People
Marshall Guthrie, Director
503-838-8168
guthriem@wou.edu
Marshall joined our staff after moving west from New York. An authentic Midwesterner, Marshall graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in Communication and the University of Central Missouri with an M.S. in Student Personnel Administration. When he’s not casually biking through Monmouth, Marshall likes to watch movies, listen to music, play guitar, and start projects around the house without any intention of finishing them.
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.
Letitia Erckenbrack, Educational Advisor
503-838-8032
erckenbl@wou.edu
Letitia is a Western Oregon University Alumna who holds a Bachelor Degree in Psychology and a Master Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. She has been on staff with SEP since August of 2000. She finds supporting students in their journey to academic and personal success immensely rewarding. Letitia enjoys reading, doing genealogical research, spending time with her family and holds a strong interest in doing continued research in mental health issues.
Sheree Solario, Educational Advisor
503-838-8031
solarios@wou.edu
Sheree graduated from Western Oregon University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business.
She joined the SEP staff in 2006. As an Educational Advisor, Sheree enjoys seeing the students as they progress through their college experience. Sheree enjoys reading, traveling and focusing on her family.
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.
