February 20. 2008
PageA2
Urban League Executive Named
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Participate in Democracy
Local leader
sets agenda
M arcus C. M undy has been ap­
pointed president and chief execu­
tive o f the Urban League
of Portland by its board
o f directors. The appoint­
ment was recently certi­
fied by the National Ur­
ban League.
M undy served as in­
terim president since July
2(X)6, after the departure
o f form er president and
C EO V anessa Gaston.
He is a principal at Marcus
Mundy Consulting LLC,
a consulting firm which specializes
in healthcare com pliance and rev­
enue cycle analysis. Prior to this
role, M undy served as vice presi­
dent and regional com pliance of­
ficer for K aiser Permanente.
In his short time at the Urban
League, Mundy has focused on a
new strategic direction which in­
cludes expansion o f program s and
services, particularly in the areas of
education and em ploym ent. His
plans are to roll out the other major
com ponents o f the
N a tio n a l U rb an
League’s "O ppor­
tu n ity C o m p act:
Blueprint for Eco­
nom ic E q u a lity ”
which also focuses
on h o u sin g and
economic security.
M u n d y h o ld s
d eg rees in b u si­
ness ad m in istra ­
C. Mundy
tion for H ow ard
University in W ashington, D.C. and
the University o f Oregon. He has
several years experience serving
the local com m unity and was most
recently appointed to the Oregon
Health Fund Board by Gov. Ted
Kulongoski.
M undy said his goal as Urban
League C E O is to maximize our
com m unity’s w ealth creation and
economic stability through em ploy­
ment, coaching, professional de­
velopm ent, training and entrepre­
neurship.
He said he plans to ad d ress the
d istu rb in g record o f black youth
not co m p letin g high school, and
co n tin u in g d isp arities in health,
em p lo y m en t and econom ic o p ­
portunity betw een A frican A m eri­
cans o f all ages and the m ajority
p o p u latio n .
“O u r belo v ed seniors have a
m uch h igher incidence o f chronic
illness than the g eneral p o p u la­
tion, and in v irtu ally every m ea­
su re o f so c ia l, e c o n o m ic and
physical w ell-b ein g , the A frican
A m erican com m unity is lagging,”
he said. “ 1 am h onored to be given
the o p p o rtu n ity to lead this h is­
toric o rg an iz atio n .”
Emerging from Crisis Mode
con tin u ed
front Front
Recognizing that the rising costs
of living push many families outside
of the boundaries o f Portland Public
Schools, she's making it a priority to
advocate for the city’s construction
oflow-incomeandmixJerately-priced
housing.
With regards to the long estab­
lished borders o f city neighbor­
hoods, she seeks middle ground be­
tween maintaining strong neighbor­
hood schools and giving parents
options.
The choices range from volun­
tary participation in a specialized
m id d le sch o o l, a k in d erg arten
through 8th grade school, alterna­
tive schools and public charter
schools.
Smith says the district keeps its
integrity by listening to people di­
rectly involved with public educa­
tion.
“W e’re not going to go back and
try to undo things because that
would create more chaos,” she says.
“1 want the people who are closest to
the work being the ones who make
the recommendations for how we
move forward.”
Overall, Smith has been pleased
with the sense of pride and energy
she sees reemerging from the school
system. While she expresses frus­
tration with the loss of families who
have mo ved out of the district through
gentrification, she promises to con­
tinue work for inclusive policies that
support progress for all.
W ith budgets and enrollm ent
balancing forthe first time in 15 years.
Smith looks forward to a bright fu­
ture.
“ 1 get to build on the different
eras o f superintendents who ended
up dealing with huge budget defi­
cits,” she says. "This era for me is
now about how we bring up the
leaders in the PPS system and really
build the capacity o f our principals,
build the capacity o f our teachers
and have a com m unity— with their
voice about w hat we want to create
as a public-school system — so that
we as a com m unity are ow ning it."
Higher Density Housing Proposed
A n o p en h o u se to learn ab o u t
p ro p o se d zo n in g c h a n g e s in th e
n e i g h b o r h o o d s a d j a c e n t to
N o rth In te rs ta te A v e n u e w ill
ta k e p la ce T h u rs d a y , Feb. 21
fro m 5 :3 0 to 8 :0 0 p.m . at K ai­
se r T o w n H all, 3 7 0 4 N. In te r­
sta te A ve.
T h e n ew zo n in g w o u ld allo w
la rg e r a n d a h ig h e r d e n s ity
m u lti- f a m ily s tr u c t u r e s lik e
a p a rtm e n ts an d c o n d o m in iu m s
on p r o p e r tie s p re v io u s ly d e ­
sig n e d fo r sin g le -fa m ily h o m es,
an d e n c o u ra g e b u s in e sse s th a t
p ro v id e e m p lo y m e n t o p p o rtu ­
n itie s. C ity p la n n e rs h av e id e n ­
tifie d se v eral b lo c k s n e a r In te r­
sta te th a t th a t can be re -z o n e d
to b e tte r m a x im iz e m ass tra n sit
u se an d th e M A X lig h t- rail line.
HOW TO DO BUSINESS
WITH
LOCAL PUBLIC AGENCIES
Return your ballot by mail or drop t f o ff at any designated voter
dropstte. Call 1 -866-673-8683 to find a location near you.
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Event:
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The intimate
Doing Business with Local Public Agencies
PCC Cascade Campus. Terrell Hall
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