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Staff

Arika Bridgeman-Bunyoli

Grant Manager

she/her

arika.bridgeman-bunyoli@portlandoregon.gov | 503-865-6215

Arika received her Master of Public Health from Oregon State University where she studied international health with a focus on culturally just and effective maternal and child health programs. She received her BA from Antioch College in cultural and interdisciplinary studies with a focus on multicultural primary education, and also received an Ohio teacher’s certification for grades K-8. She has spent most of her career working on issues impacting children and families in marginalized communities including working as a preschool teacher, English/Swahili speaking Parent Educator, and a Community Organizer for Stand for Children.

As a Community Health Worker (CHW) she served African immigrant and refugee families prior to moving to the Multnomah County Capacitation Center where she developed curriculum for CHW training and co-facilitated CHW training. Arika’s last position before moving to PCL was as the Early Life Programs Director at the Oregon Community Health Workers Association where she managed the Community Education Worker (CEW) program and two Community Health Worker programs in chronic disease and maternal and child health.

She is passionate about addressing the role of systemic racism and oppression in health and educational outcomes, cultural humility, popular education and community empowerment. Arika manages the Small Grants Fund as well as the Levy’s mentoring grants.

Brian Schmedinghoff

Grant Manager

he/him

brian.schmedinghoff@portlandoregon.gov | 971-610-8721

Brian joined the Children’s Levy after 21 years of grant writing and fundraising for a variety of nonprofit organizations, where he raised over $250 million for health, HIV/AIDS, STEM education, community organizing, and affordable housing services. Before becoming a fundraiser and grant writer, Brian studied music performance and music education at the University of North Texas. At PCL, Brian manages after school grants. In his spare time, Brian paints landscapes, feeds his dog too many treats, and loves to host board game nights with his husband and friends.

Joel Broussard

Grant Manager

he/him

joel.broussard@portlandoregon.gov | 503-865-6786

Joel Broussard is a Portland native who has seen many changes happen in the Portland area and the state of Oregon. Over 28 years of experience as a social worker in the private and governmental sector. 22 of those years were with child welfare. He has experience working as a social worker in the tri-county area and throughout Oregon. Joel joined the Portland Children’s Levy team in May 2021 and manages foster care and child abuse prevention and intervention grants. In 2008, Joel got a graduate degree from PSU focused on social work leadership and management. He has consistently sought and taken advantage of opportunities to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate policies and programs that promote equity and reduce racial and ethnic disparities. When he is not working, he likes doing things with his son. In addition to supporting his son to grow and learn, Joel enjoys spending time with his friends and family doing things in the outdoors; some of his favorite outdoor activities are trail running, mountain bike riding, hiking, backpacking, relays, and swimming in open water.

John Kelly

Fiscal and Administrative Specialist

he/him

john.kelly@portlandoregon.gov | 503-865-6903

John joined the Levy in November 2006. Prior to joining PCL, he worked as an accountant and auditor in Portland. John also has managed the operations of a small business and worked in program management in the nonprofit sector. He received his Master’s Degree in Peace Studies from the Kroc Institute at the University of Notre Dame. He studied accounting at Portland State University.

Katrina Peterson

Community Engagement Coordinator

she/her

katrina.peterson@portlandoregon.gov | 503-823-8763

Katrina supports the Community Council and is passionate about group facilitation and community-driven policy and program development. Prior to joining the Portland Children’s Levy, she worked in Seattle on climate, energy, and labor justice policies and campaigns. She holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Yale University. Outside of work, you can find Katrina gardening, spending time with family, and beekeeping with her partner.

Lisa Pellegrino

Director

she/her

lisa.pellegrino@portlandoregon.gov | 503-865-6061

Lisa has been with the Children’s Levy for 17 years. Before coming to the Levy, Lisa worked for the Portland Development Commission/ Portland Family of Funds on the agency’s applications for New Market Tax Credits. Prior to that, she spent three years as the Policy Director for the Multnomah County Commission on Children, Families and Community, where she worked on policy initiatives in the early childhood and school-aged services arenas. Before entering the children’s services world, Pellegrino was a part-owner of the Portland Pretzel Company for five years, and practiced law for four years in San Francisco. Lisa is PCL director and also manages the after school grants. In her spare time, Lisa likes to be outside biking, hiking and walking the neighborhoods with her dog, cooking and hearing live music.

Meg McElroy

Assistant Director

she/her

meg.mcelroy@portlandoregon.gov | 503-865-6013

Meg has more than 20 years of public policy, project management, program implementation and research experience with a focus on children and families. Before moving to the Northwest, she worked with the Arizona Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism developing community-based service learning programs for school-age children. Meg has a Master in Public Administration from the University of Washington’s Evans School, where she also worked as a research assistant with the Center on Reinventing Public Education. After graduating, she lived in Guatemala researching how to bring teen health programs to local communities. She has also worked as a substitute elementary school teacher and as an after-school teacher. Meg is PCL assistant director and also manages early childhood and hunger relief grants. In her free time, she enjoys visiting Oregon’s beautiful outdoors with her two young children, husband, and friends.

Yuxing Zheng

Communications and Outreach Director

she/her

yuxing.zheng@portlandoregon.gov | 503-823-8999

Yuxing works on strategic communications, content and storytelling across multiple channels, building relationships with partners and community members, and other communications support. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism, strategic communications, media relations, community engagement and outreach, marketing and social media. Yuxing previously worked as the parks and nature communications manager at Metro and as a politics reporter at The Oregonian, including covering the Oregon Legislature, state government and social services.