Our Interns:

From Left to Right: Ettalouise O'Donell-King, Elliott Capek, Lily Wills, Maya Volk, Lucy Parkin, Kelsey West, Jennifer Mick, Isabel Jones, Milly Syck

Leah Meijer, Community Outreach & Marketing Intern

Leah Meijer is a recent graduate of Portland State University’s community development program. She understands that you must have a healthy community, where everyone’s needs are being met, before empowerment and positive action can be realized. For this reason Leah loves connecting the dots of needs, resources, and ideas.

Leah describes being energized when presented with the challenge of brainstorming new systems to create change. Thinking of all the “what-if’s” is her forte as well as her passion and she believes in the advice given by Mark Twain which reminds us that, “You can’t depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus.”

Whether it was organizing a blood drive in middle school, mentoring youth through Portland Impact, volunteering at the Raphael House Domestic Violence Shelter, or planning a multicultural arts festival at Portland State, Leah has always been engaged in her community and feels energized when helping to empower others.

Self described as a dreamer, do-gooder, and creative problem-solver, she hopes to be part of a community whose actions and efforts “trickle up” and improve the world at large.

Laura Weiking

Laura Wieking, owner and narrator of WordBridge, has followed a career path that has given her the privilege of delivering both strategic and tactical results within the disciplines of public relations, marketing and communications. Laura considers herself to be curious, driven by telling a story, and motivated to find creative solutions to challenging projects. Developing and implementing communications initiatives that help an organization achieve the goal of community engagement is her primary motivation for being a communicator.

Laura has designed and managed programs for ongoing communications and specific campaigns that have delivered tangible return on investment. She is energized by exploring new methods and technology to keep messages fresh and relevant across multiple communication channels.

Laura received her Bachelors in Arts in public relations from Central Washington University. She lives in Beaverton with her husband and son.

Bob Lucas

Bob Lucas is currently heading up BOB LUCAS INNOVATION, a design consultancy providing product innovations to athletic industry clients seeking to strengthen their leadership position as performance brands. In addition, he serves as an Adjunct Professor of Product Design at the University of Oregon.

As the former Head of ait Design (adidas innovation team) with adidas in Portland Oregon, he provided leadership and creative direction for the design team and innovation projects. His accomplishments include designing adidas Bounce - the first foamless, mechanical cushioning system in the footwear industry. While at adidas, he and his family lived and worked in Germany for 3+ years at its global headquarters.

Bob started his career in the athletic industry at Nike, where he spent many years in footwear design and innovation.

Bob is a graduate of San Jose State University with a B.S. in Industrial Design. He is married and has two boys. Bob volunteers as an Art Literacy instructor for Uplands elementary school. In his free time, he is an avid cyclist, hiker and practices yoga. He pursues his personal love of Design and creativity through photography, printmaking and acoustic guitar.