The LOEB Fellowship

My year as a Loeb Fellow at Harvard had a profound impact on my life and my career. I came back to Portland with both a greater commitment to making a positive change in the community and with greatly enhanced skills for doing so.  That year has shaped what I have done – and continue to do – since then.

Prior to my Fellowship year, I had worked for many years as a building contractor, I was the second executive director of REACH Community Development – Portland’s first CDC – and later worked for the Oregon Community Foundation to help grow similar CDCs in other Portland neighborhoods.

When I returned to Portland in 1995 after my Loeb Fellowship year, I worked for the developer who bought the 40 acres of old railroad yards that became the heart of Portland’s Pearl District. I later worked briefly for the Housing Authority of Portland to transform an 80-acre public housing development into New Columbia.  In 2002, I started my own development company focusing on mid-rise affordable housing in the central city.

In 2012, I put my business on hold for two years to work on development and urban renewal issues for the Mayor.  In 2017, I sold my partnership interests and retired – at least for now – from active development.

I have been and continue to be active in civic, environmental, and land use activities in Portland.  I’m currently serving on the Portland Housing Advisory Commission and the Board of Directors of BRIDGE Housing Corporation.