Reach Out and Read Oregon
Reach Out and Read Oregon
Reach Out and Read champions the positive effects of reading aloud daily and engaging in other language-rich activities with young children. Since 2000, we’ve partnered with medical clinics and providers across Oregon to support healthy brain development, further language acquisition, and help families build the critical relational bonds that are the foundation to success.
Join the Conversation
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on our work—and how you can help.
Investing in Impact.
Reach Out and Read partners with more than 1,200 pediatric providers in 30 counties across Oregon to share age- and language-appropriate books with children at their well-child checkups through age five. Providers also give caregivers the tools and resources to promote early childhood literacy activities that build family bonds.
Our evidence-based model is backed by a large and growing body of academic research. We utilize the existing medical infrastructure to encourage supportive, educational conversations with parents on the importance of reading aloud and the impact on children’s brain development.
Click here to read our latest impact report.
Our Program
Reach Out and Read Oregon gives young children a foundation for success by
incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together.
165,000
Well-child visits annually
Well-child visits annually
169
Program sites
Program sites
145,000
Books provided annually
Books provided annually
We envision a world where all families have daily, meaningful, language-rich interactions with their children.
Give the gift of reading aloud to a child in need.
Reach Out and Read Oregon could not serve the tens of thousands of families it does annually without the help of generous corporate, foundation, individual, and government partners. We are grateful for their contributions to make reading a priority for the children and families of Oregon. Together we are fulfilling our mission to give young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encouraging families to read aloud together.
Introducing Reach Out and Read Northwest
We are excited to share that the Reach Out and Read teams in Oregon and Washington have unified regionally as Reach Out and Read Northwest.
As we look to the future, Reach Out and Read Northwest is poised to grow sustainably while continuing to deliver the highest level of program services backed by evidence-cased research and methods. Joining forces as a regional team leverages our core strengths and creates administrative efficiencies.
Meet Our Staff
Jessica Mortensen became the first Regional Executive Director of Reach Out and Read Northwest after overseeing the regionalization of Reach Out and Read’s programs in Oregon and Washington in the fall of 2021. She currently oversees a high-performing staff and provides strategic direction for more than 400 medical clinics that reach over 200,000 families annually at well-child visits. Jessica was Reach Out and Read Washington’s Program Director (2010–15), Deputy Director (2015–17), and Executive Director (2017–21).
During her tenure with Reach Out and Read Jessica has cultivated partnerships and relationships that support healthcare professional practice change. She played a pivotal role in the creation and implementation of a program quality evaluation and improvement system that Reach Out and Read adopted nationally, and currently co-chairs the National Book Committee. She completed her Master’s in Library and Information Science at the University of Washington and her undergraduate degree in Spanish and Art History at Whitman College.
Close window 
Kelsey Gallagher joined Reach Out and Read Northwest as a Program Manager in 2022. She strengthens relationships with clinic staff and partners directly with clinics to support their successful program implementation.
As a previous educator, Kelsey understands firsthand the need for early literacy intervention in her students. Her certifications as a Reading Specialist, English Language Instructor, Special Education Teacher, Elementary Teacher, Instructional Coach, and more provide a unique lens to further the Reach Out and Read vision and assure quality implementation of our program model.
Close window
Alayna Herr joined Reach Out and Read Northwest as the Regional Development Director in 2022. She directs development programs in Oregon and Washington, working primarily on building and deepening relationships with foundations, corporations, and private individuals in support of Reach Out and Read Northwest’s regional mission.
Alayna’s career, which includes working in early literacy, college access, and higher education, has focused on ensuring that all children have the resources they need to succeed in whatever they hope to accomplish. She earned a law degree from Willamette University and a Bachelor of Science from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Born in the Midwest, Alayna has been an Oregon resident for more than 10 years and is based in Portland.
Close window
Hannah Slaughter is the Regional Program Director at Reach Out and Read Northwest. She directs our multi-state program strategy, implementation, data, and analysis to ensure that clinical sites across the region have the leadership and support to offer high-quality programs to children and families. Hannah previously served as the Program Director for Reach Out and Read Washington from 2018–2021, and as a Program Specialist from 2012–2018.
Prior to joining Reach Out and Read, Hannah worked with faculty, residents, and medical students at the University of Washington and Harborview Medical Center. She facilitated process improvement projects to ensure patient safety, implemented quality assurance standards, managed the Internal Medicine Residency Program’s annual recruitment process, and coordinated educational conferences and orientations. Hannah received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art Photography and a minor in Diversity from the University of Washington.
Close window
Kathleen supports rural programming in the Northwest Region by cultivating and strengthening relationships with new and existing clinics. With a degree in therapeutic recreation and a background in adaptive education, she emphasizes the importance of fostering healthy leisure habits from an early age. Before joining ROR, Kathleen managed adaptive outdoor programming for individuals with disabilities or other barriers in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Having relocated to a farmhouse in Oregon in 2023, she dedicates her leisure time to nurturing her greenhouse, strolling along the Umpqua River, and, of course, reading.
Close window
Jonah Levine joined Reach Out and Read Northwest as the Corporate and Foundation Relations Officer in 2023. Jonah helps develop grant strategy and proposal development for foundations and corporations supporting Reach Out and Read Northwest’s regional mission.
Jonah’s career has focused on nonprofit fundraising in Oregon for a variety of organizations including a school for children who are deaf and hard of hearing and a health clinic serving marginalized community members. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (focus on Photography) from the University of New Mexico. Jonah was born and raised in Portland, OR, where he lives with his wife, Molly, and his son, George.
Close window