On April 13th, Leah Fisher will join the SE Uplift Neighborhood Coalition team as our Neighborhood Planning Program Manager. Until you have the chance to meet her in person, here’s a brief introduction:
Leah grew up in Eastern Washington in a small town south of Spokane and earned her undergraduate degree in City and Regional Planning at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, CA. After working as a Community Planner in Southern California for three years, she returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2009 – but not before taking three months to explore Southeast Asia with her now husband.
Upon returning to the northwest, Leah earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health with a focus on Management and Policy at Portland State University, while working at Metro in a community engagement role on the SW Corridor Plan. For the past three years, Leah worked in the Oregon Public Health Division coordinating the efforts of and grants to eight counties and one Oregon tribe state-wide to address chronic disease prevention efforts. As part of her most recent work, she developed and provided trainings to county and tribal staff on how to understand the state’s Comprehensive Planning process and how to advocate for public health within that framework.
On any given day, Leah can be found working in the yard and garden, sitting on her porch with her 2-year old daughter, playing soccer, jogging, or walking her oversized dog through the neighborhood.