Staff
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Kelley Weigel, Executive DirectorSince becoming Director in 2010, Kelley has helped to keep the Center sustainable and has played a role in strengthening the Board of Directors. With Kelley's leadership, the Center has expanded it's development capacity and continue to be innovative about how we engage all of our communities in this work. Kelley joined the Center in 2002 as the Building Political Power Director and then worked as Associate Director from 2007-2010. She is a graduate of the Center’s first intensive leadership development program now known as the Western Institute for Leadership Development (WILD). That program clinched Kelley’s commitment to social change organizing and she stayed in community organizing with the Community Alliance of Lane County and then the Rural Organizing Project. Kelley is a graduate of the Robert C Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon. She has a BA in International Studies and Political Science with minors in French and Peace Studies. Kelley also has attended the Rockwood Leadership Program for Women working in Racial Justice and Human Rights. Kelley grew up in Portland and is glad to be here as an adult with her partner Brian and son Quinn. - Superhero power to fight social injustice? The power to have individuals recognize that small and incremental change is just as powerful as splashy media moments. E-mail: kelleyw(at)wscpdx.org Phone: (503) 893-3812 |
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Yee Won Chong, Development & Communication DirectorYee Won joined the Center in 2008 and has since quadrupled the number of donors using new methodologies that other groups are replicating. Yee Won has also trained and consulted with numerous grassroots organizations on effective communication and fundraising and has helped the Center to shift toward new technology for efficiency. Before moving to the Northwest, Yee Won was the Development Specialist of United for a Fair Economy and Development Director of Haymarket People's Fund. Yee Won is currently on the board of directors for GIFT (Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training) and a member of Progressive Communicators Network. Born and raised in Malaysia, Yee Won has been initiating development and earned-income projects since secondary school - and, for the past 14 years, has translated those skills into professional work for social justice and change. - Superhero power to fight social injustice? I have always wanted “killer eyes” like Cyclops of X-men, but instead of damaging things with my optic blast I would look into people’s eyes and convince them not to be meanies. E-mail: yeewonc(at)wscpdx.org Phone: (503) 893-3811 |
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Nancy Haque, Building Political Power DirectorFrom 2009-2011, as the Director of the VOTE project, Nancy has helped more than a dozen organizations to register 39,500 new voters and engaged 1,400 volunteers. One of Nancy's greatest achievements was in supporting the work of Washington's Statewide Poverty Action Network for several years during staff transition. This stable support ultimately helped in a major win for a Foreclosure Fairness Act so that Washington families can stay in their homes. Nancy joined the Center in 2007. From 2001 until 2005, Nancy worked as a Western Region Field Organizer for National Jobs with Justice, based out of Washington, DC. Prior to that she worked at the AFL-CIO and for several years as an organizer for Portland Jobs with Justice. She as also held a position at Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. Nancy first fell in love with the Pacific Northwest as a student at the Evergreen State College where she studied political economy and social change. She has also earned a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Nancy's family includes her partner, Dianne, a sister, two brothers and two awesome nieces. She has been an activist since high school, fighting for workers’ rights and economic justice at home and around the world. - Superhero power to fight social injustice? My superpower would be being able to move people to action because if enough people are moved to act toward justice, we can fight all social injustice. E-mail: nancyh(at)wscpdx.org Phone: (503) 893-3805 |
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Walidah Imarisha, Trainer and OrganizerWalidah joined the Center in 2010. She had interned at the Center more than a decade ago-in 1997- coming full circle. In between this time, Walidah taught in Portland State University’s Black Studies Department. Her previous experience also includes being a program associate at the Leeway Foundation in Philadelphia, a foundation dedicated to supporting women and trans artists creating social change; working at the Criminal Justice program of the American Friends Service Committee. She was one of the founders and first editor of AWOL Magazine, a national political hip hop magazine and has served on the board of the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors for five years. She also helped to found the Human Rights Coalition, a statewide organization of prisoners’ families in Pennsylvania. Walidah is a poet, activist, educator and independent journalist. She is the bad half of the poetry duo Good Sista/Bad Sista. Her poetic, political and academic work centers around prisons, creating community based alternatives and institutions and the intersection of oppression. - Superhero power to fight social injustice? I have actually given this some thought even before this question. I would be known as “the Living Library,” and I would be able to recall any piece of information that was ever written down in all of human history. As a historian, I believe the lessons we learn from history are integral to challenging oppressive institutions and building strong and healthy communities. E-mail: walidahi(at)wscpdx.org Phone: (503) 893-3806 |
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Kalpana Krishnamurthy, Gender Justice Program and RACE Program DirectorKalpana joined the Center in 2005 and as the RACE Program Director, she wrote and coordinated Oregon's 2011 Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity. In 2009, she helped to plan, research and write the Nevada Racial Equity Report Card as well. As the Gender Justice Program Director, she launched the Uniting Communities program and was on the team that created the Uniting Communities Toolkit, which is being used in many grassroots organizations to address LGBTQ issues. From 2002-2005, she was the director of the Third Wave Foundation, which works nationally to support and strengthen the next generation of young women and transgender activists. Prior to Third Wave, Kalpana was an organizer working with youth in Madison as well as on issues of reproductive rights and justice. Kalpana grew up in Oregon and graduated from the University of Oregon. Her family includes two fabulous boys, Sachin and Kavi. - Theme song while fighting social injustice? Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” because it’s such a great song and still so relevant today. E-mail: kalpanak(at)wscpdx.org Phone: (503) 893-3810 |
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Kawa Kuller, Events and Operations CoordinatorKawa joined the Center in 2010 and dived right into the work by coordinating the Center's annual social justice training conference, AMP (Activists Mobilizing for Power). In her first year, more than 500 participants and trainers attended the conference. In addition to overseeing much of the daily operations, Kawa has also helped to coordinate all of the Center's convenings. From 2007-2010, she did chronic pain education and advocacy work at the Pain Society of Oregon and was the Executive Director for half that time. Kawa is on the board of Asian Pacific Islander Pride and volunteers with various community organizations in the Portland area. Kawa graduated Summa Cum Laude and with honors with a BA in Women and Gender Studies from the University of Oregon. While in college, Kawa worked at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Alliance, served on the board of the Multicultural Center, volunteered for Sexual Assault Support Services, and facilitated women’s self defense classes through Breaking Free. She is certified in Self Defense from the Inside Out. - Superhero power to fight social injustice? I would have the power to fire anyone, ousting those in power who are inequitable.Email: kawak@wscpdx.org Phone: (503) 893-3801 |
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Amy Lam, Development and Communication AssociateSince joining the Center in 2010, Amy has helped with the Center's communication through storytelling, design and publications. She has been featured as a regular columnist in "Street Roots" with stories highlighting the Center's Uniting Communities work. Before arriving at the Center, she was the Development Associate at Russian Oregon Social Services. She has worked as a volunteer educator in Hunan, China and taught at the Access Academy of the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh. From 2002 to 2003, Amy worked in the New Media department at the Los Angeles PBS affiliate, KCET. The culmination of her experiences have given her a deep appreciation of the strength of online media in order to give voice to those who have been historically silenced. Originally from southern California, Amy moved to Portland in 2005 misses the sun more than she thought she would. Amy is a recovering ex-pat and a radical embroiderer. - Theme song while fighting social injustice? “Rice and Bread” by Against Me! With a line like “You're gonna sing everything you're thinking, and you're gonna sing it until they're listening,” it’s the perfect song.
Email: amyl(at)wscpdx.org Phone: (503) 893-3808 |
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Steve Mayes, Operations and Finance ManagerAs the Operations and Finance Manager, Steve has been able to help the Center cut costs and implement new accounting systems that streamline our finacial reporting work. Steve joined the Center in 2010. Prior to coming to the Center, Steve was the Financial and Administrative Manager for Oregon Action a state-wide organization dedicated to building new leaders from underrepresented community members. In 2003, he began to focus on organizations devoted to social and economic change. Steve has assisted large and small businesses with fiscal management, technology, high level management and board consulting. He has served as treasurer on several nonprofit boards and currently volunteers for the local performing arts theaters. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, relaxing in a mountain cabin, hiking trails and cycling. You can always find him at the Alpenrose Velodrome enjoying cycling events put on by the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association. - Theme song while fighting social injustice? Public Enemy “Fight the Power” because the song is completely damning the systems of overt power, it’s also a statement of intent of wiping the social injustice slate clean, not only for black people but for all people. Email: stevem(at)wscpdx.org Phone: (503) 893-3807 |
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Aimee Santos-Lyons, Strong Families Northwest Project Manager
Aimee joined the Center in 2007 and has since helped many grassroots groups to understand and claim their voices in public decision-making. As the Project Manager for Strong Families Northwest, Aimee is working with organizations in Washington to re-frame how to define a family to be more inclusive. In 2011, Aimee has helped Idaho's Women of Color Alliance to push through a bill prohibiting female prisoners from being shackled during childbirth. Aimee is also a superstar fundraiser and brought in the most donors during the Center's first online campaign. Aimee brings twelve years of both U.S. and international experience in both social development and humanitarian concerns, with a special emphasis on gender equity, reproductive health and gender-based violence. Educated in the U.S. and the Philippines, Aimee holds a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University. She comes from a large family and has three kids. - Superhero power to fight social injustice? Read minds like Marvel girl, Phoenix. E-mail: aimeesl(at)wscpdx.org Phone: (503) 893-3803 |
