Consider us the Good News Bears
Volunteers are the heart & soul of the Bus, but these are the people who are at Bus Central every day. Come play with us!
Caitlin Baggott, The Boss
(Executive Director)
caitlin@busproject.org
Caitlin conducts the work of the Bus with maestro-inspired hand gestures and a handful of personal values learned as a lass at Reed College (“Sleep is for the weak,” “Resist the dominant paradigm”, etc.). Caitlin speaks truth about generational change and the promise of a more inclusive public life, and was one of a few hundred women invited to the White House to recognize Women’s History Month in 2010. She has no spare time, but if she did she’d use it espouse the values of a joules-based economy. Just ask her.
Noah Manger, Pixel Pusher / Event Evangelist
(Creative Projects Director)
noah@busproject.org
Known primarily by his moustache, Noah Manger does what needs to be done in the realm of design, communications and general event awesomeness. He’s run the last two Wheelies Awards Shows, the 2010 and 2012 Rebooting Democracy conferences, helped bring Trick or Vote to 80+ cities in 2010, served as a field mentor to the PolitiCorps Fellows and most recently designed theballot.org for the Bus Federation. In his spare time, he’s a devoted fan of the Detroit Tigers and spends way too much time on the Internet.
Cameron Mathews, Contribution Contriver/ Info Systems Savant
(Development Coordinator)
cameron.mathews@busproject.org
When not spending significant amounts of time pondering where the line between giant sideburns and epic chops falls and when he should cross it, Cameron is probably trying to convince someone (anyone) to be as obsessed with information systems as he is. Currently finishing up his Master of Public Administration at PSU, he is contemplating getting his Ph.D. in Systems Science and Theory so he can geek out with folks who’s eyes won’t glaze over when he starts talking. At the Bus, Cameron’s on a never-ending quest to assure the Bus’s database meets the same standards of OCD perfection that he has for his room. He occasionally does other things, like reading books about zombies, trying and failing to keep plants alive, and training his tiny dog to not be the epitome of evil.
Jack Mesplay, Lord of the Finance Dance
(Financial Manager)
jack.mesplay@busproject.org
Fresh off a seven year stint at the Village Free School, Jack’s taking over the reigns of the Bus’s finances and he’s doing it with vigor. (Apparently spending nearly a decade helping to run a school where the kids vote on the rules instills top-notch organizational skills.) Jack’s spreadsheet kung fu skills will keep the Bus running on time and under-budget, hopefully with enough time to work in a game or two of Settlers of Catan now and then.
Andrea Miller, Bus Fuel Attendant
(Major Gifts Coordinator)
Andrea@busproject.org
From Oregon’s state capital of Salem, a fundraiser approaches. Andrea keeps the Bus running. Her work writing grants and soliciting large donations helps us pull in the dough we need to keep making delicious democracy cookies. Andrea currently serves on the board of, and makes grants for, the social change pioneers at the McKenzie River Gathering Foundation. She’s the former Associate Director of the equality-defenders at Causa Oregon, and prior to that she was a swim coach and a lifeguard, ostensibly guarding the lives of people who didn’t listen closely enough to her coaching.
Janet Soto, Molder of Minds
(PolitiCorps Program Coordinator)
janet.soto@busproject.org
Born in Mexico, Janet grew up as part of a seasonal migrant working family traveling to and from Ohio and Mexico. After graduating from the Ohio State University, she absolutely rocked it the last two years as a Teach for America teacher in South Texas where she picked up a keen knack for molding the minds of future leaders (not to mention wicked color-coding & office-supply-organizing skills). A recent graduate of PolitiCorps, she’s taking the reins for the 2013 class where she’ll continue her success in the classroom to launch a whole new generation of future Bus rockstars.
Amanda Tripp, School Schmoozer
(Democracy Cup Coordinator)
Amanda@busproject.org
Raised in the wilds of Montana (which is apparently a state), Amanda is as passionate about empowering high school students as she is about riding horses and bucking mountains. Good thing, since she’s running our high school civic engagement competition, Democracy Cup. After graduating from Forest Grove’s own Pacific University, she rocked AmeriCorps’s federal socks off. First greening Beaverton School District and then leading 25 members through a year of service. In her spare time you can find her folfing, growing food, and mushroom hunting (no truffle pig necessary).
Leslie Wright, Outreach-for-the-Stars
(Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator)
leslie@busproject.org
Leslie gets those volunteers. She GETS ‘EM. Be it at the back of a concert or at the front of a classroom, she’s bringing newbies in democracy(s). She just graduated from Willamette University, which is a highly respected institution of higher learning in the ol’ Capitol of Oregon. She cut her organizing teeth (ouch) as Co-President for Students for Choice and as an Advocate at Mid-Valley Women’s Crisis Center. When she’s not beckoning volunteers to the cause, Leslie enjoys running marathons, running into trees, slipping and falling (although rarely all at the same time).