about_header2

Foundation Staff

	Maura White, Executive Director Maura’s work in the nonprofit sector began in college directing the OSU Experimental College, and has spanned two decades with Portland State University’s Student Services, University of Portland, and the Police Activities League of Greater Portland. She has extensive experience building organizations and raising funds for everything from capital improvements to programs to direct operations. Maura spent her childhood in Wilshire and Grant Parks doing arts and crafts and swimming. A doer, a strategist and a strong team leader/player, she is driven by a passion for ensuring that kids and adults can be active in Portland Parks. Her personal passions are many: coaching her daughter in sports, supporting her son in his sports activities, traveling and reading top the list. Maura has resided in the Portland area all her life.
	Sherry Manning, Development Director Sherry brings a background in program development to her work at the Foundation. With a BA in English and a desire to change the world, she left the Bay Area in the eighties to learn the value of networking, lobbying and working with the media as a campaign organizer for Greenpeace. The love of learning and research resulted in positions in the nonprofit arena where skills in grant writing and program development evolved. Years in between were dedicated to raising a family, volunteering, building houses, and seeing as much of the world as possible. Returning to work, she collaborated on projects with Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Humanities and Oregon Public Broadcasting. Prior to coming to the Foundation she directed the Bicentennial Program at Lewis & Clark College.
	Samar Itani, Development & Communications Coordinator Samar joined the Foundation in the fall of 2006, with a background in project management, advertising design and film promotions. Born in Lebanon and raised in Dubai, she received her education in fine arts from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. A Jill-of-all-trades, she supports the Foundation with development, technology, design and communication strategies. In her free time, Samar enjoys gardening, weightlifting and traveling abroad.
	MJ Levine, Office Manager MJ came to Portland from Los Angeles, Guam, San Francisco and Pittsburgh, where she worked, variously, in advertising commercial producing, film development and production, and newspaper copy editing and feature writing. She began with Portland Parks Foundation as a volunteer, writing the quarterly newsletter. She keeps her hand in wordsmithing at the Foundation while supporting the rest of the staff. Out of the office, she loves learning about Portland’s glorious parks firsthand and has made Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden a second home. An enthusiastic—not to say obsessive—gardener, she gets her hands dirty every chance she gets.