Staff & Board
Our Staff
Lilly Do, Program & Administrative Coordinator
Lilly Do (she/her) joined the Write Around Portland staff in May 2022 after volunteering as a workshop facilitator for over 2 years. She brings over 7 years of administrative experience and 8 years teaching English Composition in higher education. When she isn’t facilitating workshops, Lilly spends her time engaging in the BIPOC, AAPI, and queer and trans communities around Portland as well as co-organizing QTAPI spaces through the writing project Liminal Bodies. A sci-fi nerd through and through, you can find Lilly quoting Octavia Butler or recounting all the philosophical lessons one can learn through Star Trek. Lilly earned her Master of Arts in English from Eastern New Mexico University.
Contact Lilly to learn more about Resonate
Elisabeth Geier, Volunteer Coordinator
Elisabeth Geier (she/her) has been a volunteer facilitator with Write Around Portland since 2015 and joined the staff in April 2022. She brings 10 years of experience in program and development support for Portland-area nonprofit organizations, and a lifetime commitment to creative expression and community. Elisabeth holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana and a BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College.
Contact Elisabeth to learn more about volunteering, facilitation, internships, and Freewrite
Chris McDonald, Executive Director
Chris (he/him) has been Executive Director of Write Around Portland since 2022. Prior to joining Write Around, Chris worked at DoveLewis, Our House of Portland, the Oregon Zoo, and Ronald McDonald House Charities. He holds a Bachelors degree in English and Creative Writing from UC Davis and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Oregon State University, where he also taught English composition and creative writing. He has also taught composition courses at Chemeketa Community College. Before joining the staff, he had been a Write Around facilitator since 2014. He writes under the name Chris Yamashita and his fiction has been published in Weave, Your Impossible Voice, and Compose Journal.
Contact Chris to learn more about ways to give, Inkwell, estate giving, sponsorships, our board of directors, and workplace roundtables
Leah Middleton, Development & Engagement Coordinator
Leah (she/they) was an intern and facilitator for Write Around before joining the staff in 2022. She earned a BA in English Literature and Writing at Marylhurst University and her writing circles themes such as family, mental health, the body, and queerness. Leah, pronounced LAY-uh, enjoys thrift shopping, practicing ASL, summer days by the river, game nights, making people laugh, and pondering how to use their Scorpio superpowers for good.
Contact Leah to learn more about making a donation, buying a book, donating journals, Prompt, Raise Your Pen, or our readings
Sarah Weller, Program Director
Sarah (she/her) joined the staff at Write Around in March 2015 after eight years as an agency partner and donor. She earned her BS in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Arizona and then spent ten years working directly with people experiencing homelessness and living in low-income housing in the Portland Metro area. She finds joy in walks with her pup, gluten-free goodies, parenting a young person, poems, and noticing the beauty in the everyday. Writing continues to be a way she can connect back to herself and those around her.
Contact Sarah to learn more about workshops at your nonprofit/other agency
Our Board of Directors
Contact our Board of Directors
Board Leadership
Chenoa Philabaum (she/her), Co-Chair
City of Portland
Reggie Wideman (he/him), Co-Chair
Live Ramp
Sara Guest (she/her), Secretary
Multnomah County
Michael Montoya (he/him), Treasurer
Skeo Solutions
Board Members
Kelsey Allen (she/her)
Meals on Wheels People
Precious Bugarin (she/her)
Mercy Corps
Alex Larralde (she/her)
Betterworks
Hana Layson (she/her)
Portland Art Museum
Johanna Magana (she/her)
Nike
Amanda Walsh (she/her)
PagerDuty