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City Club - The Importance of Assisting Homeless Females
Event by: Wynne Wakkila
Location: Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub, Southwest 2nd Avenue 112, Portland
About event
Doors open at 6pm. Program starts at 6:30 pm. Presented by the Health and Public Safety Issue Committee
Speakers: Survivor Robin Miller, ED Rose Haven Katie O’Brien, ED Raphael House Emmy Ritter, and Blanchet House ED Scott Kerman
Robin Miller is a seasoned advocate and lived-experience expert with over a decade of direct service supporting children, youth, and adults impacted by the commercial sex trade. She currently serves on the Human Trafficking Task Force of Clark County and the Human Trafficking Advisory Committee for the Oregon Department of Justice. Robin is a co-founding member of the Sex Trade Survivor Caucus (formerly the Northwest Survivor Alliance) and actively serves on the boards of the Northwest Collaborative and the EPIK Project. For over a decade, she has delivered training and raised awareness across diverse audiences—including students, educators, healthcare providers, faith-based organizations, law enforcement, and policymakers. Robin is a Portland State Alumni with her bachelors degree in social science.
Katie O’Brien has served as Executive Director of Rose Haven since 2019, after more than a decade of involvement with the agency. With 30+ years of nonprofit leadership experience, she has been pivotal in strengthening Rose Haven’s capacity to meet Portland’s growing homelessness crisis. Rose Haven, now in its 28th year, remains downtown Portland’s only day shelter and resource center for women, children, and gender-diverse individuals, serving more than 4,000 people annually. Katie also serves on the Board of the National Women’s Shelter Network, a coalition of 400+ shelters working to end homelessness nationwide for women and families.
Emmy Ritter has served as Executive Director of Raphael House of Portland since 2019, leading its mission to support survivors of domestic violence through trauma-informed and survivor-centered services. She first joined Raphael House 11 years ago as Programs and Services Director and has been a dedicated advocate for domestic violence survivors for more than 30 years. Under her leadership, Raphael House has strengthened its community response to family violence, and Emmy was honored with the Judge Herrell Award for Exceptional Leadership in Program and Community Response to Family Violence.
Blanchet House is planning to open a new center for females. Come learn about their vision. Scott Kerman has more than 15 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and governance in Portland. Before joining Blanchet House in August 2019, Scott enjoyed a long career in education, first as a teacher and adjunct college professor and then in school leadership. This followed a brief career as a criminal defense attorney, which was preceded by his participation in Teach for America.
Scott received a BS in Political Science from Santa Clara University, a BA in English from Washington State University, an MA in English from Portland State University, and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Portland Business Journal named Scott a 2022 Nonprofit Executive of the Year for his extraordinary leadership during the COVID pandemic. In 2024, Scott was honored by Santa Clara University with the Ignatian Award, which publicly recognizes those Santa Clara University alumni who live the SCU ideals of competence, conscience, and compassion, and have been a credit to the Alumni Association and the university through outstanding achievement in their service to humanity.
Speakers: Survivor Robin Miller, ED Rose Haven Katie O’Brien, ED Raphael House Emmy Ritter, and Blanchet House ED Scott Kerman
Robin Miller is a seasoned advocate and lived-experience expert with over a decade of direct service supporting children, youth, and adults impacted by the commercial sex trade. She currently serves on the Human Trafficking Task Force of Clark County and the Human Trafficking Advisory Committee for the Oregon Department of Justice. Robin is a co-founding member of the Sex Trade Survivor Caucus (formerly the Northwest Survivor Alliance) and actively serves on the boards of the Northwest Collaborative and the EPIK Project. For over a decade, she has delivered training and raised awareness across diverse audiences—including students, educators, healthcare providers, faith-based organizations, law enforcement, and policymakers. Robin is a Portland State Alumni with her bachelors degree in social science.
Katie O’Brien has served as Executive Director of Rose Haven since 2019, after more than a decade of involvement with the agency. With 30+ years of nonprofit leadership experience, she has been pivotal in strengthening Rose Haven’s capacity to meet Portland’s growing homelessness crisis. Rose Haven, now in its 28th year, remains downtown Portland’s only day shelter and resource center for women, children, and gender-diverse individuals, serving more than 4,000 people annually. Katie also serves on the Board of the National Women’s Shelter Network, a coalition of 400+ shelters working to end homelessness nationwide for women and families.
Emmy Ritter has served as Executive Director of Raphael House of Portland since 2019, leading its mission to support survivors of domestic violence through trauma-informed and survivor-centered services. She first joined Raphael House 11 years ago as Programs and Services Director and has been a dedicated advocate for domestic violence survivors for more than 30 years. Under her leadership, Raphael House has strengthened its community response to family violence, and Emmy was honored with the Judge Herrell Award for Exceptional Leadership in Program and Community Response to Family Violence.
Blanchet House is planning to open a new center for females. Come learn about their vision. Scott Kerman has more than 15 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and governance in Portland. Before joining Blanchet House in August 2019, Scott enjoyed a long career in education, first as a teacher and adjunct college professor and then in school leadership. This followed a brief career as a criminal defense attorney, which was preceded by his participation in Teach for America.
Scott received a BS in Political Science from Santa Clara University, a BA in English from Washington State University, an MA in English from Portland State University, and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Portland Business Journal named Scott a 2022 Nonprofit Executive of the Year for his extraordinary leadership during the COVID pandemic. In 2024, Scott was honored by Santa Clara University with the Ignatian Award, which publicly recognizes those Santa Clara University alumni who live the SCU ideals of competence, conscience, and compassion, and have been a credit to the Alumni Association and the university through outstanding achievement in their service to humanity.