Our Honorary Council

CHRISTOPHER BRENTLINGER is a development director for Lewis and Clark College, and has raised funds for Oregon Health and Science University Foundation and Casey Eye Institute. He has worked in development for over fifteen years. After college Chris joined the Peace Corps and traveled to Kenya as a small business advisor (1983-1985). Chris has also served as a member of Harambee's Board.

JANE EMRICK, born in Duluth, Minnesota, lived most of her childhood in San Jose, California. She came to Portland to attend the University of Portland where she met John. She graduated in 1966 with a degree in Sociology. She has spent the last twenty-two years as a volunteer with the Providence Hospice program, and has been supportive of Harambee's African projects.

JOHN EMRICK was born and educated in Portland. He graduated from University of Portland in 1964. His entire work career has been with Norm Thompson, Inc. He was named President in 1971 and became CEO and a major shareholder in 1981. John serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of Portland. He is also a trustee of the Meyer Memorial Trust, one of the largest in the Northwest. John also unofficially helps in marketing and fundraising efforts for numerous nonprofit organizations. In 1995 he received an honorary degree "Doctor of Public Service" from the University of Portland.

JENNIFER FROISTAD is Harambee's founding board president. For six years Jennifer was president of AFS-USA. She has also been the chief operating of Earthwatch, and has held interim management and leadership positions with Save the Children and World Learning. She has provided technical assistance and leadership to build Harambee. Jennifer presently is the Malawi Country Director for Save the Children.

SENATOR AVEL GORDLY, an Oregon native, is the first African American woman ever elected to the Oregon Senate. She received a bachelor's degree in the Administration of Justice from Portland State University. In 1997, Senator Gordly led a trade delegation to southern Africa to develop relationships to increase trade, tourism, and cultural exchange between Zambia, South Africa, and Oregon.

MARK HATFIELD has distinguished himself as a leading voice for human rights, nuclear disarmament, and the peaceful resolution of international conflicts. He has also been a powerful advocate for domestic social and health issues. Hatfield retired from the Senate in 1997, after serving the people of Oregon and the nation for thirty years. In retirement he has served as an adjunct professor at Portland State University, Lewis and Clark College, and George Fox University.

REV. THEODORE HESBURGH is President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame. Father Hesburgh has held fifteen Presidential appointments over the years that have involved him in virtually all the major social issues - civil rights, peaceful uses of atomic energy, campus unrest, treatment of Vietnam offenders, Third World Development, and immigration reform to name a few. He continues to advocate for these causes.

NEAL KENY-GUYER is a "social entrepreneur" with a calling to help the disadvantaged. A Tennessee native, Neal earned his BA from Duke University and a Masters from Yale. Under his leadership Mercy Corps has emerged as a leading international relief and development agency with programs in twenty-nine countries, 2000 staff, and an annual operating budget in excess of $125 million.

MARK MATHABANE is the best selling author of Kaffir Boy, African Women and Miriam's Song. Mark grew up under apartheid in Alexandra, a South African township. Love learning and dreams of tennis stardom carried him to the US. Mark resides in Portland and works with Catlin Gabel School's multicultural education program.

MARLO MITCHEM was raised in Richmond, Virginia. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Montana and her graduate degree at Pacific University. Marlo has taught history at Beaverton's Southridge High School for four years where she advises Model United Nations, coordinates the Matale Sister School Project, and works with the Oregon World Affairs Council's "Awareness to Action" campaign. Marlo was a participant in Harambee's Fulbright-Hays education tour of Ghana in 2003. She currently teaches in Bahrain with her husband, Brian.

DON WYCLIFF is the public editor of the Chicago Tribune. He went to the Tribune from the New York Times, where he was a member of the editorial board for over five years. Don earned his bachelor's degree in political science at the University of Chicago and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1999 by the University of Portland.

Harambee Centre
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Telephone: (503) 710-8264
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