From the first conversation I had with Leah (a phone call for an available position at thump) during which she mused out loud that the actual interview might involve some sort of Survivor-like reality TV barista challenge, I knew that thump was the right fit for her! The wit that came through in our first conversation resonates throughout all conversations with Leah! You just find yourself cracking up!

After graduating from college, Leah took a road trip. Destined for Alaska, she was sidetracked to Banff, Canada. Dwindling cash funds led her south, visiting all the friends she knew, until she ran out of money in Eugene, OR. She was broke and needed a job — but not in Eugene. She headed to Bend, and the place she knew she would fit in and gain employment was Mt. Bachelor. “The place,” she said, “where you can’t make enough money, so you can’t ever leave!”

A native of Colorado, Bend has now been home to Leah for longer than any place she’s lived. “It feels like I was meant to be here,” she said.  When she first arrived, Leah remembers Bend as a “… sleepy mill town where people weren’t recreating! I felt odd going for a run and assumed the river was a toxic waste dump because nobody was in it! Coming from Colorado, everyone was in the river!”  She appreciates “… how cool Bend has become and that there’s such a diversity in jobs that are not solely dependent on tourism and the lumber industry.”

Prior to joining us at thump, Leah jointly started and expanded a local business for 14 years while raising 2 children. She also started to explore a career as a doula assistant but put that on the back burner as it was challenging to try to juggle running her business, raising her children and taking up to 36 hours at a moment’s notice, to support parents-to-be through the childbirth experience. Leah sees herself possibly returning to the doula profession as it, “… brought out the best in me” she said. “I would come back from working for 36 hours and be on cloud 9!” Providing Hospice care also has its appeal to her. She’s drawn to working with the “… passages of coming in and out of the world.”

Thump has been so fortunate to attract employees whose passions, talents and accomplishments bring life to our shop and Leah is no exception! We’re so lucky that Leah has joined us at thump!