Employee Spotlight: Teri Yamauchi, Office Manager and Bookkeeper

Whether it’s the smart, resourceful pug Bobbie Blue that Teri has at the moment or the 15 pugs she imagines living with on a dream piece of property someday, the distinctive dogs have caught her interest.

But as this Employee Spotlight reveals, there’s more to Teri – who joined Gard in September 2019 just a few months before the pandemic – than the curly tails and wrinkled faces of pugs.

What do you like about working at Gard?

At first, I was working part time at Gard as the front desk assistant and working part time at Jo-Ann’s Fabric store, as well as continuing my education. As I transitioned to Gard full time and, eventually, the bookkeeping role, I continued to appreciate the professionalism, learning opportunities and flexibility that Gard offered.

Where did you grow up and what was unique about it?

I grew up in Hawai’i until I was about 9, when my parents and I moved to Oregon. Growing up in Hawai’i is different from vacationing there. It’s just like any other big city with highlights like the beach, the weather, the food – as well as challenges like houselessness, high taxes, high food prices. I will say that the best highlight is the food. The density of the island and the competition for developing and maintaining good restaurants means the food is likely to be spectacular wherever you go.

Tell us about your pets, whom we’ve occasionally seen in the Gard newsletter.

I have a four-year-old orange tabby named Tom Cruise, who is the loud, ever-hungry guard cat of the family, and a brindle, two-year-old pug named Bobbie Blue. Whoever said pugs are lazy, intellectually challenged animals has never met a pug.

If you were not doing this job, what would you want to be doing?

I haven’t quite figured out what my passion in life is. I suppose an outlandish, not-really-realistic-at-all dream of mine is to have like 50 acres of field and a large number of pugs under my care to match. Brindle, fawn, black, white, apricot – any and every color of pug. Imagine like 15 pugs whipping their heads to look at you when you call for dinner time.

Have any favorite hobbies?

Taking care of my plants and pets is my main hobby. I also enjoy playing video games. I find it a good way to give my brain something else to focus on and think about.

How about your musical interests?

Nothing in particular, but my USB port in my car is out of commission, so on long car rides I tend to put on the “oldies” station (which plays more and more 90s-2000s rock music than 60s-80s music these days?) so I suppose the older rock genre is up there. I grew up on 60s rock like Herman’s Hermits and the Beatles, courtesy of my dad.