Meet the SEPRD Board

District 1: Susan Coddington, Board Secretary

Su has lived in Seaside for 24 years, after moving to the area for a job opportunity from Yakima, Washington. She has a Master’s degree in Nursing and worked as an ICU nurse at Providence Seaside Hospital in Seaside.

Su became involved with SEPRD when her daughter Laura needed childcare after school. Laura did swim lessons at Sunset Pool, and after encouragement from Mary Blake, joined the swim team. While her daughter was on the swim team, Su served as a timer, swim judge, and meet director. Laura continued swimming into college and returned to Seaside to help coach the swim team. Su and her children were also involved in activities at the Bob Chisholm Community Center and Mary Blake Playhouse.

Su began using Sunset Pool as a form of physical therapy after an injury. She joined the aquatics arthritis and aerobics classes, which have been essential to her healing. After speaking about her experiences at a Board meeting, she was encouraged to apply to serve on the Board, and was appointed for District 1.

Su heads the CERT Team in Seaside, leading efforts for emergency preparedness for our community. She also provides leadership through the Cannon Beach Chorus and in teaching Sunday school.

She appreciates that the mission of the district is to inspire the entire community to engage in P.L.A.Y. (Positive Life Activities for You). “Offering recreational opportunities for everyone in our community is a noble idea,” Su said. “We all want the same thing: to stay well, healthy, and safe.”

District 2: Celeste Bodner, Board Vice-President

Celeste grew up in Seaside, attending Seaside and Gearhart Elementary Schools, then Broadway Middle School. She moved with her family to Portland during her high school years, but maintained connections and a family beach house in Seaside. In 2003, Celeste and her husband Jeff returned to Seaside permanently.

Celeste was inspired to serve on the Sunset Empire Park & Recreation District Board of Directors because she believes PLAY is at the center of a community’s well-being. “I attribute so much to what I gained from playing sports as a kid, including my current career working with youth.”

Celeste learned to swim at the Sunset Pool. When her children were younger, they both participated in the child care and after school activities offered through the youth programs. Celeste spent many years playing water polo at the pool, and then relied on lap swim and the warm pool to rehabilitate after multiple knee surgeries.

Twenty years ago, Celeste founded FosterClub, the national network for young people in foster care, and currently serves as Executive Director. FosterClub serves over 30,000 young people across the country annually, and Celeste is proud the organization’s national headquarters is right here in Seaside.

Outside of serving on the SEPRD Board, Celeste enjoys playing golf, sand dollar hunting with her two dogs, travel, and art.

“My vision for the future of SEPRD is a vibrant hub for our community that builds connections and promotes recreation for all ages, engages young people in activities that set them on track for a lifetime of wellness, and invites visitors to PLAY (and spend their tourist dollars!) in our area,” said Celeste.

District 3: Michael Hinton

Michael Hinton has lived in Seaside since 1995, and has been heavily involved in the community. He has served on the SEPRD Board of Directors for 19 years, and has over 45 years of experience in appointed and elected positions for local City and County Park advisory boards.

As a youth, Michael served as acting Superintendent of Parks & Recreation for Columbus, Ohio, participating in Youth in Government Day, gaining an overview of building and managing playgrounds and fields. This experience in model government formed an interest he carried into his adult life.

As a competitive swimmer, Michael also has experience with aquatics as a certified lifeguard and waterfront instructor for the YMCA, as well as Range Master and archery instructor. As an employee of SEPRD, Michael taught a ceramics class for preschoolers. He has a Master of Fine Arts and has taught painting and print-making classes for the Clatsop Community College Art Center.

As a 4H leader, he formed Dough Hooks, an afterschool Food and Nutrition baking club for young people, encouraging competition and success at the County and State Fairs. He has personally won Grand Champion awards at Fair for his own baking.

Appointed to the Clatsop County Cultural Coalition, Michael cofounded and wrote bylaws and created art posters to advertise local grant opportunities.

Mike was a former Chair member of the Commission on Children and Families for at least 12 years. Throughout his years of volunteering, Michael has been an advocate for Positive Youth Development programs. His vision for the District is to meet the challenge of expanding programming and involvement for our youth and families at the newly acquired Sunset Recreation Center and to work closely with the City of Seaside, Seaside School District, and other organizations.

Mike created the mosaic and ceramics in the lobby of the Sunset Pool pavement, as well as restoration of the Seaside Salmon at Goodman Park, Seaside.

Michael is an avid mushroom collector and enjoys foraging for wild foods and gardening in the Community Gardens.

District 4: Kyle Gorman

Kyle has lived in Seaside since 2014 after retiring as the executive officer of Clackamas County Fire District #1 in the Portland area. He began serving on the SEPRD board in 2022 and has decades of experience serving on volunteer boards and commissions.

Kyle grew up in Minnesota and trained as a paramedic. His work took him from Minneapolis to Duluth and eventually to Portland where he became active in the design of EMS systems. At Clackamas Fire District, he was responsible for the development of the fire agency’s EMS program, eventually seeing Clackamas County awarded as the most heart-safe community in the world. As an early adopter of the fire industry’s accreditation program, Kyle became one of a few on-site evaluators, and assessed military and civilian fire agencies not only across the United States, but abroad. He has served as chair of the National Fire Protection Association’s technical committee on EMS, creating standards for EMS system design and community health care, and was the vice chair of the National EMS Advisory Committee—providing advice to the federal government through the Secretary of Transportation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in quantitative analysis and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

Kyle was immersed in recreation from childhood. A competitive swimmer and athlete, Kyle has participated in recreation activities all his life, even meeting his wife while playing volleyball. He believes that a robust recreation program serves not only individuals, but also makes the community healthier and more resilient. He sees the role of SEPRD as not only a place where recreation activities are conducted, but also as an advocate for recreation of all forms in the community.

Kyle and his wife, Charlene, enjoy all of the recreational opportunities that the beach has to offer. In particular, they enjoy walking their rapscallion Labrador, Maggie, and living vicariously through the exploits of their five grandchildren.

District 5: Katharine Parker, Board President

Katharine moved to Seaside in 2003 with her husband. They lived here until 2012, when he received a promotion, and moved back in 2016. Katharine was inspired to serve on the board because it is important to her to give back to her community. “Since my daughters were born I have been heavily involved in the programming at SEPRD and when I learned that there was an opening I thought I could put my passion for parks and rec to use,” she said. She has served since December 2019.

Katharine is a high school graduate and has worked several jobs and volunteered with several organizations that she believes make her uniquely qualified to serve on the board. “I worked and volunteered for the Oregon Zoo, which is a government run organization. I volunteered on the board of the Cannon Beach Children's Center and Preschool which provided childcare to a small community. I served on the board of Friends of Haystack Rock which worked with the City to provide education and conservation. I worked for Columbia Bank for seven years, moving up from Teller to Branch Officer,” she said.

Katharine is the Head Secretary for Seaside High School. In addition to volunteering for SEPRD, she serves on the Pacific Ridge Elementary PTO. She enjoys spending time with her family. “We love the beach and parks around us. We enjoy bike riding at Ft Stevens, taking our dog for a walk at Ft Clatsop. Before COVID, we spent a lot of time at swimming lessons and start smart sports,” Katharine said.

As to her vision for the future of SEPRD, Katharine said, “I envision a place for our community to come together. I see more options for programming. More indoor recreating space for all ages. I want to see SEPRD blossom into a cornerstone of Seaside.”