Minds Matter Across America: Portland, Oregon
This month, we’re featuring Minds Matter Portland!
Graham Covington first heard about Minds Matter when his son became a volunteer tutor at Minds Matter NYC. After learning about the transformational power of the model, Graham was determined to bring Minds Matter to his hometown of Portland. In Graham’s own words: “I’m always amazed by the desire of these students to take charge of their own academic success.”
Despite Graham’s prodigious experience—a former naval officer, an accomplished jazz pianist, a one-time ad-man, and now a corporate consultant—he knew he needed a mix of talents to make Minds Matter Portland a reality. Recruiting a “braintrust” from his personal and professional network—including his own high school English teacher to serve as the program’s curriculum director—Graham launched Minds Matter Portland in 2006 with a handful of eager students and dedicated volunteers.
Today, almost two decades later, Minds Matter Portland is now an essential program helping Portland’s hardest-working students achieve their dreams.
Serving More Students
A few years ago, Minds Matter Portland was at a crossroads. While the organization was successfully executing its mission, the increasing demand for its services was straining the capacity of its all-volunteer staff. Thus, in 2022, Minds Matter Portland hired Reed Harrison and Danielle Mathieson as their first ever Executive and Program Directors. Neither were strangers to Minds Matter Portland and both had been mentors previously. One of their first priorities was putting into practice something that Graham often espoused: “Every time we don’t take advantage of a growth opportunity, we leave students behind.”
Reed and Danielle, working with the Board of Directors, developed an ambitious three-year growth plan for the chapter that will increase the student body to a total of 90 students by 2027.
Breaking Ground on a Second Program Site
The first step of Minds Matter Portland’s exciting vision for the future was opening a second program site. Nearby Hillsboro, about 20 miles outside Portland, was a natural choice. Historically, the program has always attracted a portion of their students from Hillsboro but the distance between the two cities meant that too many of Hillsboro’s students couldn’t access Minds Matter Portland’s transformational program. Thanks to a special relationship with Portland Community College, the team was able to secure classroom space and welcomed eight students as the inaugural class to the Hillsboro site this September.
Congratulations to MMPDX for their hard work and continued growth!
Visit www.mindsmatterportland.org to learn more!