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With a deep respect for organizational values and culture and commitment to social and racial 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. In 2020, I served as the Interim Executive Director at YWCA Clark County in Southwest Washington, helping guide the organization through leadership transition and delivering vital services in the COVID-19 pandemic. In Missouri and Oregon, I have worked 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 serve as: - Board Member, Safety and Justice Oregon - Essay Judge, Al Forthan Memorial Scholarship Fund - 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 cheer on the Trailblazers in Portland, Oregon, USA. 🏳️🌈 You can refer to me as Robyn or she/her. Portland is land occupied in Multnomah County, which rests on traditional territories of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes along the Columbia River. These Tribes and their descendants are the original stewards and protectors of these lands since time immemorial. |