Our Board of Directors and Advisers
Donna Lee Holmes, Focus on Youth Founder/Executive Director
Joey Kerns, Keller Williams Realty Professionals Portland Real Estate Broker
Nitikul Solomon – MD, FAAP,MSHA, ABIHM
Pablo Caceres, Graphic Designer
Annegret Reichmann, Fine Artist
Kevin Garrison – Architect GPA Architects
Heather English – Digital Marketing Strategies
Germone Southhall – Non -Profit Consultant
Sam Rubin – City Planner
Advisory Committee
Leo Remington, Retired Multi-Media Producer – Portland RCC Archdiocese
Jay Hager, Manager Ricoh Corporation/Mentor
Sam Hutchison, Fund Administrator City of Portland Fire and Policy Disability
Shanti Villarreal, Project Manager, Xerox
Christopher Cabatabat, Photographer, Systems Analyst
David Greenberg, Executive Director, Growing Gardens
Tanya Hartnett, Baggallini
Eric Lester, CPA, Owner of Pearl Bakery
Linda Skeele, Broker, Windermere Cronin & Caplan Realty Group
Gary Wilson, Gary Wilson Photography/Mentor
Doug Crouch, Doug Crouch Photography & Creative Solutions Web Design
Jenna Biggs, Artist/Mentor
Jana Demartini, Artist/ Blackfish Gallery Member
Robert Dozono, Retired Arts Educator/ Artist/ Blackfish Gallery Member
Gregori Jakovina, The Jakovina Trust
Deka Jama, MD Internal Medicine
“American Society of Media Photographers is impressed with Focus on Youth’s ability to bring at-risk youth and volunteer mentors together. They provide a learning experience that supports curiosity, and determination while providing these young people with a place where their creativity can flourish.” Gary Wilson, Mentor – Past Board President – Advisory Committee Member
“I absolutely love seeing a student’s face light up after being shown one of their own photographs. I love meeting the group every week; talking with the students not only about photography but also life. I believe that through programs like Focus on Youth that we, as mentors, are helping promote student confidence, social equality in the schools and academic growth. I am incredibly grateful to be a part of the student’s lives and this tremendous organization. Thanks, Donna Lee for all your love and dedication!” Jenna Biggs, Artist & Focus on Youth Mentor
Some of the People Who Keep Us Going…
“I have had personal experience with the value of learning photography as a young person. It helped me to develop an understanding of my relationship to my environment and an appreciation of the diversity in natural habitats, in my friends and neighbors, and in the cultures in my community. I wholeheartedly endorse the mission of Focus on Youth , to empower at-risk youth through photography by providing creative outlets to experience their world in new ways and make positive change in their lives.” Bill Bradbury, former Oregon Secretary of State
Our Communnity Partners
American Society of Media Photographers • Autzen Foundation • Blackfish Gallery • Bridgetown Moving & Storage • Business for Culture and the Arts • Doug Crouch Photography • • Frame Central • Digicraft • East Metro Community Media • Fred Meyer Foundation • Gann Printing • KBOO • KGW News Channel 8 • Mary McKinney and Flay Ezell Fund • New Avenues For Youth • Outside In • Pearl Bakery • Portland Metropolitan Photographers Association • Portland Youth Builders • ProPhoto Supply • Q Center • Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust • Safeway Foundation • Spirit Mountain Community Fund • Umpqua Bank • Wentworth Foundation, Randall Trust, OnPoint Credit Union, Nike, Energy 350, Huron Group, Hands on Portland, Juan Young Trust, Haynes Trust, Blue Moon Camera, The Standard, Blackfish Gallery, Redfin and hundreds of community volunteers!
Diversity is the cornerstone of Focus on Youth and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment where all individuals are valued and respected. Our organization seeks to serve a racially diverse spectrum of low-income families, and we strive for a board composition that is racially and ethnically diverse. Focus on Youth maintains a policy of electing individuals to the Board of Directors on a basis of their merit without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, military status, marital status, political opinion, national origin, familial status, mental and physical disability, gender identity, and source of income or disability status. It is assured that this commitment to equal treatment applies to all aspects of Board membership and our team of volunteers.