I just finished reading Adrian McKinty’s thriller novel The Island, as well as a 1997 study of the Senate filibuster by Sarah Binder and Steven Smith called Politics or Principle? Filibustering in the United States Senate.

What are you watching? 

There are a lot of good TV shows out there, but I especially enjoy watching the dramas The Lincoln Lawyer and Yellowstone, as well as comedies, including Ted Lasso and Jury Duty.

What are you listening to? 

On long drives in Oregon, I often listen to The Daily podcast.

What is your must-have gadget? 

I call it the “Lion Hunter.” It’s a chemical-free weeding tool that resembles a pogo stick, and I use it to remove dandelions from my yard by twisting them out of the ground.

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What are your hobbies/interests?

I enjoy home and yard-improvement projects. Over two decades, I’ve renovated most of the house. I’m also a native Oregonian, so hiking trails — both old favorites and new discoveries — as well as jogging, paragliding and tennis.

What was your childhood or earliest ambition?  

To make the world better. I wasn’t sure what form that would take when I was growing up, but it’s been the honor of my lifetime serving Oregonians. 

Where is your favorite place to vacation?   

The Oregon Coast is where I go to unwind and spend time with family and friends.

What is your biggest extravagance?

My wife and I had been talking about taking a vacation together in Italy for years. We originally planned to go on our 10th wedding anniversary, but we didn’t make it. Last year we finally got to go and celebrate our 30th anniversary in Italy, and we had a wonderful time.

What motivates you to come to work?   

The core place I come from is that ordinary people need a champion. I am absolutely thrilled when I can pass legislation that helps tackle climate change, advances LGBTQ+ equality or strengthens the four foundations for the success of our working families: good health care, quality education, decent affordable housing and good-paying jobs.  

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Who is your professional role model?   

Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield. I learned the ropes of public policy as an intern in his office, where I had a front-row seat to seeing how a good policy can help millions of people and how a bad policy can hurt millions of people. Sen. Hatfield also taught me just how important it is to have an Oregon voice on the Appropriations Committee, so the needs of our state are always well represented when important federal funding decisions are being made.

What ambitions do you still have?   

I have many goals, including hiking the whole Pacific Crest Trail, biking across America and patenting an invention.

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I heard this in an Entrepreneurs’ Organization Portland Chapter monthly learning event with keynote speaker Mark Moses of Make Big Happen in 2008 at the beginning of the Great Recession. The room was laser-focused on what he had to say and let out a collective gasp as the reality of the statement hit the 60 business owners in the room. 

At the time, the organization was called Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization, and the average age of the group was 33. So most had never experienced a recession — especially one with all your chips on the table. 

I raised my hand and asked, “How can I be in the last group?” 

I will never forget what Mark said. 

“I know you all spend most of your time working on your company’s biggest problems,” he said. “That is human, but all you have when you work on a big problem is a slightly less big problem. Instead of spending time doing that, find what is going right in your business. I guarantee you that something is. Find that and spend your time doing more of that.”

Reality Check: Not Much Was Going Right

On my drive back to the office, I tried to think of what was going right, and I could not think of a single thing.

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The Great Recession was a real-estate-driven recession, and we owned 30 industrial business parks up and down the West Coast that catered to smaller businesses. The small businesses were failing, vacating and not paying rent. We had bought most of them in the last few years to remodel or refresh and then put a new loan on them. This compounded the problem because most had loans that were less than three years old and were all coming due at a time when lenders weren’t lending anymore, and property values were crashing as tenants vacated or quit paying. It was bad. Really bad.

I asked my right-hand person and VP, Kelly Wiebke, if she could think of anything that was going right. She thought about it, jumped up, said “Stand by,” ran to the file room and pulled a file, slapped it down and said, “This is going right!” 

In the file were the financials of a self-storage property we owned but had mostly forgotten. She was spot-on: This was going right. The property was gushing cash flow and was 100% occupied with a wait list because of the recession. Prior to that, its cash flowed every month we owned it, and it was never less than 95% occupied.

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Pivot Toward What Is Going Right

Mark’s idea planted a seed that grew into something beautiful. Kelly and I decided to try buying another storage property and see if it, too, would go right like the first one — to make sure it was not a fluke. The self-storage property we owned was in Denver; we ended up buying two more, one in Boise and one in Phoenix. They performed just like the first one right out of the gates. We also got good deals on these since no one was buying at that time. 

That was all we needed to see — we decided to go all-in on storage and sell all our business parks, effectively pivoting the business from investing in one type of real estate to another, higher-performance type of real estate. 

We absolutely thrived in self-storage. We built up a new company and brand around it, ending up with 35 properties in six states. While getting there was a lot of work, in the end, our revitalized company was far superior in every way to the former version. Financially, it was more profitable and, from a personal health and stress perspective, far less harrowing: Occupancy rates were much better, plus the income stream was more stable and diversified with over 5,000 tenants instead of 500 business tenants. 

Running the company was more fulfilling, too. Unlike the prior version, where property management was contracted to third parties, we actually managed the storage facilities ourselves. We enjoyed the opportunity to get creative with the brand, build a 70-person team and foster a solid company culture around it.

In that company’s final chapter, we chose to sell it when we were offered a price we could not say no to. It was a notable financial success, and since we had pivoted once with success, we decided to do it again. We are currently halfway into a three-year buildup of our third company, which specializes in covered RV and boat storage.

Never Underestimate Serendipity

Sometimes I marvel about kismet and serendipity: what an amazingly positive chain reaction Mark Moses set off with his “find what is going right” advice — and how lucky that we listened, found the needle in our haystack and expanded on it. 

The insight at the origin of this serendipitous process is something I try to instill and advocate for in others. Do me (and yourself!) a favor: Spend less time solving problems and more time finding what is going right and doing more of that. You will be glad you did.

Barry Raber is a serial entrepreneur, president of Carefree RV Storage, a 22-year member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), the founder of Business Property Trust and a past winner of EO Portland’s Entrepreneur of the Year. He shares his successful business secrets at RealSimpleBusiness.org.

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Per an Instagram post shared last fall, Astoria legend holds that Xanadu stands at the former location of an ice cream shop and, more recently, the Voodoo Room. Former employees of the latter say they’ve seen a male figure dressed like the ice cream shop’s owner. 

Now it’s a popular haunt for residents and visitors to the bustling coastal town, who enjoy cocktails named after queer historical figures like Harvey Milk and Rock Hudson, as well as LeRoy Adolphson, a longtime resident who served as the grand marshal of the second Astoria Pride festival. Xanadu opened on March 9 next to the Columbian Theater on Marine Drive and takes its name from the cult-favorite 1980 roller-disco fantasy film starring Olivia Newton-John. 

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Pop culture and queer historical references are important to owner Scott Justus, who serves on the board of the Lower Columbia Q Center and as membership director of the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce.

“[H]aving that conversation with younger people is important and fun. It’s a fun way to make [education] happen. We don’t make people feel bad for not knowing,” Justus says. “That’s how you learn. That’s why we’re asking for LGBTQ+ education in classes, because if no one teaches it, how would you know?”

Justus said that visitors have quickly warmed to Xanadu. It offers something for people settling into the coastal town, and for younger patrons who need a safe space to have fun and figure themselves out. 

Gay bars have served as crucial meeting spaces for decades. The reason most Pride celebrations take place in June, after all, is to honor the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which were precipitated by the 1969 police raid of the Stonewall Inn in New York City. 

And while queer life has long been associated with large, urban centers, including Portland — where more than a dozen bars service the metro area’s LGBTQ+ community full-time, and at least twice as many bars give at least once a month to queer programs like drag shows and dance parties — LGBTQ+ nightlife, businesses and activism thrive  across Oregon, from the state capital to wilderness retreats. Oregon Business spoke to owners of queer bars — and other businesses — about how they thrive year-round, how they support their customers and communities, and how they’ve responded to a backlash that has their businesses and events in the crosshairs of a culture war. 

Trapdoor Bar and Grill opened in 2020 in the heart of Ashland, near Lithia Park. It’s situated at the site of the Vinyl Club, which hosted queer-focused events but also had a reputation for violence, including a 2018 incident where a bouncer inflicted serious injuries on a patron and ultimately cost the former venue its liquor license. The new space is an upscale cocktail bar; the new owners have continued to host queer-friendly events while working to make sure Trapdoor is a space where everyone feels welcome and safe.

“We wanted to eventually be a tradition where more or less everyone feels included or we are more of an all-inclusive location. We thought that it was extremely important to keep that Pride event going on because it was such a big part of the venue, and what Ashland is as a town,” says co-owner Ron Morairty. 

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Trapdoor hosts drag and burlesque shows as well as standup comedy and live music, with the goal of creating a space where members of the LGBTQ+ community and straight people can feel comfortable every night of the week. 

Morairty says he doesn’t have any direct connection to the LGBTQ+ community. But he views Ashland — where he has lived for most of the last 14 years, save a stint in the military — as a place uniquely positioned for the kind of inclusive environment he has been working to create.

“Ashland is kind of this weird bubble that isn’t like the rest of the towns around it and isn’t like the rest of Southern Oregon in general,” Morairty says. “It’s a big mixing pot of a bunch of different ways of thinking, cultures, mindsets and ways of life. In my opinion, that’s what we want in America: a giant melting pot of mixed ideas, action and thought that creates this wonderful location where everyone feels included, as if it’s a place that you’ve been before or wanted to be, and you couldn’t find it.”

He says Trapdoor’s staff are trained to lead with respect, and on how to assist if queer patrons feel uncomfortable or worse. “Thankfully, we’ve never had to use our [safety] procedures, and I hope that day never comes,” Morairty says. 

The safety of customers and staff isn’t a new issue for bars in general, nor for queer bars in particular. In the 1980s, groups of skinheads in Portland and elsewhere reportedly lurked outside gay bars, attacking patrons as they left. But in 2023, LGBTQ+ people — as well as events and businesses that affirm them — are at targets in an intensifying culture war. This year alone, the big-box retailer Target pulled some Pride Month merchandise in response to harassment of staff, and conservatives announced plans to boycott Budweiser after the company made a sponsored-content deal with a transgender influencer. And events like drag queen story hours — the first of which was organized in the Bay Area in 2015 as a way to include more queer parents — are increasingly the focus of protests and violent threats, as well as legislation to ban such events, or ban drag altogether. 

While more Oregon communities are holding Pride events and host queer spaces than ever before, the state is not immune to the rising backlash. As this issue went into production, for example, two people were arrested after a sidewalk fight broke out between two groups protesting Oregon City’s first-ever Pride festival.

Jason Wood is a voice coach in Florence, a town on Oregon’s Central Coast with a population of 9,475. He also performs in drag as Fanny Rugburn, regularly hosting all-ages events like storytime readings since 2017. 

Wood says neo-Nazis heckled and harassed his show at the Florence Golf Links on April 29, during his second campaign for Siuslaw County’s school board. 

“Many of the people who came to protest my show had out-of-state license plates on their cars,” Wood says. “I’m not naive enough to think there were zero community members involved, but many of them were not from our community, so it points to something being organized on a larger scale. I have way more support — and Fanny Rugburn has way more support — in the community than there are people speaking out against her.”

Wood says he told his fans online not to engage with the harassers in any way. Police kept the neo-Nazis and their counterprotesters separated, and the event ended with no physical violence. 

It was also a great show, Wood says; he describes that performance as Fanny Rugburn’s best production to date, entirely unrelated to his harassment, but that he still has mixed feelings about the day. 

“The fire is a lot hotter, and someone turned it up, and the fact that I [was] also running for school board probably also added to the heat, especially since the banner at the bottom of the hill said, ‘Keep pedophiles out of our schools,’” Wood says. 

“And let’s not [dance] around it: That is the worst thing you can say to someone. That’s the worst thing you can call someone. I’m not bothered personally, because I know I’m not a pedophile or a groomer, but it’s upsetting that people have the audacity to say that about someone they’ve had very little, if any, contact or experience with,” Wood says. 

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Wood is not alone. In October about 50 protesters — some of them armed — showed up to protest a Drag Queen Storytime event at Old Nick’s Pub in Eugene. They were outnumbered by counterprotesters, about 200 of whom showed up to circle the pub during the event, which took place early on a Sunday. 

Pub staff told Oregon Public Broadcasting that the pub has hosted drag story hours for years — with organizer Jammie Roberts saying they also help organize similar events in Southern Oregon — but such events have recently come under the scrutiny of far-right commentators and protesters, who accuse the performers and organizers of using the events to groom children. (The logic is, apparently, that all drag performance is inherently sexual, though that idea is difficult to square with an honest definition of drag.) 

Just a month after the Eugene event, a man who ran a neo-Nazi website shot and killed five people — and wounded 25 others — at the Colorado Springs’ Club Q before patrons stopped him. 

Colorado Springs has a population of half a million people, making it the second-most populous city in the state and comparable in size to Portland. But the city is probably better known as the site of Focus on the Family’s headquarters as well as the U.S. Air Force Academy, and some national media coverage of the Club Q shooting was couched in surprise that any queer spaces existed in Colorado Springs to begin with.

Entrepreneurs and organizers in smaller Oregon cities — including Eugene as well as Salem and Bend — have worked in recent years to carve out queer-friendly spaces, more often in the form of event nights than dedicated gay bars. 

Daniel Young is not the father of Bend’s queer nightlife, but he is D’Auntie Carol, host of drag bingos and brunches at Bend’s Campfire Hotel & Pool Club, which holds Bend’s Winter Pride celebrations — a snowy spin on the traditional summer event. He also hosts the pop-up party Hey Honey, which takes place at the queer-owned restaurant Spork.

Young moved to Bend in 2011 and wanted to bring with him a vision for queer nightlife that was beginning to blossom in Portland at that time, when producers were just starting to host queer parties — like Blow Pony, Gaycation and Booty — outside the safety net of gay bars. That not only brought newfound freedom for creatives to mold venues to their vision but also brought LGBTQ+ people together to socialize in new settings.

Young says people often tell him that he should open Bend’s first full-time gay bar, but Young counters that he will give all the advice he can to anyone else with the funds and resources to make it happen. Same goes for young queens who want to host their own drag brunch, bingo or pop-up party in the meantime. 

“There’s been a lot of ‘You should do this,’ and for me, it should be ‘You should do this,’” Young tells OB. “I’ll sit down to coffee and show you how I do things, and you can throw another drag brunch or do this sort of thing, and the more people that do it, the more visible we are as a community,” Young says.

Campfire is not a gay bar but does advertise itself as an explicitly queer-friendly space. So far, general manager Daniel Elder says, that seems to have been enough to deter homophobic and transphobic people from visiting. 

Salem’s sole gay bar, the Southside Speakeasy, is situated in a secluded corporate park south of the city’s municipal airport. That relative isolation has also kept patrons safe, says co-owner David Such. 

“We don’t really have problems with people because we’re in an area where you know you’re going to a gay bar if you’re going there,” Such says. “We’re not downtown, but we’re seeing people being more open in public and holding hands, and you never saw that 18 years ago.”

And like many gay bars, Southside Speakeasy gets its share of straight-identified patrons, all of whom seem to enjoy themselves. 

Such says parents visit on weekends, taking a break during their kids’ basketball games at the neighboring court. A swingers club and a fetish group also started holding dinner parties at the bar after they met with less accepting spaces in town, Such adds.

 “They went to another bar and were asked to leave because people there didn’t agree with the choices they were making, even if they weren’t performing any of those choices in their space,” Such says. “There are people all over the board who come in, like straight people with gay best friends, or our parents and relatives, so people feel welcome and not uneasy being here.”

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Drag story events are relatively new, and the right-wing focus on them even newer. The recent backlash has prompted legislative attempts to ban drag performance altogether: Idaho legislators tried to ban drag performances in public facilities during this year’s session, but the bill failed to advance. Tennessee’s Legislature successfully passed a bill limiting drag performance to age-restricted venues, though at the beginning of June that bill was struck down by a federal judge who said it violates First Amendment protections. (Laws against masquerading, or costumed dress, were used to arrest queer-presenting and gender-nonconforming people for much of the 20th century, and such laws were often a pretense for bar raids like the one that sparked the Stonewall riots.) 

Even the conflation of queer identity with pedophilia, and rhetoric about indoctrination of children, have a familiar ring. In 1977 singer Anita Bryant argued that homosexuals should not be protected from discrimination because they used school teaching positions to “recruit” children into their lifestyle. And in 1992 Oregon voters narrowly defeated a ballot measure that would have amended the Oregon constitution to define “ homosexuality, pedophilia, sadism or masochism” as “abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse.” 

In those days, businesses that welcomed queer people were far more difficult to find, says Jill Nelson, treasurer of Oregon Pride in Business, an LGBTQ+ business alliance connecting queer business owners across industries in Oregon and Washington. 

“Thirty years ago, if you wanted to find people like us, your two choices were gay-
affirming churches and the bar. That was it,” Nelson tells OB.

Nelson remembers being an out lesbian in the 1990s, and she says the current backlash doesn’t scare her. She is confident that the LGBTQ+ community is better organized and equipped to fight together against the current backlash. She also thinks the business community is more committed to equality than people may realize. 

“I think that the business community is leading LGBTQ+ acceptance nationally and culturally. You can see that with Disney,” Nelson says, referring to an ongoing dispute between the Walt Disney Company and the state of Florida, which has culminated in legal action by the latter against Gov. Ron DeSantis. Disney’s suit says Florida’s government has retaliated politically after company officials publicly criticized Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, colloquially known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. “Politically, we are divided as a country, but in the business world, we are not as divided.

“There are fiscal conservatives who run businesses who are definitely going to look for conservative financial strategies, and that’s going to be important to them. But they realize they have to create environments for their employees and the people they do business with to succeed, and they‘re becoming less biased in who they want to do good business with,” she adds.

Nelson acknowledges homophobic and transphobic discrimination against business owners still happens in the United States but believes it to be an overall rare occurrence in the Pacific Northwest, pointing to more than a decade of positive business interactions across three separate financial institutions her business has used. She believes that the work of LGBTQ+ activists and business owners, supported by the overall accepting spirit of the Pacific Northwest, will make legislation against the community difficult to implement. 

“I’ve seen the LGBTQ+ news that comes out of Florida, and I’ve seen 300-plus drag protesters in heels, and it makes me think ‘Yeah, they don’t know what’s coming at them if they keep this up,’” Nelson says. “I think we are better prepared to fight this bigotry and negativity as a community than ever before.And especially in this area, I don’t think we will see it rear its ugly head as much, and if we do, there will be pushback.”

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Wood says allies from urban cities can support rural LGBTQ+ communities by visiting, even if they don’t have boldly out and proud destinations like gays bars or coffee shops. He recommends Southern Oregon Pride and Yachats Pride. 

“It is difficult to get something like a Pride celebration going in a rural area, so even though it looks like it might not have a lot to it, it always does. There’s a lot of heart and thought that went into it,” Wood says. 

Justus says rural populations especially need people who are both trained for the jobs people like him hire to fill, but also people who can afford to live in the area without scraping by to make ends meet. Justus says Xanadu proudly pays employees more than minimum wage. He works with Clatsop County Community College’s Small Business Development Center to develop training opportunities for future employees, and to help other queer business owners in Astoria thrive. 

Even for his immersion in Astoria’s broader community, Justus can’t help but find comfort in seeing a rainbow flag at businesses like Xanadu. 

“It’s like when I moved to town and I asked where my people were. I mean, ‘Where are my gay people?’ Because they’re going to understand my life and experiences a lot differently than people from the straight community because of the issues that we deal with,’” Justus says. “It’s not that we don’t want to be part of that community, it’s that we want to be able to relate to someone on that level so we can go out and be ourselves in the broader community.”

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Editor’s Note: The version of this story that ran in the July/August 2023 print edition of Oregon Business incorrectly identified the co-owner of Trapdoor Bar & Grill as Todd Morairty, not Ron Morairty. Oregon Business regrets the error.

Memorial by Bryan Washington and The All-or-Nothing Marriage: How the Best Marriages Work by Eli J. Finkel.

What are you watching? 

The Mandalorian and Kaleidoscope. 

What are you listening to? 

The Daily Mix on Spotify for my news and ’90s country the rest of the time

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What is your must-have gadget? 

The Apple Watch.

What are your hobbies/interests? 

I am a 30+ year distance runner, a recent convert to the winter sports (snowshoeing, cross country and downhill skiing) and an avid hiker. I love to cook and read, and really enjoy traveling with my family.

What was your childhood or earliest ambition?

I wanted to be a judge, which was quickly replaced by dreams of being a dolphin trainer.  

Where is your favorite place to vacation?

Utah. The hiking and skiing are incredible. It is such a beautiful place!

What is your biggest extravagance? 

Pilates is a three-day-a-week obsession.   

What motivates you to come to work? 

Entrepreneurs are superheroes in my opinion. They get up every day passionate about their idea and business — I love that enthusiasm! Ensuring that founders have access to the resources they need to grow thriving businesses fires me up to come to work every day.    

Who is your professional role model? 

Linda Weston. It is an aspiration to bring OEN back to the level of success that developed under her tenure. Plus, Linda’s advice and insight have been instrumental for so many successful businesses in the region.    

What ambitions do you still have? 

I want to learn to speak Italian and write a bestselling book. (The book will be in English.)

I am currently reading The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution 1926-1930 by Scott Eyman. It’s a fascinating look at the transition from silent films to sound. 

What are you watching? 

I watch a lot of Turner Classic Movies — that’s generally the default channel on the television. I loved Pachinko — a fascinating look at several generations of a Korean immigrant family as they navigate political, social and personal change. 

What are you listening to? 

My usual suspects are artists like Scott Walker, Lee Hazlewood. I also recently found a great new album from Oregon band The Delines, a de facto soundtrack to band member Willy Vlautin’s most recent novel, The Night Always Comes. One podcast I particularly enjoy is from cinematographer Roger Deakins that I discovered during the pandemic. He and his wife bring in a guest each week for a deep dive into their role in filmmaking. 

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What is your must-have gadget? 

Just today I left my iPhone in the office and felt totally lost during a two-hour off-site board meeting, which is a little pathetic. I also get a lot of use out of my multiregion BluRay player, which outs me as a “physical media guy” and the subject of much pity from my more tech-savvy friends and colleagues. 

What are your hobbies/interests? 

It’s not hard to guess that I’m a movie guy. The pandemic provided lots of time to explore many rabbit holes of film history, so I have been doing deeper dives into the silent era, pre-code films and film noir. I’m a recent addition to the board of the historic Elsinore Theatre here in Salem, and part of that interest comes from knowing how important these spaces are to communities. 

What was your childhood or earliest ambition? 

I always wanted to own a record store, until I realized that to pay the bills I would have to stock records that people would actually want to buy. That takes the fun out of it for me. 

Where is your favorite place to vacation? 

Last fall I went on a road trip to Monument Valley in Southern Utah. I had been before, but it was a bucket-list trip for my father. If I need to visualize a happy place to calm myself down, it is the dramatic serenity of Monument Valley I conjure up in my mind. 

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What is your biggest extravagance? 

My house is filled with artwork as reminders of places I visited or life events I wanted to recognize — basically anything that allows me the excuse to purchase art. I am a big fan of folk art and outsider art, so my collection is not exactly a retirement investment. But I have the luxury to travel to many places and times just by perusing the pieces I have scattered around my house. My biggest challenge now is that I need more walls. 

What motivates you to come to work? 

I stumbled into economic development right out of grad school and over time have found that it’s not about closing deals, but ultimately it’s to make stronger communities. Healthy communities need healthy businesses to provide jobs and revenues to provide a quality of life to residents. 

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What are you reading?

I’m reading Kate Wilhelm’s Barabara Holloway series and recently finished Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz. I love reading a good mystery.

What are you watching?

I am a crime-show junkie: CSI, NCIS, Cold Case and Criminal Minds. When I need just a feel-good, heartwarming type of movie to create heart smiles, I look to Disney and musicals.

What are you listening to?

You will always find music playing in my office, home and the car. You will hear Jonny Diaz and Christian music of all genres, a great mix of the ’80s, but at work it is either the Piano Guys or instrumental film scores so I don’t start singing out loud with the music while in my office.

What is your must-have gadget?

My smartphone is with me 24/7, and I rely on it for all things work, as my camera to capture the moment, and my connection to family, friends and our chamber members.

What are your hobbies/interests?

I have been a card maker and scrapbooker for quite a few years, and my favorite is being able to take time to create cards to give to others on their special days of celebration. My other hobby is fishing. My best fishing partner is my husband; we live just seven minutes from the boat dock and love being able to grab our gear and hit the water to fish. We fish for salmon, walleye, bass and, once in a while, steelhead. There is nothing like being on the Columbia River with the sun rising over the water, with hills and mountains on both sides of you.

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What is your biggest extravagance?

Not sure it is extravagant, but I like to have a certain type of fishing gear and lures as I have a rule for myself for this activity: All my gear and lures have to have pink on them! I have been known to make sure I am ready for salmon season by making sure my nails are even pink! It is a little silly, but why do life if you can’t be silly at times?

What motivates you to come to work?

I have a deep passion to help our businesses to be successful, which helps create a healthy and vibrant community. My daily challenge is to make sure my team and I are doing all we can to help our businesses not only survive but thrive.

What ambitions do you still have?

My work ambition is to continue to find ways, tools or methods that will help our businesses and in turn enrich our local community and economy. My personal ambitions are to make sure I am the best wife, mama, and friend possible, but my very personal goal is to continue to work on my health journey so that I can be the best version of me for me.

Who is your professional role model?

I have had mentors along the way as a chamber director who have helped with leadership, skills, tools and talking me off the ledge of crazy decisions — but my husband has been my rock. His background and knowledge of economics, agricultural, small business and consulting has provided me the valuable ability to talk through processes and issues on all levels.

What are you reading?

During my first year in Oregon, I focused on getting to know as much about Oregon and being an Oregonian as possible: maps, tourist information, various news publications and more. I also enjoy many different automobile magazines, like Car and Driver.

What are you watching?

Favorite movies include the Star Wars series,the Lord of the Rings series and similar productions.
I prefer college competitions over professional sports, with the exception of the Green Bay Packers. My theater preference is anything my daughter has a role in.

What are you listening to?

Being a DJ for more than 20 years, I listen to a broad range of music from Adele to Black Sabbath — my preference depends on the day or my mood. I typically listen to Top 40 or ’80s-’90s pop hits at the office. I also like football sports radio and various talk shows.

What are your hobbies/interests?

Since moving to Oregon, my wife and I have enjoyed taking the Jeep out on different trails and just exploring all that Oregon has to offer. Music remains a hobby I share with others, either while DJing different events or as part of my position as a PA announcer for several Eastern Oregon University sports. I also truly enjoy grilling/smoking on my backyard pellet grill and love to try new recipes or ways of making food.

What was your childhoodor earliest ambition?

One of my early ambitions was to become a race car driver. The sounds, smells and adrenaline rush always interested me. My dad always enjoyed “going to the races,” and this was something I aspired to.

Where is your favorite place to vacation?

I do not have a favorite go-to; however, I do prefer a warm climate when vacationing. Favorite vacation memories include time spent in Cancun, Las Vegas and Canada (in the summer months).

What motivates you to come to work?

Union County motivates me. I enjoy the people, the area and the opportunities. UC has so much to offer; getting the word out, connecting people to each other and working together to improve our area keeps me excited for today, tomorrow and beyond.

Who is your professional role model?

I am fortunate to have worked with many professionals who have earned my respect and admiration. However, my father is the most significant professional role model in my life. He was an independent small-business owner. His ethics and integrity inspire me daily.

What are you reading?

The Art of Forgery by Noah Charney and How Not to Kill a Peony by Stephanie J. Weber. Both books are intriguing. I currently have too many books in the queue!

What are you watching?

Not a lot of TV happens in our house during the summer, but we do enjoy watching The White Lotus. As a designer I appreciate the set design and opening credits — nerdy, I know.

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What are you listening to?

I listen to everything. I share a Spotify account with a colleague and listen to a lot of music that’s not currently in my repertoire. I also listen to “99% Invisible,” a great podcast that often features topics related to architecture and design.

What is your must-have gadget?

High-quality swim goggles that don’t leak are at the top of my list. AirPods come in at a close second — I’m always wearing them.

Photo: Jason E. Kaplan

What are your hobbies/interests?

I love open-water swimming. My husband says it is my joy, and he is absolutely correct. I love the fact you can swim in the Willamette River safely while watching the Portland skyline. Another favorite place to swim is the Columbia River. The water there is just different—bigger.

What was your childhoodor earliest ambition?

As a child, I wanted to run Vogue. Then I switched to National Geographic. My grandfather taught me how to drive a forklift, so I felt I was well-rounded back then.

Where is your favorite place to vacation?

Key West, Florida. We’ve been vacationing in Key West for more than 20 years. I have family there, so it’s like a second home to me. It’s humid, but it’s home.

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What is your biggest extravagance?

Art. Without a doubt. I love art for the emotional aspect. It can be provocative, inspiring and just makes me happy. As an interior designer, I appreciate the impact art has on people. I buy art over furniture (which is why we have no furniture in our living or dining room!).

What motivates you to come to work?

The people. Not a day goes by that I don’t laugh, which is so rewarding — especially during COVID and these busy times. I get to work with really smart people who are extremely passionate about what they do, and it fuels me.

Who is your professional role model?

My mom, for sure. She is 80 and works full-time, so she motivates me to love what I do, dig in — and if anything is bothering you, just get over it.

What ambitions do you still have?

Resiliency in life and work! To me, resiliency is about knowing your job, role and industry very well, so that when you need to make a change, you can do it more effectively. I can be a control freak and an over-processor, but I also know when to move on and get over it. Working in a crazy industry, I’m always striving to be simultaneously strategizing for the future and present in the moment.

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What are you reading?

I’m currently reading Trevor Noah’s autobiography, Born a Crime. I love it. Trevor is a brilliant storyteller. His ability to relate the brutal truths and horror of growing up under the shadow of apartheid and still bring levity to make you smile and laugh is incredible.

What are you watching?

The Outlaws and Bridgerton season two. At our house, we are suckers for underdog mischief and rom-coms.

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What are you listening to?

DakhaBrakha is a Ukrainian quartet, currently touring to support the war efforts in Ukraine. DakhaBrakha has been protesting Putin’s regime and threat to Ukraine for years. I highly recommend a live performance, or at least a YouTube video clip, to truly appreciate how outstanding they are.

What is your must-have gadget?

I always keep my TSA-approved Pocket-Monkey multitool in my wallet, and whenever appropriate, I’ll have my Leatherman Wave on my belt.

What are your hobbies/interests?

This is my eighth season coaching Eastside Portland Lacrosse for my daughter’s teams and I absolutely love it! I play pick-up basketball religiously on Monday nights. I also love percussion and lately have been playing a lot of Afro-Cuban rhythms like guaguanco, tumbao and rumba on my congas. I can’t leave out surfing on the Pacific Northwest coast and playing in the backcountry with my family and our dogs.

What was your childhood ambition?

As a child, I really wanted to be Indiana Jones. As a teenager I was too anti societal norms to take seriously any traditional life path; all my observations told me we were headed down the wrong path. I knew I wanted to affect change and would later take inspiration from a multitude of experiences as a young adult.

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Where is your favorite place to vacation?

I love hiking, biking, swimming, cross-country skiing and playing around in the Green Mountains of Vermont, where I grew up. Otherwise, I love touring the world and seeking out hidden treasures and adventure amongst different cultures, foodand landscapes.

What motivates you to come to work?

My amazing team and the work we do to create zero-carbon buildings that promote health and protect the planet. Buildings are a primary contributor to climate change, and we are part of the solution. As a B-Corp, we have a strong focus on both environmental and social-justice issues. Maintaining our B-Corp status challenges us to constantly innovate and improve the way we do business. We have completed a multitude of “firsts” in our regional industry. In many ways, we are the transformational disrupter that would have inspired me as a teenager.

Who is your professional role model?   

Leaders and activists like my daughter, Olive, and Greta Thunberg, who fiercely remind me why we must take action and who we are doing this important work for.

What ambitions do you still have?

I strongly believe healthy buildings are a basic human right. I’ve spent the past 20 years building a company to explore and innovate what healthy buildings can look like. We’ve pushed the envelope in every practical direction imaginable. We now understand the most cost-effective measures to design-build healthy buildings. I want to share our expertise and assemble the right project teams that are willing and able to fund the gap between near-term “affordable” buildings and long-term healthy buildings to support the health of communities and a thriving natural world.

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What are you reading?  

I’m on the go a lot, so I listen to a lot of audio books. Right now I’m listening to All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days by Rebecca Donner, and I just finished The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah.  

What are you watching?

I’m a big British mystery and sci-fi/action-adventure fan. Right now I’m watching Quirke and the McDonald & Dodds series. I also watch every new Marvel movie as soon as it’s released, on my couch with a big bowl of popcorn.

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What are you listening to?

I have a well-curated Pandora station that has a great mix of Americana, Irish music and lots of Lyle Lovett.

What is your must-have gadget?

Without question, myBluetooth headset.

What are your hobbies/interests?  

Cooking paella and hanging out with friends. I’m married to a chef, so I limit my efforts to paella and oatmeal. The tradition of a paella is a social event where people enjoy the process of cooking and eating together.

What was your childhood or earliest ambition?  

In first and second grade, I was certain that I wanted to be a nun or an astronaut or just maybe an astronaut who was a nun. I have a learning disability so I struggled in school. I didn’t see myself going to college, and no one else in my family had earned a college degree.

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Where is your favorite place to vacation?  

When we vacation, it’s usually somewhere in Oregon. We love spending time on the Coast, heading to the other side of the Cascades into the high desert, and of course we spend plenty of time right here on the McKenzie River swimming and kayaking.

What is your biggest extravagance?  

My biggest extravagance would be getting my nails done. I tend to talk with my hands, so I have my nails done in a way that reflects my personality, mood or current season.

What motivates you to come to work?  

Every day I am able to make a difference in the lives of Oregonians. I take heading a statewide agency seriously. I’ve traveled all around Oregon and brought a staff presence for my agency to Eastern Oregon for the first time in 20 years with our apprenticeship and business technical assistance representative. I’m very proud of our successes to expand those opportunities and outreach to communities throughout the state.

Who is your professional role model?  

My role model has always been my dad. Although we had different career paths, he is the person I call when I’m not sure what to do. He’s always been active civically and in the labor movement. He is 83 and currently a state representative in New Hampshire.

When I first got elected to the Legislature, he told me that I needed to work hard to understand the needs of the district and keep an open door to everyone whether I agreed with their position or not. He sent me his old fire helmet, and I still keep it in my office today. It helps me remember where I came from and reminds me to never forget how I got here.

What ambitions do you still have?  

If I am lucky, I’ll be a voice for our state in Congress, representing Oregon’s Fourth District.

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