Comings and Goings: Get to Know New Media’s Michael Mannheimer

This summer Michael Mannheimer officially took on the responsibility of managing Lewis & Clark’s social media channels. He also writes homepage stories and other content for lclark.edu.

As the new Web Content and Social Media Manager, Michael oversees Facebook (Undergraduate, Graduate, Law), Twitter, LinkedIn (Undergraduate, Law), Instagram and Snapchat.

Get to know Michael in the following Q&A:

What drew you to Lewis & Clark originally?

I love the liberal arts and the idea of working in education was really appealing to me. I graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles nine years ago, and, since leaving that campus, I always craved a work environment that focused on learning, listening, and questioning. I feel so lucky that I get to do that every day at Lewis & Clark. Also, it’s really beautiful here, and I can walk around campus taking pictures and still call it “work.”

Before working at Lewis & Clark, what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?

A few years ago I lived in Brooklyn, New York, and worked for a company called Togather, which now sadly resides in failed-startup heaven. The idea was basically crowdsourced events—a free platform where authors, thinkers, and makers would commit to doing a book reading if they could get a certain number of people to purchase a ticket (or a ticket and a book) ahead of time. I was one of the first employees hired after they debuted the beta site, and I handled everything from customer service to bug testing to interviewing authors for the blog. It was a really chaotic year, but I learned a lot and made some lifelong friends. Fun fact: Lewis & Clark’s own Pauls Toutonghi was one of the first authors on the site, and I reviewed his astounding novel Evel Knievel Days for the Togather Tumblr. That was a nice insider tidbit to drop in my Lewis & Clark interview. 

What has been your favorite project at Lewis & Clark?

Last spring I helped the New Media team launch a new lclark.edu homepage and it was incredibly rewarding to see the final product after months of work and receive positive feedback from the campus community. College websites can be hard to navigate because there’s just SO MUCH INFORMATION to present, but I think we made something that is modern, concise, and and fun.

What kinds of hobbies and interests do you have outside of work?

I love to cook, hike, run, and listen to music. I used to work at Willamette Week and occasionally moonlight as a freelance writer. But mostly I’m a huge basketball fan and NBA dork and spend most of my time dreaming of the day the Blazers win another championship.

Can you share something about yourself that might surprise some people?

When I was a kid my grandparents owned a clothing store in Portland and I was frequently a model in local ads. I still hate dressing up to this day!

Comings and Goings Update

Several people have joined the community recently, and some continuing employees have taken on new roles and responsibilities at Lewis & Clark:

Serena Ancheta, assistant dean, CAS Admissions; Jessica Black, assistant director, Office of Financial Aid; Clayton Bracht, area director, Campus Living; Megan Brannan, area director, Campus Living; Angela Adelle Buck, assistant director, Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement; Brian Dasso, staff attorney, Law School Legal Clinic; Gerry Crocker, strategic partnership coordinator, Graduate School Office of the Dean; Paola Dennis, administrative specialist, International Student Services; Linda D’Agostino-Long, program coordinator, Business Law Programs; Chris Factor, groundskeeper, Facilities Services; Arianna Figueroa, administrative coordinator, Campus Living; Pamela Findlay, head women’s basketball coach and instructor, Physical Education and Athletics; Justin Henderson, director of Lewis & Clark Community Counseling Center, Counseling Psychology; Bernette Jenkins-Pleas, administrative assistant, National Crime Victim Law Institute; Yvon Kozma, access services and collection support assistant, Boley Law Library; Blythe Knott, acting director, Overseas and Off-Campus Programs; Andrea Lang, staff attorney, law school; Stephen LeBoutillier, senior associate director of annual giving, Institutional Advancement; James Meuel, assistant baseball coach, Physical Education and Athletics; Tara Mussulman, administrative coordinator, Center for Community Engagement; Aidan Niven, dispatcher, Campus Safety; Dan Oswalt, access services and technology specialist, Watzek Library; Nina Robertson, staff attorney, Earthrise Law Center; Robert Truman, librarian for legal research instruction; Boley Law Library;  and Xi Zhong, financial analyst, Office of Business and Finance. 

The following people have left Lewis & Clark. Here’s wishing them good luck in their new adventures:

Nano Douglass, officer, Campus Safety; Jackie Foster, processing assistant, Boley Law Library; Asha Franklin, Head Women’s Basketball Coach/Instructor, Physical Education and Athletics; Lily Gil, department specialist, CAS Admissions; Karen Grove, data assistant, Advancement Services; Deborah Keller, coordinator, Information Technology; Carolyn Locke, administrative coordinator, International Students and Scholars; Sandy Lucas, associate director for corporate and foundation relations, Law External Relations; Danika Machado-Potestio, assistant women’s basketball coach, Physical Education and Athletics; Larry Meyers, director, Overseas and Off-Campus Programs; Melanie Morris, laboratory coordinator, Biology; Enid Nielsen, career counselor, Career Center; and Sheri Terjeson, director of annual giving, Institutional Advancement.