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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2018)
February 21, 2018 The Skanner Seattle Page 3 News that they did and what the mission of the Forest Service was, and how the job of the contracting of- ficer helps support that. She pretty much sold me on it. I wanted to make sure I did a job that was helping people, and she definitely showed me that this position does do that,” Fuller told The Skanner. “ One of the most import- ant things for me is when I get a chance to see the finished project Fuller works out of the Forest Service’s Vancou- ver, Washington office, managing internal and external contracts that help the Forest Service do its work. That in- cludes both non-emer- gent infrastructure proj- ects – like repairing a bridge on Forest Service land that needs to be up- dated for public access – as well as managing contracts during emer- gencies like forest fires. This can mean bringing outside contractors in where necessary, con- tracting with caterers to make sure firefight- ers at base camp are fed, lodged and have access to fire, and other tasks that accompany assembling a base camp. Fuller recommends young people who are interested in doing sim- ilar work to pursue an MBA, which is required for some allocation cer- tificates she needs to do her job. She said her work requires a high Start-Ups degree of flexibility and open-mindedness. A self-described “city girl,” she had never spent much time in the out- doors before taking her current job, and atten- tion to detail and custom- er service are needed. “It really is a fun job. I think one of the most important things for me is when I get a chance to see the finished project and that actually, the con- tract is complete,” Fuller said. “Now I can see that this bridge has been con- structed, and it’s going to help the public be able to access some of the areas that are very popular.” Fuller has worked out of the same office since 2009, but it’s common for Forest Service employ- ees to move to different agencies and divisions, and often it’s encour- aged since seeing how different regional offices work can help employ- ees grow. She’s also re- quired to take 80 hours of continuing education every two years to keep her certifications cur- rent. Typically she takes courses that are specific to her role – for example, contracting law or ethics in contracting. Forest Service spokes- person Shandra Terry said anyone interested in finance, accounting or contracting should con- sider a career path like Fuller’s. “I think it’s super im- portant for [readers] to know what’s attainable,” Terry said. “In the sense of discipline and educa- tion and career track, we need more of, we need our little girls to know that it is attainable -- that you become a success and that and that you can start off here, but you never know where you’ll end up with that education and that inspiration.” Michelle J. DePass Named Meyer Memorial Trust’s New President and CEO Meyer Memorial Trust, Oregon’s second-largest foundation, today announced Michelle J. DePass as its new president and chief executive officer. She will succeed Doug Stamm, who has led the $800 million trust since 2002. DePass is currently the dean of the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy and Tishman Professor of Environmental Policy and Management at The New School in New York. Previously, she was appointed to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by President Barack Obama, where she served as assistant administrator for International and Tribal Affairs. Prior to joining the EPA, DePass was a program officer at the Ford Foundation. Her portfolio focused on the environment and community development, including green economy and climate change, environmental health and justice, and indigenous environmental rights. DePass holds a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University, a Juris Doctor from Fordham Law School, an honorary doctorate from Fordham University and a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College, where she was a National Urban Fellow. Housing PHOTO COURTESY OF PRICHARD COMMUNICATIONS cont’d from pg 3 cont’d from pg 1 the housing proposal. The first of several public hearings is set for Monday night. “If we make no changes to zon- ing, those buildings will be built, and they will be built without af- fordable housing components to them,” he added. Cities such as San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C., have policies that require devel- opment to include affordable units. Philadelphia is among those weighing similar mandates. Friction over growth is playing out in other cities grappling with housing shortages. In Portland, Oregon, the city’s plan to accom- modate growth partly by allow- ing taller buildings downtown has stirred opposition. In Cali- fornia, a controversy is brewing over a state bill that eases build- ing restrictions around transit hubs and corridors and end park- ing requirements. In Seattle — a city of about 714,000 bordered largely by wa- ter — growth has been explosive. Fueled by Amazon and other tech giants, Seattle added near- ly 75,000 jobs between 2012 and 2016, and 87,000 people in the past five years. The city subsidizes housing for the poorest, and the market is ex- panding for top-income brackets. But little has been done for those in the middle who already spend too much of their wages on rent, Johnson said. Seattle’s median home price has skyrocketed to $757,000 — the highest ever, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Ser- vice. Average rent for a one-bed- room apartment has increased 35 percent over five years, but recently started to dip. The changes have led to angst and soul-searching. “It’s forcing us to have a hard, divisive conversation about what we want to be as a city,” Coun- cilmember Mike O’Brien said. Critics say the plan gives away too much to developers and isn’t the best way to add affordable housing. They also say it will lead to older and theoretically cheap- er apartments and homes being torn down. A coalition of groups is chal- lenging the city’s environmental review of the plan, saying it didn’t adequately consider issues such as the impacts to schools, traffic, parking and trees. “It’s being sold that we have to change the zoning in order to ac- commodate the growth. Are the zoning changes the best way to get affordable housing?” said Susan- na Lin with Seattle Fair Growth, a neighborhood group opposed to the plan. “You increase the rate of displacement. You lose the histor- ical character, and communities are uprooted.” Supporters say more housing closer to transit, schools and ser- vices would limit sprawl and ac- commodate surging demand. Op- tions beyond pricey single-family homes — such as duplexes, cottag- es, tiny apartments and high-ris- es — would allow those with more modest incomes to live in desirable neighborhoods. Exist- ing homes are already being torn down and replaced by expensive McMansions, they said. “People are afraid of the un- known, but they won’t see as much change as they’re afraid of,” said Jay Lazerwitz, an archi- tect who has lived in Seattle for 33 years and supports the plan. “We’re not losing huge swaths of single-family homes.” From his two-story Craftsman home, Greg Flood points down the street to where a yellow crane looms above a construction site of a 40-foot (12-meter) apart- ment complex in the Wallingford neighborhood just minutes from downtown. cont’d from pg 1 again: lack of funding. “Money creates a whole set of new complex challenges, but it usually solves an immediate problem,” said Mi- chel — from paying a company’s rent to paying its utility bills. Their funding woes are not unique to them, however. In 2016, female-led companies made up just under 5 percent of all venture capital deals, while less than 1 percent went to Black founders. Michel said it’s a typical scenario faced by most budding entrepreneurs — one he compares a band scoring its first short-sighted record deal. “You start your own business as an entre- preneur and you have so much control, then you go to fundraise and you have no control again.” With their T-shirt campaign, Michel is looking to change the trajectory. “My dream with Fund a Founder is really to create an alternative to traditional funding and dismantle the status quo.” The child of Haitian immigrants, Mi- chel was born in New York City and has traveled to over 30 countries. Be- fore breaking into tech, Michel toggled among the service industry, fundrais- “ My dream with Fund a Founder is really to create an alternative to tradi- tional funding ing for local charities, and corporate sales. He’s also a sign language inter- preter and speaks four languages. And he’s excited for the future. According to Michel, the next cohort of TiE start-ups is majority minori- ty-owned. “And it wasn’t on purpose,” he said. “These are the companies that are doing great and innovative things and are thinking outside of the box. We’re here — but we need the money to make the dream come true.” Fund a Founder recently launched an additional T-shirt design – the “naugh- ty robot” for the tech outlier, which is of- ten how minorities and females feel in the start-up arena, Michel explained. And while Fund a Founder is current- ly raising capital for his and Brown’s com- ‘Fund a Founder’ and ‘Black Founders Matter’ t-shirts. panies, the goal is to a Founder is slowly gaining traction, expand the model to support his peers with the first few thousand dollars on a larger scale. raised. The clothing is also meant to spread “I think it has the ability to change the awareness about the needs of minori- landscape of funding and also empow- ty and female start-ups – think of each er other entrepreneurs like ourselves,” t-shirt like its own social awareness said Michel. “We want to make it more billboard. hospitable and support people who are Though still in the early stages, Fund trying this too.” COURTESY OF FUND A FOUNDER Forest
