Donors Among Us: Donna Dermond MAT ’89 and Kurt Wehbring MA ’92

Meet Donna Dermond and Kurt Wehbring. While Kurt (MA ’92, counseling psychology) was navigating the politics of urban and strategic planning, Donna (MAT ’89, language arts) was engaging high school students in the joys and revelations of literature.

Married since 1989, Donna and Kurt maintain a distinctly Portland lifestyle that includes social activism, backpacking, choral singing, and swimming the Columbia—not to mention keeping bees and chickens in their organic garden well before such practices were common.

Both support annual scholarships at the Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Donna designated hers for students pursuing careers in the classroom, saying, “Lewis & Clark taught me how to be professionally creative and confident.”

Kurt’s involvement with West Women’s and Children’s shelter and William Temple House motivated him to earmark his scholarship for counseling psychology students who focus on domestic violence. They will also endow these scholarships through bequests.

“Thinking about this stage in our lives, both of us agreed we just want to do as much good as we can,” says Donna. “That is a governing value for us and why we think Lewis & Clark is a good place for us to contribute. We had formative experiences here and want to help students who enter teaching and counseling professions to build a stronger society.”