COC Intern Develops Sustainable Transportation Strategies for PSU

COC Climate Economy graduate intern Derek Dauphin was recently featured in the Portland State University (PSU) Vanguard newspaper for work he and a group of fellow graduate students are doing to improve access to affordable transportation at PSU. TriMet is set to increase fares and eliminate the Free Rail Zone at the same time that PSU’s subsidy for the current student transit pass is being redirected to parking structure maintenance. This will lead to much more expensive transportation costs for students.

The group was awarded a Solutions Generator Grant from the Institute for Sustainable Solutions in February, and has since worked with TriMet, PSU administration, and student groups to develop a new transportation program. They also are establishing a student transportation committee that will redefine how the university addresses this vital component of life at PSU. With the student senate picking up the project, further funding is being sought to ensure the success of the program. Read the article here.

COC Associate Ellen Wyoming Presents to PSU on Diversity and Economic Development

Associate Ellen Wyoming was invited to speak at Portland State University (PSU) twice this fall.  First, she was asked to present to visiting scholars and planning professionals in the Atlantis Workshop.  Participants of the Atlantis Workshop visited PSU from October 24 – 27, 2011 on a grant to learn more about equity and social justice in planning and community development. These scholars and academics came from Germany, England, China, and other universities in the United States.  Ellen presented to the visitors on the impact and implications of her graduate work as an Urban and Regional Planning graduate student at PSU with the Portland Mercado project.  The group was very interested in the public involvement measures taken to work directly with the Latino Community, the model for economic development, and the on-going support that the project has garnered today.  Hacienda Community Development Corporation hosted the presentation at their offices in the Cully neighborhood and Micro Mercantes tamale vendors catered the lunch.  Many people sampled tamales for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed them.

The following week Ellen guest lectured with former graduate student and colleague Abigail Cermak (currently with Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services) for PSU’s graduate Public Involvement in Planning class.  They were asked to focus on best practices in public involvement with diverse communities.  Ellen and Abigail presented a framework of their personal experiences with their work in the Latino community and made recommendations for approaches working in other diverse communities.  The overall emphasis to the students was that as a planner you do not walk into a community as the “expert” but instead an ally. This is the framework from which to start all public involvement work.  At Cogan Owens Cogan, Ellen looks forward to continuing to work with clients on developing frameworks for their own best practice public involvement efforts with diverse communities.   Each city, community and place is different, but there are key fundamental approaches toward ensuring successful outcomes in terms of effective and adequate participation and outreach.

COC Associate Ellen Wyoming’s Graduation Speech 2011

As we welcome new COC Associate Ellen Wyoming, we are pleased to share the transcript of the speech she gave at the Portland State University College of Urban and Public Affairs graduation this past June.  Ellen was nominated by her peers and selected by the College to give the one student speech at graduation. Quite and honor. And, quite a speech!  Read on…

“Please take a moment and think of someone that you care about very deeply.  Perhaps you’re thinking of your spouse or partner, a child, friend or grandparent.  Think of them and allow yourself to experience fully what you feel going through your heart, your gut, and your mind when you are in the moment with this person.

How far would you go to keep them safe and secure?  Now let’s think of those who do not have someone to keep their important people safe and secure.

We, the graduates of the College of Urban and Public Affairs, have within our toolkits a great variety of skills and abilities. Each of us chose to come here because we were interested in something greater than ourselves.  Our schools of Government, Community and Public Health, and Urban and Regional Planning are filled with dedicated people who have ideals that walk hand in hand with their hearts.

We have an amazing capacity and we are privileged to be here, to have been well-educated, and to understand the ways in which our unique skills and abilities may be best applied.  It is in using these skills of ours in a way that aligns with our values and what we care for most that will make the difference.  I’m not talking about service with a smile.  I’m talking about using the tools we were born with, those we have cultivated, and using them with mindful intention to do the right thing and to fight for the causes, people, and places that we believe in.  To fight for what others should have but do not have the power to fight for themselves.  Whether we are quiet and diligent or loud and cause a ruckus we have the capacity to do so much and we have a responsibility to do it well for those of us that do not yet have the ability to do so for themselves.

A few years ago when I was a guide in the Grand Canyon I met a woman who at the time was nearing 70 and just had to experience a 2-week white-water raft trip though some of the biggest white water in North America. Despite her slight five-foot frame I looked up to her, and when she spoke, I listened.

She told me something that resonated with me that I want to share with you today, she said that she hoped for me to find that place in my life sooner than later where my passion and talent meet.  Since meeting her I have begun to better understand that if we’re tuned in and listening to ourselves, the values that drive us lead the way to finding that place where indeed our passions and talents meet.

With this, I implore each of you to consider how your talents and passions meet as we leave here today and how you will use those to better your own lives and the lives of those in your communities.

I think about this as a driving force for how we can connect our passions with the tools that we have honed here.

With our raw natural talents and the skills we have cultivated we leave this place to be change-makers, community creators, and people builders. So let’s look to one another and wish each other well as we proudly step from here as masters of our crafts, idealists in our hearts, and passionate activists in our daily lives.”

Congratulations, Ellen!

SARE Announcement from Portland State University

In case you haven’t heard, we are very excited to share some news with you from “The Catalyst,” the newsletter of the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies in the Toulan School of Urban Studies & Planning at Portland State University.

“The Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies, in partnership with OSU Extension, Cogan Owens Cogan, and the City of Damascus, has been awarded a $223,000 three-year grant from the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program of the USDA to create an assessment of the Portland region’s sustainable agriculture system, develop a needs assessment, and provide tools and strategies for growers and local governments, with a case study of small urban influenced farms near Damascus.”