In His Own Words: Bernie Foster, Publisher, The Skanner News Group

Summer 2008 - Our mission statement for The Skanner is “Challenging people to shape a better future now.” Not tomorrow, not next week, not next year – NOW.

We believe that what people have to say is important and they deserve to be heard. Information is a catalyst for action, and often results in changes. You may or may not like that change, but that’s what the spread of information does. more

Business Leader, Entrepreneur, Change Agent: Q&A with Clyde Stryker

Summer 2008 - When you come together as a body, as a group, good things happen,” said Clyde Stryker, founder of the Oregon Native American Chamber of Commerce.

Stryker has been a leader in small business development since starting his tech firm Spirit Communications. He became the first Native American to win the successful Business of the year award from the Small Business Administration. more

Kenneth Jones, President, Northwest Minority Business Council

Spring 2008 - "Our economy is becoming more and more complex. Use of technology is today’s business environment is so important, but so are the basics. For the community of MBEs to continue to be successful, education is important. Learn about financing, understand contracting, learn to build strategic alliances. Not only is it necessary to understanding how to grow your business, but also how to manage growth. Seek out continuous professional development opportunities." read more

Melvin Broadous, President, Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors

Spring 2008 - “Realtors bring tremendous value to real estate transactions. For the buying and selling public, I believe there is some disconnect in understanding the value of real estate representation. I want to bring that back to the table. Every real estate transaction should have professional representation.

PMAR is encouraging the buying and selling public to seek representation from the start. This helps ensure that transactions progress smoothly, and that their interest in the transaction is well-represented by a seasoned realtor." read more

Peggy C. Ross, Affirmative Action Director, State of Oregon

Winter 2008 - "Diversity must be aligned with the strategic business plan of any state agency because in its broadest definition, diversity is about hiring and retaining the best professionals who possess different knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies and creativity. These professionals then partner to execute the state agency’s strategy, a strategy designed to deliver extraordinary customer service and foster existing and potential customer relationships. Diversity, employee retention, customer growth, and reducing the cost of doing business are all interdependent." read more

Bertha Ferrán: Modeling Business and Civic Leadership

Winter 2008 - “I’ve been involved in community since I got here,” says Bertha Ferrán , a founding director of the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber and a commissioner of the Portland Development Commission.

With a successful real estate career and board memberships at various nonprofit agencies, including the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, Ferrán is among the most recognized and well-respected Latina businesswomen in town. read more

Ben Berry, Chief Information Officer, Oregon Department of Transportation

Summer 2007 - "Under the ODOT information systems umbrella, we employ almost 300 information technology people, with a $127 million budget. Our operations and structure at ODOT are unique and productive, because of how we have arranged relationships with our customers. We established “communities of interest” among our major lines of business. We embed all applications development managers within our customer locations." read more

Dr. Tina Castañares, Medical Director, Hospice of the Gorge and Government Relations Coordinator, La Clínica del Cariño, Hood River

Summer 2007 - "We knew that we would have other community patients in addition to migrant farmworkers, but we had no idea how much unmet need there was among other low-income community residents.

Almost right away, more than half of our patients were not migrant farmworkers but rather were low-income, mostly Anglo, year-round residents of the mid-Columbia." read more

Sokhom Tauch, Executive Director, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization

Summer 2007 - "IRCO started out serving refugees from southeast Asia, but it has evolved to help a lot of different communities. We serve different ethnic groups, languages, cultures – we all work together here. We are trying to build one immigrant and refugee community. It doesn’t matter where you come from. Each one is encouraged to preserve traditions, if we come together, we’ll be a bigger voice." read more

Q&A with Gale Castillo, co-founder and Executive Director, Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber

How has the business environment changed in Oregon since the chamber was founded? The Latino population in Oregon has grown tremendously – from 1990 to 2000, there was 144% growth in the Latino community. Oregon is now among the top 10 states for Latinos, in terms of percentage of growth. We’re not Texas or California, but in terms of percentage of growth, we’re one of the fastest growing Latino communities nationwide. There’s been a lot of positive change in the last 10 years. We’re seeing more Latino businesses starting and expanding. read more

Sam Brooks, Chairman of the Board, Portland Business Alliance

Spring 2007 - Sam Brooks, founder and longtime president of the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs makes history as he becomes the first African-American to lead the Portland Business Alliance.

“My approach is simple: ask the question, find the answers, come up with strategy to implement, and make it happen. We want to make sure we create partnerships, and that we have a solid agenda to work on,” he said. read more

Christine Chin Ryan, Chairwoman, Governor's Small Business Council

Spring 2007 - Committed to lending a voice to small businesses throughout Oregon, Christine Chin Ryan, President, CEO and founder of Synergy Consulting, Inc., promotes growth and development of small businesses through entrepreneurship, advocacy and public policy work. As the first woman – and Asian-American – to serve as chairperson of the Governor’s Small Business Council (Council), Christine has been instrumental in identifying issues that are vital to small companies, such as affordability of health insurance; access to human resources; fiscal reform; business sustainability and renewable energy. read more

Sho Dozono , president and CEO, Azumano Travel

Winter 2007 - For 30 years, Sho Dozono has led the successful corporate travel firm Azumano Travel through the highs and lows of the travel industry. Adhering to the tried and true formula of providing excellent customer service, Dozono led the evolution of Azumano Travel full-service travel agency dedicated to providing corporate, leisure and meeting management services.

“If we don’t serve that customer well, it’s easy for them to look for other choices. To that degree, we’re still very old-fashioned, customer service-focused business. There’s not a whole lot of secret to that: take care of your ‘family,’ your workers terms of workers, and they will take care of the customer.” read more

Roy Jay, president and co-founder, African-American Chamber of Commerce

Fall 2006 - Born and raised in the North Portland, Roy has transcended poverty of his youth to become one of the most recognizable and prolific icons of entrepreneurship in the region.

"There are only two types of people in this world: the kind that signs the front of the paychecks, and the kind that signs the back. If you end up working for somebody the rest of your life, they will tell you exactly what you’re worth. Being in charge is what makes the difference, and that’s what we inspire everybody else to do. The backbone of this city as well as this country is small business." read more

Lillian Tsai, founder and president, TsaiComms, LLC

Summer 2006 - Enabling companies to remain competitive in an increasingly global marketplace, Lillian Tsai is making great strides in her goal to bridge the gap between businesses and industries in the East and West.A former tech marketing executive, she is now one of the most prominent Asian-American business leaders in Portland. Lillian is in a league of her own: a savvy marketer and entrepreneur with boundless energy. She is president of the NW China Council and is active in many professional and civic organizations in the region. read more