PlayWrite Board
- Teri Fitch, Fitch Associates, President
- Gerard Lester, Vacasa, Secretary
- Kyle Podd, Geffen Mesher & Co., Treasurer
- Timothy Anderson, Merrill Gardens
- Brian Lindstrom, Brian Lindstrom Films
- Bruce Livingston, Founder, PlayWrite, Inc.
- Matthew Robinson, Nike
Erin's diverse career includes education program management with Mercy Corps, coordination of political campaigns and a half decade working in Latin America in both government and NGO positions. Most recently she worked with Rotary International to build an infrastructure around their work in peace and conflict resolution. She and her husband live in Portland Oregon with their two children where they are active in education and environmental organizations. Erin is interested in helping PlayWrite develop its full potential by building bridges with business, community and government leaders who can serve to position this truly innovative program within the communities who need it most.
Kyle Podd joined the PlayWrite board in 2009. In addition to serving on the board, Kyle is also a member of the finance committee. Kyle has a business background having attained a Bachelors degree in both finance and accounting from the University of Arizona. He is a CPA with the local firm of Geffen, Mesher & Company and specializes in taxation. Kyle joined Geffen Mesher in April 2008 after moving to Portland from London, England. Outside of work, Kyle enjoys spending time with his wife and keeping up with their busy five-year-old son and 1 year old daughter. He also enjoys traveling, sports, games and other outdoor activities.
Timothy Anderson is a nonprofit outreach professional at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound, a youth mentoring organization focused on one-to-one mentoring. Previously, Timothy has worked for non-profits and higher education always with the focus of community outreach and education for at-risk youth. He is a graduate of Global Business at Tacoma Community College and earned his Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management at Western Governor’s University. Timothy loves helping youth unlock their potential and this is why he is drawn to PlayWrite. He likes how PlayWrite’s intensive workshop, one-to-one coaching and self-expression through art, enable participants to face themselves in a creative and direct way.
Teri is a founding partner of Fitch Associates, a management-consulting firm, with offices in Portland and San Francisco. She's worked with a range of clients over the last 15 years including Apple, Adobe, Kaiser Permanente', Oracle, and others.
Beyond her work, Teri has committed herself to working as a board member and volunteer for organizations she's passionate about. She coached women and minority job seekers at the groundbreaking Career Action Center in the Bay Area. At Cornish Institute in Seattle, Teri built the Inter-Arts Collaborative Group at Cornish Institute for the Arts bringing together artists of different disciplines to create unique works of art with a mission to shine a light on injustice, and inequality and to give voice to issues that were being ignored.
As a member of PlayWrite's board, she's focused on helping the organization build capacity and replicate it's amazing success in working with youth at the edge in Portland. Utilizing the resources of Portland Equity in the Arts, her goal is on continuing to enrich the board's capacity, representation and connections with the diverse communities of Oregon.
Gerard has worked in non-profit leadership and in the past, one being Great Outdoors Academy, where he combined his love of the outdoors and working with youth. Through GOA he met Bruce Livingston who brought him back into the service world to sit on the board of PlayWrite, Inc. Gerard’s professional experiences have been in business development with marketing and advertising, entertainment, travel and tourism. He brings great skills to the board. He’s currently the Vice President of Business Development at Vacasa, one of the leading companies in the emerging vacation rental industry. He loves being a dad and during his free time he’s playing music with friends, and enjoying outdoor adventures like, biking, hiking, skiing, or back packing.
Brian Lindstrom's award-winning documentaries profile people society puts an "x" through and aim to reduce stigma and reveal the humanity of those living on the margins. Alien Boy: The Life & Death of James Chasse, about the death of a non-violent man with schizophrenia at the hands of the Portland Police, is available on Amazon and iTunes and is distributed by Breaking Glass Pictures. Finding Normal follows longtime addicts trying to rebuild their lives with the help of Central City Concern's Recovery Mentor Program. Mothering Inside chronicles the Family Preservation Project, an innovative program at Coffee Creek prison that helps inmate moms establish and maintain healthy bonds with their children. Writing Myself follows a workshop of Playwrite Inc. These films are distributed by Dark Hollow Films.
Bruce has been connecting youth at the edge with theatre since 1996. He established PlayWrite to pursue this passion, combining established theatre practices and neuroscience research with engaged and invested coaches to best serve the needs of youth. Bruce holds degrees from Reed College and the University of Chicago, both in Anthropology. He lived and taught in Shiraz, Iran from the late 60’s until the 1978 revolution. In 1980 he entered the culinary world in Paris, and adventures with food occupied him for the next decade and a half. In 1996, he was invited to write a play for a child in the Haven Project, and ever since has been passionately involved in connecting young people with theatre. He served as Managing Director of the Haven Project from 2000 through April 2003, and founded PlayWrite in November of 2003.
After moving to the NW, Matthew sought out an organization that would allow him to make an impact in the lives of kids. He found that in PlayWrite. After attending a number of PlayWrite events including a performance, he decided to join the Board and is excited to help the organization grow. Matthew was born and raised overseas in Kingston, Jamaica, and has lived in Florida and Texas. He holds a BA from the University of Florida (Go Gators!!) and a JD from UT-Austin, and currently works at Nike.
Cara was born in Portland, Oregon, raised in southern Mississippi, and currently resides in Seattle, WA. She earned her degree in Social Work at the University of Southern Mississippi and worked extensively in Mental Health Services for youth and families in Portland. Cara was first introduced to PlayWrite as a Supervisor at the Cedar Bough Native American program. At this time she observed firsthand the positive effects that participation in PlayWrite had on the lives of the youth at Cedar Bough. She continued her connection with PlayWrite by accepting the opportunity to support PlayWrite as a board member in 2012. She is passionate about providing opportunities for culturally diverse youth to have new experiences leading them to growth and healing. Cara is currently Director of Programs for Big Brothers Big Sisters Puget Sound. In her free time Cara enjoys traveling, the outdoors, art, beadwork, cooking, and spending time with family and friends!