Penny earned a Bachelor’s in Community Health Sciences and a Master’s in Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno.   

As a Bend native, Penny is passionate about addressing health disparities across Central Oregon, especially food insecurity as she has personally experienced it in her early childhood. Penny strongly believes in HDFFA’s mission and that good food is vital for proper brain function and overall healthy development. 

Over the past 15 years, Penny has devoted her career to improving the health and well-being of numerous individuals. She has held various leadership roles in nonprofit management and the public health sector. She considers herself fortunate to be a successful fundraiser and change agent. Over the years she has built and maintained strong relationships with community cross-sector stakeholders to strategically implement and evaluate community-based programs while also leading innovative initiatives around chronic disease prevention. Throughout the years she has made a community-wide impact through policy, systems, and environmental change across multiple cities, counties, and states. 

Penny currently works for Mosaic Medical, a nonprofit community health center, as the Grants Program Manager. In her free time, Penny enjoys mountain biking, splitboarding in the backcountry, backpacking, and working on her small property with her partner and miniature wiener dog named Otto Von Longdog aka “otto”.