What brought you to ninety-nine girlfriends?

When the universe tells me something three times, I check it out and, once again, I’m very glad I did. I moved to Portland for my husband’s job in June 2021 and within a month a new acquaintance mentioned ninety-nine girlfriends, but I was still trying to get my feet under me. After a third friend asked me to the Discovery Forum this spring, I attended and was hooked. (Sharing those ninety-nine girlfriends’ business cards really works!)

After 19 years in Minneapolis, I landed without the pulls and tugs of raising children and long-term volunteer commitments. It was a fresh slate: exciting, rudderless and a little lonely. I have enjoyed exploring and learning all the wonders of Portland, Oregon and the PNW. But I’m also ready to learn more about what can and is being done to address some of its issues, and how my donations and skills can be used along with others to help. It seems ninety-nine girlfriends is the perfect onramp for all the above.

I still do some marketing research consulting work, but I’m finding more time to hang with my grandsons, volunteer at an after-school program in St. John’s and investigate ways my church can help relieve the housing shortage. Until now, tennis has been my way to meet friends of all ages across the metro area. I look forward to meeting more through ninety-nine girlfriends!