GoGreen Conference Portland

Suzanne Fallender is Intel's Director of Corporate Responsibility. In this role, she collaborates with key stakeholders across the company to integrate corporate responsibility concepts into company strategies, policies, public reporting, and stakeholder engagement activities to advance Intel's corporate responsibility leadership and create positive social impact and business value. Suzanne leads a team of experienced professionals who engage with internal and external groups to review Intel's corporate responsibility performance and to identify new opportunities to apply Intel's technology and expertise to address social and environmental challenges. The team also works closely with Intel's investor relations and corporate governance groups to drive an integrated outreach strategy with investors on governance and corporate responsibility issues. Suzanne has more than 20 years of experience in the field of corporate responsibility. ▼

Ted was motivated to enter politics while volunteering as an overnight host at the Goose Hollow Shelter and he saw firsthand that we could do much more to help the most vulnerable among us. He has a reputation as a leader who brings people together to get things done. As the Chair of Multnomah County from 2007-2010, he balanced a county budget during the worst years of the recession, while reducing the debt and maintaining safety net programs. Under Ted's stewardship as state Treasurer, Oregon's investment portfolio outperformed every one of its peers in the nation and earned an upgraded credit rating. He re-launched the Oregon college savings plan, and passed legislation that created the Oregon Retirement Savings Plan, which is now a national model for state-sponsored retirement security. Ted has assumed a leadership role in economic development - he convened business leaders and spearheaded a new statewide blueprint, the Oregon Investment Act, which helps the State invest more effectively in the growth of small businesses. ▼

Lisa Abuaf is Development Manager with Prosper Portland, the City of Portland's economic development and redevelopment agency. Over the past 12 years, Lisa has managed a variety of public-private partnerships to help translate Portland's comprehensive and community action plans into reality. Lisa leads a team of staff promoting equitable community development, employment district growth, shared wealth creation, and urban innovation through Prosper Portland's financial investments and real property transactions. Core functions of the team include development agreements and strategies; land acquisitions and dispositions; public infrastructure improvements; and grant management. During her tenure at Prosper Portland, Lisa has managed a team delivering on a number of the agency's strategic objectives including real estate projects to support community development and job growth; implementation of development and investment plans for Old Town/Chinatown, Lents, Gateway, and the Broadway Corridor; and piloting of new tools and approaches, such as PropertyFit and EcoDistricts, to support green development.

Fawn Bergen is a program manager in Intel Corporation's Corporate Sustainability Group. In her role, she leads Intel's global sustainability carbon footprint and water stewardship programs. Fawn is responsible for implementing the company's global carbon footprint and water accounting, goals, reductions, and sustainability reporting. Fawn has worked in the environmental field for about 20 years with experience in environmental sustainability, compliance program management, strategy development, environmental permitting, regulatory interpretation, auditing, and training. Prior to joining Intel, Fawn managed programs and projects in the manufacturing, mining and environmental. Fawn graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Florida. Residing in Portland, Oregon, she enjoys the beautiful Pacific Northwest outdoors with her two children and husband.

Marcelo is a trailblazer and thought leader on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in the environmental movement. Marcelo is a Philanthropy Northwest Momentum Fellow at Meyer Memorial Trust where he has helped develop and implement a new environmental program with equity at its foundation. He is also the founder of the Center for Diversity and the Environment (CDE) and the Environmental Professionals of Color (EPOC). With CDE, he coached hundreds of change agents and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) councils through transformational change processes, and delivered hundreds of keynotes, workshops, and trainings. Marcelo serves on the Green 2.0 Advisory Board and Diverse Environmental Leaders Speakers Bureau. In 2016, he was named to the Grist 50 list, a national award given to 50 "innovators, organizers, and visionaries who will lead us toward a more sustainable future, in the coming year (and beyond)." ▼

Ms. Kimberly Schneider Branam, Executive Director for Prosper Portland, is responsible for the overall leadership and management of the city's economic development and urban renewal agency. In her previous position as Deputy Director of Strategy and Operations, Ms. Branam oversaw the delivery of programs and initiatives within the Central City, Neighborhood and Business & Industry Divisions to further the agency's strategic objectives. Ms. Branam came to Prosper Portland after spending four years leading Mayor Sam Adams' economic development agenda, first as then-Commission Adams' Senior Policy Director for Economic Development & Workforce Development and then as Director of Economic Development in the Mayor's Office. In this role, Ms. Branam oversaw the development, adoption and implementation of the City's first economic development strategy in 15 years on the Mayor's behalf. ▼

Peter Brandom has led the development of Hillsboro, Oregon's first comprehensive Sustainability Plans for both City operations and the broader community. Key work includes establishment of sustainability governance, greenhouse gas emissions inventories, long term sustainability goals, and various engagements and incentives for city residents and businesses. The City's community sustainability efforts are a component of the Hillsboro 2035 Community Plan. Hillsboro has emerged as a national leader in implementing the transition to a new energy economy, in areas including energy efficiency, solar, green power purchasing, electric vehicle infrastructure, and more. Peter also manages the City's solid waste collection franchise, telecommunications franchise and represents Hillsboro on the regional Solid Waste Alternatives Advisory Committee and the Washington County Metro Area Communications Commission. Peter was born and raised in Colorado where he completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Denver in 1995. He completed a Master of Science with Distinction in Environmental Sustainability at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 2001.

Ryan Buchanan is CEO of eROI, a digital marketing agency, which he founded to inspire and be inspired by partnering with great clients like Aramark, Kaiser Permanente, Nike, and Taco Bell. He is utterly fascinated with solving marketing problems and always goes back to the business goal, asking "why?" to get to the core of the issue. His philosophy is all about stepping into client's shoes with a business mindset first with a competitive desire to drive amazing results for clients - after all, ROI (return on investment) is 75% of their name. He has a marketing mindset with an innate curiosity to stay ahead of the frenetic pace of growth in digital marketing channels and trends. He is an entrepreneur with early experience growing an email marketing agency into a full digital agency focused on strategic planning and creative execution of digital campaigns. ▼

Liz Decker is the Purchasing Manager and Green Team President at the DoubleTree by Hilton Portland. As an avid recycler, she recently completed the Master Recycling class and continues volunteering and educating people about recycling and food waste in the Portland and Clackamas areas. She also oversees many of DoubleTree Portland's recycling and composting efforts and introduces new waste saving techniques for employees to use both at work and at home.

He planted the vines, tends to them, harvests the fruit, makes the wine. Bertony's the heart and soul, the drive that pushes Abbey Creek forward. A transplanted New Yorker, Bertony has found not only his family, but his destiny in Oregon wine country. An Anesthesia Technician & physical trainer by trade, Bertony started his wine career like many, somewhat by accident. With the passing of his father in 2007, Bertony was seeking a career to be passionate about and a bit less of the mundane. Noting his in-laws had a small vineyard, he began exploring the potential of making his own wine and gradually launched Abbey Creek Vineyard. Always a student and innovator, Bertony dug in and learned a great deal from neighbors and friends. Abbey Creek Vineyard grew enough in production to warrant its own tasting room and winery so Bertony moved his operation into North Plains, Oregon. Today he is literally an earth to glass winemaker. Abbey Creek Vineyard is all Bertony, all his personality, style and grace. Get to know him and you know his wine.

As BEF's Chief Development Officer, Val oversees a team responsible for providing solutions in environmental water stewardship; renewable energy; clean energy education; and greenhouse gas mitigation to BEF's corporate, sports, university and utility partners. Val has authored several articles and hosted numerous panels on the topic of corporate sustainability and water stewardship. Her leadership on the Change the Course national water campaign helped earn the 2017 US Water Prize for its work to bring over 40 companies together to support over 40 freshwater restoration projects across North America. She leads work on the Business for Water Stewardship, a network of businesses focused on securing water for business, nature and communities.

David earned a Ph.D. in Systems Science: Psychology and an M.S. in Organizational Psychology, and currently works as an Adjunct Professor at Portland State University and as a facilitator and organizational consultant. As a Systems Psychologist, his interests and background span broadly across levels of analysis and disciplines with particular interest in systems thinking, group and organizational dynamics, ecopsychology, the use and misuse of psychometrics, Indigenous knowledge systems, bioregionalism, dialogue and other facilitation methodologies. Integrating these interests, David has largely invested his advocacy and professional work towards addressing sustainability, with emphasis on the human dimensions. Whether in the classroom or working with organizations, fostering collaborative group learning and decision-making is at the heart of his work. He never had a chance to take underwater basket weaving in school, and seeks to develop such practical skills now in his spare time.

Sarah Heinicke is the Founding Executive Director of Lloyd EcoDistrict, a role she has had since 2011. She has moved the organization from a subcommittee of the local business improvement district to a stand-alone nonprofit with 3 staff and budget of $250,000. Lloyd EcoDistrict has been a leader in finding ways to implement the ideals of the sustainability -at -scale movement, whether it is in energy efficiency, waste reduction, alternative transportation or community development. Lloyd was the first neighborhood in Portland to voluntarily track its energy usage in portfolio manager and has seen year over year reductions in that usage. Under her leadership, Lloyd EcoDistrict has pioneered a triple bottom line group purchasing model for LEDs, created the Portland's first pollinator corridor protected bikeway, initiated a sleeping bag/ solar recharging and mobile shower project with a group of houseless Portlanders, high school students and local business people. She and her board developed the annual Model the Way fundraising and leadership awards to recognize collaborators and reach out to future partners. ▼

Matt Horvat started learning how to coach from thought leaders in philosophy. He has deep expertise in project-based production system design. His message is about attitude and the responsibility we have for one another. He was academically trained in Quality and Reliability, a sub discipline of Industrial Engineering and holds numerous professional licenses, degrees, and certificates.

Brion is a Consultant at Business Performance Improvement. He led Rockwell Collins to the Leaders in Sustainability Gold Certification. He is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt from ASQ, and Lean Master certified. He has a bachelor's degree in Statistics, and a master's degree in Quality Management and Productivity from the University of Iowa. He obtained a Certificate of Sustainability from the University of Iowa.

Shantae began her career in Public Health 12 years ago working as an International Center for Traditional Childbearing (ICTC) full circle doula ,sparking her love for maternal and child health and community. Johnson is a certified community health worker, doula, breastfeeding peer counselor, urban farmer and food justice warrior. She is a cultural bridge builder with strengths in community organizing, project management,and program creation with a public health lens. She is a parent, healer, chef, and referee to six beautiful children.

Susan Jowaiszas is the senior marketing manager for the commercial and industrial programs at Energy Trust of Oregon. She brings a long history of energy and utility experience, having worked with Bonneville Power Administration, Portland General Electric and several Northwest utility trade associations.

Kurt Jun comes to PGE with over 25 years of experience and expertise in diversity, equity and inclusion, strategic management of human capital in workforce development and retention, training cultural competency, understanding of civil rights laws and programs such as administering Title VI & Title VII programs, Environmental Justice impacts, and Employee/Labor Relations. Kurt has served as an expert matter consultant in diversity development programs in the public education systems, private sectors, healthcare industry, government organizations, combined with progressively responsible strategic leadership roles over the past two and a half decades demonstrating his expertise to drive and deliver diversity and inclusion initiatives to support the success of the company's mission and values. Also, he has broad international and global experience providing consultation services on organizational behaviors.

Alisa Kane is the Green Building and Development Manager for the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. There she leads policy development and programs that improve energy efficiency, reduce construction waste and incorporate innovation. Alisa has a master's degree in urban planning from Portland State University and has dedicated her career to advancing green building, community development and recycling.

Tamara Kennedy-Hill is Vice President of Diversity and Community Relations for Travel Portland. In her role at Travel Portland, Tamara seeks to bring the voice of the tourism/hospitality industry to a wide array of local community issues as well as advance the organization's work in building and strengthening relationships with diverse groups, organizations and communities. Tamara serves on the City of Portland's Private for Hire Transportation Board, Travel Oregon's Sustainable Tourism Advisory Committee and provides staff support to Travel Portland's Community Action Community and Multicultural Advisory Board. Prior to her role at Travel Portland, Tamara served as the executive director for the Green Meeting Industry Council, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting sustainability in the meetings and hospitality industry. In this role, Tamara advocated for green meeting standards and served on the APEX/ASTM green meeting panel as well as the GRI Event Sector Advisory Committee.

Philippe Lacamp was appointed senior vice-president, Americas in 2015, and oversees all facets of Cathay Pacific's operations and commercial activities in the Americas. Prior, he was head of Sustainable Development for Swire Pacific and John Swire & Sons, covering a range of industries including aviation, shipping and marine services, property development, beverages and agri-business. In that role, he established an investment unit investing in bio-tech companies and also ran Swire Waste Management Ltd, a joint venture operating company within the Swire group. Prior to Swire Pacific, Philippe worked extensively within the Cathay Pacific Airways Group and has held a wide range of positions within the Swire group. As general manager Corporate Risk Management, he was responsible for the development and implementation of a corporate risk management structure for the airline, covering legal, compliance, risk and insurance. During his time in the International Affairs department, he assisted with the negotiations of air services agreements and other industry regulatory issues. ▼

Mr. Lange serves as Vice President and Regional Manager for the Portland area, overseeing operations and development for approximately 1.3 million square feet of office, residential and retail property for American Assets Trust, a vertically integrated, full service Real Estate Investment Trust. Prior to joining American Assets Trust in February of 2013, Mr. Lange served as Vice President of Property Management for Langley Investment Properties and Ashforth Pacific, from 1997 to 2013, with primary responsibility for the Lloyd properties now owned by American Assets Trust. Mr. Lange also worked for the Oregon State Legislature as the Facilities Manager for the State Capitol and as the Maintenance Manager for US Bancorp's corporate headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Lange serves on the boards of Go Lloyd, The Lloyd Enhanced Service District, Lloyd EcoDistrict, Holladay Park Partnership, Portland Streetcar, BOMA Oregon and Oregon Locus. He is a native of Portland and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Social Science from Portland State University.

As Principal and Director of Planning & Urban Design at ZGF, Nolan Lienhart is known for his strategic ability to bring together clients with community stakeholders and the diverse disciplines that are critical for the successful planning of major district-scale developments, as well as site-specific projects. His background in politics in Washington, D.C., gave him a perspective on the role of public policy in supporting livable communities and the complementary relationships among public, private, and institutional sectors. Over the past decade, Nolan has gained a depth of experience in transit-oriented development, master planning, and urban design, which includes riverfront development, mixed-use neighborhoods, and campus planning. This experience includes work for Oregon Health & Science University, Portland's South Waterfront District, Stanford University, the Portland Development Commission, and Denver's Regional Transportation District. Civic leadership is an important part of Nolan's work, which has led to his national recognition by the Design Futures Council's 40 Under Forty, and Engineering News Record's Top 20 Under 40 in the Northwest. ▼

Cinthia Manuel is the Director of Internships for the Emerging Leadership Internship Program, an initiative of the Portland Leadership Foundation. She specializes in strategic planning, marketing, communications, account management, diversity initiatives and mentoring. Prior to joining the Portland Leadership Foundation, she worked in Fortune 500 companies such Xerox and Hewlett-Packard, as well as large corporations and start-ups such Regence BlueCross BlueShield and Oregon's Health CO-OP. Cinthia earned her undergraduate degree from Linfield College double majoring in Business and Spanish. Shen then pursued her Master's in Business Administration from George Fox University. Cinthia comes from a migrant family and moved to the United States at the age of fourteen. She is a first-generation college student and part of the 2001 class of the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program. ▼

As the Northwest Regional Director for the U.S. WoodWorks program, Ethan's directive is providing project assistance, education, and resources for developers, architects, engineers, and contractors for code-compliant design, engineering, and construction of non-residential and multi-family wood buildings. Ethan is a licensed engineer and joined WoodWorks when the pilot program went nationwide in 2011. Prior to that Ethan had his own engineering firm for eight years and is a Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate of Cornell University specializing in structures. WoodWorks is a non-profit organization established and led by the Wood Products Council and funded by the Softwood Lumber Board, USDA Forest Service, Forestry Innovation Investment and Natural Resources Canada and is closely affiliated with the American Wood Council and other partner organizations, whose resources it utilizes in the resolution of technical issues and the identification of appropriate wood solutions.

Lindsey is an advisor with the City of Portland's Sustainability at Work program, where she helps organizations improve their recycling, composting, energy and water efficiency, and sustainable transportation. Recognizing that many sustainability efforts require people to change their behavior, Lindsey pulls from both Behavioral Economics and Community Based Social Marketing to suggest research-backed ways to 'nudge' people towards sustainable behaviors. In 2016, she spearheaded the creation of the Behavioral Insights Group PDX, a local forum for Portlanders to share behavioral research and best practices, with a focus on sustainability efforts. Lindsey has spoken on the topic of behavior change to both local and national audiences and her presentations have been described as fun, useful and motivating. Lindsey was born and raised in Oregon and is a Reed College graduate.

Skip is a frequent speaker on technology trends and topics, economic development, public-private partnerships and civic innovation. Before joining the TAO, Skip served as an economic development policy advisor to Portland Mayor Sam Adams, where he helped create Portland's first comprehensive economic development strategy in 16 years, recognizing software as a key industry cluster. While at the City of Portland, Skip's projects included the adoption of the nation's first open source software procurement policy at the municipal level, an award-winning regional open data initiative and the development of resources to support entrepreneurship, like the Portland Seed Fund. Previously, Skip was a corporate and IP attorney and entrepreneur.Skip is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of TECNA, Technology Councils of North America, which is a global network of technology and entrepreneurship associations, and he serves on advisory boards for Wells Fargo and Worksystems, Inc. Skip is also a 2012 recipient of the Portland Business Journal's 40 Under 40 award. When he's not working on behalf of the region's tech industry, Skip enjoys exploring the Pacific Northwest with his family.

Sam Pardue is a serial entrepreneur who left the Intel mother ship to form start-up ventures in Portland, Oregon. Upon graduating from Carnegie Mellon's MBA program in 1998, Sam first worked at Intel Corporation as a marketing manager. After several years he left Intel to co-found Lensbaby (www.lensbaby.com), a Portland-based manufacturer of award-winning special effects SLR camera lenses. In August 2010 Sam stepped down as Lensbaby's CEO to found Indow (www.indowwindows.com), a company that manufactures and markets Pardue's patented, award-winning invention, a thermal window insert that presses inside window frames to provide comfort, quiet, and energy savings. Sam worked with a team at Indow to found We Hire Refugees (wehirerefugees.org) in February 2017. We Hire Refugees is a platform for businesses to recognize the ways refugees strengthen our communities, companies, and country. ▼

Mr. Cha has been with IRCO since 1982 in numerous leadership roles, including as Director of IRCO Asian Family Center, which he helped found in 1994. Mr. Cha is a tireless advocate for culturally- and linguistically-specific services for the increasingly diverse children, youth, families and elders living in Oregon. He provides a voice for the community at-large by serving on varied commissions and boards, including the Governor's Commission on Senior Services, the New Portlander Policy Council board, A Home for Everyone board, the All Hands Raised board and the Multnomah County Commission on Youth and Families. Mr. Cha is also co-founder of the Coalition of Communities of Color. Additionally, Mr. Cha empowers our diverse African, Asian and Slavic immigrant and refugee community leaders by supporting community building and integration efforts within their communities. Mr. Cha, who speaks Hmong, Lao, Thai, and English, has also provided extensive direct service to delinquent youth, gang-involved youth, teen parents, youth with anti-social behavior and their families. A former refugee from the country of Laos, Lee came to Oregon in 1978 and received his Master of Business Administration from Marylhurst University. He is a well-known cross-cultural trainer and a past president of Hmong American Community of Oregon.

Thomas Robinson founded LEVER Architecture in 2009. His work explores the link between architectural experience and material innovation. His 16-person practice is pioneering the use of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) in the US with Framework-a project slated to become the first mass timber high-rise in the US and a recipient of the U.S. Tall Wood Building Prize Competition. Other significant completions include Albina Yard, the first building in the U.S. made from domestically-fabricated CLT; student housing for the Pacific Northwest College of Art; and the L'Angolo Estate winery. His firm recently received the Architectural League of New York's Emerging Voices Award and has been recognized for design excellence by AIA Chapters in Portland, the Northwest Region, and Los Angeles. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master in Architecture with Distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Anthony Roy is the Director, Policy & Partnerships at Earth Advantage. Anthony leads research, education, and policy initiatives for the organization. Prior to joining Earth Advantage, he held senior level positions at energy and sustainability consulting firms in Portland, New York City, and Seattle. Anthony began his career supporting sustainability programs at the City of Portland. He received a BA degree from Northwestern University and a degree in International Environmental Law from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland (UK).

Lisa was born in the Midwest but has "gone native" since moving to Portland in 2005. She is a skilled and successful grocery executive with over 25 years of experience. She is a pioneer in delivering rapid growth in the dynamic natural and organic retail segment. Green Zebra Grocery is a healthy convenience-store chain that Lisa founded in 2013. There currently are three stores operating in Portland, with plans to grow to 100 stores on the West Coast. Prior to founding Green Zebra Lisa was the President and CEO of New Seasons Market and was also the Director of Purchasing at Whole Foods Market. Lisa is a trained chef and graduated from Kendall College in Chicago. She has dedicated her career to seeking out great food and sharing it with as many eaters as possible. Lisa believes that businesses should be in service to their community and do their part to strengthen their neighborhoods. She has demonstrated this both in the way she does business, and outside the business, where she has been an advocate for food security, public health, and education. ▼

Emma is The Redd Operations Manager at Ecotrust. She operates and manages the Redd food hub in the heart of Portland's Central Eastside to help build resilient, regional food systems as a part of her personal mission to create industry standards that restore our environment and communities. She mentors and helps grow small businesses, in both Spanish and English, to create a more vibrant food economy and healthier planet. Connecting food producers, distributors, buyers and consumers drive her daily energy and passion. Emma holds a BA in Anthropology and Spanish from Colorado College, and spent the past 5 years directing national supply chains for organic consumer packaged goods before joining Ecotrust in 2017.

Jaime Soltero Jr. started Tamale Boy as a catering company in 2011 called Mayahuel Catering. Six years later, Tamale Boy has evolved into a food truck catering and restaurant business with three Portland brick and mortar locations. Soltero Jr. and his team aim for Tamale Boy to be a fun and approachable dining option that is affordable for everyone. Tamale Boy offers a seasonally changing menu designed to highlight cuisine from various regions throughout Mexico. Creativity is Tamale Boy's passion.

Upon returning from Uganda in 2016, Julie co-founded Ground Up PDX, a nut butter company with a mission to #spreadgood by providing job training to women in need. While in Uganda, she had been overseeing production for 31 Bits Designs, a company that employs women overcoming poverty. She developed and implemented the company's employment training program for over 160 women, igniting a passion within her that business could be a powerful vehicle for social change. After witnessing the success of this model of empowerment abroad, she returned to her hometown of Portland, Oregon determined to create similar opportunities for women here at home. It wasn't long before she combined forces with her business partner Carolyn, and Ground Up PDX was formed. To date, they have given three young women the job skills and confidence to pursue their dreams. Julie has a degree in Sociology and Business from Whitworth University.

Serilda Summers-McGee is the Owner of Workplace Change, LLC, a company that exists to help organizations assess their workplace culture, creatively resolve identified workplace challenges, recruit underrepresented executives and staff, and retain high quality employees in an inclusive, positive, and high functioning work environment. She is also author of the book Change the Workgame: Building and Sustaining a Diverse Workforce, which instructs readers on the best and worst practices of recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce through the use of case studies from Serilda's consulting experiences. Prior to launching her company, Ms. Summers-McGee held previous roles as the Human Resources and Workforce Development Director for the Portland Development Commission, Human Resources Director for the Oregon Department of Education, Talent Planning Manager at Kaiser Permanente Northwest and she was the first executive director for Partners in Diversity, an affiliate of the Portland Business Alliance, where she worked with human resources departments at companies throughout the region on strategies to recruit and retain executives of color. ▼

Kat Taylor works in service of restoring social justice and environmental well-being to build a more equitable and inclusive world. Kat is active in a variety of social enterprises and philanthropic ventures on the West Coast focused on deep systems change. Currently, she serves as Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Beneficial State Bank, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and certified B Corporation whose mission is to bring beneficial banking to low-income communities in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner - and to change the banking system for good. Kat believes it's not enough to dream that our philanthropic resources could clean up damage after the fact; we must instead get fundamental institutions, including business, aligned with the public interest in the first place. Beneficial State Bank is the result of aligned mergers between OneCalifornia Bank, which Kat and her husband, Tom Steyer, founded in Oakland, CA, ShoreBank Pacific and Pan American Bank. ▼

Kjell is a lean business consultant focused on smaller (10-60 employee) companies that have both information as well as material flow. He adopted lean while running his manufacturing business (Plywerk) from 2006-2016. He also used lean to forward the company's eco-conscious business practices, and gave over 200 local government & business leaders, and other interested parties "lean and green" tours of Plywerk. He engages with a wide variety of clients through his own consulting firm, teaches lean at PCC, offers pro-bono lean consulting services to non-profits through Lean Portland Community Consulting, is a brand ambassador for Portland Made, and regular speaker about lean, green and local manufacturing. He is a self-professed recovering business owner, operations super-nerd, science-fiction fan, biker, hiker, swimmer, yoga practitioner, and drives his wife crazy by taking the doors off of the kitchen cabinets as part of his 5Sing their home for optimum efficiencies.

Mari Watanabe serves as the program director of Leadership Portland for the Portland Business Alliance where she oversees all aspects of their 10 month leadership program designed to develop civic leaders and serves as executive director of Partners in Diversity, a non-profit whose mission is to help employers recruit, support, and retain professionals of color in Oregon and SW Washington. Prior to working at the Portland Business Alliance, she made a major career change moving from the apparel business, which included working in garment companies such as Union Bay Sportswear, Nordstrom, and Nike to the non-profit arena serving as the first executive director of Oregon Nikkei Endowment, a Japanese American history and culture organization based in Portland, Oregon. Mari served on the Oregon Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs for six years, four years as vice-chair and two years as chair. She also serves on the Japan America Society of Oregon board of directors and the Washington County Cultural Coalition. ▼

As MESO's Deputy Director, I provide program and operational leadership, grant compliance and coordination and assistance with our annual audit. Prior to joining Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon in 2011, I worked in Accounting for ten years. I also ventured into entrepreneurship for 2 years with my own Accounting and bookkeeping business. My primary focus was on Construction related firms. I now provide mentorship for up-and-coming bookkeepers. I received my BA from Portland State University and have completed certifications for bookkeeping. My work at MESO is very fulfilling. We offer individuals and families' opportunities to be self-reliant. We provide economic opportunities, objectives and encouragement to the disenchanted, and make it possible for them to dream again. I am very proud that I work with a team that reflects the people that we serve. We are well connected to the community we assist. "Everything is possible", is our mantra we practice and bring to the workplace each and every day.

Mary is the Community Affairs and Environmental Programs Manager at NW Natural where she works to continue raising the bar for sustainable and responsible employee practices, operations, programs and community support. Prior to joining NW Natural Mary worked in environmental nonprofits in Atlanta, GA focused on greenspace conservation, sustainability and environmental education. She currently serves on the Board of Forest Park Conservancy, The Emerging Leaders Board of Oregon Environmental Council and the Headwaters Council of the Freshwater Trust. Mary received a Masters of Public Administration from Georgia State University and Bachelors in Biology from Agnes Scott College.

As a principal and founder of Thuy Tu Consulting, LLC, a Portland-based consulting firm specializing in transportation planning and analysis for public agencies, private development, academia and nonprofit organizations, Thuy is Senior Transportation Planner/Civil Engineering Project Manager with 20 years of experience and demonstrated aptitude to strategically manage and cultivate positive relationships for civil engineering, transportation/ transit, architecture, urban and environmental planning and construction projects. Thuy holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from University of Portland, a graduate of the University of Washington - Foster School of Business Minority Business Executive Program and a northeast Portland, Oregon native Benson Polytechnic High School graduate of Architecture and Journalism. ▼