Staff of the Macdonald Center
Executive Director: Pat Janik
Pat Janik brings to the Center an extensive background in social services and teaching. Her academic background includes a Masters in Public Administration and professorships in dental hygiene. Most recently she was the Director of the Southwest Washington Agency on Aging. Prior to that, she was a program specialist on aging with the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington DC. She spent several years working with Catholic Charities and has lived in and worked with a great variety of communities and cultures.
“Working for the Macdonald Center and with the wonderful staff, volunteers, donors and community is an irreplaceable gift for me. The Center is a model of service to inner-city poor with exciting challenges for future growth. More than that, love and caring permeate the atmosphere. It is a joy to be part of it! I hope to share this special place and encourage more people to embrace our vision and future.”
Director: Marylee H. King
Marylee King did undergraduate work at Oregon State University and received a graduate degree from Indiana University. She joined the staff of the Center after twenty five years in higher education student services.
“The Macdonald Center drew me into ministry to the homeless and near homeless after years in higher education. The opportunity to befriend and serve the socially isolated and poorest of the poor, as well as to work with nursing students, seminarians and community volunteers pulled harder than any resistance and fear. God’s call has persisted. Yet, my sense is that I am learning and gaining the most from these relationships.”
Member Services Coordinator: Laurie Davis
Laurie Davis grew up in the Portland area, and received a BA in Psychology from Lewis and Clark College. She spent a year in Detroit, MI with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, working in AIDS ministry. When she returned to Portland in 1994, she joined the staff at Outreach Ministry in Burnside. In 2000 she began coordinating the Member Services Program, and continued in this role when Outreach became part of the Macdonald Center in 2008.
“I love the work we do in the Member Services program. We get to be deeply involved in our Members lives, and walk with them in their hard times and their good times as well. The journeys take us to amazing and varied places many of them hard, but also many filled with joy, laughter, and love. ”
Outreach Coordinator: Sarah Knuth
Sarah Knuth received a BS in Molecular and Cellular Biology in May, 2004 from the University of Arizona in Tucson. In August of that year she joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and went to southeastern Montana to work on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations. Subsequently she was placed in Portland and worked at JOIN, a homeless outreach organization, where she managed the day center.
“These are friends who in many ways are most different from me. They are living on the margins, their pasts riddled with pain, suffering and sadness. In other ways though, they are most like me. We share our raw humanness and our pure souls – no pretense, no expectation, no fear. Just love. After all, all you need is love. My hope is to expand our visiting program, increase the quality and regularity of our visits to people in Old Town, and continue the fun we are having here. We’d love it if you’d join us!”
Member Services Administrator: Catherine 'Cat' Poole
Cat Poole first came to the Macdonald Center in 2005, when she spent six months working at the Macdonald Residence. She moved over to Outreach in 2006, which led her back to the Macdonald Center when the agencies joined forces in 2008. Cat graduated with a BA in English from the University of Montevallo in Alabama, and moved to Portland because she wanted to work with a nonprofit helping people.
“Were a makeshift family, and our members are seen as 2nd class citizens in our society. I know I can't change that, but I hope that I can at least make a dent in how they perceive themselves. I wish to show them that they are welcome and wonderful people. We meet them on their level and learn from them, so its more like working in solidarity and building lasting relationships with our guys.”
Pastoral Coordinator: Mufti McNassar
Mufti McNassar grew up on Portland's near east side. In 1973 she and her husband, Pat, opened their home as a Catholic Worker House of Hospitality. They lived a life of voluntary poverty and sheltered and advocated for those whom God sent to their door. In 1975, with two other families, they started Catholic Worker Kitchen - a free kitchen that eventually became the St. Francis Dining Hall. Mufti has a certificate in Spiritual Direction and much experience with ministry to the dying, family-based monasticism, and cooking for multitudes.
“Coming to the Macdonald Center has been a homecoming for me. I have been welcomed wtih open and loving hearts. Here, by 'listening with the ear of the heart' I meet God, my heart's desire, in the lives of the residents, volunteers, staff and street folk. These brothers and sisters share so generously - their stories, their acceptance, their woundedness and their humor. My life has come full circle.”
Member Services Program Assistant: Valerie Wen
Valerie Wen attended the University of Portland, where she graduated in 2007 with a BA in Sociology and Psychology. In August of 2007, she joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and headed up to Anchorage, Alaska to work at Bean’s Café, a homeless day shelter and soup kitchen.
““Working with our members is a humbling and wonderful experience. These are beautiful people with stories to share, hope in their hearts, and a willingness to reveal some of the most troubled times in their lives. Working at the Macdonald Center reminds me every day how much more I gain from the people we serve than they gain from me. I hope more people find the chance to get to know their neighbors in Old Town.”
Member Services Personal Care Provider: Jesus "Jesse" Nava
Jesse Nava has been working with our Members for more than 20 years! He was born and raised in Texas, where he worked as a CNA before moving to Portland. He began working at Outreach Ministry in Burnside in 1987. In addition to his work with the Macdonald Center Members, he contracts with the Department of Human Services as a Personal Care Provider.
““The Members have become family to me. I have done things for these people I would not have done for myself. They have taught me to live in the moment and enjoy life as it is. So many things have changed since I began working here, but one thing that has not changed is the Members’ need for love and care.
Office Manager: Sarah DeTardo
“I wanted to have a job where I could wear lots of hats; a job I would love to go to everyday. This place has such a good feel, provides such a warm space. The people who live and work here are so inspirational and have been so open to sharing their stories. My hope is to continue to learn and grow here and to help the Macdonald Center realize its dreams for the future.”
