Emily Decker ’85

Emily was raised on the shores of Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota. She arrived in Portland in the fall of 1981 as a Lewis & Clark first-year student, and has never left! During her years at L&C, she majored in communications, played basketball, covered sports for the Pio Log, and studied on the 1983 program in Denmark and Greenland with the most incredible group of people.

After graduating with the #bestclasseverLC85, she started a 30-year tenure in the L&C Admissions Office. Her admissions travel adventures took her from coast to coast, and to Alaska, spending most of her time during the last 20 years representing the college in Minnesota and Hawai`i. She cherishes her time in the admissions profession and considers many of the people she met during her tenure life-long friends. Spreading the good word about Lewis & Clark and the kind of education possible here was, indeed, an honor and a very rewarding career.

In August of 2015, Emily began a new chapter in her professional career when she joined the fabulous staff of the Alumni, Parent, and Student Engagement office. “Our current students are the life-blood of the college, and I look forward to following these students past their days on campus and to their many years as alumni,” says Emily. “You would be hard pressed to find a more interesting, passionate, smart, dedicated group of people anywhere, and when our students leave here they take with them not only these traits but all that they have learned here as well. It’s really very inspiring!”

Emily lives in SW Portland with her husband, David ’81. Their three kids, Matthew (27), Kathryn (25), and Andrew (22), are all pursuing their dreams and passions in various parts of the country/world. Luckily they return to Portland frequently!

Contact Emily about:

Additional Information

• 20th and 35th Reunion Class Committees
• Alumni Chapters
• Regions: Midwest, Hawai’i, Alaska