Visibility & connection for Portland
neighborhoods & small businesses
Hello from my little corner of Portland.
I'm Stephanie.
I've built a career around communications and community. Lately, that's meant getting deep into Portland's neighborhood ecosystem. This city has 95 distinct neighborhoods, each one working to help its small businesses succeed. But no neighborhood is an island. The real power is in collaborating across neighborhood and organizational lines.
When these neighborhoods are strong, the small businesses within benefit from the energy they generate. Neighborhood and business organizations are central to that strength, and they're most effective when they collaborate. I work to make that happen by connecting the associations, sharing the workload, and making sure the small businesses inside them stay visible to the people who live and shop here.
Neighborhood-First Communications Approach: A shared communications layer for neighborhood & business associations
For small businesses & nonprofits
Drawing on over twenty years of experience, I work with small businesses as a consultant, advocate, and advisor. I've founded two communications-focused businesses, one in San Francisco and one here in Portland. On the nonprofit side, I co-founded Bike Zambia, a 300-mile fundraising ride through Zambia that ran for eight years before merging with World Bicycle Relief. As VP of the board, I oversaw many of the projects the organization funded: a school kitchen, an HIV testing center, annual bike donations to schools across the region, and a clinic expansion.
As a volunteer mentor with SCORE, I provide pro-bono advisory services to entrepreneurs and business owners. On the Leadership Team, I'm focused on expanding the organization's community presence, creating connections between volunteers, and recruiting mentors who are still active in the workforce.
For neighborhoods
The SE Portland Communications Roundup grew out of a noticeable gap: the neighborhood and business associations across SE Portland weren't talking to each other. So I rounded up a growing group of communications leads from across the neighborhood and business associations to collaborate, share resources, and work smarter. We've built a shared infrastructure beyond our monthly meetings: a community calendar, a Google Group, and a direct line of communication across the associations.
The group has its roots within a single neighborhood. As Communications Chair for both the Woodstock Neighborhood Association and Woodstock Community Business Association, I have been part of an effort to increase collaboration between these groups. They have distinct missions but overlapping audiences, and a lot more is possible when they're in sync. The Roundup grew out of that thinking, and spread from there.
Neighborhood-First Communications Approach: A shared communications layer for neighborhood & business associations
Address
I rotate through coworking spaces in or around
Portland, Oregon.
Phone
503.893.8497
