Rick Thomas

board chair 

International travel and experience have always played an influential role in Rick’s life. As a native of Southern California, his love of travel was born from the back seat view of a Plymouth Fury station wagon on multiple camping trips into the Mexican countryside. International travel was further inspired by a transformative experience in a Peace Corps family program. By his tenth birthday, Rick had lived in South America and Africa, as well as visiting multiple countries in between.

Rick’s desire for travel continued during college and after, frequenting Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean countries on business and pleasure. His passion for travel and love of diverse culture and experiences has since passed on to his children, encouraging their own travel experiences to broaden their life perspectives.

Rick has equally had a diverse career in engineering, business consulting and wealth management. He is the Principal Business Advisor at First Generation Advisors and Principal Investment Advisor at First Generation Financial. Rick resides in SW Washington along with his wife and they are blessed to have their adult children close by. In between his travels, he can be found stalking the local rivers for steelhead or seeking a new trail to hike in the Columbia River Gorge.

Joe Wagner

treasurer

Joe Wagner has long called the Pacific Northwest home. Joe was born in Beaverton, Oregon and as a child he enjoyed occasional family getaways to the Oregon coast and forested campgrounds. Though he daydreamed of venturing further from home, traveling abroad wasn’t an option growing up. Still, Joe transported himself daily to other parts of the world through music and writing from his SE Portland home.

Joe’s curiosity about the world and its people led him to study history at the University of Oregon. Shortly after earning a BA in History, Joe saved his money and took his first trip overseas, traveling for three months in Thailand, Malaysia, and Sumatra. It was during this transformative journey that Joe developed a sense of connection to, and feeling of agency within the greater world.

In the 20 years since that inaugural overseas trip, Joe has been working with product design teams to create software that enables individuals and teams to accomplish more in their day-to-day work. This line of work has enabled him to travel far and wide to collaborate with coworkers and to learn about the unique needs of his customers. Whether working directly with clients, helping startups mature and grow, or driving the redesign of cumbersome products in large companies, Joe’s motivation remains the same: using his curiosity about others and their life experiences to create products that empower them to be their best.

Today Joe lives in NE Portland with his two hilarious daughters and rather cute 10-pound schnoodle.

Betty Bryant

Betty, a descendant of the Boruca people of Costa Rica, is a Carpe Mundi alumna who was a part of the first PDXchange cohort in 2015/2016 and traveled to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. This was an incredibly impactful experience that helped shape her future and she’s so excited to be a part of advocating for more historically underserved students to experience the world. She went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on Indigenous People of the Americas from Portland State University in 2018. Later that year, Betty began work with the National Indian Child Welfare Association, a local non-profit focused on the well-being of Indigenous communities and keeping them connected to their family, community, and culture. Currently, she serves as the Education Program Coordinator for Friends of Tryon Creek at Oregon’s only state natural area and incorporates traditional ecological knowledge and Indigenous ways of knowing into the ecological curriculum.

As a participant in various study abroad programs since middle school, Betty believes that international travel can be one of our biggest educators and is always saving up for the next trip to go somewhere new or visit family in Costa Rica. Locally, you can find her trying out a new restaurant, practicing yoga, enjoying the outdoors, or hanging with her husband and two cats at home. She has served in organizations that combine her knowledge and experience to promote community development and equity and is delighted to bring that expertise to Carpe Mundi’s board of directors.

Ethan Knight

Founder emeritus

Ethan is the founder and Executive Director of the American Gap Association - a nonprofit standards, equity, and resource hub recognized by the US Department of Justice, for Gap Years.  Ethan is also the founder of Carpe Diem International Education and its sister nonprofit, Carpe Mundi. He has been working in the International Education sphere for the past 15 years, and worked with more than 3,000 domestic students on their journeys. He is also a Gap Year taker who, at the age of 19, traveled to India, Nepal and Tibet for 7 months... much to his mother's initial chagrin (his mother is proud now though, oft he time he took and the impact it's had on his life). 

Ethan has been invited to speak at the City of Portland's Tri-County Diversity Conference; is a founding Board Member of the Wayfinding Academy (a two-year college in Portland); has been a guest speaker in the UK and Canada, and at more than 30 conferences around the country. He holds certificates from the ManKind Project and Byron Katie, and has received formal training in Drs. Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks and Gary Zukov's works. He is a graduate of Willamette University in Portland, Oregon, with a degree in English and Philosophy. 

Peyton nguyen

Peyton Nguyen is a dedicated Health and Human Services Professional with a fervent commitment to public health, diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism. Throughout her career, Peyton has demonstrated a passion for serving diverse communities and addressing disparities in healthcare access and outcomes.

As a Carpe Mundi alumna who evolved directly from the organization's transformative international travel experiences, Peyton brings a unique lens to the Carpe Mundi Board of Directors. Her firsthand experience as a recipient of Carpe Mundi's support has imbued her with a profound understanding of the impact that such opportunities can have on historically underserved students. Through her own journey abroad, Peyton gained invaluable insights into global citizenship and cultural diversity, fostering a deep appreciation for the interconnectedness of our world. Her perspective as a global citizen, shaped by her experiences as both a beneficiary and an advocate for inclusive travel opportunities, informs her commitment to ensuring that Carpe Mundi continues to empower students from diverse backgrounds to broaden their horizons and become global leaders.

Jeremy Townley

International travel has played a central role in Jeremy’s life. He studied abroad in France as an undergraduate, then won a Fulbright Fellowship after graduating and returned to France. He also earned degrees from universities in Canada and the UK, and he spent time on a writing fellowship in Spain. Jeremy has studied French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Cantonese, and he has traveled to almost thirty countries, including Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Polynesia, Macau, Mexico, Morocco, and Peru.

Raised and educated in a working-class community, Jeremy has grappled with some of the barriers that underrepresented students, including low-income first-generation students, confront in higher education. It can be daunting to navigate unfamiliar institutional settings, understand cultural and academic expectations, and acquire the languages of power, both literal and figurative, that many other students take for granted.

A longtime university professor, Jeremy has extensive knowledge of higher education, and he is strongly committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and social justice. He directs the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies and teaches in the Honors College at Oregon State University.

Arturo Vasquez Antunez

Familia has played a pivotal role in Arturo’s life. It was his family that always encouraged him to seek adventures, embrace diverse flavors, explore captivating sights, and cultivate new ideas. Rooted in the family was kindness for all but also a commitment to advocating for the underrepresented. Arturo’s passion for travel and connecting with people stems from Home.

Growing up between Central Florida and Central Mexico, Arturo has been fortunate to enjoy two distinct yet culturally intertwined worlds. The United States offered exciting opportunities and the richness of a cultural melting pot, where Mexico nurtured Arturo with vibrant colors and an innate sense of warmth and comunidad.

Through his travels, Arturo has sought inspiration and personal growth through the unique perspectives and experiences each journey has to offer. In joining Carpe Mundi’s board of directors, Arturo is dedicated to fostering a spirit of adventure and creating a more inclusive and diverse travel community.

Arturo has learned that every person and place has a unique story. He recognizes that often, one of the most gratifying aspects of travel is the simple act of listening.

Reiko Williams

Reiko Williams is currently the MESD (Multnomah Education Service District) Director of Regional Equity and Partnerships.  Ms. Williams has more than twenty years of experience in education and equity leadership, most recently she served as the Principal at Sabin Elementary School for five years.  She served in a number of education leadership roles prior to becoming a principal including: Assistant Principal at Rosa Parks Elementary School and Director of School and Family Partnerships for Portland Public Schools, and Associate Director of Minority Recruitment and Diversity in the Office of Admissions at Portland State University.  She has also served as an adjunct instructor at both Portland Community College and PSU.  

Ms. Williams earned a bachelor of science degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, a Master of Social Work degree from Howard University and a Master of Arts degree in Education Leadership and Policy from Portland State University and a Doctor of Education degree in Leadership and Policy at Portland State University. 

When not at work, she spends time traveling, playing tennis, hiking and watching basketball. She has a toddler grandson, three daughters (two adult and one in high school), a son-in-law. She has lived in Portland for 27 years; most of her family still resides in Baltimore.