It’s more important to understand someone than to judge them. We think the first step to understanding someone is asking them the fundamental questions about who they are and how they became the person they are today. Understanding and empathy are essential building blocks for a better, more compassionate world. We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to ask these questions each week through our interview series. Below you’ll find inspiring interviews from throughout Oregon.
Jessica Taylor
As a child and young adult, I was shy and deeply conflict avoidant. I rarely spoke up for myself. When difficult dynamics unfolded around me, I assumed they were evidence that something was wrong with me. I internalized criticism, tension, and exclusion as personal failure. Read more>>
Kyli Deinarovich
In my professional life I spent 8ish years working on an ambulance and 2 years working on labor and delivery as a surgical and birth technician. I was working on labor and delivery when I got pregnant with my first child, and I thought that meant I had the golden ticket to the best treatment and care ever! I was so wrong. Read more>>
ALISON DERSE
I’m Alison Derse, pronounced like “mercy,” and I’m a Realtor here in Portland, Oregon. I’m originally from Los Angeles, and after college at UC Davis, I spent about ten years in San Francisco working in tech startups. I was in business development, partnerships, and marketing roles at fast-growing startups like Yelp, Trulia, and Instacart. It was a really formative decade. Read more>>
Taylor Thomas
I’ve always known I was meant to be an entrepreneur—I just didn’t know what that would look like yet. I’ve also always known I wanted to help people. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest in a home that lacked stability, which led me to search for something safe and grounding from a young age. Read more>>
Kelly Blodgett
I am a fourth generation Portlander. I grew up in SW Portland attending Capitol Hill Grade School (same school to which my father and paternal grandmother attended), Markham Middle School, and Wilson High School (now Wells H.S.). I love SW Portland and still live in the Wells H.S. district. During high school, I gained an interest in psychology taking the different courses that were offered. Read more>>
Zarya Rubin
I’m a Harvard-educated physician, TEDx speaker, and burnout expert. I help high-achieving women in midlife break free from burnout to reclaim their passion, purpose and joy. Combining expertise in neurology, functional medicine, mindfulness and nervous system healing, I create a multidisciplinary approach to breaking the burnout cycle. Read more>>
Edie Summers
I started my business in 2005, as a way to create more freedom, utilize more of my skills, and to reach people on a deeper level in the wellness space as a coach. Before I had my own business, I was a wellness consultant in the natural foods industry and a professional dancer. Read more>>
Joshua Gordon
In any given week, I might be chairing a SafeSport appeals panel for USA Track and Field, hearing an MLB salary arbitration case between a club and a player, arbitrating a dispute for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, mediating a dispute for FIFA, and then walking into a classroom at the University of Oregon to teach negotiation to a room full of MBA students. Read more>>
Maria-Alejandra De Araujo Sanchez
My path has been shaped as much by geography as by profession. I come from a multicultural family, and I have lived in five different countries on three continents. Having to adapt and find my place in those environments gave me a deep fascination with cultures, languages, and the stories people tell about who they are. Read more>>
Whitney Carroll
I went to beauty school in 2016 in Corvallis, Oregon. Immediately upon graduating I started leasing a station at a well known salem salon. I quickly became drawn to doing balayages and learning everything there was. For the first five years of my career I moved around more then I wanted to, Finally I decided I needed a space of my own. Read more>>
Sharon Guyette
I grew up in Portland on the SE side near Gresham. Attended parochial schools through high school and then took a job as a receptionist at a small electrical company, Bressie Electric on the corner of SW 3rd and Taylor in the late 70s. Read more>>
Treva Gambs
Ive been in the industry for over 45 years. I have owned two other restaurants in Victoria B.C. that I sold. When I left Canada ( I am a US citizen but was a landed immigrant while there) I was a single mom with a 5 year old son. Read more>>
Nathan Dinihanian
I’ve always worked with my hands. Over the years I pursued different crafts but always came back to wood. I studied art and throughout my 20’s I worked a variety of jobs- exploring stop motion animation, custom fabrication shops and set dressing in the film industry, while woodworking on the side and occasionally selling a piece to a friend. Read more>>
Deborah Nichols
My journey to my therapy practice and work was an evolution over the course of about 20 years. As a 24 year old, coming out of graduate school I quickly realized that I wasn’t ready to be in the work of coming alongside people as they processed and moved through their lives- their traumas, struggles, and joys. Read more>>
Christine Ferguson
I was living in Virginia and started having great difficulty with respiratory allergies. I had been visiting a friend in Albany for a number of years and never had any problems so I decided to move here. I bought my house and moved in in December of 19. Read more>>
Elizabeth Hartshorn
My name is Elizabeth Hartshorn, and I am a psychotherapist in West Linn, Oregon. I help healers heal. I’d like to share my story of transforming from a wounded healer to an empowered healer. As a result of my own dark night of the soul, I experienced a severe and profound time in my life, resulting in my own healing journey as a therapist. Read more>>
Jordin Lynn
I first got started in the permanent makeup industry in 2018 when I took my very first PMU training in Los Angeles with a very well-known and credible microblading company. I had always been extremely artistic, I actually studied art in college, so the transition into permanent makeup felt very natural for me. Read more>>
Nathan Schorsch
I switched careers to finance in 2016 and started at a large multinational company that primarily sold insurance and some expensive financial products. Read more>>
Victoria Petersen
Highlights are below. I can go into further detail at anytime. -Grew up in a dysfunctional family. A mom addicted to A&D with a strict step dad (my dad!!) -First child at 22. Married 23. Baby two at 27. Divorced at 28 (2008). -2009 found out I had cervical/uterine cancer. The drinking began. A spiral into 10long years of poor decisions. Read more>>
April Dodson-Ferris
My path into counseling actually began as a second career. After the birth of my child, I experienced my own postpartum mental health challenges, and that experience brought me into counseling as a client. It was the first time I saw firsthand how powerful the counseling relationship can be. I remember thinking, this work matters in a profound way. Read more>>
Jen Fox
I started Fox Beauty Studios because I’ve always been fascinated by skin and the confidence that comes from feeling good in it. Early in my career I realized that great skincare isn’t just about products or treatments—it’s about education, trust, and creating a space where people feel comfortable and cared for. Read more>>
Chad A. Ludwig, MSW, ADAC, CDI
Source: https://bridgesoregon.org/about/ Before the establishment of Bridges Oregon, many members of the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing communities faced systemic barriers to accessing essential resources such as legal advocacy, mental health services, and victim support. The lack of culturally competent services left individuals feeling isolated, misunderstood, and unrepresented. Read more>>
Clara Medalen
When I first started my chiropractic schooling, my puppy, Nero, suffered two concussions. Twice, he was hit in the head with a tennis ball while playing fetch. Most people do not know how easily puppies can get misalignments because they have very little muscle to stabilize their body. Read more>>
Kelsey Hardin
I worked front desk at a hair salon in college and LOVED IT. So naturally, I decided to attend hair design school myself. I ended up assisting for 6 months right out of cosmetology school and then ended up going completely independent. Over the years I have mastered the art of extensions and now currently am an educator for them myself. Read more>>
Lamaya Jarrell
My journey into jewelry making started as a creative outlet as a child and slowly grew into something much deeper. I’m the founder of Many Stages LLC, where I design and create handmade beaded jewelry & empowerment apparel (tees) that reflects culture, resilience, and personal growth. Read more>>
