Guest Bios
Damon Motz-Storey is a climate and environmental justice advocate with the Sierra Club’s Oregon Chapter, where they work at the intersection of clean energy policy, racial equity, and community power. They have been a consistent voice in Portland’s ongoing debates over how climate dollars get spent — and who gets to make those decisions.
Jami LeBaron is a program director at the Friends of Leach Botanical Garden, the nonprofit working to preserve and sustain one of Southeast Portland’s most beloved green spaces. She brings years of experience in community engagement and environmental stewardship to the fight to keep Leach alive and accessible to all Portlanders.
Segment 1: The Fight Over Portland’s Clean Energy Fund
Guest: Damon Motz-Storey, Sierra Club
Portland’s Clean Energy Fund was born from a grassroots vision — a first-of-its-kind tax on large retailers that would direct millions toward climate action, green jobs, and environmental justice for frontline communities. But a recent court ruling has thrown open a door that many of its original champions never wanted unlocked.
A judge has cleared the way for the Portland Police Association to collect signatures for a ballot initiative that would dedicate 25% of PCEF dollars toward law enforcement funding. For advocates like Damon Motz-Storey of the Sierra Club, the implications are serious. That’s not a small slice — it represents hundreds of millions of dollars over time that could be redirected away from the climate and equity work the fund was specifically designed to do.
Damon joins us to break down what the ruling means, why the Sierra Club and other environmental justice organizations are pushing back hard, and what Portlanders who care about climate action need to know before this potentially lands on the ballot. We also dig into the broader question this fight raises: when a community-built fund becomes a target, what does that tell us about who has power in Portland — and who gets to define what “public safety” really means?
🔗 Learn more & take action: Oregon Sierra Club — Portland Clean Energy Fund
Segment 2: The Garden at the Edge of Closing
Guest: Jami LeBaron, Leach Botanical Garden
Tucked away in outer Southeast Portland, Leach Botanical Garden is one of the city’s quiet treasures — 16 acres of native plants, old-growth trees, and a history rooted in the remarkable botanical legacy of Lilla and John Leach. But this beloved community space is facing a threat that could silence it for good.
Jami LaBaron sits down with us to talk candidly about the financial pressures and organizational challenges that have put Leach Botanical Garden’s future in jeopardy. The nonprofit that supports the garden has been working to sustain programming, education, and community access — but the road ahead is uncertain, and the window to act may be closing faster than people realize.
This is exactly the kind of story that gets lost in the noise of bigger headlines, which is why we think it matters. A botanical garden isn’t just a pretty place — it’s a living classroom, a community gathering space, and in Portland’s case, a living tribute to two pioneering naturalists who spent their lives cataloguing the plants of the Pacific Northwest. Losing it would be a loss felt for generations.
Jami talks about what the garden needs, what community members can do right now, and why she still believes Leach can be saved — if enough people show up.
🔗 Support Leach Botanical Garden: leachgarden.org
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