Get to Know Daisha and Marlet
In 2015, North by Northeast had the great privilege of welcoming not one, but two, new staff members to our family. Four years later, Marlet Hurst and Daisha Tate are going strong, and we thought you should get to know them!
How did you end up at North by Northeast and what was your first impression of the clinic?
Marlet: The job notice was emailed to me by a friend, and I immediately applied; it was what I needed. I was impressed that North by Northeast was in the heart of the community, and that they were very compassionate and sincere about the work they were doing. The story behind how North by Northeast came about was like a “diamond in the rough” story, and I loved that.
Daisha: I first heard about North by Northeast when I worked at Kaiser and we would collect hotel toiletry samples from Kaiser employees and drop them off at the clinic for their free bin. And then several years later I ran into Sharetta and Dr. Jill at the Cuts & Checks opening party at Champions. A few months after that I saw a posting for a job opening and went ahead and applied. And I just thought, “I get to work and help with the black community, and not only that I get to work with black people.” You don’t, especially living in Portland, get a lot of opportunity to do that.
What is one of the best things about your job?
Marlet: For me, working the front desk means I meet people where they are. I watch them come in, say, in a not so healthy place, and then I watch them grow from there. They’re happy about their health, they’re happy that they came in because they’re getting the help they need, they’re not being judged, they are just being embraced and loved upon in a way that doesn’t necessarily happen outside our doors or outside the community.
Daisha: The best part for me is working with the community and being able to work with strong women – black women and white women. And having our staff going through the racial equity work we did, it definitely makes this not just a comfortable place to walk into, but it makes us our own community.
Tell us a little about yourself and your family, your history, and what you do when you’re not working.
I grew up here in Portland with my parents Darnell & Linda Hurst. I went to the neighborhood schools – Faubion, Whittaker, Elliott (now Tubman), Cleveland High School – and then to college at Grambling State University before coming back to Portland to be with my family. Later, I had my daughter Zahira, who is now 17. When I’m home I’m either taking care of my daughter, on the couch watching NCIS or working on my skincare line, Z’Aseelah Natural Skincare.
Daisha: I grew up in Oakland and moved to Portland because my mom wanted to pursue culinary school. I went to Fernwood and then Benson High School. Right out of school I went to work for Kaiser and also did two years at PCC. I’ve been with Deion since high school, and we have 4 boys – Drecion is 13, Delon is 6, Damir is 1 and DeKobe was just born at the end of February. When I’m not at North by Northeast, I’m at basketball with Dre and Delon who both play AAU. My boys are adventurous eaters, so we like to try different restaurants as a family; I’d say anything with seafood makes us all happy.