Brad Porterfield serves as the Executive Director of the Latino Community Association here in Central Oregon.  The Latino Community Association, or LCA for short, has a mission is to empower Central Oregon Latino families to thrive, creating opportunities for advancement and building bridges that unite and strengthen everyone in our region.

LCA is an essential connecting point for our immigrant community to ask questions, have letters translated, get help making phone calls and negotiating payment plans

LCA helps families pay their bills, file their taxes, work through legal issues, find work, improve their English, and connect to new opportunities.  It gives clients the time to be heard and understood.  It also provides volunteer opportunities that bring people together across cultures to build a more cohesive community. You can learn more about LCA at www.latinocommunityassociation.org. 

Most recently I bumped into Brad at the Bend Chamber of Commerce Excellence Awards, where the Latino Community Association received the prestigious Community Stewardship Award. That led to a coffee conversation where I learned more about LCA and it became clear that everyone in our region should know about this organization. 

I believe, like me, you’re going to really enjoy learning from Brad.    

Our guest for this episode is Deschutes County Commissioner Tony DeBone. Commissioner DeBone will discuss the challenges, opportunities and strategies for managing a multitude of county-wide issues in this season of great change. In this far-ranging discussion, you’ll hear Tony’s ideas on housing, apprenticeship programs, homelessness, and regional growth. You’ll also get a sense for the magnitude of the County Commission responsibilities and the budget it administers. The Commissioner’s job is HUGE. Tune in to understand better how our county works. 

Tammy is the Executive Director of the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council; the region’s Council of Governments, referred to for simplicity as COIC. COIC provides services to the counties of  Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson, the cities of Bend, Culver, La Pine, Madras, Metolius, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters, as well as the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.  It has offices located throughout Central Oregon and employs about 100 people. 

Tammy spent many years in the hospitality and real estate industries prior to her time on the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. During her time in elected office, Tammy emerged as a leading voice on healthcare reform and overall health system improvement. Her leadership has been recognized by organizations throughout Oregon and nationally. The Oregon Business Association recognized her as an Oregon Statesman of the Year for her work in this area.

If we took the time to list all of Tammy’s accomplishments and all the ways she works to participate to improve our community it would fill up all our time, so let’s just say that Tammy arguably knows more about Central Oregon and what’s working, and what’s not working, than any other single person in our region. So, you are in for a treat over the next few minutes as you learn from her about the important role that COIC plays across our region. 

Leanne serves as the Executive Director of Pregnancy Resource Centers of Central Oregon, which has been serving our region for over 25 years. 

As indicated by the name, Pregnancy Resource Center serves as a place for free pregnancy counseling and support – whether the pregnancy is planned or unplanned.

The Pregnancy Resource Center understands that the decisions surrounding a pregnancy can lead to a wide range of emotions. When a woman suspects that she might be pregnant, or even if she’s had a positive pregnancy test, she may be needing answers and feeling pressure to make a decision quickly. Pregnancy Resource Center is there to assist her throughout her decision-making process. Its non-judgemental and confidential client advocates are trained to provide support and resources to help women in just that circumstance. 

And the service is not just for women. There are services for fathers, as well. Whether a pregnancy is planned or unplanned, the man plays an important role in the decision of whether or not to parent a child. Regardless of the relationship now or in the future, both parents should be involved in making the best possible decision for the current situation. 

So in this interview, we’ll learn a bit about the services offered at the Centers and some of the options that potential parents have, including many they may be unaware of in the stress of the moment. You can also learn more at www.prcco.org. 

Gwenn serves as the Executive Director of Bethlehem Inn since 2010.  Before joining the nonprofit world, she served as a member of the Inn’s board of directors for a year and a half. The organization currently has two facilities (one in Bend and one in Redmond) that offer emergency shelter and supportive services for men, women and families.  It has as its mission to transform lives together through shelter, help and hope. You can learn more at bethleheminn.org.
 
Gwenn’s career spans more than 20 years in the hospitality industry working as a Human Resources professional, as well as an Operations Manager. She earned her BA in Business Administration from Washington State University.
 
She is a native of the Pacific Northwest and moved to Central Oregon in 2007.  Since arriving in Bend, she has been active in service and volunteering on various boards and committees for local organizations such as Homeless Leadership Coalition (HLC), Redmond Service Providers, City Club, Rotary, Volunteers in Medicine (VIM), and Start Making a Reader Today (SMART).  In 2016 she was recognized by the Bend Chamber as Citizen of the year.

 She enjoys living in Central Oregon for the natural beauty and peaceful mountains and rivers it offers. Her passion is inspiring people to do better and help her fellow humans. Tune in and learn about the impact Bethlehem Inn has in our region. 

Ranae is the Executive Director of the Giving Plate. In my view, the Giving Plate is one of the most heroic organizations in Central Oregon. It’s the largest food pantry in Central Oregon, serving about 2700 people a month. 

Since opening in 2010, The Giving Plate has helped 76,000 families with a week’s worth of food – equating to 5.75 million pounds of food! You can learn more about the Giving Plate at thegivingplate.org. 

This organization has an awesome backstory and an exciting future, so let’s get right to it and discover more.

Jason has extensive experience as a police officer on the street – and as such he’s had to deal with all manner of human behavior issues – criminal and otherwise, as you might expect. I invited him on the show specifically today to talk about issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness, and homelessness – from the perspective of a street cop. It’s a perspective that, as ordinary citizens, we rarely hear. I’m confident you’re going to find what he has to say absolutely fascinating. 

Joni is a long time Central Oregon resident and marketing communications professional. Chances are if you’ve been around here very long you know of her firm Max Marketing. 

I invited Joni on the show however, not to talk about marketing, but to talk about a topic that she calls Kissed by Cancer. She’s joined by her daughter and partner in the Kissed By Cancer Project – Lauren Nelson. I’m not going to steal their thunder because they can tell their story so much better directly.

Chris is the General Manager at Technology Design Associates, here in Bend, which is a full services technology integration firm. In his current role and in his business career, Chris has excelled at developing and executing business strategies using strong business acumen, team building, decisive problem-solving and enduring partnerships built on trust.

Chris is currently serving as a Board of Director with three Bend non-profit associations which are The Council on Aging, The Downtown Bend Business Association, and Family Kitchen. When he served as City Councilor  he was on the Bend Economic Advisory Board (BEDAB), Bend MPO, Landmarks Commission, Downtown Bend Business Association, Chair of the City Stewardship Committee, he was an Alternate to the Central Oregon Cities Organization (COCO), and was liaison to the Old Bend Neighborhood Association and the SW Bend Neighborhood Association. What that says to me is that Chris knows Bend.

He’s running now to become the mayor of Bend. I thought it would be valuable for us all to hear his thoughts on the future of Bend and the issues that need strong leadership.

Alison Perry is a Licensed Professional Counselor and military-family member who has worked with veterans for over 15 years in government, private, and nonprofit settings. Her passion is healing combat trauma across the lifespan. After six years'  clinical counseling in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Alison left to pursue her vision of "a place where veterans could work on the land, sleep under the stars, and be in a community of other veterans". 

She founded Central Oregon Veterans Ranch (COVR) in 2014 and currently serves as its Executive Director. You can learn more about the ranch at COVRanch.org. Alison taught for four years at Oregon Department of Public Safety in the Behavioral Health program, co-facilitating Veterans' Awareness for law enforcement students. She has been the recipient of the Red Cross Hero Award (2009) and the Bend Chamber of Commerce's Community Hero Award (2017).