By Sophia Crawford
Hey there. I hope youโre doing well.ย
Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Leya Descombes and Rebecca Descombes on their personal experience with PSUโs Center for Womenโs Leadership (CWL) and the NEW Leadership Oregon (NLO) program that the center offers. In this article, I cover what NLO looks like, what Rebecca gained from her experience, her influence on her daughter Leya, and how Leya views the CWL. Yaqing Li, our videographer, developed a touching video of the interview available below. Check out this article going more in depth on the center’s history and place in Oregon.
Leya is one of the programming assistants at PSUโs Center for Womenโs Leadership where she supports her teammates throughout the office with various projects. Sheโs a first year student studying Criminology & Criminal Justice (CCJ) with the goal to protect her Native American community and other marginalized groups.
Rebecca, Leyaโs mom, attended the NEW Leadership Oregon (NLO) program at the Center for Womenโs Leadership in 2010. She graduated from PSU in 2013 with a Bachelorโs in Political Science, and currently works with the Native community in Oregon to support and connect Indigenous people to crucial resources.
What I learned from our conversation:
The sun streams through the clouds and into PSUโs Urban Center Building (the home of the CWL), landing on both Rebeccaโs and Leyaโs hands. The light showcased how they each rested one hand on top of the other and I canโt help but notice that not only do they sit alike, but the way they use their hands as they speak are similar. At least, until one of them laughs and you see that Leyaโs laugh is more exuberant while Rebecca has a hearty chuckle.
Rebecca jokes that her daughter is always sending her mail from the center.
โYeah,โ says Leya, joining in on the laugh. โI always update her on things to make sure sheโs still getting stuff from NLO,โ Leya says. โI work with previous participants of NLO and people who are connected to the center, so [Rebeccaโs name] pops up a lot. Every now and then Iโll be going through a data sheet and Iโll see my mom; itโs like a little reminder of her.โ
An Alaska Native, Rebecca found NLO (a CWL program) through a school email when she was dual-enrolled at PCC and PSU. At the last minute, she decided to apply. Rebecca describes NLO as an opportunity โdesigned for women, particularly young women, wanting to learn about leadership, how to use their voices,โ network, โand excel in the adult world whether itโs for work or running for office … Thereโs so much packed into the six-day program, itโs like a crash course into leadership. I think one of the best things I learned how to do is how to get up and speak in front of people I donโt know.”

Another thing that I learned was to be a little bit more assertive … Weโve had women leaders come and give examples of all the things that theyโve learned and done in their life and youโre like โWow, I want to do that.โ But you have to be assertive; you have to have confidence in yourself.โ
What Leya learned about leadership from Rebecca
Leya emphasizes how the things Rebecca learned have rubbed off on her, such as โbeing assertive. Iโm not very good at it, but [Rebecca] very much encourages me to be assertive even when I donโt think I should or I donโt want to.โ
She explains how she initially had trouble exercising her confidence when preparing to testify for an Oregon House Bill in 2021.
โThe House Bill 2052 got passed here in Oregon for Indigenous students to be allowed to wear [their own cultural] regalia to graduation. [Previously], you werenโt allowed to do that. You were only allowed to have an Eagle feather attached to your cap, but an Eagle feather is not a representation for a bunch of Indigenous tribes, it doesnโt have as much meaning to some people… I touched on a lot of the stuff that was probably really hard [to hear].โ Only allowing an Eagle feather is like โsaying to all the Indigenous people that no matter your culture, the feather is supposed to represent you when itโs not always a huge symbol in every culture. So the bill was to finally have Indigenous people wear what was culturally significant to them on a day that is very important because the statistics for Native youth graduating high school and moving on is very low, and the school system is not built for people who are not White.โ

Leya then turns to her mom and says, โYou were one of my biggest supporters when I [testified] for that bill, and I was like โI donโt think Iโm qualified to be speaking about this,โ even though I was and [Rebecca] was like โIt doesnโt matter. You do it anyway.โ [Rebecca] is very encouraging of being, like, a strong woman leader, because even now itโs hard for women to be leaders. People still get backlash. Thereโs a reason why we donโt have a lot of women leaders everywhere. Itโs mostly male-dominant, [but] she reminds me that it doesn’t matter. That probably rubbed off on me a lot more, because sheโs like, โYou need to be assertive and say what you want to say. You donโt need to think about those others.โ โ
How the CWL and PSU take action to support diversity
Rebecca says: โWhatโs really great about PSU in general is that itโs so inclusive. I graduated in 2013 and it’s only gotten better since then. [The Native American Student & Community Center, or NASCC] hosts a bunch of events for Native students and that’s pretty amazing. It has its own space. At NLOโฆ one of our guest speakers was working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for the State of Oregon. I thought that was amazing because I think I was the only Native to participate that year, but it was really nice that they included all these women from different backgrounds and cultures to come and speak. That was so important because you want to hear from all the different ethnicities and races. I feel like PSU is just amazing.โ
Thereโs so much packed into the six-day program, itโs like a crash course
into leadership.
Itโs necessary for an organization that aims to uplift women of all ethnicities and backgrounds also encourages diversity and supports their employees on the inside. So I asked Leya how she feels about the centerโs workplace atmosphere.
โA lot of my team members are from a lot of different ethnicities and cultures, โ Leya says. โWe have a lot of those kinds of conversations at work in our office about all of our cultures, abilities, and mental health. Iโm currently working with the CWL on a project thatโs super informative on topics that aren’t spoken about a lot and giving space for people to get educated on things that regular schools don’t want to talk about or recognize. I know some of the schools I’ve gone to or heard about from other people donโt touch on things that I hope my meeting will talk about … I think PSU is very good at making everyone feel seen and heard and having people to connect with.โ She also emphasizes how the center works hard to make sure itโs a safe space for genderqueer people who identify as genderfluid, nonbinary, trans and all other identities.
Where they’re going from here
โI want to work in the law system,โ Leya says about her aspirations. โA lot of the things that happened in my life โฆ were unjust and not okay, but it’s just something you deal with, with people who are uneducated and have opinions about people of colorโฆ I want to advocate for the people experiencing the things that I did, and make it [so that others] don’t have to experience what I did.
Rebecca reflects on her future and says, โOh I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I still have a lot to learn. Iโve been through a lot of leadership programs to build my skills to be able to teach people, and I think thatโs what Iโm really good at โฆ I can see myself teaching and organizing, putting together a program for the Native American Alaskan Native communities to become leaders in their own communities. Thereโs a program that I really love working with called the Oregon Lead and it does exactly what the Center for Womenโs Leadership does, that NLO does. NLO is specifically for women and Oregon Lead is specifically for Native American Alaskan Native people to build their leadership skills.I can also see myself running for office someday [or] going back to school to get a Masterโs in Public Health Administration. Right now, I’m working in the county health department, specifically on COVID-19, making sure that the Native American Alaskan Native communities have all the resources that they need โฆ I can see myself building more leaders, whether itโs for women, whether itโs for Native American Alaskan Native communities. I think building leaders in general is very rewarding.โ
PSU adapts to a changing world and to their students.
I ask them how they would describe the CWL or PSU in a word or two. I give Leya and Rebecca some time to really reflect on their experience with the center and the college. Leya is the first to speak, followed by Rebecca:
โAdaptable. I also really just want to say Diverse because Iโve met so many people who have so many intersectional parts of their life and itโs cool to see.โ
โA growing city within a city. Itโs pretty amazing how PSU has changed over the years.โ Even when she graduated in 2013, โpeople talked about how things were changing. I liked Leyaโs word of Adaptability.โ
โLike a growing community.โ
โYeah. PSU adapts to a changing world and to their students.โ
I ask one last question before our meeting comes to an end: โDo you see yourselves working with each other in the future?โ Rebecca exclaims โAbsolutely!โ as Leya says, โOh my gosh we work together all the time! โฆ I think we probably will continue to be working together even though we donโt [plan it]. A lot of the stuff we do isโฆโ Leya pauses and weaves her fingers together before saying, โ… intertwined.โ
Donโt forget to apply for the 2023 NEW Leadership Oregon program and check out the Center for Womenโs Leadershipโs updated letter to the community.
Thank you to Leya, Rebecca, and Yaqing for your support and gracious involvement.
About Sophia:ย Iโm a Portland State Junior from the Portland suburbs, majoring in Economics & Social Science and in love with my college. Iโm interested in economic reform and Scandinavian welfare systems, and am also a huge movie buff. FYI, everything I write on here is cryptically about Timothรฉe Chalamet, so pls comment about it under my articles (but donโt tell my boss, I might get fired).ย
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