PBJ’s 2021 Nonprofit Partners
The Portland Business Journal has selected five nonprofit partners, with which it will work to promote and build, for 2021. The PBJ forges partnerships with such groups each year as a way to help them find backers and improve their philanthropic positions. The nonprofits, chosen by PBJ staffers, get to attend the publication's events, deploy free advertising throughout the year and publish columns in the PBJ print edition, among other [...]
DJC Honors Pat Daniels
When it comes to transforming lives for the better, few people can hold a candle to Constructing Hope Executive Director Pat Daniels. In her role she is a mentor, teacher, advocate and friend, not to mention a passionate fundraiser with a sharp business mind. In her 15 years with Constructing Hope, she has helped the organization grow from a small faith-based group conducting construction training courses for low-income and minority [...]
Construction coalition plans campaign to end on-the-job harassment of women, minorities
By Don McIntosh Culture change is coming. At least, that’s the goal of a broad construction industry coalition that’s begun to meet monthly to talk about ending racial and sexual harassment on Portland-area construction job sites. Read more
Safe from Hate Jobsite Culture Pledge
The Safe from Hate Jobsite Culture Pledge calls on all industry stakeholders in the construction industry to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion by clearly addressing jobsite culture. Because prevalent racism and sexism continue to create hostile work environments, impact retention of a skilled workforce, and disproportionately harm women, Black, Indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC), the Safe from Hate Positive Jobsite Culture Pledge outlines a specific set of actions [...]
Despite progress, ingrained racism still runs deep in construction
While incidents of nooses and hateful graffiti on jobsites have made headlines in 2020, racism in the industry often manifests itself in more subtle, systemic ways. Greg Page, the president of Waldorf, Maryland-based Page Building Group, has a proven business strategy when it comes to applying for financing: Send in the White guy. That was the approach he took when he needed $500,000 to fund the expansion of his previous [...]
Constructing Hope by removing industry employment barriers
These are challenging times. The COVID-19 pandemic has required all of us to adjust our lives and calibrate a new normal. Meanwhile, the pandemic has exacerbated social inequities that inspired recent social unrest, which Portland has helped keep in the spotlight. And wildfires rage across America’s western states, destroying communities, homes and livelihoods in Oregon, and beyond. There is no better time than now to collectively open our eyes and [...]