The SAR Foundation Board

Andrew Heide
Andrew HeideBoard Member, President
Andrew was a member of the 2020 academy and currently serves on the medical, snowmobile, ground and atv teams.

He and his wife have two children. His wife manages the education dIvision of a local non-profit organization here in Bend.

An avid outdoors-person, Andrew spends his time backcountry snowboarding, fly fishing, camping, mountain biking and enduro riding.

Andrew’s non-profit experience began at an arts organization benefiting terminally ill artists. Working as part of the staff, helped with all facets of the organization, including fundraising and events. He has also worked for and volunteered for several environmental nonprofits.

Andrew’s professional background has been focused on scaling, running and growing teams and organizations. Today he works as a Director at a Marketing Technology company. Working primarily with global B2B high tech companies, he helps high growth organizations scale their marketing and revenue efforts. His work touches all marketing channels, including virtual and physical events. He also owns a fabrication & design business here in Bend.

Patty Hedges
Patty HedgesBoard Member, Treasurer
Patty currently works as a registered nurse at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend. However this wasn’t her first career. She spent 15 years as an accountant before becoming a nurse. Her accounting career began as an auditor with Price Waterhouse in St. Louis for six years, followed by senior accounting positions with a medical device company and a pharmaceutical company in San Diego. During her years in San Diego, Patty had the opportunity to serve as a helping hand on several international medical mission trips to indigent countries. Those experiences ultimately led to her career change into nursing in 2005.

Patty moved to Bend in 2006, desiring to be closer to the mountains and further from the stresses of big city life. She fell in love with the city, the outdoors, and the lifestyle, and now spends as much time as she can biking and hiking in the wilds of Central Oregon.

Patty is a graduate of the 2014 Search and Rescue Academy class and served on the SAR medical team until 2020. She has been Treasurer for the SAR Foundation Board since 2015 and feels honored to be serving with such extraordinary, committed, and talented individuals associated with Deschutes County Search and Rescue.

Ed Weiser
Ed WeiserBoard Member, Secretary
Ed and his wife Claire, their middle daughter Jillian, and her husband all moved to Bend in 2013 to live near each other and take advantage of everything this area has to offer. Two grandchildren were born here in 2013 and 2015. Ed retired in 2014 after a 35-year career in business and technology leadership positions with Jewel/Osco, Lucky, American Stores, Albertson’s, ShopKo, and Motorola. Prior to that, he was a sailing instructor and wilderness guide in Maine.

Ed was able to continue his outdoor trips over the years, first with Claire in the northern mid-west, then with their 3 daughters in the mountains and on the rivers of Utah. More recently, Ed has led trips for friends and family in Utah, Wyoming, and Oregon. After moving here, he re-discovered his love of solo backpacking, and is focusing on exploring the Wallowa Mountains one week at a time.

Ed had always wanted to join a busy Search and Rescue organization, but his business travel schedule and family commitments made that impractical until his retirement. He graduated from the 2015 DCSAR Academy and currently serves on the Ground, Medical, and Air Operations teams. In late 2015, he joined the Foundation board as a Special Resource for our Speakers Bureau program.

Ed is Vice-Chairperson of the Central Oregon SCORE chapter and provides free mentoring and advising to local start-ups and small companies. He also volunteers as an Interpretive Ranger for Deschutes National Forest. In his spare time, Ed likes to run, ski, bike, fish, and hang out with his grandkids.

Ashley Cedzo
Ashley CedzoBoard Member
Originally from North Carolina, Ashley has lived in Bend for the last 2.5 years. She moved out to the Pacific Northwest to pursue a master’s degree in science education from the University of Washington, completing a graduate residency in environmental education at Islandwood where she educated student groups on sustainability and the natural ecology of the Pacific Northwest. Since finishing grad school, she has worked in the environmental industry and is currently the Northwest District Technical Manager for Regenesis. Ashley works directly with environmental consulting, construction and engineering firms throughout the Northwestern United States and Western Canada to develop successful remedial approaches for their clients.

Ashley is a graduate of the 2016 Search and Rescue Academy class and currently serves on the medical, MRU, and snowmobile teams. She joined the SAR Foundation in 2017 as a Special Resource, due to her leading the Recruiting effort for the 2018 Academy. When Ashley is not volunteering for SAR and OAS, she can usually be found playing outside with her 9 year lab/Weimaraner mix named Kaia.

Karen Lite
Karen LiteBoard Member
Karen grew up in the Willamette Valley. She attended Southern Oregon University and received a BS in Criminology. After a short career in Juvenile Corrections, she pursued her real passion and started her career in the ski industry. Karen held the position of Sales and Marketing Manager at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort for 21 years.

Karen has a strong background in marketing, sales, business management, networking, and special events. Her career also involved tracking and analyzing marketing and sales trends. She enjoyed managing, training and supporting approximately 250 volunteers per ski season that made up the Meadows Adviser Network.

Throughout her career she was also involved with many fundraisers such as the Oregon Cancer Ski Out and the Jimmie Heuga Vertical Express for MS.

Karen recently retired to Bend to enjoy the great outdoors. Her activities include water skiing, boating, mountain biking, hiking and her favorite, alpine skiing.

Bark Brown
Bark BrownBoard Member
Bark moved to Bend in 2006 with his wife Kim and their two children, Madison and Colin. He joined SAR as part of the 2018 academy class, and is involved with the air ops, snowmobile and ATV teams.
Bark has extensive non-profit experience having worked as the Director of Operations and Finance at the Oregon Natural Desert Association from 2006 until he stepped down in 2023. He remains a Trustee for a US-based Family Trust overseeing assets exceeding $300 million invested across multiple asset classes. He was appointed Trustee in 2005.
Prior to moving to Bend, the Browns lived in Bologna Italy, Perth Australia, and San Francisco. Bark holds a Juris Doctorate and a Masters in Taxation.
Jacob Roe-Bauer
Jacob Roe-BauerSpecial Resource
Nick Reese
Nick ReeseSpecial Resource
Nick came to Bend in 2008 to escape the big city and raise his kids closer to nature. Nick has more than 20 years of advertising and content marketing experience working as a copywriter for ad agencies in Chicago and Bend. Today, he runs his own consultancy focusing on the content development needs of B2B technology firms. A graduate of the 2022 Academy, Nick serves on the ground and medical teams. In addition to going on SAR missions, Nick likes to mountain bike, hike, and hang out with his dog.
Taylor Bacci
Taylor BacciSpecial Resource
Taylor moved to Bend, Oregon in 2008 to pursue her Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism and Outdoor Leadership and chase her passion for snowboarding at Mt. Bachelor.

She is a graduate of the 2020 SAR Academy, is currently managing all academy recruitment, and is utilized as a Marketing Special Resource for the Foundation Board.

Outside of volunteering for SAR, she volunteers for National Ski Patrol (NSP) at Mt. Bachelor, runs her business offering marketing and copywriting support, and loves riding her mountain bike with her Border Collie, Tango, in tow.