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Meet Bonnie Reagan, M.D. 鈥� physician, founder of a kids鈥� after school music program, innovator and philanthropist. A lifelong volunteer with a passion for helping others, she enjoys her partnership in giving with 澳超直播.

Through involvement with two 澳超直播 donor advised funds 鈥� one started by Bonnie with her husband and another by her brother 鈥� Bonnie supports organizations working to give people a leg up. 

鈥淚 feel like I have teammates.鈥� Bonnie says. 鈥淲orking with 澳超直播 people has helped me to become very excited about lots of things. I feel I鈥檓 doing my part to help the community. There鈥檚 nothing better than that.鈥�

Bonnie鈥檚 greatest inspiration: her mother

Del Greenfield

鈥淒el Greenfield, my mom, lived life hugely and courageously, loved passionately, laughed often, worked like crazy and inspired hundreds of people. She is my hero and the reason I am who I am,鈥� Bonnie says.

Del was the daughter of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants who came to Philadelphia in the early 1900s fleeing the pogroms. One of six children who lived hardscrabble lives, Del graduated high school at 15 and was too poor to attend college. When she married Bonnie鈥檚 father and had children, she took the role of parenting very seriously.

鈥淢y mom raised us to be informed and responsible citizens, to serve our community, to be open to learning, to be world citizens. She insisted we all go to college, and all three of us went beyond college.鈥�

During the Vietnam War Del became a social justice activist, which she continued for the rest of her life. She eventually became the Executive Director of Portland Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), now Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility. She worked until the age of 83, then volunteered after that.

Del lived with cancer for nearly fifty years. 鈥淚 rarely heard her complain or feel sorry for herself,鈥� Bonnie says. 鈥淪he was always looking forward to what she needed to do next. She was funny, creative, almost boisterous at times. Everyone knew her laugh.鈥�

鈥淲hen she was 91, still living with cancer, and my dad having just died, she decided she didn鈥檛 want to live anymore and looked into the Oregon Death with Dignity Act. She told us she didn鈥檛 have time for that 鈥� at that time there was a two-week waiting period 鈥� so she chose to quietly end her life by stopping eating and drinking,鈥� Bonnie recalls. 鈥淪he died in five days, after telling lots of jokes and telling us all how important we were to her. She was a model for us in life and in death.鈥�

Given her mother鈥檚 example, it鈥檚 no surprise that Bonnie took up causes from an early age. Bonnie started giving to UNICEF in high school, and pursued subsequent careers in high school teaching, pediatric nursing and a 22-year family medicine practice, all with the aim to help others. She was named Oregon Family Physician of the Year by Oregon Academy of Family Physicians and led the creation of a guide for health care professionals to the Death with Dignity Act that Oregon enacted in 1997.

A commitment to music and learning

Music has always been important to Bonnie. Early in life she took piano lessons and performed in a school choir. As an adult, she sang for 20 years in Portland鈥檚 Choral Arts Ensemble. After retiring in 2009, she discovered the El Sistema music program in Venezuela, which provided music education mostly to poor children. After learning about the existence of El Sistema USA, which then had no presence in Oregon, she co-founded BRAVO Youth Orchestras, a member organization of El Sistema. She continues to serve as BRAVO鈥檚 board president today.

Bonnie with BRAVO Youth Orchestras kids

BRAVO Youth Orchestras provides instruments and rigorous training to Oregon children. Participating children practice up to 10 hours a week in after school programs, enjoy connections with guest artists, and perform in public. 鈥淭hese are amazing opportunities for young people to be involved, to learn skills, to work together as part of a group, and bring joy to people,鈥� Bonnie says.

Involvement with BRAVO Youth Orchestras inspired Bonnie to explore new musical outlets. She took up violin lessons for the first time at age 69 and tried her hand at composing music at 74. BRAVO Youth Orchestras, conducted by an eighth-grade student, performed one of her original compositions, 鈥淚onian Meadows.鈥�

鈥淎ll of us have talents and skills and interests that we don鈥檛 know about, or we haven鈥檛 been given the opportunity,鈥� Bonnie says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting to discover something about your self that you didn鈥檛 know. I think everybody has that ability. I鈥檓 a life-long learner, and that鈥檚 made me even more interested in helping others learn as well.鈥�

In the spirit of learning and sharing, early in the COVID-19 pandemic Bonnie set up socially distanced learning sessions for her grandchildren in her back yard, inviting guest experts to talk about topics like homelessness, immigration, the civil rights movement, LGBTQ+ issues, finance, law, philanthropy and science. The sessions inspired a granddaughter to pursue a career as a civil rights attorney.

Giving for the greater good

Bonnie counts five civically engaged family generations 鈥� from her grandmother, a labor organizer, to her grandchildren 鈥� giving their time and resources toward improving lives for others.

鈥淢y daughter asked my mother what was the most important word for her, and my mother said 鈥榡ustice.鈥� And I keep looking to contribute to social justice, making things better for everybody,鈥� Bonnie says. 鈥淕iving money to organizations that help people find themselves, and grow and thrive, is important for me.鈥�

In 2017 Bonnie and her husband Pete took a step to organize their giving beyond checkbook donations when they opened an 澳超直播 donor advised fund. The fund focuses on causes important to Bonnie and Pete, giving to organizations supporting social justice, immigration, arts, education, climate and reproductive rights. After their passing, the fund will receive the assets of their estate and their daughter will take over advising the fund鈥檚 grantmaking. Bonnie also serves as primary advisor on a family fund established by her brother, Mark Greenfield, named in honor of their mom Del.

She values the direct involvement in grantmaking a donor advised fund permits. 鈥淚 want to be involved. I like knowing what鈥檚 going on in my community and being part of the decision making,鈥� she says.

A collaboration

Bonnie and Pete make grantmaking decisions informed by 澳超直播鈥檚 expertise in nonprofit organizations and projects in need of funding. Because 澳超直播 knows the organizations, Bonnie values the Foundation鈥檚 funding recommendations and dialogue.

鈥淚 feel like I get expert help all the way along. I feel like it really is teamwork. It is not just me deciding, and its not just them advising, I feel like it is a back and forth,鈥� Bonnie says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 much more meaningful.鈥�

澳超直播 Donor Relations Officer Sarah Hench echoes that sentiment. 鈥淚鈥檓 inspired by Bonnie鈥檚 curiosity and clarity about her values, and her orientation as a lifelong learner makes working with her an enriching experience,鈥� says Sarah. 鈥淗er family has lived their values across generations, and it has been an honor to be invited into learning their story and supporting their ongoing legacy of giving.鈥�