Hilary Mar Lopez Nichols
Health Equity Organizer
I became involved with RELATE when I started my role as the Health Equity Organizer at OHSU's Richmond Clinic. Becoming the Health Equity Organizer was somewhat of a dream job for me, since it meant I got to work at an institution that had been a big part of my life growing up in Portland, while also incorporating my love for civic activism and system change through relational leadership. I had spent the last ~6 years in Seattle, where I had coordinated a civic leadership program in the City of Seattle and really fell in love with sharing information about civic activism. During this time I also discovered that witnessing people step into their leadership is something that really lights my fire and lifts me up. I find great joy in witnessing people step into their power, whether I'm watching a community member present before a commission meeting for the first time, or watching a middle school student organize with their peers about how to get gender inclusive bathrooms at their school. RELATE has become a place where I can practice the values of relational leadership that have become deeply important to me, as well as a place where I can show up in my most authentic expression.