Lisa Hendricks
Executive Director
lisa@pdxhillel.org

Lisa serves as the Executive Director of Greater Portland Hillel, where she leads efforts to build a vibrant, inclusive Jewish community across eight campuses in the Portland metro area. She is passionate about creating spaces where students feel a strong sense of belonging, can explore their identities, create community, and build meaningful connections with one another.

Growing up in Las Vegas, she studied English Literature, Gender Studies, and Secondary Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She spent her summers attending B’nai B’rith Camp on the Oregon coast, first as a camper and later on staff, an experience that helped shape her Jewish identity. Her early years were rooted in skate culture, where she spent time skateboarding and helping organize punk shows. Those experiences continue to influence her approach to community and leadership.

Lisa brings a background in nonprofit leadership, digital organizing, and senior operational roles. Most recently, she led national grassroots digital engagement efforts with Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America across all 50 states. She has also led community-centered ventures, including co-owning a skate park with her husband, further grounding her approach to building accessible, relationship-driven spaces. At the core of Lisa’s work is a simple belief: when people feel seen, supported, and connected to something larger than themselves, they can do extraordinary things.

Now based in Portland, she shares her life with her husband, their two daughters, a scaredy cat named Sufi, and Monkey, an adorable one-eyed pug. She and her husband have created space for her parents, embracing a multigenerational living model that shapes her perspective on connection and community across generations.