Jennifer Huang, MD - President

Jen is a Pediatric Cardiologist at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital / Oregon Health and Science University. She grew up in Kansas and attended medical school at the University of Kansas. She did her internal medicine and pediatrics residency at the University of Cincinnati/ Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and fellowships at Oregon Health and Science University and Stanford University. She is the Medical Director for Ambulatory and Outreach Services and Co-Director of Exercise Physiology and Cardiac Rehab at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.

She has lived in Portland with her wife and 2 children since 2011 and loves the Pacific Northwest. She has been involved with Merry Heart Children’s Camp since its inception and loves how the camp encourages physical activity, comradely, and a love of the outdoors.

Shannon Howard - Secretary

Shannon grew up in Tucson and is an ASU graduate, majoring in Supply Chain Management.  Her daughter, Ava, was born with a congenital heart condition and has had two heart surgeries.   

 Inspired by the incredible medical care that Ava has received, Shannon wanted to dedicate her professional skills to a medical company.  Currently, Shannon works as a Senior Program Manager for BIOTRONIK, a leading global medical device company that designs and manufactures cardiovascular devices, such as pacemakers and defibrillators.  It was through BIOTRONIK that Shannon first heard about Merry Heart Children’s Camp.  After volunteering at camp in 2019, and seeing the enthusiasm and camaraderie of the campers and the selflessness of the staff, she was hooked!

 In her free time, Shannon enjoys traveling to new places with her husband and daughter and cuddling up with their two dogs.

Melanie Symms - Treasurer

Melanie is in tech management for a Portland-based manufacturing company, Daimler Trucks.

Melanie has a background in marketing and technology, mostly in the Pacific Northwest where she grew up. 

In her free time, she enjoys skiing, mountain biking, and water activities with her two boys, her husband Will, and Ginger the Irish Retriever.

Lindsey Evers - Vice President

Lindsey is from the Pacific Northwest, born and raised in Seattle. She attended Seattle Pacific University’s nursing program and has worked as a pediatric nurse since 2006. She has worked inpatient at Seattle Children’s and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Lindsey has a passion to serve and empower children and their families, especially in the form of education. She has been involved with youth camps since she was in high school, ranging from outdoor education, to junior and senior church camps, to volunteering at other heart camps. Lindsey is excited to offer her support to Merry Heart Children’s Camp!

She resides in Lake Oswego with her husband, a pediatric cardiologist, and her two small children. She loves hiking, reading, and thrift stores and estate sales.

Tiffany Lim, MD

 Tiffany is a Pediatric Cardiologist at the Children's Heart Center of Central Oregon. She grew up in Northern California and attended medical school in Chicago. She completed her Pediatrics residency at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford and Pediatric Cardiology fellowship at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital/University of Michigan. She is the head of Fetal Cardiology at the Children's Heart Center of Central Oregon.

She has lived in Bend, Oregon since 2021 and enjoys hiking, paddleboarding and playing pickleball. She and her boyfriend are hoping to add a corgi to their family in the near future. She is very excited to get involved with Merry Heart Children’s Camp! 

Amy Halloran - Steiner - Director

Amy is a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico and currently lives on a farm outside of McMinnville, Oregon. 

She is the mother of two teenagers, one of whom, her daughter Ukiah was born with a congenital heart condition. Ukiah has received terrific care from the team at Doernbecher and experienced the joy of Merry Heart Camp for the first-time 2019.

Amy works with adolescents and adults as a licensed clinical social worker in an office on her farm and leads a meditation community in Yamhill County. Her work connects people with their own wellness and with nature in every way possible. 

Amy’s greatest adventures are with her family in the wilderness, whether backpacking, biking, rafting or swimming rivers.  She loves Merry Heart because she believes that the magic of learning and thriving happens best when it happens in nature and she is honored to be a board member.

Brendan Casey

 Brendan brings over 20 years of expertise in commercial banking and enterprise software sales, with a strong focus on fostering business growth and client success. Outside of work, Brendan enjoys outdoor adventures such as skiing, fly fishing, mountain biking, backpacking, and photography, as well as a deep appreciation for music.

Brendan is also dedicated to giving back to the community through volunteer efforts, including working with the Refugee and Immigrant Hospitality Organization. There, Brendan read to and played games with refugee children while their parents attended English classes, demonstrating a commitment to supporting families in need. Brendan lives in Portland and has three kids who he loves spending time with.

Jeremiah Moore - Director

Jeremiah is cardiac sonographer at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. He was drawn to volunteer at Merry Heart Children’s Camp because it is a unique combination of his passions: Congenital Heart Disease and Outdoor Education.

His first career in outdoor education, began at The Ohio State University where he studied Parks, Recreation and Tourism. He also worked on campus at the Outdoor Adventure Center, teaching classes and leading wilderness trips. In the years following graduation he worked for REI as a Outdoor Educator, managed rock climbing gyms, was a Wilderness Instructor and Course director for Outward Bound and instructed toddler day camps for Cincinnati Parks. After some years working in this field he shifted to Healthcare, where he was drawn to echocardiography.

During clinical rotations he earned the opportunity to study at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. He was curious to learn about Congenital Heart Disease and excited about the prospect of working with children in this new career. He has been in this field for 7 years now and feel like he’s found my home at Doernbecher Children’s, it’s a special place because of the people.

 Kristen Fisher - Director

Kristen is a native Oregonian who raised her family in the city of Lake Oswego. At just one week old, her eldest daughter contracted a virus that attacked her heart, and Kristen and the family suddenly found themselves catapulted into the terrifying world of children’s heart conditions. Kristen's journey with her daughter has given her a unique perspective into exactly what parents and families go through when facing the unexpected. She is excited to be part of such an amazing organization that helps kids and families connect with other heart patients, find support, and create lifelong bonds.

As a mother of three and grandmother of one, Kristen still spends much of her time taking care of family and helping wherever she can. She recently became a Pilates Reformer Instructor and enjoys connecting with clients and touting the benefits of Pilates as it relates to staying healthy.

In her free time, she also enjoys being active. Running, hiking, walking dogs, and playing tennis are some of her favorite activities.

Margie "Niki" Tucker, MD

Niki grew up in Louisville, Kentucky and moved to Portland in 2020.  She's a pediatric cardiologist at the Pediatric Cardiology Center of Oregon/Randall Children’s Hospital.  She attended medical school at the University of Louisville were she also completed her pediatrics residency at Norton Children’s Hospital.

From there, she traveled to St. Louis where she completed her pediatric cardiology fellowship at Washington University at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Prior to joining Pediatric Cardiology Center of Oregon, she practiced general pediatric cardiology at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.  She loved being involved in "heart camps" as a resident and fellow and is excited to be involved with Merry Heart Children's Camp.  

Niki enjoys spending her free time exploring the Pacific Northwest with her husband.  She loves to bake any kind of yummy dessert. 

Tim LaBarge - executive director

Tim has been involved with MHCC since the first year of camp in 2014 initially as a board member and then working on communications and development.

Tim has master’s degrees in Spanish and in Journalism and has worked as a photographer in the Northwest for more than 20 years.

He is excited to help continue to build the organization that so many amazing volunteers have worked to create.

Tim enjoys chasing his teenage boys through the woods on mountain bikes, canoeing for days and days on the Willamette River with his wife Sara - a nurse practitioner in pediatric cardiology at Doernbecher, and playing pickleball with anyone who wants to play.