Jim Wheaton
Board President
Jim is a long-time resident of Newberg. He values community partnerships while creating lasting relationships within our city. He is one of the founding members on the Board of Directors for the Newberg-Dundee Police Foundation. He is also the founder of the Annual Neighborhood Boxcar Race, which has strengthened family connections in South Newberg for more than a decade.
By trade, Jim is deeply invested in local law enforcement. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminology & Criminal Justice from Portland State University. He has held positions such as Corrections Deputy, Patrol Deputy, Patrol Corporal, Detective, Patrol Sergeant, Patrol Lieutenant, and Police Chief of the North Plains Police Department. He also has experience as a combat and firearms instructor, SWAT Operator and Assistant Team Leader, and Incident Commander. He is currently in command of a world class law enforcement training center. Jim’s unique blend of experience and core values makes him a valued asset to our team, our city's police department, and our community as a whole.
David Bonn
Board Vice President
David is a lifelong Oregonian and has been a part of the foundation since 2019. He has always believed in giving back and volunteering within his community. In addition to serving on the foundation board David serves on the board of the Oregon Peace Officer Association.
David has been involved in the law enforcement community since 2006 when he started as a volunteer police cadet in Hillsboro. Since then he has performed the duties of patrol officer, street crimes detective, canine handler, police training officer, and sergeant. He currently works in community outreach.
Debra Bridges
Board Secretary & Interim Treasurer
Debra Bridges has been the Director of the Yamhill County District Attorney’s Crime Victim Services Office for the past 15 years. This position allows her to advocate for crime victims on a daily basis in the areas of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Child Abuse and Homicide.
Debra has more than 25 years of experience in human service delivery, advocacy, management of non-profit agencies and training.
She has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Indiana University and is a graduate of an extensive list of trainings and leadership institutes in the areas of needs, rights and concerns of victims including the Oregon State Victim Assistance Academy, the Office for Victims of Crime Leadership Institute, and the National Organization for Victims Assistance (NOVA).
Debra is a member of numerous Yamhill County and state-wide organizations dedicated to improving the delivery of service to Oregon Crime Victims; including the Oregon Department of Justice Crime Victims’ Rights Compliance Project Advisory Committee.
Debra conducts workshops and trainings throughout Oregon in the areas of crisis response, homicide response, child abuse prevention, victimology and victims’ rights. She has testified numerous times before the Oregon legislature on issues related to victims’ rights and services. Her passion remains in assisting victims and she continues to dedicate herself to increasing public awareness regarding the needs and rights of crime victims.
Debra lives in rural Dundee with her husband John and their two dogs. Their two daughters are in college and are a house divided with one Beaver and one Duck. The entire Bridges Family volunteers for numerous organizations through out Yamhill County.
Jeff Kosmicki
Ex-officio Board member
Jeff graduated from George Fox University in 1993. While in college he was working at a local Newberg restaurant as a part time assistant manager. Soon after graduating from George Fox, a full time opportunity opened up and he was hired as the assistant manager where he worked for about four years until becoming employed by the city.
In 1997 Jeff was hired as a full time police officer. In 1998 he was moved into a detective position primarily responsible for narcotics investigations. During this assignment the police department decided to partner with the county wide drug team known as YCINT.
In 2003 while assigned to the YCINT team, Jeff was promoted to patrol sergeant. He was assigned to patrol for nearly three years until he was reassigned to supervise the YCINT team for a year. In 2007 Jeff was promoted to Lieutenant. Operationally this assignment included supervising the Special Investigations Unit, Evidence Facility and the city’s Animal Control Division.
Other duties and responsibilities include City and County Emergency Management, Accreditation, Police Policy Manual, Police Officer Hiring Process, Yamhill County Major Crimes Response Team, Public Relations Team, and the departments Public Information Officer.
Jeff is also a graduate of the 221st FBI National Academy session in Quantico, Virginia. Part of the benefits of attending this training is building relationships with Federal Law Enforcement Agencies. In 2010 Jeff was promoted to Captain, since April 2020 he has been serving as the Chief of Police.
Cameron Ferguson
EX-OFFICIO, Board member
Cameron has been with the Newberg-Dundee Police Department for the last 10 years. He was promoted to Patrol Sergeant in 2016, and is currently assigned as the Captain.
Cameron graduated from Oakland University in Michigan with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Management.
Originally from Michigan, Cameron moved to Newberg in 2009 after falling in love with the area and the City of Newberg. He is married with two young daughters.
David Brooks
Board member
David Brooks has been a Newberg resident since 1990 and has been the IT Director for the City of Newberg since 2002. David began volunteering for the Newberg-Dundee Police Department in 2003 as a reserve officer, and works in the Detectives Unit as a Computer Crimes Investigator.
Brittney Jeffries
Board member
Carson Wheaton
Board member
Carson has lived in the Newberg area his entire life. He has been involved with wrestling, skiing, lacrosse, cross-country running, and basketball. At 17 years old, he became the youngest and first junior community member on the Newberg Dundee Police Foundation Board of Directors. He places a high value on giving back to his community and has been a part of several local philanthropic initiatives.
He is an honor student in a local college prep school, where he excels academically. Our community is thankful for his service.
Denise Bacon
Founder
Denise moved to Newberg in 1997 and was elected to the Newberg City Council in 2008. This has given her a unique opportunity to work closely with the department. She is proud of the work they do in the community and wants to ensure that they have all the things they need to do their jobs safely and successfully. That is why she was passionate about getting the foundation started and continues to serve as their current President. She has volunteered throughout the city working with the school district, Rotary, homeless shelter, fostering animals, and serves on many boards. Her work experience is in building strong rural Oregon communities by helping them learn community building skills while they create the things they would like to see in their communities, and she is proud to be able to do that work in Newberg, the place she calls home. ..