SMYRC

Who We Are: Staff

Amy Daniewicz
Counselor III

Amy holds a Masters in Social Work from Portland State University and is working towards her LCSW. Amy has been a part of SMYRC for the last two years and worked with Child Welfare prior to her position in the Resource Center.

Charlotte Redway
MSW, Volunteer Counselor

Charlotte holds an MSW from the Smith College School of Social Work and is working towards her LCSW. She has worked/volunteered with sexual and gender minorities for the last several years. Charlotte also works as an in-home family therapist for clients referred through DHS.

Jonathan K. Weedman
QMHP, SMYRC Program Manager

Jonathan K. Weedman is the Program Manager for SMYRC. Jonathan has an MA in Counseling Psychology from Lewis and Clark College and is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with the state of Oregon. Jonathan supervises all staff and manages the SMYRC budget.

Mehera Scheu
QMHA, Bridge-13 Coordinator

For more than two years Mehera has coordinated the Bridge-13 community education program at SMYRC. She received a Bachelors of Science in Psychology with an emphasis in Middle Eastern and Black studies. Mehera also worked as an advocate for the Middle East Women's Resource Center (MEWERC) where she provided culturally specific resources and support to women from the Middle East and central Asia who faced domestic violence. Mehera is currently attending Pacific University in the Masters in Counseling Psychology program.

R.E. “Ari” Szego
Tobacco Prevention Coordinator

R.E. coordinates Breathe Free, the statewide LGBTQ Tobacco Prevention & Education Program that is SMYRC’s only program that serves both youth and adults. R.E. has a longtime interest in LGBTQ health and healthcare access, and has worked for SMYRC for more than three years, previously coordinating SMYRC’s Clackamas County HIV prevention program COSMYC. R.E. has an M.S. in Development Sociology from Cornell University with thesis work on Participatory Action Research and Feminist Research Methodology. Graduate studies included coursework in queer theory and adult education. Teaching experience includes courses in Women’s Studies and Sociology at Portland Community College and serving as the faculty advisor to the United Sexualities (GSA) club for a year. R.E. plans to study social marketing.

Virginia Martin
On-Call Staff

Originally from Alaska, Virginia drove her pink cargo van down to Portland in search of queers, radicals, and activists. At SMYRC she found them all. Virginia has a special place in her heart for non-profits. She has worked for Planned Parenthood and The Sexual Assault Resource Center. In her spare time Virginia works as a sex educator for It’s My Pleasure. She dreams of opening a sex-positive community center for people of all genders and sexualities.

Zan Gibbs
QMHA, Resource Center Staff

Zan has been called “Papa SMYRC,” “The Pillar of SMYRC,” and “Zanimal,” just to name a few. As part of the original founding crew, Zan has been a part of SMYRC for more than ten years, since the program’s inception. At SMYRC Zan supervises the Resource Center; manages the AmeriCorps programs; and co-ordinates adult volunteers. During Resource Center drop in time Zan can be found cutting hair in the barber shop, DJ’ing for shows and open mic, eating whatever anyone is making in the kitchen, or listening to amazing youth stories on the couch. Zan specializes in crisis and suicide intervention and prevention, grief and loss support, gender and transgender education, as well as health and wellness activities. Zan identifies as non gendered and queer.

Teisha Parchment
QMHA, Clinical Intern

Teisha holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Weber State University and is currently working on a Masters in Counseling at Portland State University. She has been active/volunteering in the queer community for the last six years

Kelly Fisher
Youth Development Specialist, Americorps

Kelly has worked as a Wilderness Instructor, an EMT, and now works at SMYRC. When will Kelly make up her mind and commit to one career goal? Never!

Raina Daniels
Health Awareness Specialist, Americorps

Raina is enthusiastically assistanting the Breathe-Free and Bridge-13 programs at SMYRC. She graduated from Antioch College with her BA in “Self, Society and Culture”, which she translates to “Social Psychology with a minor in Gender Studies and Education”. Her thesis looked at the intersection of sexual identity, narrative, and actual sexual practice. Raina has been an advocate for comprehensive and inclusive sex education for more than a decade, and has worked at Health Initiatives For Youth (HIFY) in San Francisco and The Lower Eastside Girls Club in New York City. She believes programs like SMYRC drastically improve the world at large and is excited to work with anyone who thinks so too.

Mo Kenny
QMHA, Washington County Pride Project Coordinator

Mo became a part of the SMYRC team in 2005 as a Resource Center intern from the University of Portland. During her internship, SMYRC youth and staff played a vital role in the completion of Mo’s undergraduate thesis on domestic violence in the queer community. After earning two Bachelor’s degrees (in Social Work and Spanish), traveling the world, and working for a mental health agency and Planned Parenthood, Mo returned to SMYRC in Spring 2007 as the Coordinator of the Washington County Pride Project! Mo has been known to enjoy drag kinging, pictures of unicorns, long walks on the beach with her dog Noodle and helping sexual and gender minority youth make a difference in their communities!