled at both prosecuting and defending cases. Ms. Baer’s focus is will and trust contests and fiduciary litigation with an emphasis on protective proceedings. Ms. Baer is also a trained mediator with a focus on mediating contested probate matters.
Tara M. Hendison, J.D.
Allen Trust Company
Tara received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Washington State University and went on to earn her Juris Doctor from Willamette University College of Law. Prior to attending law school, Tara served as a registered representative with a national broker/dealer. Formerly responsible for day-to-day trust administration, Tara now supervises those duties. Her primary responsibility involves the coordination of the firm’s operational and compliance requirements. Tara is a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor and an attorney.
Theressa Hollis, Immediate Past President
Attorney at Law | Fitzwater Law
Theressa Hollis is a partner with the law firm of Fitzwater Law. Her practice emphasizes legal issues unique to the elderly and their families, including guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, probate estates, trust administration, and estate planning. She is the author of the following publications and presentations: Guardianship/Conservatorship, Health Ed, Oregon Elder Law 2011 & 2012, Temporary Guardianships, Oregon Law Institute CLE, Guardianship and Conservatorship, and the Oregon State Bar CLE Elder Law Handbook, Supplement.
Mark Nishi-Strattner
Multnomah County Public Guardian Office (ret.)
Mark has a Master’s degree in mental health counseling and worked for 20 years in mental health, primarily with older adults. In 2003 he joined the Multnomah County Public Guardian program and became a National Certified Guardian. Mark became the Senior Deputy/ supervisor, responsible for referrals and intake. In 2019, he received The Excellence in Guardianship Award from the Center for Guardianship Certification.
Steve Sutherland, CPA, CFE, CFP
Financial Insights LLC
Steve has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and 30+ years of experience in the finance industry. He is the founder of Financial Insights LLC, a financial planning and forensic CPA firm. In seeking a way to “give back,” Steve was drawn to Guardian Partners’ mission of protecting vulnerable seniors which resonated with him personally and professionally.