Our Board of Directors

  • Dr. Julie Currin is a pediatrician, a Sellwood resident, a parent, and one of the founding members of the Friends of Sellwood Community House. Julie got involved with the Sellwood Community Center in 2017 when its closure was proposed as part of budget cuts for Portland Parks and Recreation. As a working parent to 3 small boys, the Community Center was a vital part of the Currin family life, providing after-school care directly from the neighborhood elementary school. Julie joined with other concerned residents to rally and lead grassroot efforts to lobby the City to continue funding the community resource.  Through community engagement and activism, the Community Center remained open in 2017.  

    Julie remained engaged with the Friends of the Sellwood Community Center, then a subcommittee of the neighborhood association, over the next several years, helping to plan and run various volunteer events and fundraisers to keep the center open. When the community center was defunded by the City in 2019, Julie became one of the Founding Board Members of the non-profit Friends of Sellwood Community House, negotiating with the City of Portland and Portland Parks and Recreation to lease the building, take over managing the community organization, and continue many community-needed programs including after-school care and preschool. 

    Julie has continued as an active Board member since its founding in 2019, serving as Vice-Chair, Secretary, and currently in her first term as Board Chair. Through the Covid pandemic, boiler failures, multiple repairs and renovations, and the catastrophic flood of 2023, she has worked diligently with staff and community volunteers to continue the mission of Sellwood Community House–to provide a “third place” for neighbors of all ages to gather and build community. 

    Julie has loved watching her boys grow up through SCH programs, from After School Enrichment to Counselors in Training to Junior Staff, as she has simultaneously watched the programs expand to face the challenges and needs of the community.  Julie remains committed to ensuring the continued preservation and growth of this invaluable community asset for Sellwood and all of Portland for generations to come.

  • Nanci Champlin brings to Sellwood Community House over 35 years of experience in scaling up nonprofit organizations at the local, regional and national level. She is an expert in nonprofit governance and operations, and is a skilled workshop facilitator. 

    As executive director of Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition, Nanci helps build an informed and engaged community among the 19 neighborhoods in Portland’s District 3. In past roles, she helped permanently protect some of Oregon’s last wild places, raise resources to fuel a regional civil rights organization, and built a nationwide learning community among funders working toward a more fair and inclusive democracy for all.

    Nanci is passionate about community building, civil rights and the environment. When not working, she can be found volunteering, getting crafty, or enjoying the outdoors with her family and dog.

  • Jason Deignan has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and has spent the bulk of his professional career engaged in biological research. Jason first became involved in what was to become Sellwood Community House through volunteering on the Friends of Sellwood Community House neighborhood association committee. After funding for the community center was eliminated from the city budget in 2019, the ‘Friends’ committee negotiated with the city to take over community center operations as the Sellwood Community House. Since then, Jason has served as both the board secretary and chair.

  • Nikki Hinsley is a longtime community member committed to supporting children, families, and accessible community resources. Originally from New Jersey, she moved to Oregon for graduate school and earned her master’s degree from Pacific University.

    Nikki is the owner and director of Beech Street Speech and Language, a Sellwood-based speech and feeding therapy practice she runs alongside her wife. Her practice serves the preschool at Sellwood Community House and offers a variety of inclusive community classes through the center.

    Nikki brings experience in healthcare, small-business leadership, and community collaboration to her role on the Board. She is most passionate about strengthening programs and accessibility to support all families. She lives in Portland with her wife and two pups, and is grateful for the opportunity to give back to her community.

  • Frank Hood comes from the Corporate field, recently "semi-retired" from a career of building food/beverage brands for both large and small companies.  He moved to the Portland metro area in 1994, relocating to Sellwood-Moreland in 2019 to do some "urban explorations" after becoming an empty nester. He is involved with Portland State University, investing in real estate and advising venture capital.

    Frank got involved with the Sellwood Community House after reading about their exploits after becoming a non-profit run community house.  He started out as a volunteer, cleaning attics and basements, painting ceilings and walls, laying floors and working at events.  Frank then joined the building committee and launched the solar panel project, including figuring out the city permit process (as best one can!)

    Frank knows the value of building community by making wholesome activities available to both youth and adults, regardless of means.

  • Diane Linn recently retired from a career in public service as an elected official and non-profit director.  As a native Portlander, she joined the cable company promoting government programming and became an executive in the company (1982 -1990).  She served as Director of Oregon NARAL (1990 -1993), and the Director of the Office of Neighborhood Associations for the City of Portland (1993 -1998).  She then ran for and served on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, representing inner SE and west Portland, then was elected County Chair countywide (1998 - 2006).  Diane moved to Marin County, California, and became Executive Director of the Ritter Center serving homeless and low income families (2008 - 2013).  She returned home and served as Director of Proud Ground, the community land trust, getting working families into homeownership.  She has worked with Housing Oregon to promote affordable housing strategies and established the Home PAC to support housing-savvy candidates for City Council in 2024.  

    Diane raised her two, now adult,  children in the Sellwood neighborhood and now has twin grandchildren living here.  Fundamentally, Diane is passionate about community building and is honored to be on the Board of the Sellwood Community House, serving little kids to older adults and everyone in between.  Diane and her husband, Adam, love hiking, biking and kayaking in the area.  

  • Leigh Nunez is a long time (44 years) neighborhood resident, retired residential real estate appraiser and “chronic volunteer.” She has been involved at SCH since its inception in 2019.

    Shortly after covid hit, Leigh used her time to gather a small group of hardy volunteers to clear out decades of old broken stuff, clean, replace dozens of burned out lights, paint classrooms and lay new flooring in the studio.

    This group evolved into the Building Committee, which Leigh volunteered to head up. The Building Committee oversaw and facilitated some long overdue and urgent capital improvements. Some of those projects included: A new roof and gutters, exterior stair replacement, solar grant and installation and a most appreciated all new HVAC system.

    Leigh also created, volunteers and helps coordinate an afterschool reading support program. Four years later, the Reading Club is going strong.

    Leigh enjoys being a patron as well as a volunteer at SCH, and is now happy to be involved with the SCH board. “Being involved at SCH - watching it grow and become such a strong asset for the community - has been very rewarding.”