Quick Notes
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The Board welcomes four new members: Vicki Phillips, Superintendent of Portland Public Schools, Jeannet Santiago, President/CEO of Latino Perspective, Jonathan Schlueter,
Executive Director, Westside Economic Alliance, and Brent Stewart, Executive Director, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette.
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IRCO, a WSI Youth Contractor, was one of 11 organizations nationwide (out of 200 that applied) to receive a four year $756,000 grant from the U.S. Department
of Education to increase the number of young women pursuing careers in math and science.
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Outside In opens Virginia Woof Dog Day care with support from WSI.
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SE Works received a three year $660,000 grant from the Department of Labor for the President's Prisoner Re-entry Initiative.
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To receive a copy of WSI's 2004 Annual Report call 503.478.7300 or visit
our web site.
System Success
WorkSource Portland Metro partners offered services to survivors of Hurricane Katrina at the former Washington/Monroe High School.
Staff members from the One Stop Centers and the Oregon Employment Department assisted over 30 individuals and helped them apply for unemployment insurance,
use the computers in the Intel donated resource room, track down lost documentation, enroll in training or education programs, and get back to work. Although services are no longer available at the High School each of our workforce centers are
accepting applications for enrollment.
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Workforce Investment Board
Board Structure Aligned with Mission
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The Local Workforce Investment Board for the City of Portland, Multnomah and Washington counties has been restructured to more effectively address its mission of "creating a system
that anticipates, addresses, and exceeds the workforce needs of the community." The change in structure was announced at the October 14, 2005 board meeting by governing board members
Washington County Commissioner John Leeper, Multnomah County Commissioner Lonnie Roberts, and City of Portland Commissioner Sam Adams. The changes were made after an evaluation of the
existing structure showed opportunity for greater flexibility, clarity, and oversight with the adopted modifications. As a result, WSI operational issues will be the oversight of a 9
member board that will be a subset of the 37 member Local Workforce Investment Board charged with the wider mission for workforce development system building. "It is anticipated that these
changes will result in effective oversight of WSI and its regional workforce investments, and a stronger Local Workforce Investment Board," said John Leeper, Commissioner of Washington County.
WIB Chair and Vice-Chair Named
At the August 12 Board Meeting, James Paulson was elected as WIB Board Chair and Don Jensen was elected as WIB Board Vice Chair.
James is the Recruiting and Employment Manager for Kaiser Permanente and Don is the Owner of Bridgetown Coffee. James and Don are both advocates
for a skilled and qualified regional workforce to support business growth. Also at the Board meeting, outgoing Chair Mike McBreen, who will continue to
serve as a Board Member, was recognized for the accomplishments during his tenure. Outgoing Board Members Heidi Soderberg of SE Works, Dave Squire of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of the Northwest,
and Shirley Evans of Evans Consulting were acknowledged for their collective 22 years of service on the Board.
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Workforce Investments
City Corps Graduates Present at Portland City Council
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When the Portland City Council met on November 23, 2005 they heard from nine youth from Open Meadow Schools City Corps project about how the city could decrease its trash collection costs.
The presentation was the result of an innovative program conceived by City of Portland Mayor's wife Karin Hansen, funded by Worksystems, Inc., and run
in partnership with the City of Portland, to teach youth about city government and increase their voice in the civic process. The group of nine youth, ages 16-21, who had previously been
disengaged from school or at risk of dropping out completely, received training in problem solving and presentation skills and then worked with Bureau managers and staff from the City of Portland
Department of Sustainability to identify a real problem that the youth could help solve. The nine youth who presented their recommendations to the City Council on November 23 were the
first graduates of this pilot program, which WSI funded for the entire school year. Open Meadow Schools, which coordinates and supervises the project for WSI, will be working with the City
to engage two additional teams of youth during the first six months of 2006 to help other Bureaus solve real problems.(more)
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