Board of Directors

Sean M. Beers
Sean Beers came to NCVLI while attending Lewis and Clark Law School. NCVLI’s Executive Director, Doug Beloof, was impressed by Sean’s dedication to the law and asked Sean to join the Board in 2002. A Certified Public Accountant, Sean earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Linfield College and holds a Juris Doctor from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark. Sean joined the Oregon State Bar in 2005. Sean is the General Manager of Footwear for Columbia Sportswear Company. Sean manages all business operations for the brand including marketing, product development, sourcing, distribution and finance. Sean became the Chair of the Board in 2005.

Gail Burns-Smith
Gail Burns-Smith is recently retired as the Executive Director of Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Inc. and is the Co-Founder of the National Alliance To End Sexual Violence, formerly known as the National Alliance of Sexual Assault Coalitions. She has worked as an advocate for sexual assault victims and their families for the last 22 years, and now focuses primarily on public policy advocacy at the national level. Gail joined the Board in 2002.

Carl Davis
Carl Davis retired from Columbia Sportswear Company in 2005 where he served as Vice President/General Counsel and Secretary for the corporation. In that capacity he was in charge of all legal activities for the Company worldwide. Prior to joining Columbia Sportswear in 1997, he worked for NIKE, Inc. for over sixteen years where he served in several capacities including Director of International Trade and Director of Government Relations. As Director of Government Relations he spent 5 years in Washington DC working with Congress and various governmental agencies. He has extensive trial experience in the United States and several foreign countries. Prior to joining Nike, he served as Chief Deputy of the Felony Division for the District Attorney of Multnomah County Oregon.

Mr. Davis received his B.A. in 1970 from Idaho State University and his J.D. in 1973 from the University of Utah. He is a member of the Oregon State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. He is presently a Commissioner on the Oregon International Trade Commission and a member of the Idaho State University Foundation board of directors. He previously served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Oregon Business Association and has been an officer for several regional, national and international non-profit groups.

Mr. Davis is married and he and his wife, Gloria have 5 grown children and 2 grand children between them.

Helene R. Davis
Helene Davis grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, receiving her AA in Business Administration, and worked as a mental health professional until 1980, when she and her family moved to Oakland, California. In 1990, her son was murdered and Helene began her work on behalf of homicide victims and other victims of violent crime. In 1996 she became a founding member of a local group, Mothers Against Murder and Assault (MAMA). MAMA provides rehabilitative services to youth in the custody of the Alameda County Probation Department, aiding in their successful reentry to the community and reduction in recidivism. Helene joined the Board in 2002.

Jim Huffman
Jim Huffman joined the Lewis & Clark Law School faculty in 1973 and served as dean from 1994 to 2006. In 2001, he became the first Erskine Wood Sr. Professor of Law; Huffman will retain the professorship as he returns to the classroom. He is an expert in areas of constitutional law and history, natural resources law, and water law. He has been a visiting professor at Auckland University in New Zealand, the University of Oregon, the University of Athens in Greece and Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala. He was a fellow at the Humane Studies Institute and a Distinguished Bradley Scholar at the Heritage Foundation. Huffman serves on the boards of the American Judicature Society, the American Law Deans Association, the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, the Classroom Law Project, and the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. He is a member of the Montana Bar Association and is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.