2022 ThinkNW Marketing All-Star: Terri Sorensen, CEO at Friends of the Children

Friends of the Children occupies an essential space in Portland and the Pacific Northwest. Committing paid and professional mentorship (mentors are known as a “Friend”) helps build a roadmap to break the cycle of poverty for children. And the results speak volumes:

• 92% of youth go on to enroll in post-secondary education, serve our country or enter the workforce.
• 83% of youth receive their high school diploma or GED.
• 95% of youth remain free from involvement in the juvenile justice system.
• 98% of youth wait to parent until after their teen years.

Leading Friends of the Children into its 30th year is its CEO, Terri Sorensen, who has spent over 20 years in various roles, including executive director and president has scaled the organization to twenty-six locations across the country.

Voted 2022’s #1 Most Admired Nonprofit by the Portland Business Journal, Friends of the Children recently received a $44 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. “We are honored to kickstart our 30th anniversary of serving children with this extraordinary gift,” Sorenson said. “This catalytic investment means we will continue expanding across the country to provide a Friend to thousands more youth.”