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Our Company
Education
M.B.A. 1987 (Business, Government, and Not-For-Profit Businesses) Willamette University. Salem, Oregon.
B.S. 1984 (Business Administration) Oregon State University. Corvallis Oregon.
Professional Experience
2003 – Present Principal, Orbis Group, Inc. —
Established a consulting company with a mission to help communities, businesses, and organizations succeed through the delivery of services including strategic planning, grant writing, business planning, government relations, business development, community development, and organizational development. One specific focus is to establish and grow a renewable energy company in concert with experts in hydropower and wind power.
1999 – 2003 Chairman, Baker County Board of Commissioners — Built and led a management team for a 150-employee organization with a $24 million annual budget, and provided leadership for county of 17,000 population.
Management: revamped budgeting process to increase employee involvement, increase efficiency of public funds, and improve customer service. Revamped union negotiations process to increase employee involvement and team building. Established mission statement, core values, and goals by department. Dramatically improved employee morale, facilities, customer service, and fiscal health of county.
Leadership: Developed and maintained strategic plan for county; established effective outreach efforts to all communities in county; initiated natural resource strategy; established taskforces to create state of the art telecommunications, identify power generation opportunities, rebuild fairgrounds, build an armory/conference center, and restructure the chamber and economic development efforts.
Proactive management and leadership have positioned Baker County to advance forward amidst a nationwide governmental and economic environment struggling to break even.
1994 – 1999 Regional Development Officer, Oregon Economic Development — Served five eastern Oregon counties by managing business development cases, marketing business finance and community grant programs, connecting communities to infrastructure resources, supporting at-risk businesses, and assisting communities with priority projects.
Managed business recruitment cases that added over 2000 jobs in eastern Oregon. Assisted with financing, infrastructure, tax abatement, job training, land and building availability, and community relations. Result: stronger, more diversified communities in five counties.
Created new process to assist the state in engaging communities to effectively meet infrastructure and facility needs. Result: the State of Oregon uses a variation of this process today.
Authored community capacity assessment document that allows community leaders to objectively evaluate their capacity to define and advance community and economic development goals. Result: the document has been used to assist communities throughout the state.
Established the Baker Community Partnership which changed Baker County’s grant seeking approach from a competitive to a collaborative dynamic for top community development projects. Result: $4.2 million from regional foundations for 12 projects.
1987 – 1993 Economic Development Director, City of Baker City/Baker County — Hired as Baker City and Baker County’s first-ever economic development director. Created program from scratch. Pursued six goals: business recruitment, business assistance, business start-ups, community capacity, grant writing, and tourism development.
Primary community staff person for development of the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center at Flagstaff Hill. Chief grant writer and state liaison. Result: development of a national tourist attraction that has brought well over 1,000,000 visitors to the region.
Lead business recruitment professional for county. Results: job creation that substantially outperformed other rural Oregon counties; managed the most active Enterprise Zone in the state.
Crafter of program to revitalize Baker City Historic District. Architect of two planning and incentive programs to redevelop historic buildings. Result: restoration of 75 buildings with a total investment exceeding $10 million.
Managed various community and economic development projects including the recruitment of a state minimum-security prison, development of Oregon’s only new state park in 25 years, and establishment of a job training center and industrial park.
1984 – 1985 Project Estimator, Marvin L. Cole General Contractor — Assisted in project bidding estimations and marketing pre-engineered metal buildings. Expanded company’s presence in the metal building market.
Honors
- Baker County Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year, 1990
- Council for Economic Development in Oregon Community Award, 1990
- Outstanding Couple for Baker City Rotary Club, Rotary International, 1990
- People Serving People Award from the U.S. Forest Service, 1991
- Host Family for International Exchange Students, 1991, 1997, 2001
- Rotary Club President of the Year for District 5100, 1992-1993
- Paul Harris Fellow Award from the Rotary Foundation, 1993
- Meritorious Service Award from the Oregon Trail Preservation Trust for work on National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center at Flagstaff Hill, 1993
- Service Above Self Governor’s Citation, Rotary International, 1993
- Award of Excellence for America’s Great Outdoors Program, Wallowa- Whitman National Forest, 1994
- Promotion of Rural Tourism Development Award, Bureau of Land Management, 1994
- Outstanding Dedication Service Award, Baker County Visitor and Convention Bureau, 1994
- David E. Fredriksen Business Development Award, Livable Oregon, 1997
- Pacific Program for Leadership Training, 1998
- National Leadership Award, National Center for Small Communities, 2000
- Oregon’s Leaders of the Pack: 20 Who are Rising to the Top, Oregon Business Magazine, 2001
- Honorary 10th Anniversary Chairman, National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center at Flagstaff Hill, 2002
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