(he/him/his)
Executive Director
[email protected]
Joe Baessler joined the Oregon AFSCME staff in 2006. A native of the Midwest, prior to joining AFSCME Baessler worked on the staffs of Gov. Ted Kulongoski, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, and Multnomah County Commissioner Lisa Naito, among others. He is also a co-founder of the Oregon Bus Project. Baessler graduated from Michigan State University in 1997 and has a law degree from Case Western Reserve in Cleveland. Baessler and his wife, Sarah, have three young children.
(she/her/hers)
Associate Director
[email protected]
Corey Hope Nicholson has been with Oregon AFSCME since 2015 after almost a decade working for 1199 SEIU MA running campaigns to organize over 5,000 new workers. Prior to that, she was the Program Director of the North Shore Labor Council, AFL-CIO. She also served as the board co-chair of the New England Jewish Labor Committee, on the board of the Women’s Institute for Leadership Development, and as a regular trainer and mentor to young organizers with the Jewish Organizing Initiative Network. A native of Denver, Nicholson lives in Portland with her husband, Zev Nicholson and their two young children Rebel & General.In 2024, Corey was elected International Vice President and sits on AFSCME International's Executive Board.