Foster Green Steering Committee
The Foster Green steering committee is made up of a variety of neighbors, non-profits, and government agencies. To view the steering committee member list click here.
If you are interested in participating in the Foster Green steering committee please contact Jessica Anders at fosterecodistrict@gmail.com
If you are interested in participating in the Foster Green steering committee please contact Jessica Anders at fosterecodistrict@gmail.com
Meet Steering Committee Member Nathan Jones
Ecodistrict member Nathan Jones discovered a passion for community engagement as a student at Portland Community College and Oregon State University, where he became involved in organizing students around environmental issues. Nathan grew up on a seventh-generation organic farm in Northern California, near the town of Lakeport. His family lost the farm when he was eleven and remained in the rural community, where Nathan played on nearby BLM land. As a high school student he was inspired by attending a rally to protect the redwoods. When he tried to get more involved, however, he was told there wasn’t really a place for youth in the movement and to just be a kid, which, where he lived meant mainly getting into trouble. Nathan’s interest in the environment was kindled again at PCC, and he started the Cascade Climate Network to bring together college and high school environmental groups, a network that remains active five years later.
Nathan has continued to do community organizing intensively for about 8 years now and has trained over 2,000 people to run campaigns. In 2008 he founded the Northwest Institute for Community Enrichment, or NICE, to help citizen teams do community engagement around local issues. The nonprofit has worked with projects in a number of communities, including Eugene, Ashland, McMinnville, Bellingham, Olympia and Portland. Nathan continues to work with NICE and it’s Portland branch, Portland Enrichment. He learned about the Foster Green Ecodistrict last spring and was invited by Ecodistrict organizers to become involved. Shortly thereafter, he moved from Northeast Portland to the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood. He was attracted to the Foster area because he liked the diversity and thought it could be a rewarding place to do community engagement work. He believes that any development efforts need to deeply engage community members to ensure the community’s needs and desires are reflected. Portland Enrichment is gearing up for a second “Summer of Solutions” to do community engagement and listening sessions in partnership with several organizations within the Foster corridor.
When asked about his hopes for the Ecodistrict, Nathan says, “The next step is for residents and organizations to step up and become the Ecodistrict we want it to be. It’s time for us to
begin to own the process, not just in meetings but outside.” He feels that a big benefit of the process so far is that participating organizations and individuals have gotten to know each-other better. Now we have an opportunity to create synergy around our projects and strengthen one another’s efforts, perhaps by creating subcommittees to combine and enhance existing projects. Nathan also believes, “We must start a more deep and iterative community engagement process. . . to engage with the community as members of it to get more people involved and learn how everyone’s home can become part of the Ecodistrict. . . how everyone can make simple changes to live out the vision and dream of the Ecodistrict.” He believes that “together, many small things become large,” and hopes we can encourage and connect residents to our goals and see many small steps begin to be taken.
Nathan has continued to do community organizing intensively for about 8 years now and has trained over 2,000 people to run campaigns. In 2008 he founded the Northwest Institute for Community Enrichment, or NICE, to help citizen teams do community engagement around local issues. The nonprofit has worked with projects in a number of communities, including Eugene, Ashland, McMinnville, Bellingham, Olympia and Portland. Nathan continues to work with NICE and it’s Portland branch, Portland Enrichment. He learned about the Foster Green Ecodistrict last spring and was invited by Ecodistrict organizers to become involved. Shortly thereafter, he moved from Northeast Portland to the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood. He was attracted to the Foster area because he liked the diversity and thought it could be a rewarding place to do community engagement work. He believes that any development efforts need to deeply engage community members to ensure the community’s needs and desires are reflected. Portland Enrichment is gearing up for a second “Summer of Solutions” to do community engagement and listening sessions in partnership with several organizations within the Foster corridor.
When asked about his hopes for the Ecodistrict, Nathan says, “The next step is for residents and organizations to step up and become the Ecodistrict we want it to be. It’s time for us to
begin to own the process, not just in meetings but outside.” He feels that a big benefit of the process so far is that participating organizations and individuals have gotten to know each-other better. Now we have an opportunity to create synergy around our projects and strengthen one another’s efforts, perhaps by creating subcommittees to combine and enhance existing projects. Nathan also believes, “We must start a more deep and iterative community engagement process. . . to engage with the community as members of it to get more people involved and learn how everyone’s home can become part of the Ecodistrict. . . how everyone can make simple changes to live out the vision and dream of the Ecodistrict.” He believes that “together, many small things become large,” and hopes we can encourage and connect residents to our goals and see many small steps begin to be taken.
Meet Prairie Hale, Foster Green EcoDistrict steering committee member
Prairie Hales’ story begins with a dream. She says that her mother long insisted that she’d had a dream of a little girl running through a field before she even knew she was pregnant. And the little girl’s name was Prairie Rose. Her parents were from Seattle but had wanted to live in the country, close to the land. So it was that Prairie was born in Idaho. Along with her parents and older brother, she moved to rural Wallowa County as a child. Her dad ‘cowboyed’ and she grew up ‘down the canyons’, part of the ranching way of life. However, her early years weren’t completely rural. The family pulled up stakes to spend a year in Ecuador, an experience which broadened Prairie’s horizons and introduced her to Spanish.
As a college aged student, she decided she wanted a different experience and headed to the flatlands of Indiana. Not that she was “an FFA kid or anything” but once she was away from home she began to realize how much she missed the agrarian life in which she’d grown up. She degreed in Social Science with a Biology minor. Because the college she attended was a Quaker school, the coursework was leavened with concern for peace and global issues. That tied together the social part of her studies.
Returning to Oregon, she worked for Wallowa Resources in the summers, but then followed her “sweetie” to Utah where she took a year and worked on farms all over. She also began working to educate people about the food stamp program. Her Spanish came in handy serving people.
Prairie came to Portland five years ago. She had known about Zenger and offered to volunteer . She worked for the Food Alliance and spent two years working under Americorps. She put together a grant teaching “healthy eating on a budget” and has added other classes since. She’s now the Community Involvement Coordinator doing outreach, workshops, volunteer recruiting throughout the community.
Foster Green is her first experience in this kind of organization. She lives in the district near 59th and Foster, so she feels a special stake in outcomes of the eco-district’s work. She describes herself as a planner but “really wants to get things done” which makes her a little impatient at times. She’s finding it interesting to watch the dynamics of how groups form. She notes that it takes more time and resources to really be inclusive, and so she’s glad to the Foster Green commitment to inclusion. Another particular element of Foster Green she thinks is “unique and neat” is its collaborative connection between Foster Green representatives and staff from the City agencies. She describes that conversation as a genuine opportunity to actually get “the voices that matter” . Zenger Farms, she says, really values collaborating with community partners, and Foster Green is a great place to do that.
As a college aged student, she decided she wanted a different experience and headed to the flatlands of Indiana. Not that she was “an FFA kid or anything” but once she was away from home she began to realize how much she missed the agrarian life in which she’d grown up. She degreed in Social Science with a Biology minor. Because the college she attended was a Quaker school, the coursework was leavened with concern for peace and global issues. That tied together the social part of her studies.
Returning to Oregon, she worked for Wallowa Resources in the summers, but then followed her “sweetie” to Utah where she took a year and worked on farms all over. She also began working to educate people about the food stamp program. Her Spanish came in handy serving people.
Prairie came to Portland five years ago. She had known about Zenger and offered to volunteer . She worked for the Food Alliance and spent two years working under Americorps. She put together a grant teaching “healthy eating on a budget” and has added other classes since. She’s now the Community Involvement Coordinator doing outreach, workshops, volunteer recruiting throughout the community.
Foster Green is her first experience in this kind of organization. She lives in the district near 59th and Foster, so she feels a special stake in outcomes of the eco-district’s work. She describes herself as a planner but “really wants to get things done” which makes her a little impatient at times. She’s finding it interesting to watch the dynamics of how groups form. She notes that it takes more time and resources to really be inclusive, and so she’s glad to the Foster Green commitment to inclusion. Another particular element of Foster Green she thinks is “unique and neat” is its collaborative connection between Foster Green representatives and staff from the City agencies. She describes that conversation as a genuine opportunity to actually get “the voices that matter” . Zenger Farms, she says, really values collaborating with community partners, and Foster Green is a great place to do that.
Meet David Porter, Foster Green Ecodistrict steering committee member
David Porter, FosterGreen EcoDistrict steering committee member, is a
Portland native who has over thirty years experience working in the
state of Oregon. From the End of the Oregon Trail interpretive center,
to downtown’s Pioneer Square to his current job as executive director of
Leach Botanical Garden he brings experience and perspective to the
nascent FosterGreen EcoDistrict (FGED). When he is not working out in
east Portland, he can be found volunteering on other boards, writing,
painting, kicking around the soccer ball, and hanging out with his two
grandsons.
When David first heard about the FGED in early 2011 he jumped in to become involved. He is aware that future development along Foster road is connected to Leach's well being. Leach has the ability to provide space and services that is not being used to its fullest extent and he saw FGED as an avenue of improvement. The Foster corridor is not only home to Leach Botanical Garden, but also Zenger Farm and Audubon Society of Portland. David sees this area as a uniquely rooted area with potential commercial opportunity. In the ten months that David has participated in the FGED he has enjoyed hearing other voices from other sectors of the community. He appreciates the group's collective values, energies, and inquiring point of view. He's also enjoyed FGED's openness for collaboration with different backgrounds and is comforted to see idealism underlying the effort. David says, "... sometimes it seems like idealism is in short supply," and for David it is heartening to see idealism alive and thriving in the FGED.
When asked about challenges of the FGED he pointed out that not a lot of people in the group are experienced in the legal, economical and institutional mechanics of development. Along with idealism he would like to have people who have those experiences and skills. Another challenge is that the FGED is being created as it evolves. The different structure that the FGED holds is sometimes hard even for the group to understand. David observed that the population that lies within the FGED includes over 20,000 individuals but the group itself is small. As a small group he worries that there isn't a big enough voice to speak to all the different individuals for support. As much work lies ahead, David is reassured since he sees the people involved with the FGED as very committed people.
When David first heard about the FGED in early 2011 he jumped in to become involved. He is aware that future development along Foster road is connected to Leach's well being. Leach has the ability to provide space and services that is not being used to its fullest extent and he saw FGED as an avenue of improvement. The Foster corridor is not only home to Leach Botanical Garden, but also Zenger Farm and Audubon Society of Portland. David sees this area as a uniquely rooted area with potential commercial opportunity. In the ten months that David has participated in the FGED he has enjoyed hearing other voices from other sectors of the community. He appreciates the group's collective values, energies, and inquiring point of view. He's also enjoyed FGED's openness for collaboration with different backgrounds and is comforted to see idealism underlying the effort. David says, "... sometimes it seems like idealism is in short supply," and for David it is heartening to see idealism alive and thriving in the FGED.
When asked about challenges of the FGED he pointed out that not a lot of people in the group are experienced in the legal, economical and institutional mechanics of development. Along with idealism he would like to have people who have those experiences and skills. Another challenge is that the FGED is being created as it evolves. The different structure that the FGED holds is sometimes hard even for the group to understand. David observed that the population that lies within the FGED includes over 20,000 individuals but the group itself is small. As a small group he worries that there isn't a big enough voice to speak to all the different individuals for support. As much work lies ahead, David is reassured since he sees the people involved with the FGED as very committed people.
