Cris Waller, New DPCC Chair…Who Is She Really?
In her own words:
I'm a native Oregonian, although my family moved away when I was small, and I grew up in Warren, Michigan, and the East County area of San Diego. As an adult, I lived for over a decade in Jamul, a tiny town in rural San Diego County, where I raised Nigerian Dwarf goats and chickens and hung out with my guard llama. I fell back in love with Oregon after visiting a friend in college, and, like a salmon, I needed to return home!
I've been involved in political issues for as long as I can remember. My passion is animal rights, so my early activism focused on running campaigns to pass initiatives in California to ban cougar hunting and leghold trapping; I also worked with Oregon groups on cougar protection here.
She’s savvy & determined…new Clackamas
County Democrats Chair Cris Waller poses with
her latest handcrafted stuffed animal.
I fell out of activism for a while after I moved back to Oregon in 2011. The election of Trump changed all that. I got involved with the DPCC and became a PCP and a Neighborhood Leader. I've steadily become more active since then.
I share a 1923 bungalow in Jennings Lodge with my wonderful husband Mike Weber and a small menagerie (currently at its lowest point in years with one cat, one cockatoo, two chickens and a duck.) We foster dogs through a local rescue as well.
In San Diego, I worked for over 25 years at a wonderful private school that offered special and regular education. I wore many hats including instructor, curriculum designer and technical support. I also was a dog trainer and spent many happy years competing with my own dogs in obedience, flyball, agility and other dog sports. In Oregon, I worked as an instructional designer for a local educational software company. I was one of the many people who lost my job during COVID and decided to retire early. That doesn't mean I have a lot of free time, though! I have a huge number of hobbies that keep me busy: quilting, stuffed animal making, gardening, chocolate-making, origami, woodworking, cheesemaking, reading, crossword puzzles... and more!
So political activities aren't the only thing I do...although it may seem that way around election time!