WHO WE ARE
How we got here

WHO WE ARE
How we got here
How we got here a.k.a. what they say about grit and determination really is true.
We started Normine Lombard totally by accident! No, I am just kidding; it was only partially by accident. Jeff and I started this company in 2015 based on our passions and blind faith that we could run a business. Luckily we have so much belief in ourselves we didn’t even think that failure could be possible. Although, we probably should have considered it because, oh man, we came close!
When we started Normine Lombard, we were coming out of a tough office environment that wasn’t collaborative IN THE LEAST. We promised each other that we would create an environment that would allow our team to thrive and our clients to be well served. Those are the foundational principles that we built Normine Lombard upon and that we found our decisions on to this day.
An environment that allows our team to thrive and our clients to be well served guides our daily decisions
The first few years were tough, and I am not going to lie – starting a business from scratch with zero income isn’t something I would like to do again. What we learned in that time was so valuable, though. Because we had an opportunity to be a struggling business, we got to see things through the eyes of our clients. We got to understand what drives their decision-making, and it helped us be empathetic to their specific needs.


The past two years are what I would call – the good years. A time when we know who we are and know who we serve. We now have clients coming to us and seeking us out because of the name that we have created. We are at the point of realizing who we are and are working to really define that niche. We are picky about our clients, and we are selective about our work.
All in all, we are still standing because we innovate and constantly push the status quo. When covid hit, our method became “gold” because passive candidates were all that there were left out there. Post covid (or whatever you call modern-day) continues to require that type of approach when you are building your team. It feels like our approach to serving our clients was being explicitly honed to suit this future time, that is the present.
–Amanda Normine
Meet the Normine Lombard Team

Amanda Normine
Managing Partner
Amanda Normine cut her teeth in the housewares industry and worked for seven years at a well-established contingency firm serving consumer goods which spanned the entire product space. Then, she decided to take the leap to create Normine Lombard to facilitate her passion for lifestyle products and innovation and the next decade is pretty much history.
Amanda lives in the outskirts of Portland, where she works with her significant other to raise their three boys and three dogs. She has a passion for the outdoors and is driven to find adventure.
Amanda is a very active member of her community and serves as the Chairman of CCHUB, Columbia County Helping Undo Barriers. Through her non-profit work, she helps to empower youth across the county and serves as a mentor in multiple educational empowerment programs.

Jeff Lombard
Partner
Jeff is a native Southern Californian that started to fall in love with the Pacific Northwest during his years in Eugene; while getting a Sociology degree from the University of Oregon. A two-year stretch in San Francisco followed, but the pull of the Northwest was too strong. A move to Portland felt right.
Twelve years later, the city hasn’t lost its hold on him. Everything that the city has to offer culturally very much reflects his lifelong interests and passions. An admittedly ultra-urban dweller, he still very much appreciates the sheer natural beauty of the city that makes Portland living so balanced.
By joining Amanda in forming this company, his drive to solidify a sustainable future in the place he loves while working with a business partner that shares the same values is a dream come true. One that he’s grateful for every day.

Cassandra Southworth
Senior Project Manager
Cassandra’s time in school seeking her Bachelors in Human Resource Management has mostly focused on administrative and office studies, which have helped hone her skills with various computer platforms. She is naturally good at communicating and can start up a conversation with anyone for any reason.
Cassandra was born and raised in Northern San Diego County in California. After being raised all along the West Coast, she moved to the North East to upstate New York with her family. When she is not here, she spends her time with her husband, three boys, and daughter, adventuring and exploring nature. You can usually find them swimming, fishing, hiking, taking road trips, or relaxing at home in her hammock with a nice (and ridiculously oversized) cup of coffee. Cassandra lives in a small country town just outside of Syracuse. That location is ideal for her love of exploring the great outdoors and finding scenery on road trips.

William McCartney
Senior Recruiter
William is an experienced, growth-minded Talent Sourcer with outstanding people skills. He brings Normine Lombard an understanding of various industries, enabling him to collaborate with our business partners successfully. William strives to fully understand all aspects of client role requirements to deliver the best candidates for a variety of positions. His passion is helping people bring growth and success into the communities around the world.
With a passion for art and nature he spends a good part of his free time painting or exploring nature with a variety of outdoor activities. William focuses a lot of his art on drawing and coloring mandalas using a variety of art mediums. If William doesn’t have a pen or paintbrush in hand, you would probably find him hiking the various beautiful trails around the pacific northwest, searching out new places to hike, or on adventures with friends in the lesser-known corners of the Pacific Northwest.

Jaelyn Morris
Recruiter
Jaelyn joined the NLI team with several years of customer service experience and very strong leadership skills. She definitely isn’t afraid of hard work and finds that it is important to always tackle whatever comes her way head on. This Montana native learned early how rewarding hard work and organization can be. She is no stranger to success. With that, Jaelyn strives for the best and she is definitely willing to put in the work that it takes to make sure that success happens! Since joining our team she has made sure to show that she is eager to continuously learn new skills and polish those skills into nothing less than more success.
When Jaelyn isn’t at her desk conquering the newest project on her team, you can find her exploring the great outdoors! Jaelyn enjoys everything that the outdoors has to offer including camping and kayaking or even playing disc golf with her husband. If you don’t see her there than you will definitely find her enjoying time with her kids and her rescue pups, Toney & Nala. It’s safe to say that you will likely find her and her family always busy with a sport or an adventure, or even both!
It’s safe to say that Jaelyn knows that anything is possible with hard work and dedication!

Gretchen Witt
Project Manager
Gretchen comes to us with a diverse background in management, education, public relations, and human resources. She is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in employee and project management. She strongly believes that behind every thriving business is a well-managed team in which each individual member of the team contributes their own unique set of skills. The collective contributions of each team member are vital to the success of every project. Gretchen’s ability to oversee and guide her employees to work together effectively and efficiently has proven that she can lead any team to greatness.
Spending time with her 2 Sons and Husband is what brings Gretchen the most joy. The rare moments when her family can all be together is when she is at her happiest and feels the most fulfilled. Just as the other Normine-Lombard team members, Gretchen has a love for the outdoors. She enjoys cruising the sand dunes riding ATVs and in her side by side, camping, nature walks and finding beauty in the world around her.

Brenden Bittner
Digital Manager
Brenden is an experienced marketer, strategist, and business consultant who translates data & research into creative & tactical action. A graduate of Oregon State University and a proud Beaver supporter.
Brenden has had the opportunity to work on campaigns with local PDX features like Emerick Architects, Oregon Symphony, Umpqua Bank, and Oregon Zoo Foundation before teaming up with Normine Lombard.
When not at the home office, he is often found kayaking, taking long walks down the fairway at Eastmoreland, or enjoying happy hour at Upright Brewing.

Julie Thompson
Researcher
Copywriter by trade, creative storyteller by heart, Julie Thompson began her writing career over 15 years ago by making her mark in the world of journalism as a triple-threat in the mediums of print, radio, and television before entering the world of digital content creation and social media management.
Julie believes at the heart of every business is a unique story that connects them to their customers. She was a founding board member of a PNW nonprofit built around the science of human connection through storytelling, and she brings that same unique perspective to each and every project.

Kimberly Newcomer
Facilities Manager
Happily born and raised in the Portland metro area, she also got to enjoy time in the beautiful country that Oregon provides. Now that her son is grown, she spends most of her free time with her husband and dog hiking at the family homestead or taking a road trip to the coast.
Seeing people happy is her life and with 15 years of customer service, it’s a happy one.

Ryan Garner
Content Specialist
Ryan is an aspiring filmmaker and author from Columbia City working as our content specialist. He spends his free time writing, editing videos, or heading out on film shoots. He specializes in narrative and action films that delve into various genres including fantasy, sci-fi, and comedy.
He is currently developing several films with the intent to hone his abilities and expand his network, with the long-term goal of writing and directing feature length screenplays. His favorite animal is his cat.
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