Elaine Cogan Conducts Workshop on Effective Public Speaking at Annual ORPA Conference

It was standing room only recently when Elaine Cogan, COC Principal, spoke to attendees at the 2009 annual conference of the Oregon Recreation & Park Association (ORPA) in Seaside, Oregon.  Members were anxious to get tips on how to speak succinctly and clearly to citizens, boards of directors, elected officials, staff members and others.  The interactive training session engaged participants in discussing the following subjects:

• Principles of successful oral presentations
• Shortcuts to organizing material
• Techniques of delivery
• Proper use of visual aids
• Nonverbal communication tools
• Controlling stage fright
• Aswering difficult questions
• Evaluating success

Elaine is a popular trainer who has made similar presentations to organizations and public bodies throughout the country.  She recently held a workshop on communications for the Tigard City Center Advisory Commission.

Dave Mayfield and The Dents in Pioneer Square

I love music, Portland, open spaces and our COC co-worker Dave Mayfield’s music.  The decision-science guru Mayfield has many other sides to his gifted personality.  Yes, there is a life beyond least cost planning and sustainable mobility!  Not only is he a great planner and landscape painter, he’s a musician!  Dave’s band Dawn Fitzgerald and The Dents played for an electric vehicle event at Pioneer Square today.  The Vehicle, the Arcimoto Pulse is kind of cute and kind of funny looking, but the music was great. If you have a chance to catch the Dents in Portland, you’ll enjoy!  Next up: Mississippi Pizza October 1 6:30 pm. Family friendly, thank heavens!

You can also check out their beautiful page and sound on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/dentsmusic

Have a nice day!

Dinner with Jane Goodall

Can you believe it – Dr. Jane Goodall was in our building!  COC was pleased to partner with Climate Clean to host a dinner on September 14 in the Climate Clean offices in our building for this world famous conservationist and role model for people all over the world.  Dr. Goodall’s Roots & Shoots program is mobilizing hundreds of thousands of young people on every continent to take local action to protect the environment.  Bob Wise, COC Senior Project Manager and Director of Team Oregon, LLC, met Dr. Goodall in Taipei, Taiwan where they both gave addresses to the 2009 National Council for Sustainable Development.  Bob helped recruit guests for the dinner and Nancy Marshall, COC Graphic Designer, designed the invitational flyer.

Taipei EcoCity 2050 Vision InterPlan Article Now Available

Update!
We are excited to share that Bob’s article on Taipei EcoCity 2050 Vision was published in the Summer 2009 edition of InterPlan (see pages 3-6). You can view a copy of the article on the American Planning Association’s InterPlan web page or click here to download.

Repost from July 27, 2009:
Bob Wise, Senior Project Manager with Cogan Owens Cogan, LLC and Director of Team Oregon, LLC, recently collaborated with Dr. Yuh-Chyurn Ding, the Commissioner of the Taipei Department of Urban Development (combining planning, urban development and housing), on an article featuring their work on an EcoCity 2050 Vision for Taipei, Taiwan. The Taipei EcoCity 2050 Vision project employs The Natural Step system conditions and Civic Ecology approaches for the visioning process, including backcasting, to develop three increasingly sustainable visions. The article is anticipated to appear in the fall edition of InterPlan, a newsletter of the International Division of the American Planning Association. We will post an update to this story announcing publication of the article and any links to view the article online. For more information about the Taipei EcoCity 2050 Vision project, contact Bob Wise at bob.wise@coganowens.com.