Staff

Marc Kochanski, Executive Director

Originally from Baltimore, Marc has been doing nonprofit work in Portland since 2006. For over ten years, he served in the areas of HIV/AIDS activism, LGBTQ rights and organized labor advocacy. In 2017, Marc received the SHINE Award for Outstanding Service to the LGBTQ Community from Portland’s Q Center. He’s been with Guardian Partners since 2018. In his life outside of work, Marc is a supporter of the arts and a musical theatre writer. His show The Little Guy premiered in Portland in 2019.

Liz Gatti, Education Coordinator

Liz came to Guardian Partners as staff after interning as a volunteer monitor. She was drawn to the monitoring work based on experiences with vulnerable members of her own family. Liz uses her background in communication and training and interest in Estate Planning and Vulnerable Persons Law to manage our education program. She has a B.A. in Health Policy and a A.S. in Paralegal Studies.

Steve Knutson, Monitoring Coordinator

Steve has been running the organization’s case monitoring program since Summer 2020 and is excited to continue advocating for vulnerable Oregonians. Prior to joining Guardian Partners, he managed a volunteer trauma-based tattoo removal clinic in Portland for Outside In. Steve has worked in nonprofit programming and volunteer management for the last decade across a range of areas including criminal justice, education, political organizing and outreach, sustainable agriculture, urban forestry, and more.

Jeni Bennett, Monitoring Program Manager

 

Jeni comes to our organization from the nonprofit world and volunteer management. Working with volunteers has always been her passion as well as advocacy towards the most vulnerable populations. From working with adolescents in dual diagnostic treatment facilities, foster children involved within the dependency courts, to creating youth empowerment and yoga education, she is exciting to expand her roots within Guardian Partners. An avid traveler, you will catch her when she is not galivanting across the globe. 

 

Wynter Nichols, Finance Manager