OPRD Volunteer Abuse

Oregon Parks & Recreation Department

Director Lisa Sumption's Stewardship

THE ESCALATION RESPONSE

DEMONSTRATING INSTITUTIONAL CONFORMITY
Three days after Ryan Warren's February 9 confrontation, I demonstrated complete institutional compliance — offering deference, flexibility, and explicit commitment to conform to their expectations.
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Silence.

What I Did

Three days after being confronted alone, I sent the following email. I offered reset. I offered conformity. I offered to be a model volunteer.

What They Did

A park manager alone at the Welcome Center. No supervisor present. An hour of first-week mistakes catalogued. Every one already corrected. No warning. A new volunteer put on notice.

A 90-minute trust extraction. A 62-minute picnic table meeting where a park manager told me to chew glass and admitted on tape he had never given me the benefit of the doubt. An unidentified man sent to question me in isolation. A phone-call dismissal six days before my finish date.

A 31-minute containment phone call by the program manager. A permanent ban from every state park in Oregon, on agency letterhead, citing my public comments. Procedural silence from the director. A federal law enforcement agent and two state troopers at my gate on the anniversary.

And silence from the institution.

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

Three days after Ryan Warren confronted me alone — cataloging first-week mistakes in response to my email to Kati Baker — I sent this email.
From: Robert Samuel White
To: Logan Bliss, Kati Baker, Ryan Warren
Date: February 12, 2025
Subject: Re: Jessie M. Honeyman State Park Hosting for March 2025
Dear Ryan, Kati, and Logan:

I would like to start by saying what an honor it has been to be at Honeyman and to experience this place firsthand, and I deeply respect the energy and commitment it takes to manage a place like this.

I have had a few days to think about what happened. I would like to offer my perspective for your consideration and a possible path forward, if you'll do me the honor of considering it.

First, there was an unfortunate confluence of events. A water outage, an angry guest, a power outage, an angry guest, a new volunteer, the early morning hour, a hesitant text for clarification, and a reply that didn't quite make the volunteer feel he had his bearings here.

Next, the volunteer asserted a boundary as softly as he could and he felt it was respected and was already moving on, but the system saw it differently, and a park manager showed up at the start of his shift, without his direct supervisor for support, and this created a whole new situation.

This volunteer is new to this life, to volunteering at the state parks, and just trying to navigate it with as much care as he can possibly muster. He's not here trying to stand out or create waves of any kind. He just wants to be supported as he learns to integrate into this rhythm.

I have been worried all week. I have not seen Logan, and that feels purposeful. Because he could have put my mind at ease instantly. I would like to ask we reset. Please take the time to get to know me. I sincerely believe I can be a valuable resource to you. And I want that so much.

And my time here is so limited. If you don't want me back here next year, I will understand this. I will regret it, because I care about this place and I really thought I was building something meaningful here. But I will understand.

I have volunteer assignments lined up all year as I explore this wonderful coast. I don't want to jeopardize that. I will conform. I will recalibrate. I will be a model volunteer. I hope that you will give me that opportunity.

Sam

WHAT THIS DEMONSTRATED

This email proved institutional bad faith.
I gave them exactly what healthy institutional response would require: acknowledgment of tension, willingness to adapt, explicit commitment to their standards, and good faith request for reset.
If the February 9 exchange had actually been about operational clarity or tone—if Ryan Warren's confrontation had been legitimate supervision rather than intimidation—this email should have resolved everything.
Instead:
  • Logan Bliss elicited trust through reciprocal vulnerability, then disclosed what I shared to management.
  • Ryan Warren mocked my sexuality at the March 5 day-use meeting.
  • Kati Baker remained silent while psychological pressure escalated.
  • Allison Watson weaponized Logan's disclosures during dismissal proceedings.
This email exists in the record to prove one thing: I attempted reconciliation in good faith.
What followed was systematic targeting, identity-based weaponization, and permanent dismissal.
They had the opportunity to reset. They chose escalation instead.
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