Staff
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) is the Executive Director at Children First for Oregon. Robin is responsible for the strategic direction and growth of the organization. She oversees management of personnel, fiscal policy & budgeting, fund raising, policy and program development, advocacy, legal and fiduciary compliance, public relations, networking and board development.
Prior to joining Children First, Robin spent over 20 years in the corporate world including 11 years at Fred Meyer. She was executive director of The Fred Meyer Foundation from 1998 – 2001 where she developed and implemented the initial grant making strategies and policies for the foundation. As a long-time community volunteer, Robin has served as president of the parent organization at the elementary and middle school level, chaired a district-wide coalition of parent leaders, served on the board of several local Portland nonprofit agencies and been a reading mentor for The Oregon Children Foundation’s SMART (Start Making A Reader Today) program. Robin graduated from Ithaca College and pursued graduate studies at San Francisco State University and the State University of California at Los Angeles. A native New Yorker, Robin spent 13 years in California and has been in Oregon for over 18 years and considers it home.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), Policy Manager, is responsible for implementing the organization’s Fostering Success initiative. She aged out of Oregon’s foster care system at 18, and went on to graduate Cum Laude from the University of Oregon with a BA in Spanish and has been an advocate for child welfare reform for nearly 10 years. She represents Children First on the Child Welfare Advisory Committee (including the Future Issues Workgroup, and Chairing the Safety in Foster Care Subcommittee). Pamela founded and acts as Program Director for the Oregon Foster Youth Connection, a program of Children First that brings together current and former foster youth to improve the system through advocacy, activism, and leadership. She also volunteers as a Board member for Bridge Meadows, an inter-generational community for adoptive families and elders, and as a Steering Committee member for A Home Within, a network of volunteer mental health practitioners committed to providing emotional support to current and former foster youth. In the past, Pamela volunteered as a Board member for the Coalition of Advocates for Equal Access for Girls and has been a spokesperson for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). In her spare time she enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, traveling, and wondering the aisles of Powell’s for the next great story.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), Policy Manager, is responsible for implementing the organization’s Strengthening Families initiative.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), Data & Design Manager, is responsible for coordinating all of Children First’s techonology, evaluation / quality assurance projects and design. He oversees our annual data products: from data collection to design and editing, covering both traditional and online publication and distribution. Proficient in HTML, CSS, MySQL, PHP and JavaScript, Matt feels that these technologies are always just tools in service of better communication. Matt got his professional start in the field of design and online interaction while employed at the Working Class Acupuncture Clinic in Portland. As a healthcare practitioner and designer for all publications, both traditional and new media, he was able to further the clinic’s basic social justice mission. After four years of playing these dual roles, he decided to give his technological role top billing. Matt received his undergraduate degree in Religious Studies from Indiana University, and his MAOM (Master of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine) degree from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), Foundation Relations Manager, is responsible for coordinating Children First’s grant reports and proposals. With over four years of experience in development and donor relations, Deb is also the nicest person in the office, and can be relied upon to provide encouragement, sympathy and a great recipe for home-made marshmallows. Deb received her undergraduate degree in History from Reed College. When not at Children First, Deb can be found reading, crafting, and contemplating gender studies and the local food economy.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), Donor Relations Manager, is responsible for managing Children First’s individual giving.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), Communications Coordinator, earned her Master’s degree in journalism at the University of Oregon and her work has appeared in Ms. magazine, Portland Monthly magazine, and Eugene Weekly among other titles.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), Oregon Foster Youth Connection Program Manager, works under the direction of the Oregon Foster Youth Connection Program Director.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), Oregon Foster Youth Connection Program Coordinator, works under the direction of the Oregon Foster Youth Connection Program Manager to support the extremely important work of the Oregon Foster Youth Connection.
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), Office Coordinator, works with the Executive Director to ensure that the office is functioning smoothly and efficiently.
