The process was typical with online appl handled via a outside search firm (likely a company that was on the board but don't recall). It was handled professionally and I had tremendous qualifications which I thought would at least land me on the short list when compared to the position description.
What I found out later was that the reason I didn't make the short list, despite my CV is that I did not already have a lot of contacts in Portland. Wow, talk about lack of open mindedness and/or relative nepotism. Why don't they just put that as a requirement in the appl? Why not be honest from the get go and avoid wasting people's time? Mind you, I established a similar org from scratch (build team, get funding, sponsors, etc) within 3 months of moving to a brand new city (San Diego) without knowing a single person. If that does not show evidence of walking the talk, then I don't know what does.
It just left me baffled but not bitter, really. I"m glad it did not work out because I would not want to work with that type of mindset hive.