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 GalleryBridgetown Moving & Storage • Business for Culture and the Arts • Doug Crouch Photography • •  Frame CentralDigicraft • 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 BakeryPortland Metropolitan Photographers AssociationPortland Youth BuildersProPhoto SupplyQ 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bridgetown Moving & Storage

Redfin