About: Board of Directors

Katie Masferrer, Founder and Executive Director

Katie Masferrer founded Managing, Executing and Joining Opportunities for Rural Communities (MEJORC) February 5, 2007, following a Peace Corp deployment to Cajamarca, Peru.

Born in 1981 in Portland, Oregon, Mrs. Masferrer grew up in Tillamook, Oregon. While in college at Whitman in Walla Walla, Washington, she participated in a Perry Grant Project, and co-published a paper as Elizabeth Turner in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. She graduated from Whitman College in 2003 with a bachelor of arts degree, majored in psychology and minored in art and geology. She married Roberto after his graduation in Walla Walla.

Following her graduation she joined the Peace Corps in 2004. She and Roberto were sent to Cajamarca, Peru, to live and work in a small, rural, poor community called Salacat for two years. While in the Peace Corps, Katie focused on nutrition, hygiene, and family values. Focused projects included school health classes, community health fairs, growing community gardens, and organizing a group of 30 women artesans. In 2006, upon returning from Peru, she founded MEJORC.

Katie is currently studying for her masters in chinese medicine, while she works. She has also taken classes in public administration.

Despite her hectic schedule, Mrs. Masferrer has made community service a priority. Current and past affiliations include: Catholic Charities, Hospice and the Green PDX meeting group. Her hobbies include beekeeping, peruvian weaving, and inspirational reading.

Katie Masferrer may be reached at kati@mejorc.org.