Lana Finley has been a strong supporter of education for almost 30 years. In 1992 she got her first taste of working with at-risk youth as a social worker in an alternative school/day treatment program for emotionally disturbed adolescents in Milwaukee, WI and was hooked. Although she left that program to pursue her master’s degree in social work and worked for a time in outpatient mental health clinics with couples and families, she never lost her passion for helping teens in trouble with the law to find their way in the educational system and in life. She returned to that program when her children began school to later become the Director of Juvenile Services of Wisconsin Correctional Service, overseeing all personnel and budgetary matters. She also established a fund at Wisconsin Correctional Service to be used to nurture the ongoing relationship with and encourage offsite field trips to the International Clown Hall of Fame and other creative endeavors not commonly available to the at-risk group of teens in corrections.

After Lana and her family moved to Portland, OR to further grow their fledgling startup company, SurveyMonkey, she never lost her passion for connecting with children through education. She served as the chairperson for their daughters’ school auction at the Montessori School of Beaverton as well as the Annual Fund at Catlin Gabel. Lana also is the President of the CLF Family Charitable Foundation where the focus has overwhelmingly been for supporting children in education, funding organizations such as Boys and Girls Aid, Stand for Children, and Children’s Institute. She currently serves on the board at the Portland Art Museum on various committees as well as Chairperson of the Learning and Community Partnerships committee. Lana also works closely with museum staff as the only board member on their Equity and Inclusion task force. She also is a new member of the board at Friends of the Children.