Our Leaders
We bring different perspectives to the table, but we’re united by a love for purposeful work and innovation in the field of chemistry
Dr Allen Erickson
Allen earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Purdue University in 1981. He then worked as a chemist at Crown Zellerbach. Starting Lacamas Laboratories in Portland in 1985, the company has enjoyed steady growth under his direction.
Founder, President, CEO
Mack Young began his career at Lacamas Laboratories in 2000 as a Chemical Operator and worked his way up to Vice President of Manufacturing. Today, he oversees production, EH&S, maintenance, logistics, and engineering for the custom chemical manufacturer. With more than two decades of experience in chemical manufacturing, Mack brings a hands-on, operations-focused approach to leadership.
Vice President of ManufacturingMack Young
Chris joined Lacamas in 2025 as Plant Manager for the Albany, OR site with over 20 years of experience in the chemical industry. Past roles have included plant management, engineering, and project leadership positions. Chris is responsible for site integration, scaling operations, and ensuring safe, environmentally compliant, and financially sound performance of the Albany location. Chris holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Oregon State University and is currently working towards earning an MBA at Boston University. Chris enjoys skiing and hunting big game in his spare time.
Albany Plant ManagerChris Renfro
Jim has been at his current position for 15 years, working on developing new chemical manufacturing projects. An Oregon native, Jim got his B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Oregon, his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Notre Dame, with postdoctoral experience at Pfizer's laboratories in La Jolla, CA. He is a councilor for the Portland Section of the American Chemical Society and a CrossFit athlete.
Business Development ManagerDr Jim Tung
After obtaining a Ph. D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Vermont under the tutelage A.Paul Krapcho, Michael spent 18 years as a Senior Scientist in both discovery and process development, at a large CRO in New York. During that time, he was the lead chemist for the process development of eFT508, a potent, highly selective MNK1/MNK inhibitor. He came to Lacamas in 2018 to take on the role of Chief Technology Officer. In that role, he is responsible for synthetic chemistry, process development and quality control. Since moving to the west coast, he finds himself exploring the beautiful coast and wine regions in his spare time.
Chief Technology OfficerDr Michael Ellis
Kevin joined Lacamas in 2022 as the Quality Assurance Manager for the Portland site. With over 20 years in the aerospace industry past roles include quality control inspector and quality assurance auditor.
Kevin now oversees both sites including all aspects of the Quality Management System.
In his free time Kevin enjoys the outdoors fishing and hunting.
Director of Quality AssuranceKevin Kirchgraber
Board of Directors
Dr Allen Erickson
John Garrison
George Watkins
Dr Mike Middal
Sally Workman
Dr Marta Pazos
Dr Charles Cook
Bob Walde
Dallas Thomsen