With a deep respect for organizational values and culture and a commitment to social justice, I provide relationship-based training, facilitation, and support for people working to put missions into action. I help organizations and individuals as they grow, make decisions, share their expertise, and change our communities and the world.
For ten years, I served as the Executive Director of Write Around Portland, an organization providing community-based writing workshops in hospitals, schools, prisons, social service agencies, and shelters. I led strategic planning to expand and strengthen programs and grow audiences to meet demand; developed and refined the workshop curriculum; trained and supported more than 250 volunteer workshop facilitators; and enlisted the support of hundreds of donors and volunteers annually.
During my tenure, I developed and engaged a dedicated board and staff and solidified and diversified funding, achieving best practices in nonprofit finance and sustainability. Prior to Write Around Portland, I worked in Missouri and Oregon in progressive electoral and legislative politics at the local, state, and federal levels; in issue advocacy and coalition building; and in the labor movement. My roles included Political and Communications Director, Program Director, and Organizer. As a volunteer, I have served on numerous nonprofit boards and committees. My current service includes: - Board Member, Safety and Justice Oregon - Essay Judge, Al Forthan Memorial Scholarship - Weekly volunteer, VOA-Oregon’s Men’s Residential Center, an addiction treatment facility for men in the criminal justice system I hold a degree in African-American Studies with a minor in Art History from Washington University in St. Louis. A Midwesterner by birth and at heart, I write, run, read, and live in Portland, Oregon, USA. Portland is on the traditional territories of the Chinook, Cowlitz, and Clackamas People. 🏳️🌈 You can refer to me as Robyn or she/her. |