Noah Kleiman - Founding Executive Director & President
Noah Kleiman has an uncanny ability to tap into the education needs of creative people. Noah’s nonprofit career started in 2003 when he launched his first arts-education nonprofit, Old Library Studio, Portland’s nonprofit music recording studio for teens. Noah’s vision of an afterschool program mixing music and mentorship quickly expanded into public school classrooms and using music-making to engage at risk teens. In 2006 Willamette Week awarded Noah the prestigious Skidmore Prize for the Arts, which recognizes inspiring young nonprofit leaders. With his new arts-education nonprofit, Secret Knowledge, Kleiman aims to help creative working people gain the technical and business skills they need to make their living working as independent artists and to provide engaging cultural experiences for Portland’s creative audiences.
Schedule a one-on-one insight session with Noah.
Travis McGee - Secretary
A New York City native, Travis was raised by parents in the music industry and spent many years as a musician playing in venues throughout the Northeast. He has called Portland his home since 2011. A huge supporter of the arts, Travis is thrilled to be working with an organization dedicated to equipping artists with the tools they need to turn their artistic endeavors into sustainable careers.
Paul Van Orden - Past President
Paul works as an environmental law enforcement officer for the City of Portland's Office of Neighborhood Involvement. Mr. Van Orden has run Portland's noise control office for 18 years and is a leading research scientist on urban noise pollution and livability. He's an active grassroots organizer with years of experience serving on the board of Growing Gardens.
Annie Rose Shapero - Treasurer
Annie Rose sponsored the first ever scholarships for the Secret Knowledge Conference and she was in charge of running the three Secret Knowledge Exchange sessions at the conference. We're excited to have her as a Whisperer Sidekick with The Whisper Posse. Annie Rose started one of the longest running Etsy shops, Green Betty. She's passionate about housing and finding new ways to help creative people acheive home ownership.
Ethan Parker Wright
Ethan was a participant in the first Whisper Posse in 2016, coordinated our happy hour events in 2017 and joined the board to lend his graphic design skills to Secret Knowledge in 2018. Ethan is an independent designer in Portland.
