The following community members were honored at the Multnomah County Office of Community Involvement 2019 Volunteer Awards.
Department of Community Justice / Juvenile Services (DCJ)
Leigh Burger – Leigh is naturally compassionate and empathetic with the youth and families she supports. They have an excellent ability to collaborate with others and incorporate feedback. Leigh easily builds rapport with people they work with, while remaining conscientious and diligent in their work ethic. They have a high level of commitment and professionalism with a great sense of humor. Leigh’s goal after graduation is to work for Multnomah County.
The Beat Within Volunteers – This organization is a group of enthusiastic, compassionate and dedicated volunteers. These volunteers create a safe space for youth at Donald E. Long Detention Center to share their ideas and life experiences, while also encouraging literacy, self-expression, critical thinking skills, and healthy, supportive relationships with adults and their community. This group has come together as a true “team” - supporting one another, seeking continuous improvement and leading youth and staff towards a more trauma-informed and strengths-based approach.
Father Matt Libra, Deacon Tom Hayward, Deacon Brian Diehm, Bob Burtchaell, Bobby Derricotte – Bob, Bobby, Tom, Brian and Father Libra provide Catholic religious services on behalf of St. Rose of Lima Church on Thursday evenings at the Donald E. Long (DEL) Juvenile Detention Center. The volunteers have developed a distance relationship between the 4th grade class of students from St. Rose and the youth in Detention. Youth in DEL can send the children at St. Rose a “request” for their prayers and the students at St. Rose can send a request back to the youth at DEL, doing together what they perhaps could not do for themselves. Each of the volunteers exhibits great commitment, humility and gentle support to the youth who choose to participate in the services. Bobby provides moments of laughter with the occasional “Dad joke” and Bob consistently shares his reverence and amazement at the youth’s potential for silent reflection. All are moved by these relationships, which overcome the barriers of age, location, race, religious affiliation and socio-economic status.
Community Budget Advisory Committee (CBAC)
Reginal Cole, Non-Departmental CBAC – Reginal is a highly engaged community member, going above and beyond to learn about county processes by attending more than just CBAC meetings. He offers his warmth and friendship easily with a smile that lights up the room, and brings years of global experience to the Non-Departmental CBAC.
Lissa Kaufman, District Attorney CBAC – Lissa was an outstanding member of the Multnomah County District Attorney CBAC. This year she completed her second consecutive term with DA Rod Underhill and was always a dynamic participant in the budget process. Her expertise as an attorney afforded her insight into the needs of the community and the allocation of resources.
Demian Lucas, Non-Departmental CBAC – Demian joined the Non-Departmental CBAC this year. She jumped in with strength, and without hesitation, offered opinions, reflection and questions that helped lead the committee into in-depth discussion. She walks her talk, demonstrating her commitment to social change in every area of her life.
Steve Weiss, Department of County Human Services CBAC – Steve has been a dedicated and active member of the DCHS CBAC since 2005. Each year he has mentored new members, shared his insights and helped focus the CBAC with knowledge of programs and first hand accounts of when important choices and system changes occurred. He has been steadfast in his support for low income seniors, people with disabilities and underrepresented communities. He is an activist at heart and Multnomah County is fortunate to have him championing our work.
Department of Community Services – Animal Services
Sherri Goldstein – Sherri is one of the longest working volunteers at Animal Services. With 16 years under her belt, she’s still passionate about animals finding the best homes ever. She has walked dogs, helped with outreach, comes in once a week to do laundry and fosters the scared little dogs that no one can touch. We are grateful for her years of service and hope to have many more.
Carly Guerrero – Carly comes in every week to wash and fold laundry. She brings staff goodies to eat and always puts a smile on our faces.
Tracy Junk – Tracy is a kitten foster parent. She is compassionate and very skilled with these little ones. Kittens thrive in her care.
Ranee Morrow – Ranee is one of our go-to people. She can take the most fragile kittens and help them be successful.
Judy Newman – Judy is a force to be reckoned with. She does laundry, works at the information desk, sometimes at the same time. Judy likes to keep busy, so we benefit from all that energy!
Carol Pallesi – Carol is a wonderful volunteer that has great energy. She does an often overlooked, but incredibly essential job. Carol works two days a week in the laundry.
Kelley Sherman – Kelley gives her all in everything she does. She faithfully comes in every week to walk dogs, make Kongs and love on the dogs.
Alice & LeRoy Stratch – Alice & LeRoy faithfully come in every week to transport animals to our rescue partners. They are integral in keeping our animals moving through the system. They are always happy, upbeat and eager to help with whatever they can.
Enid Traisman – Enid is a compassionate and very skilled volunteer foster parent. Her foster kittens are always in great hands.
Health Department – Public Health Officer
Fred Cirillo, MD – In February 2019, Dr. Cirillo made himself available for several evening shifts as a Medical Reserve Corps licensed medical volunteer in our winter warming shelters. He graciously pitched in with whatever needed to be done to keep the shelter running smoothly.
Elizabeth Rantz, MD – Dr. Rantz generously donated time and skills as a Medical Reserve Corps medical volunteer at winter warming shelters during the February 2019 cold weather response.
Rebecca Silva, RN – Rebecca was extremely generous with her time and skills during the cold weather response in February 2019. She volunteered the most number of nights as a Medical Reserve Corps volunteer at the Sunrise Center winter warming shelter.
Health Department – Public Health, HIV Care Services
Carlos Dory – Carlos has been part of the Ryan White Planning Council for over five years. He has participated on various committees, and most recently was accepted to a National Quality Center quality management training. He will help shape our local quality management efforts within the HIV Care Continuum.
Myranda Harris – Myranda has become a leading advocate in the community and within the Ryan White Planning Council. She is involved in HIV work at both the local and federal level. She is truly an inspiration
Health Department – Healthy Birth Initiative (HBI)
Alisha Carter – Alisha Carter has a strong commitment to education, early childhood development, health and leadership that she brings to her volunteer work with Healthy Birth Initiatives (HBI). Whether during her work on the HBI Leadership Team, at HBI Community Action Network meetings, or at our outdoor and other enrichment events, her energy and love of her community shine through. She has always been there to plan and facilitate and help out in any way she can. As a past participant, she serves as a role model for others and we admire her and feel blessed to have her volunteering with us.
Dyvisha Gordon – Dyvisha brings a commitment to raising the voice of women in the African American community to her volunteer work with Healthy Birth Initiatives (HBI). As a past participant, she understands the impact that culturally specific services can have on the life of a family and works together with other program leaders to address barriers to health and wellness. She has represented HBI in Washington DC, served on the HBI Leadership team, completed the Eight-Session Leadership Development series, and just completed training from the Multnomah Library to provide community Black Storytime sessions. We appreciate her talents and commitment.
Carolyn Hickman – Carolyn Hickman has deep roots in the Portland African American community and brings that knowledge and love of community to all of her volunteer work with Healthy Birth Initiatives (HBI). As a past and current participant, she is committed to doing all that she can to improve the health and well-being of the families in the community. She has served on the HBI Leadership group and has recently completed the Eight-Session Leadership Development training series. She can always be counted on being there to help and contribute to our meetings and activities. And, she always brings a friend, or family member, and gets them involved too! We appreciate everything that Carolyn brings to our program and look forward to working with her in the years to come!
Tracey Lowe – Tracey has been an active volunteer with Healthy Birth Initiatives (HBI) for many years now. A past participant, she has been active on the HBI Leadership Group for over four years and is always happy to help out at program activities. She attends all of our Community Action Network meetings and helps with check in, facilitation, or refreshments. She contributes her ideas, community knowledge and wisdom and is so great to work with. She has just completed an eight-session leadership development training series and plans to continue to help HBI serve the community. We are lucky to have her with us!
Shaneeka McKinney – Shaneeka McKinney has volunteered countless hours of support and leadership to Healthy Birth Initiatives (HBI). As a past participant, Shaneeka has been committed to working to improve the birth outcomes of African American women and their families. She represented HBI in Washington, DC, served on the HBI Leadership Group, the HBI Community Action Network Strategic Planning Work Group and the Reproductive Health work group. She recently completed the Eight-Session Leadership Development training and was trained by Multnomah County Library to provide Black Storytime in the community. She is a strong voice for positive change and we appreciate her!
Department of County Human Services – Aging, Disability, Veteran Services Division (DCHS/ADVSD)
Natalya Blashishen – Natalya always has a smile on her face. Her bright and friendly personality lights up the office. She is always happy to help in any way that is needed.
Community Health Council (CHC)
“D”eb Abney – “D”eb has been volunteering since she was a child and has a special talent with our elder community members.
Tamia Deary – The newest member of the CHC, Tamia is a strong advocate for addressing the disparities in outcomes for black women. She also advocates for trans and non-binary adults, youth and veterans as well as people with a mental health diagnosis.
Susana Mendoza – Susana has jumped into her role as a CHC board member, serves on the Finance Committee, and always offers to help me as well. She works hard to spread the word about the Health Center to members of the Hispanic community that may not know about our services.
Harold Odhiambo – Harold has served off and on the CHC for close to 10 years. His concern for the health equity of all of our patients is evident in his thoughtful approach to policy development for the Health Center.
Sheriff’s Office – Programs Unit
Angel Bean – Angel is dedicated to providing a positive group experience for inmates, she has excellent group facilitation skills, she is committed to facilitating the parenting group regularly.
Donald Butler – Don is a dynamic group facilitator, he takes time to prepare an interactive presentation, he is a positive influence on inmates that participate in his parenting group.
Library
Cathy Cleveland – Cathy Cleveland has been a fiery, fierce and football-loving volunteer at Kenton Library since 2015. Each week she brightens our Sundays with energy and updates on the latest game scores. An avid reader, Cathy always finds something to take home on her shifts, along with a few holds as well.
Katie Goodall – Katie is one of the most dependable and hardworking volunteers at Northwest Library. She doesn’t quit until she gets the job done and her attention to detail is astounding! Staff love her because she is great to work with and has a wonderful sense of humor! I can’t say enough about the contribution she makes to our library.
Francisca Ixtepán – Francisca has volunteered for the past five years at Día de los Niños y Día de los Libros event. This year she brought her passion, organizational skills, and creativity to the event as the co-lead at Midland Library. She served as a lead on Multnomah County Library’s 2018 Latino author event featuring René Colato Laínez. The library is becoming better at what we do because of Francisca’s contributions and her ability to engage the community to create spaces for cultural exchange and community engagement.
Frida Markgraf – Frida not only provides top-notch tech help to our community at Central Library, she also assists staff with a variety of collection projects. She works with some of our most vulnerable patrons and does so with patience and compassion
Janet Nemgar – Janet has been volunteering twice a week for many years. She is always happy to stay until the job is done. She’s an invaluable contributor to Gresham Library.
Claudia Ramírez-Cisneros – Claudia has shared her creative and organizational skills as a volunteer lead on Multnomah County Library’s 2018 Latino author event featuring René Colato Laínez. Most recently Claudia recruited over 40 bilingual volunteers to help at Midland Library’s Día de los Niños y Día de los Libros event.Claudia’s planning awes the library staff with her ability to rally the community and create such a vibrant cultural exchange.
Ciclali Santos – For the past year, Ciclali has volunteered with bilingual library staff during community outreach and library programs. Most recently Ciclali volunteered during a soccer clinic where the library had books and activities for the children. Ciclali’s bilingual Spanish skills are an asset to join staff with the work of bringing the community services in their languages.
Dan Shirley – Dan has been volunteering in the library’s Title Wave Bookstore since 2014 and has already volunteered over 1,800 hours. Dan is reliable, flexible and takes extra volunteers shifts when there is a need. Dan’s background in marketing and willingness to go above and beyond, make him a valuable member of the Title Wave team.
Jayne Smith – Jayne Smith started working at the Woodstock Library in 2009 at eight years of age as a Youth Program Assistant and joined the Summer Reading Program in 2011, becoming a Summer Reading Leader in 2017. While continuing to be a youth program assistant year round, in 2018 Jayne became our SummerWorks Intern and she will return in this role this summer. We love working with Jayne and appreciate all of the 459 hours she has given us as a volunteer.
Tess Thiringer – Tess combines a can-do attitude with a sassy sense of fun. She is willing to look for more projects when she has finished her own, and to help with special events. ‘Tess days’ are good days at the Holgate Library.