People
Our current staff & directors
Staff
Program Officer
Communications Coordinator
Interim Executive Director and Director of Finance and Operations
Communications and Development Coordinator
Director of Programs
Development Director
Communications Director
Editor of Oregon Humanities magazine
Office Manager
Program Coordinator/Course Director
Directors
Chair
Vice Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
About Us.
Oregon Humanities connects Oregonians to ideas that transform communities.
If you’ve ever learned something that motivated you to write a letter to the editor, volunteer for a nonprofit, start a book group, talk to a neighbor about something you don’t see eye to eye on, or treat someone more compassionately, you know how powerful ideas can be in changing your life and your community.
At Oregon Humanities, we bring Oregonians together to share ideas, to listen, think, and grow. We hope that this experience gives people pause, changes them, and helps them move forward, because a thoughtful, open, curious, active Oregon is also a healthy Oregon.
We value:
- Curiosity
- Creativity
- Inquiry
- Participation
- Openness
- Inclusiveness
Learn more about us.
Inside
Staff
- Annie Kaffen
- Program Officer
- a.kaffen@oregonhumanities.org | 503-241-0543 x116
Annie joined the staff of Oregon Humanities in 2007. She coordinates the Conversation Project and provides support for Public and Responsive Program Grants. She is constantly amazed at the great work being done by nonprofits statewide. Annie lives in Northeast Portland with her husband and enjoys cooking, gardening, and laughing out loud to British comedy.
- Ben Waterhouse
- Communications Coordinator
- b.waterhouse@oregonhumanities.org | (503) 241-0543 x122
Ben joined Oregon Humanities in 2012. He grew up in Scio, Oregon, attended Lewis & Clark College, and spent six years as an editor and theater critic at the Portland newspaper Willamette Week. He lives in Southeast Portland with his wife, Deanna.
- Carole Shellhart
- Interim Executive Director and Director of Finance and Operations
- c.shellhart@oregonhumanities.org | 503-241-0543 x113
Carole’s position with Oregon Humanities combines the love of ideas, words, and logic that help define her. Following an upbringing in small-town Iowa, Carole graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute and started a balancing act of art, financial career, marriage, and motherhood. Twenty-five years ago, she moved to Oregon, where she fell in love with the varied landscape, met her husband, and started her family.
- Eloise Holland
- Communications and Development Coordinator
- e.holland@oregonhumanities.org | (503) 241-0543 x123
Eloise joined Oregon Humanities in 2011 and supports both the development and communications directors. She received her undergraduate degree from Emory University in Atlanta and her MFA in creative writing from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. She lives in Southeast Portland with her partner, Melissa.
- Jennifer Allen
- Director of Programs
- j.allen@oregonhumanities.org | 503-241-0543 x118
Jennifer has been with Oregon Humanities since 2004, first as education program director and currently as director of programs. She oversees all Oregon Humanities programming and is the primary contact for Think & Drink, Public Program Grants, and organizational partnerships. Jennifer lives in Northeast Portland but hits the road, and rivers, as often as possible.
- Kamla Hurst
- Development Director
- k.hurst@oregonhumanities.org | 503-241-0543 x111
Kamla Hurst joined Oregon Humanities in October 2009, bringing nearly ten years of experience raising funds for the arts and humanities in Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. As development director, she oversees all of the organization’s fundraising activities, including grant writing, special events, and donor and foundation relationships. She lives in North Portland with her husband, Mark, and sons, Lukas and Oscar.
- Kathleen Holt
- Communications Director
Editor of Oregon Humanities magazine
- k.holt@oregonhumanities.org | 503-241-0543 x115
Kathleen has been with Oregon Humanities since 2001, first as the editor of Oregon Humanities magazine and then, in 2007, becoming communications director. In addition to editing the magazine, she oversees all of the organization’s communications efforts, including printed and online material, audience and media outreach, and marketing activities. She lives in Southeast Portland with her husband, Alex, and their young children, Stella and Emmett, in a century-old, always-under-construction house.
- Kristy Athens
- Office Manager
- k.athens@oregonhumanities.org | (503) 241-0543 x110
Kristy has contributed to Oregon Humanities magazine since 2003 and joined the staff as office manager in 2011. She supports the executive director, board, and staff, and coordinates the State of Oregon’s Poet Laureate program. She is the author of Get Your Pitchfork On! The Real Dirt on Country Living, from Process Media.
- Sarah Van Winkle
- Program Coordinator/Course Director
- s.vanwinkle@oregonhumanities.org | 503-241-0543 x112
Sarah Van Winkle has worked at Oregon Humanities since 2002, during which time she has supported programs by managing the office and been the project assistant for the re-publication of The First Oregonians. Sarah is currently the course director for Humanity in Perspective. She and her husband, Thomas, live in Southeast Portland with their dog, Persephone, and child, Penelope Anne.
Directory
Links for this section
From the blog
Wendy Willis's Winter Reading List
December 13 2012
Kathleen Holt
Wendy Willis, author of Blood Sisters of the Republic, has an ambitious winter reading list: “On my nightstand are the beautiful books of two friends—Kim Stafford’s 100 Tricks Every Boy Can Do: A Memoir and... More
Jewel Lansing's Favorite Place to Read
December 11 2012
Kathleen Holt
Jewel Lansing, coauthor with Fred Leeson of Multnomah: The Tumultuous Story of Oregon’s Most Populous County, says, “My favorite place to read is an overstuffed chair overlooking green lawn and trees where... More
James Bernard Frost on Dan DeWeese
December 10 2012
Kathleen Holt
James Bernard Frost, author of A Very Minor Prophet, confesses: “My current man crush is on Dan DeWeese, whose short story collection Disorder recently hit bookstores. No one writes about males and conflict... More
Lois Leveen on Reading Alice Munro
December 07 2012
Kathleen Holt
Lois Leveen, author of TThe Secrets of Mary Bowser, says this of her winter reading plans:
“During dark December I’ll be curling up with Alice Munro’s new book, Dear Life: Stories. I don’t write like her. I... More
Happiness Project Lifts Off in La Grande
December 06 2012
Eloise Holland
After participating in Oregon Humanities’ Idea Lab Summer Institute, high school senior Lauren Babcock wondered how people in her community would measure their own happiness.
Inspired by artist Jonathan... More
Visit our blog.
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Roland Barthes
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Virginia Woolf
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Geraldine Brooks
Picked by Carole Shellhart, Finance Manager
Aaron Woolf
Picked by Cara Ungar-Gutierrez, Executive Director
Wim Wenders
Picked by Jennifer Allen, Director of Programs
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