Staff

Nancy Hales

Program Director

A resident of the Northwest region for over 30 years, Nancy Hales leads Portland State University’s program First Stop Portland. As a transit user, farmer’s market patron, neighborhood volunteer, and citizen activist, Nancy lives one of Portland’s many stories.When not at work she and her family are either biking the Springwater Corridor or sailing the Columbia River.

A New Jersey native, Hales began her professional career in Yakima, WA. She worked as a grassroots community organizer for Volunteers in Service to America, or VISTA, addressing neighborhood and schoool issues. She moved to rural Carson, WA in the early 1980's to develop a youth employment program for the Forest Service.  She served as a founding member of the Columbia River Gorge Commission, adopting the country’s first ever National Scenic Area Management Plan. Hales's efforts as a Commissioner focused on balancing resource protections with local economic vitality. She was the President/CEO of a major philanthropic foundation, the Community Foundation for SW Washington for over 15 years, developing community-based grant programs to strengthen neighborhoods and build community infrastructure.  These initiatives became models shared across the country. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of Vermont, and a Masters in Public Administration, with honors, from Lewis & Clark College.

Sarah Iannarone

Assistant Program Director

Sarah is a doctoral candidate in the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at PSU. Her areas of interest are social justice, ecological planning, and urban placemaking. Her current research examines the role study tours like those offered by First Stop Portland shape the global discourse on urban sustainability. In addition to her work at PSU, she is a mother, a neighborhood activist and the owner of a small neighborhood business promoting fair labor practices and sustainable urban agriculture.

Derek Abe

Graduate Research Assistant

As the Bicycle Programs Specialist for PSU Transportation, Derek is responsible for planning and managing the University's bicycle facilities, programs and events. He is also currently investigating the interface between wildlife ecology and transportation networks as an adjunct environmental researcher for the Environmental Sciences and Management department. In his free time, he enjoys going on hiking trips and bike tours.

Yelena Sasin

Student Coordinator