Paul Francis, MD - President

Paul is a retired Pediatric Cardiologist from Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno, CA. He attended the University of California-Davis obtaining his M.D. degree. His pediatric residency was at University of Colorado and did his pediatric cardiology fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

He was a volunteer for Camp Taylor for 11 years as a counselor, doctor, cart driver and heart educator.

Jennifer Huang, MD - Vice President

Jen is a Pediatric Cardiologist at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital / Oregon Health and Science University. She grew up in Kansas and attended medical school at the University of Kansas. She did her internal medicine and pediatrics residency at the University of Cincinnati/ Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and fellowships at Oregon Health and Science University and Stanford University. She is the Medical Director for Ambulatory and Outreach Services and Co-Director of Exercise Physiology and Cardiac Rehab at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.

She has lived in Portland with her wife and 2 children since 2011 and loves the Pacific Northwest. She has been involved with Merry Heart Children’s Camp since its inception and loves how the camp encourages physical activity, comradely, and a love of the outdoors.

Shannon Howard - Secretary

Shannon grew up in Tucson and is an ASU graduate, majoring in Supply Chain Management.  Her daughter, Ava, was born with a congenital heart condition and has had two heart surgeries.   

 Inspired by the incredible medical care that Ava has received, Shannon wanted to dedicate her professional skills to a medical company.  Currently, Shannon works as a Senior Program Manager for BIOTRONIK, a leading global medical device company that designs and manufactures cardiovascular devices, such as pacemakers and defibrillators.  It was through BIOTRONIK that Shannon first heard about Merry Heart Children’s Camp.  After volunteering at camp in 2019, and seeing the enthusiasm and camaraderie of the campers and the selflessness of the staff, she was hooked!

 In her free time, Shannon enjoys traveling to new places with her husband and daughter and cuddling up with their two dogs.

Melanie Symms - Treasurer

Melanie is in tech management for a Portland-based manufacturing company, Daimler Trucks.

Melanie has a background in marketing and technology, mostly in the Pacific Northwest where she grew up. 

In her free time, she enjoys skiing, mountain biking, and water activities with her two boys, her husband Will, and Ginger the Irish Retriever.

Lindsey Evers - Director

Lindsey is from the Pacific Northwest, born and raised in Seattle. She attended Seattle Pacific University’s nursing program and has worked as a pediatric nurse since 2006. She has worked inpatient at Seattle Children’s and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Lindsey has a passion to serve and empower children and their families, especially in the form of education. She has been involved with youth camps since she was in high school, ranging from outdoor education, to junior and senior church camps, to volunteering at other heart camps. Lindsey is excited to offer her support to Merry Heart Children’s Camp!

She resides in Lake Oswego with her husband, a pediatric cardiologist, and her two small children. She loves hiking, reading, and thrift stores and estate sales.

Sheena Portrait - Director

Sheena is a native Oregonian with a masters degree in early childhood & elementary education and special education. She is a wife and mother of three living in SE Portland. 

Her oldest daughter was born with a vascular ring & vsd. While receiving incredible care at Doernbecher, Sheena learned about MHCC. The camp was in its beginning stages and immediately she wanted to be apart of it. Sheena worked on the planning team the first two years of camp, helping create fun & engaging activities for campers to explore. She’s thrilled to be back now as a board member. 

In her free time Sheena enjoys horseback riding, snowboarding with her husband & kids and spending time in Central Oregon. 

Amy Halloran - Steiner - Director

Amy is a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico and currently lives on a farm outside of McMinnville, Oregon. 

She is the mother of two teenagers, one of whom, her daughter Ukiah was born with a congenital heart condition. Ukiah has received terrific care from the team at Doernbecher and experienced the joy of Merry Heart Camp for the first-time 2019.

Amy works with adolescents and adults as a licensed clinical social worker in an office on her farm and leads a meditation community in Yamhill County. Her work connects people with their own wellness and with nature in every way possible. 

Amy’s greatest adventures are with her family in the wilderness, whether backpacking, biking, rafting or swimming rivers.  She loves Merry Heart because she believes that the magic of learning and thriving happens best when it happens in nature and she is honored to be a board member.

Lindsay Urbinelli, MD - Director

Lindsay is a pediatric cardiologist at Pediatric Cardiology Center of Oregon/Randall Children’s Hospital. She is from upstate New York where she obtained her medical degree at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Her pediatric and pediatric cardiology residency/fellowship training was at Columbia University/New York Presbyterian Hospital. She then completed an additional year of fellowship in cardiac imaging at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital before joining Pediatric Cardiology Center of Oregon in 2016. Her special interests are fetal cardiology and cardiac MRI and CT.

She feels privileged to build nurturing relationships with children and families with congenital heart disease beginning before they were born into adulthood.

Lindsay spends her free time enjoying the beautiful Pacific NW, traveling, cooking, and spending time with her husband, daughter, and dog.

Jeremiah Moore - Director

Jeremiah is cardiac sonographer at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. He was drawn to volunteer at Merry Heart Children’s Camp because it is a unique combination of his passions: Congenital Heart Disease and Outdoor Education.

His first career in outdoor education, began at The Ohio State University where he studied Parks, Recreation and Tourism. He also worked on campus at the Outdoor Adventure Center, teaching classes and leading wilderness trips. In the years following graduation he worked for REI as a Outdoor Educator, managed rock climbing gyms, was a Wilderness Instructor and Course director for Outward Bound and instructed toddler day camps for Cincinnati Parks. After some years working in this field he shifted to Healthcare, where he was drawn to echocardiography.

During clinical rotations he earned the opportunity to study at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. He was curious to learn about Congenital Heart Disease and excited about the prospect of working with children in this new career. He has been in this field for 7 years now and feel like he’s found my home at Doernbecher Children’s, it’s a special place because of the people.

Tim LaBarge - executive director

Tim has been involved with MHCC since the first year of camp in 2014 initially as a board member and then working on communications and development.

Tim has master’s degrees in Spanish and in Journalism and has worked as a photographer in the Northwest for more than 20 years.

He is excited to help continue to build the organization that so many amazing volunteers have worked to create.

Tim enjoys chasing his teenage boys through the woods on mountain bikes, canoeing for days and days on the Willamette River with his wife Sara - a pediatric nurse at Doernbecher, and playing pickleball with anyone who wants to play.