Staff
Adam Davis
Executive Director
Pronouns: he/him/his
(503) 241-0543 x114
Adam Davis has been the executive director of Oregon Humanities since 2013 and directed the Center for Civic Reflection before that. Davis has trained thousands of discussion leaders across the country, facilitated hundreds of community and workplace discussions, moderated onstage conversations with community-builders, office-holders, and authors, and edited books including Taking Action and The Civically Engaged Reader. He currently sits on the boards of the High Desert Partnership and the Cultural Advocacy Coalition. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago, and he used to lead wilderness trail crews in the Pacific Northwest.
Crystal Akins Meneses
Fields Artist Fellowship Coordinator
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Crystal is an interdisciplinary creative who activates community music and art through activism and spiritual care. Learn more about her work and arts nonprofit at activateartsnow.com. She received one of the first round of Fields Artist Fellowships in 2019 and has coordinated the program since 2021.
Jennifer Alkezweeny
Program Director
Pronouns: she/her/hers
(503) 241-0543 x123
Jennifer joined Oregon Humanities in 2020. She provides leadership for the organization's vision, supports the program team, and collaborates on possible new initiatives. Her career has been dedicated to connecting people to their communities and pursuing their goals. She is a longtime volunteer with the Dougy Center for Grieving Children and Families. In her free time she can be found kayaking, baking, hiking, gardening, knitting, and dreaming of living in a floating home.
Rachel Bernstein
Program and Training Manager
Pronouns: she/her/hers
r.bernstein@oregonhumanities.org
(503) 241-0543 x124
Rachel joined Oregon Humanities in September 2015. She works to build and strengthen organizational partnerships and to recruit, train, and support discussion facilitators. For the past decade, as a political and nonprofit professional, her work has focused on building the civic capacity and engagement of coalitions, organizations, groups, and individuals. She can be found bouncing around Portland, exploring the Northwest's natural beauty, and rooting for her alma mater, Michigan State Spartans, with her partner, Dani, and their ninety-five-pound dog, Asher.
Keiren Bond
Executive Producer of The Detour
Pronouns: she/her/hers
thedetour@oregonhumanities.org
Keiren has worked with Oregon Humanities since April 2021. Keiren has been producing and facilitating conversation-based projects for community media organisations since 2011. Outside of Oregon Humanities, Keiren supports grantmaking at the Oregon Community Foundation, is a recovery mentor for the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa, and spends long days exploring Oregon's mountains and deserts by foot.
Brianna Brawley
HIP Teaching Assistant
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Brianna loves community-centered work and has found herself deeply invested in liberatory and transformative education. Brianna is an avid gardener and educator who draws on the wisdom of living systems as teachers. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, reading, baking, going for walks, and spending time with her kitten. She is a first-year graduate student in the Portland State University Leadership for Sustainability Education program and is excited to work with Oregon Humanities as the HIP Teaching Assistant! In her time with the HIP program, Brianna hopes to help students focus on their personal leadership journeys, emphasizing self-advocacy, values-driven work, and relationship building.
Karina Briski
Communications Associate
Pronouns: she/her/hers
(503)241-0543 x120
Karina joined Oregon Humanities in April 2021. She brings a range of experience spanning work in digital media, journalism, hospitality, and event production. Her interests in supporting community arts and education access have led her to work with numerous organizations in Seattle, New York City, and Portland. She grew up in northern Minnesota and has lived in Oregon for five years, recently completing an MFA in Fiction at Portland State University. She is a volunteer English language tutor at PCC and enjoys finding ways to gather with people through food and writing.
Sarah Gill
Salesforce Administrator
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Sarah has been working in education and social justice organizations since before she could vote. She has been a Salesforce admin for more than ten years and consults with small organizations in addition to working part time for Oregon Humanities. She is thrilled to have joined this team in March 2019 and is constantly impressed with the thoughtful and intelligent people that make up the Oregon Humanities staff. Sarah lives in Vancouver, WA with three magical cats and one brilliant dog.
Adam Green
Deputy Director
Pronouns: he/him/his
(503) 241-0543 x111
Adam joined Oregon Humanities in 2016. He develops and implements the organization's comprehensive fundraising strategy. Adam has spent his entire career working and volunteering with nonprofit organizations focused on community health, social services, and civic engagement. When not in the office, Adam enjoys spending time with his partner, Jason, and their five-year-old Italian greyhound rescue, Kobe.
Rozzell Medina
Program Manager
Pronouns: he/him/his
(503) 409-9134
Rozzell grew up in and around Choctaw, Oklahoma; San Francisco, California; and San Antonio, Texas. He has lived in Portland for about twenty years, though he loves wandering off now and then, mostly to visit ancestral homelands in Mexico and New Mexico. Prior to joining Oregon Humanities in 2019, he founded and directed the creative learning project Public Social University, which transformed art galleries, cafes, museums, and public parks into temporary community free schools. He earned a master’s degree in educational leadership and policy with an emphasis on regenerative ecological and cultural learning from Portland State University. There, he also instructed several interdisciplinary studies courses and coordinated the Chiron Studies program, which enabled students to create, design, and instruct official, for-credit classes. In addition to managing programs and serving as the lead instructor of Humanity in Perspective at Oregon Humanities, he is the festival director of the Portland EcoFilm Festival.
Ez Meza
Finance Assistant
Pronouns: they/them/their
(503) 241-0543
Ez is a full-time student at Portland State University pursuing a BA-Accounting degree with Honors. They plan to pursue CPA licensure once graduated and hope to one day dive into the world of forensics and nonprofit accounting. When they're not working/studying/in class, they enjoy volunteering at Our House of Portland, watching soccer matches from all around the world, baking, cooking, listening to audio books, mid-range cycling, meditation, and walking their Golden-Doodle, Jet.
Alexandra Powell Bugden
Communications Associate
Pronouns: she/her/hers
alexandra@oregonhumanities.org
503-241-0543, ext. 116
Alexandra is a writer, editor, and project manager who joined Oregon Humanities in July 2021. She brings experience in communications and marketing for nonprofit organizations focused on education, engaged scholarship, and environmental justice. She grew up in New South Wales, Australia, and now lives in Southeast Portland.
Carolina Rios
Development Assistant
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Carolina joined Oregon Humanities in January 2022. Originally from California, she has spent most of her life in Oregon and graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor's degree in International Studies. She brings experiences of nonprofit program management and volunteer coordination. Carolina is excited to work with Oregon Humanities to find a place within the Portland community where she can make a difference. At present, she’s enjoying listening to podcasts, reading, and spending time with her friends and family.
Dawn Smallman
Grants and Programs Coordinator
Pronouns: she/her/hers
d.smallman@oregonhumanities.org
(503) 241-0543 x110
Dawn coordinates Oregon Humanities' grants offerings and supports existing and new programs. She joined Oregon Humanities in April 2021. Dawn's work history includes crafting media stories about culture and nature for exhibits in public lands visitor centers and museums; serving as the director of the Portland EcoFilm Festival; and working as a community engagement manager and administrator for nonprofit fiscal management programs. Dawn sits on the board of Open Signal. She enjoys spending her free time growing food for her family and for others.
Lucy Solares-Steger
Program Assistant
Pronouns: she/her/hers
l.solares@oregonhumanities.org
(503) 241-0543 x112
Lucy joined Oregon Humanities in December 2020. She graduated from the University of Oregon in June 2019 with dual degrees in ethnic studies and general social science, through which she explored themes of social justice and cultural understanding using a multidisciplinary approach. She is originally from Oregon, and in her time off enjoys the world of cosmetics, listening to music, and following the work of social activists online locally and beyond.
Julia Soto
Development Manager
Pronouns: she/her/hers
(503) 241-0543, ext. 118
Julia joined Oregon Humanities in July 2021. She began working with nonprofits after almost a decade as an engineer. As a development professional, she brings experiences in grant writing, event sponsorships and program leadership. She most enjoys helping organizations thrive through integrated and relationship-based approaches. Originally from Pennsylvania, Julia has called Oregon home since 2004. In her free time, she loves working on craft projects, trying out new recipes, and playing in the mountains with her two children, Felix and Ester, and her husband, Jacob.
Ben Waterhouse
Communications Director and editor of Oregon Humanities magazine
Pronouns: he/him/his
b.waterhouse@oregonhumanities.org
(503) 241-0543 x122
Ben joined Oregon Humanities in 2012. He supervises the organization's communications and publications efforts, including Oregon Humanities magazine, the Beyond the Margins essay series, and marketing strategy. He created the Dear Stranger letter-exchange project in 2014. He grew up on Kalapuyan land in Scio, Oregon, near the confluence of the North and South forks of the Santiam River, and now lives in Southeast Portland.