About Us

Our People: The Friends Behind the Railway

Our Story

Who We Are

Friends of the Washington Park and Zoo Railway was established as a nonprofit organization registered in Oregon in 2018.

The Friends of the Washington Park and Zoo Railway are neighbors, volunteers, rail and geology experts, and citizens of our region who love the Zoo Railway and want it to run again to the Rose Garden.

Our Purpose

Mission Statement

The specific purpose of Friends of Washington Park and Zoo Railway is for the preservation, repair, secured ongoing operation, and the ecological restoration of the full Washington Park and Zoo Railway that runs between the Oregon Zoo and the International Rose Test Garden. Our organization throughout this process will be guided by the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

FWPZR Board of Directors Preview

Leadership

Board of Directors

Kathy Goeddel

President

Kathy is on the board of the Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association and a member of the Concerned Citizens. In 2022 she won the AARP Oregon Andrus Award for Community Service for her work in the AARP Tax-Aide and MFS-CASH Oregon VITA Programs and is the Assistant State Coordinator for the Oregon Tax-Aide.
Aaron Wigod

Vice President

Aaron is currently Vice President of Marathon Acquisition & Development, Inc., a real estate development firm located in Wilsonville, Oregon. Occupationally he spends most of his time developing, financing, and constructing multi-family and mixed-use real estate developments. Aaron also serves as general legal counsel for Marathon Acquisition & Development, Inc., Marathon Construction Services, LLC, and Marathon Management, Inc.
Patricia Granum

Treasurer

Patricia Granum is the President of Co-Operation, a leading organization in Oregon dedicated to fostering collaborative business and community initiatives. With a strong background in strategic leadership, economic development, and cooperative enterprise, Patricia has been instrumental in driving sustainable growth and strengthening partnerships within the region.
Arlen Sheldrake

Secretary

Arlen, retired after 35 years in the IT business. Active volunteer with the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, and the Pacific Northwest Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. A 50+ year resident of the Oregon Zoo adjacent Sylvan-Highlands Neighborhood.
Kristi Wuttig

Board Member

Kristi Wuttig is the Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association Board Co-President. She is a past NWNW Coalition Board Director. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, having worked on television dramas and documentaries. She volunteers at her children’s schools, co-producing theater productions in her spare time.
Melissa Darby

Board Member

Melissa is on the research faculty in the Anthropology Department at Portland State University. Darby has worked for over forty years as an archaeologist and historian. She is the author of Thunder Go North, the Hunt for Sir Francis Drake’s Fair & Good Bay, which presents the case that Francis Drake and his crew in the Golden Hind landed on the Oregon Coast, where they camped for most of the summer in 1579.