Jen Armbruster is a 7 time Paralympian in the sport of goalball. She has been working in the adaptive recreation world for over 20 years and was the Coordinator of Inclusive Recreation at Portland State University (PSU) prior to becoming the Executive Director at ASNW. Prior to PSU, Jen worked at Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham, AL, a national leader in adaptive sports and recreation.

Jen retired from the national team after the 2016 Rio games but still enjoys an active lifestyle with her family and friends.

Sami’s lifelong passion for creating recreational opportunities that foster physical fitness and positive social interactions is a big reason why she loves working for Adaptive Sports Northwest. Over the years Sami has had many roles in the field of recreation. Sami attended the University of Tennessee where she was a graduate assistant for the department of Campus Recreation and received her Master’s degree in Sports and Recreation. Sami has had the opportunity to work in Departments of Campus Recreation at both UC, San Diego and Portland State University. Sami’s favorite part of being a group fitness instructor and coach is connecting with participants while always learning and trying new sports and recreational pursuits. Although she is no longer a group fitness instructor you can find her engaging with ASNW Piranha’s at a swim practice from time to time.  In her time away from ASNW you can find her adventuring around the Pacific Northwest with her two daughters and husband or spending time on the water kayaking or paddleboarding.

JD graduated from Portland State University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. While in college, JD reunited with Adaptive Sports Northwest and began competing in Track/Wheelchair Racing in 2016, and also Wheelchair Rugby in 2017. After graduation, JD spent a few years trying to build a career in the field of Research, but later decided to switch career paths to Digital Marketing. After a one year term as an ASNW Board Member, JD was hired as the organization’s Communications Manager and Photographer. JD also does similar work for other clients, all while still being a competitive athlete in his respective sports.

Rick has more than 30-years of non-profit work experience with wildlife organizations, museums and other 501(c)(3) organizations. With an undergraduate degree in biology (Colby College, ME) and early career as an Animal Curator (CT), he continued his wildlife work as an intern at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (U.K), veterinary technician (CT) and rehabilitator, educator and Executive Director of a wildlife center in New England.

Rick arrived in Portland in 1991 to serve as Education Program Coordinator for what became known as the Oregon Zoo. His work at the Zoo evolved to that of a fundraiser where he helped lead efforts to secure over $10 million in sponsorship and grant support of Zoo education, conservation and exhibition programs. Rick has served as a founding member and past president of the Oregon and SW Washington Chapter of the Grant Professionals Association (GPA). He has also trained non-profit staff and volunteers in grantsmanship at the local and national levels.

Rick currently volunteers as a GPA regional representative , serves on the board of the Uganda-based Kasese Wildlife Conservation Awareness Organization and works as a Development Manager for the Portland-based Adaptive Sports Northwest.

Cheryl graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Exercise and Sport Science. In her time at OSU Cheryl participated in developing recreational sport opportunities that emphasized adaptive participation. Cheryl is a consistent volunteer with Adventures Without Limits with a focus on outdoor recreation. When not serving the adaptive community, Cheryl can be found hiking and camping. She has been involved with Adaptive Sports Northwest since 2011.

Carly is originally from the Chicago area and has remained a Chicago sports fan despite calling herself an Oregonian since 2008. Carly believes that recreation is a right and not a privilege, and has spent her career as a recreational therapist to help break down barriers to recreation for people with disabilities. She is a strong advocate for the life-changing benefits of adaptive sports and community recreation. Whether she is running, biking, swimming, hiking, surfing, backpacking, or skiing, you can find Carly and her dog exploring the outdoors and encouraging others to do the same!

Laura Ridler is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist/ Recreation Therapist at Rehabilitation Institute of Oregon, Legacy Good Samaritan and Inpatient Pediatric Rehab and Development at Randall Children’s Hospital-Legacy Emanuel.  With over 25 years working in the field of Therapeutic Recreation/ Recreation Therapy, Laura believes in promoting overall fitness, well-being and working towards improving, maintaining or restoring physical strength, cognition, mobility and independence though wellness, health, recreation and sport. Laura has been involved in coaching, promoting or coordinating adaptive sports for over 25 years with 23 years coordinating the Wheelchair Division of the Honolulu Marathon, 9 years as the Head Coach of the Jr/Prep WheelBlazers. Laura believes that participating in leisure activities that one enjoys, helps define us, and motivates us to be the best that we can be.

In her free time, Laura can be found walking her dogs, spending time with friends and family and returning to hiking and biking and new adventures.

Judi grew up playing and loving many sports and outdoor activities which informed her belief that everyone, regardless of age or ability, should have the opportunity to participate in and experience the joy and health benefits of sports throughout their lives, including the positive aspects of teamwork and personal development.

Judi is retired from Nike (NA Sales), where she was a founding member and volunteer with Nike Ability* Network, an employee network with a focus on empowering and leveling the playing field for employees and people with disabilities, serving twice as co-chair. One of her favorite Nike quotes, “If you have a body, you are an athlete” is the * in Ability* Network’s name, comes from Nike co-founder and legendary UO Track Coach Bill Bowerman, and is also part of Nike’s mission statement.

Prior to Nike, Judi managed an athletic specialty store with a focus on running in Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas in the USVI. While there she organized and participated in many USVI running events with STAR, the local running club, and also enjoyed many water sports and outdoor activities. Prior to living on St Thomas, Judi received a BA from the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC.

Most recently, Diane led a Regional Sports Network and Olympic/Paralympic Digital Content for Beijing 2022 as Senior Vice President & General Manager at NBC Sports. She began her career producing news, sports and entertainment shows at Good Morning America, Lifetime Television and CNN. She was recruited to Portland to build local sports content, audiences and partnerships for oregonlive.com in her roles as Senior Producer, Marketing Director and Director of Advertising. Diane next assumed various leadership positions at LEARFIELD including pioneering the company’s digital and television content strategy managing all aspects of its media nationally. Beyond her time as VP Digital/Television, she commercialized & led multiple collegiate properties for LEARFIELD at major universities in addition to leading integrations of strategic acquisitions into its legacy multimedia rights business.

Diane is the Founding President & Honorary Chair of WISE Portland in addition to serving on the boards of Adaptive Sports Northwest, Sport Oregon and Playworks Northwest. She also serves on the leadership team of Oregon Sports Angels, an angel network formed to help grow next generation sports & fitness products/services.

Diane graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism and MBA in Marketing.

Kalin has spent the past twelve working in the apparel industry. Along with three partners, Kalin is one of the founders of Baseballism, a lifestyle apparel brand for baseball fans with retail stores around the US. In their limited free time, Kalin and his business partners have created a bar/restaurant group and they currently have five bars/restaurants in Portland. Prior to Kalin’s current career path, he spent nearly a decade in the Army. Kalin is a graduate of the University of Oregon and the University of Wisconsin School of Law.

Lucas leads the Corporate Sponsorship Department for the Oregon State Beavers as the General Manager of Beaver Sports Properties, a division of Learfield.  Born and raised in Iowa, he began his sports career in Cincinnati with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Xavier Musketeers. He was then recruited to move to Bozeman, Montana where he was the Manager of Business Development for the Montana State Bobcats, developing corporate partnerships for their Athletic Department. From there, he moved to Portland to work for the Beavers as the Senior Manager of Business Development where he continued to connect brands to Beaver fans, and then moved into the Director of Business Development leading the corporate partnership strategic planning with the sales team. In 2018, he moved into the General Manager role overseeing the multi-media rights business in its entirety at Oregon State.

Lucas is involved in Sport Oregon, the Portland Business Alliance, and the Children’s Cancer Association. He was a student-athlete and graduate of Knox College with a degree in Integrated International Studies and a Japanese/History minor.

Lauri Vela is currently the SVP, Demand Generation responsible for the in-house Demand Generation Agency, leading the strategy, people, and technology to deliver Channel Activation and Performance for Synchrony.

With over 32 years of marketing experience, Lauri has held marketing leadership positions both in the U.S. and UK, working for brands including Nordstrom, Harrods, General Electric, and Richemont, anchoring in the last decade to Performance Marketing, eCommerce, and Digital Media.

Lauri holds a B.A. with concentrations in Public Relations and Journalism in addition to several professional certifications. She returned home to the Pacific Northwest in 2020 and is an active swimmer and avid supporter of the M.S. Society and Ocean Beach Food Bank.

Courtney is Zwift’s Senior Director of Data Strategy leading the Data Engineering, Data Science, and Data Analytics teams on their quest to define and democratize data through accessible, scalable platforms. Prior to Zwift, Courtney led Nike’s Digital Transformation team, Insights & Innovation for AT&T’s Entertainment Group, and DIRECTV’s Competitive Intelligence team. Her previous work includes economic consulting, strategic planning, and litigation support for large public and private companies. Courtney is also the co-founder of Seabird, an app created to find worthwhile content and other media on the internet.

Originally from New York’s Hudson Valley, Courtney would rather be outside than inside. Her hobbies include racing triathlons, trail running, hiking, skiing, riding all her bikes, open water swimming. She is passionate about making sports more accessible and inclusive and has been guiding for visually impaired athletes since 2018. She lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.