Marshall Guthrie, Director

 

Christopher Solario, Assistant Director

503-838-8551
solarioc@wou.edu

Chris returned to college at the age of 37 and with the help and support of SEP, completed his bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Western Oregon University. He continued on at Portland State University, completing master’s degrees in Sociology and Education, as well as a graduate certificate in Teaching Adult Learners.

Chris has worked with first-generation, low-income students for the past seven years, helping them break through the many barriers that exist for first-generation students. His goal is to continue to work with first-generation students and give them the tools necessary to successfully complete a college degree.

Chris enjoys reading, teaching, traveling and spending time with his wife and three children.

 

 

Alicia Monrroy, Educational Advisor

503-838-8699
monrroya@wou.edu

Alicia graduated from Western Oregon University in June of 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science. She joined the SEP staff in September of 2007 as an Educational Advisor. As a former Upward Bound and SEP/SSS graduate, she is passionate about helping students succeed.

Alicia enjoys spending time with family and friends, listening to music and traveling.

 

 

Ariel Zimmer Suel, Educational Advisor

  503-838-9356
  zimmera@wou.edu

Ariel is a first generation college graduate passionate about supporting first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students. She holds her B.A. in Planning, Public Policy and Management from the University of Oregon where she focused her studies on better understanding non-profit organizations and philanthropy. As an undergraduate she found her voice through student leadership and community activism. This lead to broader interests in grassroots organizations, community engagement and social change. Ariel holds her MA in Education, specializing in Educational Leadership and Policy. She is a west coast native, originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, but has called the Willamette Valley her home for the last 25 years. Publishing a book of her poetry is top on her bucket list and she enjoys hiking adventures with her family, cooking and learning how to garden.

 

Jen Koshnick, Educational Advisor

  503-838-9304
  koshnickj@wou.edu

Jen recently moved from Flagstaff, AZ, and she is excited to explore all that Oregon has to offer. Jen holds a B.S. and an M.Ed. in Education both from the University of Minnesota. Jen is passionate about working with students to develop learning strategies that will help them to be successful in college and beyond. When she has downtime, Jen enjoys hiking, dancing, and spending with her family.

 

Adriana Carrillo, Educational Advisor

  503-838-9366
  carrilloa@wou.edu

 

 

 

 

Orlando Gaeta, Educational Advisor

503-838-8030
gaetao@wou.edu

Orlando is a first generation college graduate that attended and graduated from Portland State University in 2016 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology and again in 2019 with a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy. Prior to joining SEP as an Educational Advisor, he held multiple positions at Portland State University as a Graduate Assistant for Latino/a/x Student Services and the most recent as an Interim Coordinator for the Diversity Scholarship Program. As a student, he received a lot of support and encouragement from the coordinators of these programs and they soon became his mentors. Through his involvement as a student and as a mentor for both programs, he became passionate about helping students succeed. In his free time he enjoys spending time with family and friends, attending sporting events, going to concerts, going on hikes, and listening to music.

 

Allissa Whiting, Administrative Program Assistant

  503-838-9279
  whitinga@wou.edu

Allissa was a first generation college student when she attended Western Oregon University, and now holds her B.A. in Biology with a minor in Spanish. Her own past experiences and her recent professional experiences have led her to learn she is most passionate about supporting low-income, first generation students like herself, especially through the TRiO programs. Allissa is an Oregon native and enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, and spending time with her friends and animals of all kinds.