Our Board

Ethan Knight

Ethan is the founder of Carpe Diem International Education, the service organization to which ICDF provides support. He has travelled extensively on four continents and has led countless leadership training seminars.

Ethan was previously the Assistant Director of LEAPNow, another highly regarded study abroad program based in California. Ethan has been invited to speak at the City of Portland's Tri-County Diversity Conference, and is on the board of trustees for Project Aasha (meaning "Hope" in Hindi), also based in Portland. He holds certificates from the ManKind Project and Byron Katie, and has received formal training in Drs. Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks and Gary Zukov's works. He is a graduate of Willamette University in Portland Oregon, with a degree in English and Philosophy.

Nick Knudsen

Nick is a Sr. Project Manager at Worksystems, Inc., where he oversees a portfolio of workforce projects aimed at aligning local jobseeker skills with regional industry demand. Nick also spent six years at Open Meadow as Career Services Program Director, where a big portion of the work involved providing exposure, immersion, and access to college for 1st generation college students. His college access program was recognized nationally and funded through the Gates Foundation for its promising practices. Nick brings program development expertise and a passion for helping youth achieve their dreams to the ICDF Board. He has a BS from Cornell and an MA in Educational Policy from Stanford.

Emily Powell

Emily is the Vice President of renowned Powell's Bookstores, the country's largest independent book retailer. Emily's expertise in business management, fundraising, and philanthropy, are tremendous assets for the ICDF board. She holds a degree in urban planning and design from Haverford College, and an MBA from the University of California Berkeley and an MBA from Columbia University.

Dr. Elizabeth Pepper Lahti

Elizabeth is a Hospitalist physician at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center where she practices inpatient medicine and volunteers at the Essential Health Clinic. She completed residency at OHSU and was chief resident of Internal Medicine. She has a BA in Spanish and English literature, and is a former high school teacher who is passionate about global awareness starting at a young age. She has lived internationally and traveled extensively in Central & South America, especially her father's native Peru. She brings her enthusiasm and eye for future medical volunteer opportunities with Carpe Diem students.

Margaret Hoffmann, J.D.

Margaret Hoffmann joined the products liability litigation group at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt in January 1990. Prior to joining the firm, she practiced in Los Angeles with the law firm of Morgan, Wenzel & McNicholas from 1983-1989. Ms. Hoffmann has focused her litigation practice for the past 28 years in the areas of personal injury defense with an emphasis in the defense of pharmaceutical companies for ethical drugs and medical devices.

Ms. Hoffmann is a member of the American Bar Association, the Oregon State Bar, the California State Bar Association and the Multnomah Bar Association. Ms. Hoffmann is also a member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI), the Drug and Medical Device division as well as the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC). Prior to attending law school, Ms. Hoffmann was the Assistant Director of Canon & Company, a residential correctional treatment center in Los Angeles which specialized in providing counseling, employment and lifestyle management services to inmates from the Federal Bureau of Prisons who were serving the last six months of their sentences in a community-based facility.

Gloria Sica

As president of Fulcrum Drive, a consulting practice, Gloria dedicates herself to improving organization effectiveness and helping entrepreneurs build value. She combines over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience, the art of facilitation, and a solid foundation in management accounting to help owners strategize, manage change, and build business value. She helps both for-profit and non-profit leadership teams engage in fruitful conversations and develop multi-year strategic plans with well-founded initiatives and integrated financial plans. Under her guidance companies also make fundamental accounting improvements to support growth, meet lender requirements, and keep management informed and engaged. Client industries include software as a service (SaaS), electronic product design and commercialization, commercial printing, commercial baking, digital marketing, alternative energy, trade publishing, and more.

Gloria holds a BS in operations management from Oregon State University. Gloria joins the board after serving as advisor and board member to The Pangaea Project, whose program assets and mission live on through ICDF.

Adrienne Livingston

Adrienne Livingston is a native Oregonian. Ms. Livingston received her Bachelor's degree in Marketing, International Business and International Studies from Oregon State University and her Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Western Seminary. She is the Executive Director of the Black United Fund of Oregon. Ms. Livingston has over a ten year history working with the Black United Fund of Oregon.

Ms. Livingston is bilingual in Spanish and English and has traveled to and or lived in numerous countries including Costa Rica, Ecuador, Denmark, Mexico, Canada, Dominican Republic, Lebanon and India. While living in the Dominican Republic for two-years, Ms. Livingston worked at the American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic.

Eric Delehoy

Eric Delehoy has worked with high school and college-aged students for most of his career. Owner of Delehoy College Counseling, he assists students and their families as they navigate the college search process. Eric presents fifteen years of college admission and counseling experience, having served on numerous selection and scholarship committees. He is Membership Chair on the Board of Directors of the Higher Education Consultants Association, a professional development organization that represents the independent college consulting profession.

Eric founded Gertrude: A Journal of Voice and Vision in 1999, which later became Gertrude Press, a non-profit literary and visual arts press showcasing GLBTQA writers and artists. Equity and access have always been passions for Eric and he twice served on the Board of Directors (as President in 2000-2001) of the Lambda Community Center, a non-profit educational and community center serving the GLBTQA population of northern Colorado and southern Wyoming.

Steven Carpenter

Steven Carpenter has served the Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund as a Claims Attorney since 2000. In addition, Steve has served as court advocate for children in the juvenile court system, coordinating with agencies, care givers, and judges to help represent the child's desire as best as possible. Steve received his Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Spanish from Lewis & Clark College in 1977. Steve has gone on many trips abroad, including his junior year abroad in Paris, France, where he received his Certificat du premier cycle at the Univerrsite de Paris IV; as well as multiple trips to Europe and South America. In 1991, Steve returned to Lewis and Clark College to complete his Juris Doctor certification.

Steve also supports the arts and enjoys volunteering for the Artists Repertory Theatre and is a Member and Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Portland Gay Men's Chorus.

International Carpe Diem Foundation

A 501 (c)(3) non-profit scholarship organization established in 2008, working with students from low-income families within the Portland, Oregon metropolitan region. ICDF provides scholarships for these students to participate in accredited academic study abroad programs, and to provide opportunities for higher education.