The Board of Directors welcomes two new members, Stephanie Bastin-Wells and Lynne Johnston, who bring a wide range of experience and expertise to strengthen the board and Abby's Closet.
Stephanie Bastin-Wells joins the board bringing extensive experience in human resources and executive leadership, having served as chief HR officer for Vacasa for seven years prior to becoming an executive VP of People, Wigg (Worldly) Inc, a tech start-up focused on combating climate change. She saw first hand the power of a dress from Abby’s Closet when her family’s foreign exchange students attended the Giveaway. She and her family will welcome their seventh year-long foreign exchange student this month. In addition to volunteering with AFS International Programs, Stephanie has volunteered with Transition Projects, offering resume-writing workshops and mock-interviews, and as a chemo-pal for the Children's Cancer Society. She has a 12-year old son and said she is excited to contribute her knowledge of team leadership, collaboration and business expertise to Abby’s Closet.
Lynne Johnston joins the board after helping with alterations the past two years at the Prom Dress Giveaway and assisting at dress mending work parties at the Clubhouse. She said seeing first hand how a young student can be uplifted by the gift of a prom dress inspired her to get more involved in the organization. Lynne brings her computer and organization skills and expertise to the board as a retired computer systems analyst in addition to her interest in focusing on diversity and inclusion strategies. Her previous volunteer work also focused on serving youth in the community, and she chaired the Education & Community Outreach and Diversity & Inclusion committees at Portland Center Stage, the Parent Diversity Committee at Oregon Episcopal School, and was a running coach for Nike Bowerman Youth Program. She is the mom of two sons and frequently lended her talents to costume design and organizing student and parent work parties for the OES theater performances.
The Board of Directors is responsible for setting the vision and direction of the organization and is excited to have Stephanie and Lynne help with this as well as the day-to-day operations.
