Mauri Matsuda is a PSU alumni and faculty member whose scholarship examines the role of social, neighborhood, and family contexts for understanding delinquency, alcohol and substance use, dating and family violence, and contact with/perceptions of the justice system. She also serve as Board Director for The Pathfinder Network, whose mission is to provide justice-impacted individuals and families the tools and support they need to be safe and thrive in their communities.

Deborah Rutt has taught community-based learning at Portland State University since 2010. With a focus on bringing community health and higher education opportunities to incarcerated people, Deborah connects PSU students on campus with those at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Oregon’s prison for women. Deborah spent 20 years in public health dentistry, providing clinical care for migrant farmworkers and refugees, and clinical education for students at Oregon Health Sciences School of Dentistry.

CeCe Ridder, Ph.D.is the current Public Engagement Division Manager for the City of Beaverton in Oregon where she manages seven teams. She left a career in higher education after 25 years; 16 years at The University of Texas at Austin with the final role as the founder of the Office of Student Life in the McCombs School of Business, and 7 years at Portland State University as Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Multicultural Student Services. CeCe has a Bachelor’s degree in Interpersonal Communications from Nebraska Wesleyan University, a Master’s Degree in College Student Personnel from Kansas State University, and a PhD in Higher Education Administration from The University of Texas at Austin.

Morgan Godvin is a senior in the OHSU-PSU School of Public. As a formerly incarcerated student, she is a constant advocate for other justice-impacted students. She has worked with Oregon Senators Wyden and Merkley to increase access to higher education for people with felony convictions on the Federal level and is a regular guest speaker at universities and events. She has appeared on various television and talk shows, and is published in The Washington Post and Medium, among other publications. She sits on the Oregon Governor’s Drug Policy Council.

Becky Sanchez, Ed. D. serves as the Executive Director of Undergraduate Programs in The School of Business at PSU where she is responsible for managing the student experience in the undergraduate program. She oversees all School of Business undergraduate student services, programming, and operational aspects. Becky identifies barriers that exist for students and works to eliminate them or help students overcome them.

Leena Shrestha is an Academic and Career Adviser at Portland State University. She is an innovative leader with a vision to identify opportunities, strategize, plan and achieve results with sensitivity to diverse constituencies. Leena has proven program evaluation and management skills, including grant writing, budgeting and team building. She excels in cross cultural communication and is committed to student success.

Cree Dueker, Assistant Director of Admissions, Portland State University, is an enrolled member of the Chippewa Cree tribe in Rocky Boy, Montana. She has lived across the United States in New Jersey, New Mexico, California, and Illinois but now calls Oregon home. She began working at PSU in 2011 as a student worker and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with minors in Indigenous Nations Studies & Black Studies. Through her various student work experiences, Cree found a passion for helping students access higher education as a tool for transforming their personal lives and communities.

Betsy Simpkins is the former Program Coordinator of Chemeketa Community College’s College Inside Program – the only full associate degree program offered to incarcerated adults in Oregon from 2007 – 2015. She was instrumental in its creation and expansion to serve four Salem area prisons, with multiple degree offerings. With no federal or state support for the program, Betsy and her team were able to create a sustainable program by working closely with private businesses, donors, and students to establish a program many still consider a great example of what postsecondary prison education should look like. She holds a Master’s degree in Education from PSU and a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish from WOU.