CREDIT TK RECOGNITION The 2025 Changemakers As part of the OSU Days of Service, the Changemakers program — hosted annually by the OSU Alumni Association — honors Beavers who create meaningful change in their professions and communities. This year’s honorees illustrate the far-reaching impact of individuals committed to service and innovation. MARISA CHEN, ’20 Marisa Chen channels her creative sensibilities into one of the Pacific Northwest’s most iconic brands as a product line management specialist at Columbia Sportswear. She’s also gained a following of nearly 90,000 across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, where she shares fashion advice and design insights. But it’s her ability as a young professional to build community, create meaningful connections and advocate for others that made her a 2025 OSU Changemaker. Chen is a committed mentor for aspiring creatives from historically underrepresented backgrounds. After participating in a mentorship program herself, she stepped up to lead efforts as the organization’s Portland event manager. In this role, she’s organized networking events and collaborated with regional design organizations to bridge the gap between students, recent graduates and working professionals. Chen has become a connector — someone who not only advances her own career but actively opens doors for others. CASEY CLAPP, ’12 Portland arborist, author and podcaster Casey Clapp has made a career of helping people connect to nature — whether deep in the forest or just outside their front door. After earning a degree in forest management at Oregon State, he pursued graduate studies in environmental conservation and then returned to the Pacific Northwest to begin a career in tree inspection and arboriculture. But a chance invitation to appear on a podcast showed him a way he could share his enthusiasm more widely. Today he serves as a co-host of the popular podcast Completely Arbortrary, exploring how everything relates to trees and drawing connections to topics such as religion, history, culture and ecology. “Trees affect people in every realm of our existence,” he said. He also recently authored The Trees Around You, a field guide from Mountaineers Books due out this October. His drive to make science approachable to all audiences is the reason he was selected as a 2025 OSU Changemaker. KENNY LOWE JR., ’08 As a diversity, equity and inclusion manager for the Oregon State Police in Salem, Kenny Lowe Jr. works at the intersection of public service, identity and trust. Lowe grew up in northeast Portland and was the first in his family to attend college. During his time at Oregon State, inexperience navigating financial aid left him temporarily homeless — a turning point that helped shape his lifelong dedication to improving systems and making sure fewer people slip through the cracks. Now as professional staff in law enforcement, he leads efforts to foster equity, mutual respect and connection through training and open dialogue — inspiring people to do, and be, their best. As one nominator wrote: “In a world where the divide between different ideologies often seems insurmountable, Kenny’s ability to bring people together around common goals is a rare and invaluable skill.” CHEN: KORI THOMPSON; CLAPP: TAYLOR PENDLETON; LOWE: JOLENE KELLEY/OREGON STATE POLICE
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