Director of Community Engagement

In the haze of post-grad, Co impulsively moved to Oregon and found herself on the doorsteps of the Wayfinding Academy. She loved the learning, independence, and friendships that came with college, but spent endless hours rereading majors trying to mold herself to fit one. She’s thankful to be a part of a higher education focused on the individual. In her spare time, she likes trying new restaurants, discussing books, and questioning existing hierarchies.

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Director of Student Services and Wayfinding Guide

Jean’s background is in post-secondary education with some dabbling in early childhood and K-12.  Throughout her career she has always been passionate about equity and inclusion issues.  She has advocated for student access whether it’s been for Latinx high school students to explore careers, or leading diversity efforts at a community college to ensure barriers are removed for all students.  She thrives in environments in which all people are treated with respect and dignity and in which all people are provided opportunities to participate, to be fully engaged, and to contribute to their communities.  She believes that we learn from each other and that there is hope for a better world.

When she is not working, Jean likes to play hard.  She likes to work up a good sweat at the gym, or grab a recipe out of a food magazine and cook up a storm.  She loves planning, planting, and harvesting from her garden.  And she has OCD – Obsessive Canning Disorder!

Wayfinding Guide

Sarah is a graduate of Portland State University where she studied philosophy and Women's Studies, with a focus on women of color. As a former middle and high school humanities teacher in Chicago and Detroit, as well as a short time spent teaching in Ramallah, Palestine, she has cultivated a holistic and interdisciplinary educational philosophy based on social justice, creative and critical inquiry, and a radical rethinking of our world. Her passion is empowering students of color through radical curriculum, restorative justice, and authentic social and emotional learning. She also spent time in New York in Democracy Now's education department, creating social justice and media literacy curriculum resources for teachers. She enjoys being in nature, writing, reading, and film photography.

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Recruitment and Retention Specialist & AmeriCorps VISTA Member

Travis is a recent college graduate who majored in environmental studies. He enjoyed his time there, but quickly became disenfranchised with how higher education functioned. So, he is excited to see where his time with Wayfinding takes him. He is particularly interested in environmental and social justice, community empowerment, and ecology. He has working experience as an ecosystem surveyor, a teacher, and a Lyft driver. He is from Beijing, China, but moved here to avoid the smog. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, going to breweries, and playing volleyball.

Contact Travis directly by clicking here! 

Lead Matchmaker & Wayfinding Guide

Tiana always thought she'd grow up to be ambassador to France, but that didn’t quite go as planned. A former humanitarian aid worker, she developed and implemented an innovative program in Iraq that taught people with disabilities (PWDs) how to advocate for themselves and become social change agents, ran a gender program that taught 10,000 women to read and write, and served as the State Director in Southern Kordofan until being extracted from the civil war in 2011. She has also worked for non-profits on employment for PWDs where she developed job readiness training and disability awareness training for employment partners. She most recently worked as a development consultant on the Syrian Crisis in Turkey. Since saving the world didn’t work out, she joined the Wayfinding to help people choose their life on purpose while she continues to explore what she wants to be and do when she grows up. Tiana is a public speaker on topics such as tenacity, leadership, and disability, and she's working on a memoir, “American Non-combatant.” A member of the USA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team for 5 yrs, Tiana is a two-time Paralympic medalist, bringing home bronze and silver. Her work on behalf of people with disabilities was featured on NBC Nightly News, NPR’s Here and Now, and The Takeaway. Most recently she gave a TEDx talk titled  “Redefining Disability.”

Contact Tiana directly by clicking here! 

Internship Coordinator & Wayfinding Guide

Tiffany holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. She has taught History and Writing at the university, community college, and high school levels. Dedicated to educational outreach, she has been involved in several prison education programs in Boston, New York, and Portland, OR. She has also taught at the Brooklyn Brainery, a crowd sourced educational facility; acted as a History consultant for Beutler Ink, a data visualization company; and even presented a lecture on medieval torture at a Game of Thrones party. In addition to her work at Wayfinding Academy, Tiffany tutors students in Reading, Writing, and the Humanities, and provides consulting in business communication.

Contact Tiffany directly by clicking here! 

Learn more about what Tiffany is doing here! 

Communications Strategy and Management

Sean is certain that we all have stories to share, and he is excited to help people share them. He loves all things having to do with writing, from the freewheeling creativity of a rough draft to the intensive minutiae of editing, the perfect placement of each word, and he has spent more than a decade in higher education teaching composition and creative writing. He has been a TEDx storyteller, a combatant in a literary deathmatch, an essayist, a writer of short stories, and the creator of an existential thriller that is still in its late stages of revision. When Sean’s not writing or teaching, he loves playing with his daughter and cooking awesomely delicious meals with his partner.

Wayfinding Guide

Emily is contagiously passionate about creating education programs that empower our youth to face the crises and opportunities of these times. She had the amazing opportunity to earn a M.A. in Peace Education at The U.N. University for Peace while researching the power and potential of youth to be engaged changemakers. Later, she found her life calling while teaching Peace Studies and Global Citizenship to teens at a farm school. Emily is now midway through a PhD in Sustainability Education. Since moving to Portland, she is immersed in building community and education projects around permaculture, climate action, social justice, nature connection, and rites of passage.

Contact Emily directly by clicking here! 

Halfway through a rigorous Interior Design program at the #1 school in the nation--and following a life-changing study abroad in Australia--Gina realized that she didn't want to be an Interior Designer. She spent the rest of her time at college twisting and bending projects to fit her desire to become a student of culture and a creative problem solver (who more often than not, is working with her first love... food). 

Iggy helps individuals and groups function like champions. From working in the wilderness to working with gritty roller derby teams, Iggy brings calm and a sense of humor to helping individuals and groups function at their best. Iggy has worked for Outward Bound, several liberal arts colleges, and now through her own independent business to make the world a better place through thoughtful attention to human growth and team development.

is currently finishing her Educational Specialist Degree in School Psychology, and recently completed a certificate in Ecopsychology, at Lewis and Clark. She transitioned to this career after teaching high school English, hoping to maximize her positive impact on students and schools. Mary is interested in how numbers can affect people's daily lives, sustainable systems, and building healthy learning communities. She lives in St. John's and enjoys hiking with her dog son. 

Jill has spent the last fifteen years connecting ideas and people through a diverse set of experiences in public relations, higher education, corporate recruiting and international volunteer work. In higher education at places like the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley, Jill has worked in Admissions, Residence Life, Academic Affairs and Career Services. She finds the most joy in guiding and helping others discover their gifts. Jill is happiest when out enjoying nature or exploring a new place. A trip around the world in 2013 with her husband has been the best investment in her life thus far. Being dropped into a new city and immediately knowing her way around is her super power! 

Dr. Angela Wheeler is an author, speaker, and facilitator who teaches women how to thrive and lead by becoming aware of their strengths, creating nourishing boundaries, and cultivating the courage to become their best selves in the world. Her research focuses on how women can grow and thrive through transitions rather than waiting on "the right time" for them to prioritize the work they're called to do. She's the co-founder of Productive Flourishing and co-host of the Productive Flourishing podcast. With a Ph.D. in sociology and her experience at PF, the best way to describe Angela is as a catalyst for positive change in life and business.