CLI 2022-23 Cohort
Dania Rescue Otto is a second generation Chuukese American born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her experiences growing up in Hawaii during a wave of emigration of Chuukese and COFA citizens after the Compact of Free Association with the United States was set in place, exposed her to the cultural barriers, social injustice and racial inequity her people faced. This drives her to organize her community, break cultural barriers and advocate for equity and inclusion with the Chuukese community. She moved to Washington last year to grow her virtual interpreting agency and work directly within the Chuukese Community. Here she found her passion to be a community servant leader and advocate for her people.
Dania is a professional Chuukese Interpreter and Translator with the Vancouver Public School District serving over 200 Chuukese families and their students. Outside of work, she is the Secretary and on the board of directors for a Chuukese non profit named Sakura 39ers Youth Association. She believes in providing a culturally sensitive, empowering and safe environment for the Chuukese youth in the community. She also represents her Chuukese community on the Fourth Plain Community Advisory Committee. Dania has her BA in Business administration from Chaminade University of Honolulu where she is now currently an MBA candidate as well. She takes pride in breaking language barriers, cultural barriers and providing access to educational and vocational resources to her Chuukese community.
Dineve Ramirez was born and raised in Los Angeles and has lived in the Pacific Northwest for over 20 years. She is currently based in Vancouver, WA.
Dineve represents queer BIPOC women on the Clark County Association of Realtors’ (CCAR) Diversity Committee. She is a staunch believer of women’s rights as human rights and social justice; and is a passionate advocate for fair, ethical, and equitable treatment for everyone.
Dineve has worked in the housing industry as a property manager and as a Realtor for over 10 years. As such, she recognizes and has experienced first-hand the systemic and institutionalized inequities in housing that continue to deny underrepresented communities upwards equity and economic mobility.
She hopes her participation in CLI will give her the tools to raise awareness in fair housing, participate in boards and committees to effectively dismantle harmful policies and procedures, and ultimately affect real legislative change.
Duana Johnson is an Indigenous woman native to the NE Washington lands. Duana is a proud Disabled US Navy Veteran, who worked hard to house over 80 Homeless Veterans and Veterans with families in the Greater Portland, Oregon area in the span of one year for NAYA through a grant from the VA.
She currently works as the Lead Administrator for MMIWUSA. Duana is an active advocate for MMIWP speaking in the SW Washington and Portland Oregon area. This year she received the Official May 5th, 2022, Proclamation from Anne McEnerey-Ogle, Mayor of Vancouver, Washington naming it “National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women”. Duana spoke at Greater Seattle YMCA as a panelist for Native American Heritage Month, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. She can be found tabling at local Pow Wows and attending local Housing and other Community forums.
She was assaulted in 2017 and experienced homelessness with her 2 children, this lit a fire in her to fight and advocate for reasonable and swift long term affordable housing for “Our hardest to house”. Duana knows all too well that without this critical most basic need met, her people will continue to be targeted, victimized and exploited by those who would seek to do us harm.
Erin Allgaier (she/her) was born and raised in the Chicagoland area. Throughout her childhood and adolescent years, she saw how the lack of diversity within local leadership negatively impacted her community. She received bachelor’s and master’s degree in healthcare management with a minor in public health from Indiana University – Bloomington (IU). At IS, she had the opportunity to volunteer with on-campus and non-profit organizations, where she saw how the lack of human needs (education, healthcare, etc.) negatively impacted local communities in Southern Indiana.
After graduate school, Erin moved to Camas, WA, to pursue an administrative fellowship at PeaceHealth. She recently transitioned into the patient experience specialist role, where her goal is to help uplift diverse voices and ensure that all community members get respectful and equitable treatment within the hospital. She believes the CLI program will equip her with the necessary tools and educational resources to create tangible change within her health system and community.
Erin is new to the PNW, she enjoys traveling and exploring what this area has to offer. Her last trip was to Mount Rainer, where she completed a number of challenging hikes around the mountain. She enjoys trying out different restaurants in the Portland metropolitan area and is currently interested in volunteering for a nonprofit organization that aligns close with her interest.
Heather Sheppard (she/her) is a social worker in Clark County Washington, currently employed as a Systems Integration Manager at Council for the Homeless. She graduated from Portland State University with her MSW in 2020 and has been diligently working toward systemic change and community collaboration.
Heather has come into the field with varied lenses of lived experience. She identifies as a neuro-divergent, bi-racial, cis, queer woman, who is in recovery from addiction and homelessness. Her life experiences continue to drive her passion for change and empathy for those navigating their own struggles and barriers. Heather is excited to learn more from CLI and how she can develop her advocacy skills on a higher level, ultimately perusing policy reform and increased systemic access for those communities that are most disenfranchised and underinvested in.
Outside of Heather’s passion for social justice, she enjoys being outside, traveling, eating delicious food, fitness, and attending drag shows in her free time. She has 3 children, one energetic Pit Bull named Luz, and a very fluffy cat named Rufolo.
Lucy Cook was born and raised in Peru and moved to the U.S. in September of 2010. She is a Program Manager of Service Lines at PeaceHealth. Lucy is a former Oregon Health Authority employee, and her experience includes administering the State of Oregon’s Medicaid program, reviewing Medicaid policies that addresses social determinants of health, and supported low-income families with social benefits outreach, and enrollment at Clackamas County, Oregon. She is a strong advocate to promote mental health equity.
Lucy earned her MBA from Portland State University in Oregon, and a bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. She recently became a certified Project Management Professional.
Lucy is currently volunteering as the Treasurer of the NALHE Pacific Northwest since May of 2022. She is the Clackamas County Mental Health and Additions Council Advisory Member since July 2020, and the University of Portland International Diversity Advisory Board member since March 2022.
Outside of work, she loves hiking, taking pictures, and creating video contents.
Nickeia Hunter is an 11-year veteran of Carpenters Union Local 146, a trained tradeswoman and site supervisor, a skilled advocate for social justice and police accountability, a governor’s appointee to the Washington State Criminal Justice Commission, and an active and engaged community member in Vancouver, Wash. Hunter is a Board Member on the Trades Worker Equity & Diversity Inclusion Council and has served as a mentor to apprentices through SW Washington and Oregon Tradeswomen, helping other women prepare for careers in the skilled construction trades.
She is also active in the NAACP of Vancouver, Clark County Justice Coalition, an Impacted family member and board member of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, Member of Next Steps Washington, Board member of My Advocate Washington. Advancing the betterment of all individuals mapped out to fail by society Is her passion and greatest work.
Rori Dicker is originally from Santa Cruz, CA and moved to Vancouver, WA in 2016, and has grown to absolutely love the PNW. She has her AA degree in Liberal Arts and is both a Recovery Coach and a Certified Peer Counselor. Rori is the Director of Community Engagement at a local non profit called, Thrive2Survive whose mission is to bring vital resources to the most vulnerable people in Clark County by holding large direct service outreach events. Rori is also an Outreach Coordinator with Council for the Homeless where her role is to engage with folks that are currently houseless and need support navigating the housing systems and working through barriers. Her strong passion for our houseless community comes from her first hand experience with homelessness, addiction, mental illness but most importantly recovery.
Rori wants to put in the work it takes to support change in the many broken systems that need not only reform but need to be rebuilt. Together we are stronger!
Thavy Mom-Hing (she/her/hers) is a Cambodian-American refugee who resides in Vancouver, WA. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from University of Washington and Master’s degree in Counseling Education specializing in Vocational Rehabilitation from Portland State University. Due to her passion in Social Justice and Anit-Racism, she earned her Certified Diversity Professional (CDP) certification. Thavy’s other interest and passion is in Organizational Management and as a result, recently earned her Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner (CCMP) certification.
Thavy is currently working for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation within the Department of Social and Health Services performing various roles throughout her 14+ years as a state employee. She hopes to continue to grow her leadership skills and put both certifications into good use to advocate for system change to help the underrepresented communities.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, dog, gardening, and the outdoors.
Terrell Berry was born and raised in Long Beach, California. He graduated from Eastern Washington University with a master’s in social work. He has over a decade of experience in supporting homeless and unstably housed youth in Southwest Washington. Terrell’s passion and work is centered in racial equity, collaborative partnerships, housing advocacy, and amplifying voices that are too often silenced.
He is currently the Anchor Community Initiative (ACI) Coordinator for Clark County WA, a flagship program under A Way Home Washington. As an ACI Coordinator, Terrell is building a diverse coalition by bringing together all parts of the community to work across systems and silos, sticking with a collective approach with the goal of functionally ended youth homelessness.
One of Terrell goals is to be a lifelong student and eventually become a master teacher of the intersectionality of racial and housing justice. With lived experience of housing instability, another goal is to mentor and elevate fellow Black/African Americans to be in positions to redesign programs to address disportionality and eventually end homelessness. Being a fellow in the CLI program is the first step in right direction to further his leadership skills and get the work done.
In his free time, you can find Terrell in Vancouver with his wife and 2 kiddos, being a novice gardener, and connecting with other BIPOC professionals.