Six new board members joined our Board of Directors this past December! Please join us in welcoming them:
Nik Blosser
Sokol Blosser Winery
Nik Blosser grew up on the family farm in Dayton, Oregon and is a second generation winegrower who serves as Chair of the board of directors of Sokol Blosser Winery. He has worked in both the private and public sectors, including co-founding the media company, Celilo Group Media, which specialized in and city guides and business news focused on organic and sustainable products; serving as Chief of Staff to Oregon Governor Kate Brown; and working in the White House for the Office of Cabinet Affairs as a Chief of Staff and Deputy Cabinet Secretary.
He currently serves as the Executive Director of the Columbia River Task Force, a federal initiative to implement the U.S. government’s historic agreements with Tribes and States in the Pacific Northwest to restore wild fish populations, expand Tribally sponsored clean energy production, and provide stability for communities that depend on the Columbia River. Nik graduated from Stanford University with a degree in aeronautical engineering in English. He is married to Deborah Kafoury and they have three children.
Omar El Akkad
Author/Journalist
Omar El Akkad’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Guernica, GQ and many other newspapers and magazines. He is a two-time winner of both the Oregon Book Award and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers’ Association Award. His novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages. He is on the faculty of the Pacific University MFA in Writing program.
Elizabeth Gewecke
Community Volunteer
Elizabeth Gewecke is passionate about lifelong learning and healthy communities. Born and raised in Portland, OR, she graduated from Sunset High School and earned a B.A. from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. After a career in technology product management, she and her husband, Thomas Gewecke, returned to Portland in 2006 to raise their three children. Elizabeth became active in local organizations and schools. She chaired the Annual Fund at Oregon Episcopal School (OES) for three years. Elizabeth also served on the Board of Trustees at OES for ten years, chairing the Governance Committee, serving as Vice President for two years, and as Board Chair for three years. She has also served on the board of Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT), working on the Finance and Investment committees, and co-chairing the Governance Committee. She is currently a community member on the Development Committee at OES and the OBT Finance Committee. Elizabeth enjoys hiking, reading, visiting museums and listening to all types of podcasts.
Jonathan W. Levine, CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®
Private Wealth Advisor, UBS
Jon Levine is a Private Wealth Advisor with the Lang – Vista Group at UBS Financial Services where he co-leads a team of 12 financial professionals. For over 30 years, Jon has provided comprehensive financial advice for individuals and their families, business owners and institutions. The advice he and his team provides for individuals and their families, business owners and institutions reflect true partnerships.
Civically, Jon has served on a number of boards and committees including as Chair of Donate Life Northwest, Portland Youth Soccer Association, Laurelhurst Soccer Club, American Corporate Partners, Literary Arts, and Start Making a Reader Today.
Jon originally hails from the Boston area and moved to Portland in the mid 1990’s. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the School of Natural Resources at the University of Vermont in 1992. Jon and his wife Sheila along with their two daughters live in Portland. Jon enjoys Portland Timbers games, alpine skiing, cycling, reading, cooking, and is a member and officer of the Oregon Wine Brotherhood.
Diane Ponti
Writer
Diane Ponti has had a lifelong interest in reading and writing. Her first involvement with Literary Arts was before it became Literary Arts when she served on the board of OILA (Oregon Institute of Literary Arts). After OILA merged with Portland Arts and Lectures she joined the board of Literary Arts and later became its chair. She was one of the original members of the Strunk and White Society.
Diane worked as an institutional bond broker after teaching Language Arts to junior high students (way harder than being a bond broker). She also co-taught Dangerous Writers with Tom Spanbauer.
She served on the board of Portland Story Theater and was a founding board member of the non-profit SAGE (Senior Advocates for Generational Equity). She’s currently working on her memoir (also, WAY harder than being a bond broker).
Priscilla Bernard Wieden
Founder, Evergreen Clinic (retired)
Priscilla Bernard Wieden is celebrated for her active engagement in Portland’s vibrant artistic community and contributions to Caldera, an award-winning year-round program for underserved youth, dedicated to nurturing creative and environmental education. Priscilla serves as Co-chair of the Caldera Board, an organization founded by the Wieden family in 1996 with the belief in the power of creativity. She currently also serves on the Board of Trustees for Wieden + Kennedy.
Priscilla has devoted her life to being of service in the healing arts, having founded and run Evergreen Clinic for 35 years, and in the theater arts, having served as Board Chair for Profile Theatre.
Immersing herself in issues of social justice, the arts, women and children, housing, the environment, and hunger, including past Board service with Urban Gleaners and Ecotrust, keeps her actively engaged with the world.
