Staff
Linda Nilsen Solares, MPA, Executive Director
Linda, a native of rural Michigan, has had diverse experience in the world of health care, starting with public health community organizing in Central America with a non governmental organization called Outreach International.
After moving to the Portland area in 1993, she spent 12 years working for Washington County, most of that time in the Department of Health and Human Services, where she worked as a Health Educator and Program Manager for the Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening program.
Immediately prior to her work with Project Access NOW, Linda managed the Essential Health Clinic, a free urgent care clinic in Washington County.
Linda spends her non-work life with her husband Edgar, a school teacher in Beaverton, and their two vivacious daughters.
Call Linda at 503.413.5549.
Photo credit: Andie Petkus Photography
Executive updates
June 2011: We’re on Facebook and Twitter
February 2011: Values in Action and Celebrating our Shared Successes
January 2011: New Year and More Impact as We Connect People to Healthcare. Today.
December 2010: Looking back, looking forward
October 2010: Health reform, Project Access NOW, and you
September 2010: Another Open House, another milestone
August 2010: Sneak peak at Project Access NOW outcomes
July 2010: In-kind contributions keep us up and running
June 2010: New fiscal year heralds expansion
May 2010: Healthcare reform and Project Access NOW
February 2010: New board recruits, new program, and an event to boot
January 2010: Broadening the Project Access NOW circle
November 2009: The challenges of success
October 2009: Announcing publication of the Interim Evaluation Report
September 2009: Consider the many ways to get involved with Project Access NOW
August 2009: Project Access NOW sets sights high for 2009/2010
Linda’s profile in The Sign, the e-newsletter of Semiosis Communications, our corporate partner.
Janet Hamilton, Director of Operations
Janet, a recovering Californian, has called Portland home since 2003. Her love affair with the Pacific Northwest began 12 years before that when she began traveling here regularly for her work as a healthcare information systems consultant, a profession she has yet to fully shed, despite various career and educational forays as a coffee shop/specialty grocery store owner, organizational development consultant, mediator, and even one day of law school.
While working as Director of Information Systems at Columbia United Providers in Vancouver, Janet’s strong desire to live andwork in Portland and to become even more involved in the important work of helping people navigate our broken health care system led her to the new position with Project Access NOW.
Janet is thrilled to be riding her bike to work everyday, and honored to be counted among the outstanding staff of Project Access NOW. When not at work, you can find Janet coaxing her tomato plants through the June gloom, overspending at a farmers market, or paddling on one of our fabulous waterways.
Call Janet at 503.413.5541.
Katie Ulin, Program Manager
Program Manager Katie Ulin took an international route to Project Access NOW. During a break in her biology studies at Brown University, she volunteered and worked in Guatemala at a community development organization that helped people build permanent stoves in their homes. Because she “really liked international relations and public health”, Katie completed her studies at Brown with an international relations major. She also liked Guatemala: after graduation she spent another two years working there. Finally, in late 2007, Katie returned to her Portland roots, in time to see Project Access get off the ground at the Essential Health Clinic.
Katie’s charge at the Essential Health Clinic was to set the Project Access program up and running in Washington County, Oregon. She formed relationships with healthcare providers and clinics, established administrative procedures, and helped integrate the program into the regional system.
“I have been lucky to be a part of Project Access since the beginning,” Katie said. She also put her education and experience to good use. “I was able to work at the intersection of health care provision and various cultures accessing care in ways that were completely new for them. We are attempting to connect patients to health care in a way that reduces cultural barriers, as well as being an efficient use of resources.”
Photo credit: Andie Petkus Photography
Britt Howe, Pharmacy Resource Specialist
When the first Pharmacy Bridge manager Margaret Lamb, announced her departure, Britt expressed interest in taking over the program. Having worked with us for some time, she up to speed on what the program needs, and we know she has the right skills and passion for helping people.
“Stepping into my new role as the Pharmacy Resource Specialist has been both challenging and incredibly rewarding. With the help of our invaluable community volunteers and interns, the Pharmacy Bridge program supports the varied pharmaceutical needs of our patients. The increasing number of community volunteer hours will grow our Medication Assistance Program, which will increase our capacity to support more patients within Project Access NOW.”
We’re fortunate to have Britt on board!
Call Britt at 503.413.5541.
Read more about Pharmacy Bridge >
Read more about the staff transition at Pharmacy Bridge >
Photo credit: Andie Petkus Photography
Tara Foley, Quality Assurance and Training Manager
Tara Foley moved to Portland from the East Coast “to preserve my sanity and live a slower, more financially stable lifestyle”. The move seems to have paid off: Tara has “found a great community. I love living here.” And Project Access NOW loves having Tara on board!
Tara joined the Coalition of Community Health Clinic team as soon as she arrived. Working as an Access and Referral Coordinator, she helped patients get the care they needed at the Coalition member clinics and through the Coalition’s access programs. In that role, Tara managed Project Access Multnomah County.
Tara said she learned a lot at the Coalition. “I experienced first hand the workings of the partnership between the Coalition and Project Access NOW. I now know a lot more more about Oregon’s healthcare system and the safety net. The clinics and Project Access NOW play a very important role for the region’s uninsured.”
Call Tara at 503.413.5577.
Elgin Dean, IT Specialist
When Project Access NOW was just getting off the ground with two busy staff, it became clear the organization needed to pay attention to technology support. Elgin Dean had been managing the Human Computer Interaction Lab at Lewis & Clark College and was identified as a recent graduate who could potentially jump in and help out with a variety of Project Access NOW’s technology needs. On a fine May day in 2008, he visited the tiny Project Access NOW office to learn more about this job opportunity.
“I did expect to be interviewed,” Elgin recalled. “But as soon as I walked in the door, Linda asked me to start fixing things.”
Elgin sailed through his slightly unorthodox interview and became the third staff member of the organization. Things have changed a lot since then.
Call Elgin at 503.413.5541.
Anna Sease, Care Coordinator
A native-born Oregonian, Anna Sease discovered her life’s passion in Mexico. As a Philomath Rotary Club exchange student, she spent a year in Coatepec, Veracruz, where she not only mastered Spanish but also intepreted for a medical team performing free surgeries (also a Rotary program).
“I love speaking Spanish,” Anna said. “I usually go after any excuse that allows me to do that.”
At the University of Oregon, where she got a bachelor’s of science in biology, Anna volunteered as an intepreter for Northwest Medical Teams (now Medical Teams International) dental van. She also worked in Costa Rica as a naturalist guide at an ecological reserve, which greatly improved her Spanish. She found Project Access NOW while traveling overseas after college.
“I was working at a sandwich shop in Blenheim, New Zealand, when I decided I wanted to work in a field I care about. I researched my options back in Oregon while I was in Indonesia, and then emailed [Director of Operations] Janet Hamilton asking to work or volunteer at Project Access NOW.”
Photo credit: Andie Petkus Photography
Cristina Tobón, Care Coordinator
Cristina Tobón has dedicated herself to helping people adjust to “living in America”. After moving from Colombia to Miami, Florida, she experienced the common assimilation difficulties. She said, “Having the privilege of education and language skills, I thought others without those would struggle even more, so I decided to help.”
For the following 6 years, Cristina worked as a program manager for the Family and Children Faith Coalition of South Florida, which provides after-school services, prevention education, and mentoring. In mid-2010, the organization was forced to severely cut its budget, leaving Cristina with a near-obvious choice: visit Portland where her daughter lives. Cristina soon fell in love with the city and decided to stay.
In her new start, she volunteered at the Center for Intercultural Organizing, which helps immigrants and refugees settle in Portland’s communities. One of her co-volunteers was Hikari Ward, who worked as a care coordinator at Project Access NOW at the time and who told Cristina about job openings there.
“I was looking for a job, so it was perfect timing,” Cristina said.
Photo credit: Andie Petkus Photography
Debbie Rieke, Community Resource Development Manager
Debbie Rieke was volunteering for Northwest Portland Ministries on a planned hiatus from paid work to focus on personal goals and service to the community when she learned of Project Access NOW. While waiting for a meeting to begin, she picked up one of Project Access NOW’s brochures on display in the lobby that was shared by both organizations. After reading about Project Access NOW’s mission and vision, she instantly felt the need to become involved. She reached out to program coordinator, Lorraine Williams, and began volunteering shortly thereafter.
Debbie likes to be around people and has always been driven by the desire to help others, so her prior experience as a Certified Medical Assistant and, later, as a Human Resources professional, proved to be a good fit with Project Access NOW. She drew upon her knowledge of staffing and organizational development to enhance Project Access NOW’s community volunteer program, and she became the liaison between staff and community volunteers. Debbie’s knowledge of planning corporate events also proved valuable as she became involved in planning the annual Bridges to Healthcare event as well as other events throughout the year.
Photo credit: Andie Petkus Photography
Jasmine Graham, Care Coordinator Support Specialist
We have to believe in the power of partnerships and making connections!
Sharetta Butcher is the office and volunteer coordinator for North by Northeast Clinic, one of our referring partner clinics. She thought her sister-in-law, Jasmine Graham, would be a great care coordination support specialist at Project Access NOW, so she suggested Jasmine apply for the job.
She was right! Project Access NOW welcomed Jasmine to the team in March of 2011.
Jasmine’s path to Project Access NOW was a winding road for sure. A graduate of Concorde Career Institute, Jasmine worked more than nine years as a medical assistant with both Providence and Adventist Hospital Clinics, “floating” in front and back office positions within a variety of medical specialties. Ready for a temporary foray away from health care, Jasmine went into business for herself, owning and operating “Lady Fingers,” a home cleaning service. After a couple of years, however, Jasmine felt the pull to return to the health care field. And Project Access NOW is the perfect fit.
Photo credit: Andie Petkus Photography
Kari Halvorson, Care Coordinator
If Kari’s name sounds familiar, it’s because she was one of the original care coordinators for Project Access Washington County, which was a program of the Essential Health Clinic. That program, along with the Clackamas and Multnomah County programs, were later united under the umbrella of Project Access NOW.
The thought of becoming a doctor had been in the back of Kari’s mind for a long time. As an undergraduate at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, she felt a connection to health care through her volunteer work at a free clinic. After graduating with a degree in Spanish, Kari moved to California to work for Americorps for a year as a volunteer outreach coordinator for Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services. When that position ended, Kari was ready for a new adventure. She decided to try Portland, where her brother and a cousin were living at the time.
Perla Quiroz
Perla worked in various roles at the Multnomah County Health Department off and on for many years. When her position was eliminated due to a funding shortfall, she became a self-employed interpreter.
Because of her work with the county, she had many clients in need of her services, but Perla felt the pull to be part of a community-focused organization. She answered a help-wanted ad from Project Access NOW. And we’re so glad she did.
Perla’s primary responsibilities are to manage the calls that come through our pharmacy line and to help coordinate the Pharmacy Bridge program. She also answers the main line and provides support to the care coordination team. Perla likes the fact that her responsibilities are in line with her future career objective to become a pharmacist. She’s currently taking classes to complete the prerequisites to enter a pharmacy program.
