THE OREGON EXTENSION
SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE FIRE UP YOUR MIND
Hailing from all corners of the country, OE faculty and staff have at the core of their work a deep love for this place and the students that join us here.
THE PEOPLE
WHO WE ARE
Kelton (Tad) Cobb (Ph.D. University of Iowa) joined the faculty of the Oregon Extension in the fall of 2011. He has taught Christian theology, church history, and comparative religions at Wesleyan University, St. Joseph’s University, and Hartford Seminary. He grew up in Colorado, but has led an itinerant academic life in Oregon, New Jersey, Iowa, Germany, and Connecticut. He has published one book called The Blackwell Guide to Theology and Popular Culture, and is currently interested in how Christianity has learned, with great difficulty, to be moral through the hard lessons of its darkest hours. He lives at Lincoln with his two sons when they occasionally return from their travels.
Cheri Larsen Hoeckley (Ph.D. UC Berkeley) joins the faculty at the OE this fall. She has taught Women Writers, Gender & Feminist Theory, Victorian Literature, the novel, and various writing classes, mostly at Westmont College. Along with her husband Chris, she has spent much of her career living with students while leading study abroad programs. Questions prompted by their travel–with and without their three now grown daughters–inform her research on Victorian women writers abroad. She’s written on the origins of the terms “expatriate” and “migrant,” and spends time wondering how we understand our connections to places. She loves long novels and bike rides.
Chris Hoeckley (Ph.D. Claremont Graduate University) looks forward to enjoying his inaugural semester at the OE this fall. Chris spent 26 years on the faculty of Westmont College where he taught philosophy and – with Cheri – led interdisciplinary off-campus programs in Ireland, Britain, and Germany. Chris’s philosophical interests include philosophy of religion, philosophy of science, and the ethics of war. At Westmont Chris also directed the Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts, helping students and faculty deepen their understanding of liberal arts education, and engaging the liberal arts with pressing social issues. Chris loves cycling, Cheri, their daughters, and endless stands of trees.
Will Lake (M.A. Southern Oregon University, expected graduation June 2026) is both a Hope College ('19) and OE ('18) alum. Will came to work at the OE in 2019 and has served in many different roles since, including as farmer, maintenance guy, forest crew, carpenter, recruiter, backpacking guide, student life, and instructor. His academic interests are human development, group dynamics, mental health, existential psychotherapy and psychology. Besides working at the OE, Will has worked at ski resorts in Montana and lived in Madrid, Spain as an English teacher. In his spare time Will loves to play guitar, go backpacking, ride his motorcycle, and hang out with his big dog, Woody.
Lindsey White (Sustainability Coordinator) is an Eastern Mennonite University (‘23) and OE (‘22) alum where she studied environmental science and environmental justice. Lindsey has worked as a biological botany technician for Shenandoah National Park, an environmental compliance technician, a garden director for an environmental education center, led backpacking trips with middle & high schoolers in Colorado, a poll worker, a barista, a goat sitter, substitute teacher & more. In her free time, Lindsey enjoys rummaging through the dumpsters looking for glorious dumpster finds, spending time outside in whatever capacity possible (hiking, biking, running, backpacking, ultimate frisbee, slacklining, camping, pickleball, soccer), working on a project, diving deep into a conversation, playing games or sharing a meal.
Anna Reside graduated from Yale University in 2021 with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Since then, she has led a peripatetic life conducting seasonal stream ecology work all across the West. Currently, she is pursuing a graduate degree in the Idaho State University Stream Ecology Center with an emphasis in Biology Education. Anna first came to the OE as a farm intern, and has served as a co-instructor for the Forest Management skills track since 2023. In her free time, you are likely to find Anna on some misadventure involving a boat, a bike, a rope, or a backpack.
Ruby Hoeschen (Student Life Assistant) is a St. Olaf College (‘25) and OE (‘22) alum. She has a BA in environmental studies and spent much of her undergrad working as a peer educator and substance coach, and was a photography TA. Ruby has done various odd jobs including fish processing in Alaska, working concerts in the Twin Cities, assisting a philanthropist, and scooping ice cream behind the old-fashioned soda fountain at her family’s independent pharmacy! In her free time, Ruby makes art, reads far too many books, plays pick-up volleyball, spoils her cat, Binx (OE ‘22 alum), and spends time laughing with her people.
Lela Miatke (Culinary Instructor) graduated from Southern Oregon University in 2024 with a degree in Biology, Health Sciences, and Anthropology. She currently works as a farm-to-school coordinator, a chef, and a recipe developer, as well as lending her food preservation and kitchen knowledge to the OE every fall. Having grown up at the Oregon Extension, she has a special connection to the Cascade mountains and knows every edible plant around! In her free time, she enjoys playing the fiddle, singing songs, backpacking, reading cookbooks, and making dinner for her OE neighbors.
Patrick Creighton is the OE’s builder, carpenter, master wood splitter and resident friend to our forest wildlife. He spends 8 months a year building homes and cafes in Sonoma, California, then joins us every fall to make certain the OE facilities run smoothly, that swings are swinging, snow is plowed and water from our spring is flowing—and gets our students involved in maintaining the physical plant. In his free time, he does some remarkable audio engineering, photography and music making.