Director Stephanie Engelsman

  • Stephanie found roots in 2002 when she moved to Portland for law school. Prior to that, she moved every year or two, all over the world, as the daughter of a Dutch engineer and an Australian teacher. After graduating Lewis & Clark Law School, where she was Editor-in-Chief for the Animal Law Review, Stephanie began a 20+ year career as a public defender with the Metropolitan Public Defender. In 2019, Stephanie joined Youth, Rights & Justice where she represented youth charged in delinquency court and families involved with child protective services. In this capacity, Stephanie saw first-hand the intersection of where schools fail our children and what happens next, and has been the voice in courtrooms for the marginalized and underserved.

     
    Stephanie has been closely involved with Path Home (fka Portland Homeless Families Solution) for 20 years, helping to break down barriers and stereotypes for families experiencing housing instability.  She is also a founding member of Fences for Fido, a nonprofit that improves the life of dogs living outdoors on chains by building fences free of charge for their families. 
     
    Stephanie and her husband live in SE Portland where their daughters attend PPS schools. As committed vegetarians, they share their home with rescued fish (yes, that's a thing!), rescued chickens (also a thing!), a rescued dog and a rescued cat. Stephanie is an active PTA member and classroom volunteer and is very involved in community building. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and gardening.