2025 Oregon Women Veterans Conference Speakers and Guests
Dr. Nakeia Council Daniels
Director, Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs
Dr. Nakeia Council Daniels, a US Army veteran, is the Director of the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs (ODVA), overseeing services for nearly 300,000 veterans. Previously, she served as Deputy Director of the Oregon Youth Authority and in various state government executive roles including Director of Equity and Racial Justice in the office of former Governor Kate Brown. With a doctorate in Business Administration, she’s a renowned speaker and author on leadership, equity, and racial justice, lecturing at prestigious institutions such as Harvard University. Dr. Daniels has held certifications in EEO law, and is dedicated to equity, drawing from her military and familial ties to the Army.
Erin McMahon
Director, Oregon Department of Emergency Management
Erin McMahon was appointed Director of the Oregon Department of Emergency Management in August 2023. She is a retired U.S. Army Brigadier General, attorney and combat veteran with 24 years of experience advising state and national leaders on emergent and active emergencies requiring operational and civilian support. As the first female Army National Guard general officer in the Office of the General Counsel, she empowered a new generation of leaders to challenge cultural norms and work together to innovate and develop into high-performing teams. In her role as Principal Deputy General Counsel for the National Guard Bureau, McMahon guided the bureau chief through domestic disasters including hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Capital Insurrection. She advised federal leaders on the 2021 Oregon wildfires when more than 1,000 fires burned at least 518,303 acres across the state. In that same role, McMahon also spearheaded several groundbreaking programs for the Department of Defense to combat sexual assault. Her efforts were vital to increasing reporting and investigation options, ensuring a more timely and effective response, and providing recovery resources for victims of sexual assault in the military.
Donna Marie Drucker
Co-founder and Executive Director of the OR Firearm Safety Coalition
Donna-Marie is the wife of a combat veteran and daughter of a gunsmith. As a firearm owner, Ms. Drucker is a staunch advocate for firearm safety and suicide prevention. She is the Executive Director for the Oregon Firearm Safety Coalition and works with Clackamas County’s suicide prevention team. Most recently appointed as Co-Chair to Oregon’s Task Force on Community Safety and Firearms Suicide Prevention, where she assists in coordinating with the Department of Justice, Oregon Health Authority, sheriff’s departments, federally recognized Indian Tribes, and faith-based groups to study best practices for reducing deaths from community safety threats and for suicide prevention. Donna-Marie is a passionate voice and speaker in support of military veterans and families.
Melissa Washington
Founder and CEO of Women Veterans Alliance
Melissa A. Washington is a U.S. Navy veteran, entrepreneur, speaker, and global advocate for women veterans. She joined the United States Navy at 18 as a Storekeeper (SK). Her first duty station was aboard the USS Grapple (ARS 53) out of Little Creek, Virginia, where she completed a 6-month Mediterranean cruise, then deployed with USS Acadia (AD 42). After her military service, Melissa built a successful career in corporate HR and global meeting planning. In 2015, she founded Women Veterans Alliance, a global organization that empowers women who have served through community, business support, and events. She also launched Women Veterans Giving, a nonprofit providing funding and resources to support professional growth and entrepreneurship. Melissa has been featured in multiple media outlets, including The Balancing Act TV show, where she shared her journey along with other women veterans. Based in California, Melissa continues to grow her impact through speaking, global travel, and partnerships that connect women veterans across borders.
Constance L. Jenkins
Major General, Retired, U.S. Air Force
Major General (Ret.) Constance L. Jenkins originally hails from Halfway, OR. She enlisted in the Air Force Reserve in 1989 and later received her commission after graduating from the University of Oregon in 1992. Her last assignment before retirement in August 2025 was as the Director of Logistics and Engineering, J4, Headquarters, North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. She was responsible for integrating, collaborating, and executing strategic logistics capabilities to provide viable solutions to homeland defense, theater security cooperation, and providing rapid/flexible responses to civil authorities. As a partner of the Command team, she accelerated innovative logistics solutions to counter an increasingly complex security environment. The General has held unit and group commands as well as numerous staff positions at the unit and Numbered Air Force levels, to include Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Phyllis Wilson (pre-recorded speaker)
Phyllis Wilson served 37 years in the Army as a Military Intelligence (MI) Voice Intercept Operator. She has served around the globe – visiting more than 35 countries – in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and North America. She has been mobilized numerous times to shoulder the duties of defense of the nation and has deployed to Iraq several times as an Intelligence Analyst with Special Operations. Chief Warrant Officer Five Phyllis J. Wilson served as the most senior Warrant Officer in the entire United States Army Reserve, and a key member of the Executive Team managing an organization of more than 200,000 personnel with an annual operating budget of more than $8 Billion. She was a Senior Military Fellow with the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group focused on Global issues 2050 and beyond.
Sandra W. Lee (National Anthem singer)
Sandra W. Lee is a Korean-American and West Coast native who grew up in Portland, Oregon. She started acting and singing at the age of 10, and she immediately fell in love with performing. While in Oregon, she studied International Relations, Social Sciences and Music at Portland State University – before joining the U.S. Army Special Operations Command as a Civil Affairs Specialist in response to the tragedies of 9/11, where she reached the rank of Staff Sergeant. She deployed to Baghdad, Iraq in 2003 and oversaw the successful rebuilding of over 60 schools. While deployed, she was involved in multiple IED explosions that led to a Traumatic Brain Injury. She was also sexually assaulted by another service member and as a result of that and her combat experience, suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress. Upon returning from her deployment in Iraq, she completed her Bachelor’s degree and transitioned to Hawaii. During this time she worked and performed with NY theatre artists such as Darren Lee (Allegiance, Broadway 2015) and Greg Zane (The King and I, Broadway 2015) just to name a few. Sandra then made the big move to NYC where she made her Off-Broadway debut as Goeun Kim, the lead role in Comfort Women: A New Musical at the Theatre at St. Clements, has been in several Off-Broadway productions and was a featured artist in the Veteran Artist Program’s The Home Show at Lincoln Center, has performed several times at Broadway’s supper club 54 Below and is frequently called to perform across the country. Sandra is often a guest/keynote speaker as a disabled woman veteran for corporations and organizations regarding Military Sexual Trauma and for her service in the military. Currently, Sandra lives in Portland, OR where she continues to perform at some of the professional theatre houses Portland has to offer. She is a member of SAGAFTRA, Actors Equity Association and Q6 Talent & Model Agency.