The Linfield University Board of Trustees in May unanimously approved the addition of three new members. All have both long-term ties to the university, as well as extensive involvement in Oregon business, nonprofits and philanthropy. Two are Linfield alumni.
“Mary Lago, Katie Paullin and Laurie Reser all have connections to Linfield and we couldn’t ask for more qualified, distinguished and engaged people to join our board,” said Interim President Becky Johnson. “I’m grateful for the ideas, energy and leadership they are contributing to our students and university, and I look forward to working with each of them.”
Mary (Nightingale) Lago ’97
After graduating summa cum laude with a degree in business administration, she moved to the San Francisco Bay area to work in banking, trust and investments services. In 1999, she helped First Republic Bank establish a trust company as a managing director. Returning to Oregon in 2004, Mary held leadership positions at Union Bank and Washington Trust Bank. She joined Ferguson Wellman Capital Management in 2015, where she is now a principal owner and chief wealth strategist, providing holistic investment and wealth management guidance to families and nonprofits.
Mary is deeply committed to community service and charitable work. In addition to advising nonprofits on endowment management, she currently serves on the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Foundation Board, the OHSU Center for Ethics in Health Care Steering Committee, and is chair of the OHSU Gift Planning Council. She is also immediate past chair of Albertina Kerr Centers Foundation. Her awards include being named to Portland Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” and “Women of Influence.” She was also awarded the Joyce Manougian Lifetime Achievement Award by Albertina Kerr Centers in 2019.
Katie Paullin ’03
Linfield’s youngest trustee, Katie Paullin, serves as chief marketing officer for Moda Partners, a regional health care company with more than $4 billion in annual revenue.
She started her career there before it was even called Moda — she was hired as a communications specialist for what was then known as ODS Companies shortly after graduating from Linfield with a bachelor’s degree in communications. Over the next 11 years, she rose to director of marketing. After a five-year stint at Portland General Electric, she re-joined Moda in 2021 as chief marketing officer.
She is an active volunteer and supporter of many Portland causes; she also sat on the board of Camp Fire Columbia from 2015-2021. Paullin has also been an active part of the Wildcat alumni community and serves on the university’s Business Advisory Council. She lives in Lake Oswego with her wife, Emily, and dog Penny.
“Linfield’s super power isn’t just one thing — it’s the sum of many parts,” she said, mentioning a rigorous curriculum, the opportunities students have to explore diverse interests and the strength of the common Linfield bond.
“Linfield creates well-rounded individuals — students are involved in so many things, from athletics to arts,” she said. “What I appreciated most about Linfield, and what still resonates with me today, is it gave me a place to try, learn —and sometimes fail — succeed and grow.”
She said she hopes to help Linfield navigate a “strategic inflection point” being seen across the higher education landscape.
“Shifts will happen, and change is good,” she said. “My hope is to be a part of a team that embraces the change and creates a roadmap that supports our students — past, present and future — supports our communities, and supports a thriving economy with opportunities for all.”
Laurie Reser
Although not a Wildcat herself, Laurie Reser is still very much a part of the Linfield family. Her daughter Amanda, ’21 and ’22, was a softball standout, the only player in program history to win both the “hardest worker” and “best teammate” award. After graduating with a bachelor of science in finance in 2021, Amanda continued at Linfield. She was part of the inaugural master of science in business class, taking the sport leadership track. Laurie and the Reser family’s mark can also be seen on campus. The Reser Family Foundation was one of the biggest supporters of the new W.M. Keck Science Center.
Reser lives outside of Tigard with her husband, Mark. She is deeply focused on philanthropic and volunteer work, including ALS Northwest, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Meals-On-Wheels and the Reser Family Foundation. In addition to Amanda, their family includes sons Blake and Jake, and daughter Mallory.
Reser said that Linfield’s size is a unique strength, citing the close relationships students develop with faculty and staff.
“I saw such a positive impact during my daughter Amanda’s time at Linfield. Linfield’s size creates the close relationship between students, their professors and coaches that allows for tremendous growth,” she said. “I’m excited for future students to be able to have that same experience and gain all that Linfield has to offer. I look forward to helping guide Linfield toward a stable and prosperous future.”
