We are delighted to announce HEART is expanding to the west coast! Under the skillful leadership of Dani Dennenberg, HEART is opening a chapter in Portland, Oregon.
Dani has a rich background in humane education. The first graduate of the Institute for Humane Education’s Master’s Program, Dani ran the Seeds for Change humane education program in Southern California from 2000 until 2008. In 2008 she moved to Portland and became Director of Higher Education and Organizational Partnerships for the Northwest Earth Institute. From 2010 to 2011 she completed a year of service with the AmeriCorps’ Students in Service program and conducted outreach to community organizations to expand service learning projects, wrote grants and did fundraising, and mentored senior college students on their final projects around issues of sustainability.
The area is an ideal expansion location for HEART. Portland has an ethnically diverse population of about 2.2 million and is the fourth largest city on the West Coast. Portland Public Schools is the largest school district in the Pacific Northwest, serving 47,000 students from pre-kindergarten through high school. Portland boasts a culture of civic engagement, volunteerism, and sustainability, all of which make our humane education services a perfect fit.
There is a huge opportunity for introducing humane education on multiple levels in Portland. In addition, it will serve as a hub to be able to reach out to other communities and organizations in the Pacific Northwest.
Dani had this to say about joining the HEART team. “I am delighted to bring the admirable and successful work of HEART to Portland and am honored to serve as an ambassador of the Pacific Northwest. Well-established conversations around sustainability, animal welfare, social justice and educational reform can be taken to the next level with the integrated approach of humane education. I can hardly wait to reach thousands of young people, dive into hands-on service projects that sustain and rebuild local ecosystems, protect wildlife, farmed animals and companion animals, address issues of equity while building local partnerships and leaving a lasting mark.”
We couldn’t be more pleased to have Dani joining the HEART family as program director for Portland!