Catherine Thomasson, MD Named New Executive Director

Catherine Thomasson, MD, will become PSR’s new Executive Director, effective January 1, 2012. As a practicing internist, former national Board President, and chapter president and leading activist in Oregon, Catherine is extremely well-suited to assume the leadership of PSR.    

Dr. Thomasson has been active on environmental and peace and security issues and involved in nonprofit fund raising and management for over 15 years. She served on the national PSR Board from 2004 through 2008 and was President of the Board in 2007. As PSR President, Catherine visited Iran and traveled across the U.S. meeting with chapters and lecturing on energy issues, global warming, and security issues, especially as related to U.S.-Iran matters.

As President of the Oregon Chapter of PSR, Dr. Thomasson increased local membership by 50% and secured funding to quadruple paid chapter staff and to support expanded programs that included energy policy, global warming, environmental toxins, and food safety. She brought the health voice to the Climate Change City Plan of Portland, to the campaign to close Oregon’s only coal-burning power plant and to state coalitions addressing transportation and health, and taught Climate Change and Public Health at Portland State University. She also worked with the Oregon Medical Association educating and advocating for national chemical toxins reform and on specific chemical issues at the state legislature.

Dr. Thomasson is well versed in nonprofit management including policy development and Board relations. In addition she also has medical administrative and business experience with health care organizations and managed an internal medicine physician trainee program. Since leaving the PSR Board at the end of 2008, Catherine continued to practice medicine in the Oregon University Student Health system and has been active with local Oregon PSR and coalition partners.