Joan Levers and David Manhart: A shared journey of adventure and willingness to take chances
Joan Levers and David Manhart
A shared journey of adventure and willingness to take chances
Joan, where are you from originally?
J.L I’m originally from Roswell, New Mexico. I lived my whole childhood there, (without seeing any aliens!) before going to college at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where I received a degree in Journalism.
What was your path to Oregon?
J.L After college, I moved to Denver, Colorado to work at the Children’s Hospital in the public relations department. Then, after meeting David when he was in Denver for a stained glass workshop, I moved to California in 1979 where David was living. We were married in 1980. I found employment as a Kelly Girl – which at the time was a groundbreaking temporary employment service. From there, I got a job at a medical group in Sacramento that eventually acquired a medical billing systems company. I transferred to this new company and became a technical writer, and that was my launch into high tech. I began working for Hewlett-Packard in 1988.
When we decided to move to Oregon, I was able to relocate into the Hewlett-Packard office in Vancouver, WA. In this role, I was involved in many aspects of communications including training development, employee communications and marketing, eventually becoming the Communications Manager for Hewlett Packard Company’s Knowledge Management organization. It was a wonderful company who believed in work-life balance. I stayed for almost 20 years. I retired in 2006.
What changes did you experience in the tech industry?
J.L Most prominent was the focus on quarterly results versus long-term vision.
David, what was your path to working in environmental conservation?
D.M. I grew up in Roseville, CA, which was a railroad town. I studied Biological Sciences at the University of California, Davis, before eventually receiving my degree in Business from California State University in Sacramento. My family had a small stained glass business that I was involved with, while also working as a railroad engineer. After Joan joined me in Sacramento, I began working for Common Cause, which is a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. I had a great mentor there who taught me about the legislative process. We advocated for and passed legislation to research the impact of weapons-manufacturing and related technologies on the local economies in California and to encourage local leaders to consider alternative sources of revenue and jobs for the state.
When did you begin your environmental work?
D.M. When I was living in Roseville, just after Joan and I married, I formed the Friends of the Roseville Parkway. Working with the City of Roseville we developed a system of biking trails linking all of Roseville’s creeks, neighborhood parks and open spaces.
Soon after in 1991, recognizing the importance of land trusts and the impact they can make, I was part of a group that formed the Placer Land Trust, which today has preserved over 11,900 acres of natural and agricultural land in Placer County, which is within the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area.
Sacramento was changing though. It was starting to over-develop. We decided it was time to go and moved to Portland in 1993.
What was your career path here in Portland?
D.M. I really wanted to work in environmental conservation. My first job here was at Friends of Trees where I became their first fundraising officer. They are a local non-profit whose mission is to train and organize community volunteers to plant trees in their neighborhoods and to restore the natural environment. There was so much energy in the organization. I spent seven years there before taking a job at the Oregon Zoo as their Corporate Relations Manager. I was only there a short time though. I couldn’t reconcile the notion of animals in captivity.
I began working for the Nature Conservancy as their Corporate Relations Director, where I spent eight years. After that I went back to the Friends of Trees with the desire to share what I had learned from my time at the Nature Conservancy, the systems, and processes of this global environmental organization. I retired in 2008.
From a railroad engineer to the Nature Conservancy, what first drew you to environmental causes?
D.M. I have always been an environmental conservationist at heart. Nature was always a passion for my family. Joan and I have shared that commitment to the environment over the years and have been involved with many organizations including The Wilderness Society, the North Coast Land Conservancy, the Audubon Society, and many other important causes.
Were you drawn to Oregon and Portland’s reputation for sustainability and the environment?
D.M. Oregon was an environmental haven, and Portland, a city with many kindred spirits. At first we found a house in the Alameda neighborhood and then, eventually we moved downtown into a condo. Now, we are renting while waiting for the completion of Parkview. We are still living downtown, close to everything, the symphony, the opera, and theaters, and all the major cultural venues. That’s what we like about Parkview, the closeness to the arts and culture in downtown Portland.
Are there other factors that influenced your decision about Parkview?
J.L. We had thought we would have a few more years before moving into a Continuing Care Retirement Community. Although because of the isolation caused by COVID, we began looking at our options and decided to go sooner than later. We both had parents that needed extra care and experienced firsthand the importance of having the right support systems. We don’t have any kids so we wanted to make sure that we had a plan that would take care of us in the future. Also, the fact that Parkview is so environmentally sound was important to us.
I understand you are both musicians and part of a quintet.
J.L We sang in a choir and for several years had been going to a music camp in Walla Walla, WA. We were sitting at lunch one day talking to this woman who was a violist and she suggested I try the viola. A few weeks later, for my birthday, David – who knew how to play the violin, got me a viola. We got a teacher, continued to play at the music camp and then with friends, eventually started a quintet. It’s a wonderful thing to do to just have fun.
David, you’ve been a musician for quite some time.
D.M. I play several instruments, and now have a small cover band where I play the saxophone. We try to get together every few weeks to play. We are hoping to find fellow musicians at Terwilliger Plaza.
Joan, can you tell us more about your involvement with the SMART Reading program?
J.L. SMART Reading is a statewide non-profit program that pairs adult volunteers with children in the schools to meet with them one-on-one and read books together for thirty minutes usually twice a week. As well, the children get two books a month to take home to build up their own library. The primary mission is to promote the love of books.
I started off as a volunteer reader and after about four years, became a site coordinator. I’ve been a coordinator now for about ten years managing the program at King Elementary in NE Portland.
David, it’s interesting to listen to the combination of experiences that formed your career.
D.M. For me, it was like a treasure hunt. When I began working at the Nature Conservancy, I realized just how much I had learned over the years. I truly had a passion for environmental causes, learned the significance of developing relationships and the importance of listening to integrate people’s interests into action.
You also mentioned that life is a combination of experiences.
Yes. It’s the combination of all your experiences, adventures in life, one’s career and travel. Early on we knew we wanted to travel. In fact, we just got back from Spain. We have been most every place in Europe. We’ve been to Chile, Argentina, China, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, as well as all over the United States and Canada.
You both have this undaunted approach to life, a sense of fearlessness and willingness to take chances in your shared journey – a journey that wasn’t necessarily planned.
J.L. We are very compatible and hold each other up. We have been married for 42 years and have taken on these adventures together. When we first met in Denver, I thought David was cute. Very Californian with a full beard. A week later he sent me a cassette tape with a song about me that he wrote and played on the guitar. The song was about everything that we had talked about the night we met. I was hooked.
We got together after that. Seems like it was the right decision!