Partner Profile: Les Soltesz
(from the May 2009 Newsletter)
Les Soltesz and his wife Martha have been with SVPP since December 2003. As he prepared to retire from senior management at Intel after 21 years, Les knew he wanted to donate to the community, learn about philanthropy, participate in hands-on projects and use his skills from his years at Intel in the non-profit setting. SVPP offered what he was looking for and he has been very active ever since.
He first served on the investment committee in 2004 that chose CASH Oregon and PEP (Parental Engagement Project), and he loved the process. His next highlight was at Kelly Elementary school, where Les helped lead the PEP charge, working with the school to create an Advisory Board with representation by parents, staff, businesses and community members. He was also involved in hiring Kelly’s parental engagement coordinator and remodeling their Parents Resource Center.
Les continues to serve on the Kelly Advisory board. He describes his work at Kelly as very gratifying – where “disparate people come together to make an impact for the school, parents and children.” He also really enjoyed being on the Marketing Committee where he worked on the SVPP Web site overhaul, our newsletter, messaging and branding.
His other SVPP roles include current Board member and Chair of the Recruitment Committee. On the Recruitment Committee he says the goal is to “create a high level of excitement about SVPP so the word gets out.” He looks at each Partner as an “ambassador for SVPP”, where everyone should assume the role as a recruiter for SVPP. When asked about his long term hopes for SVPP, Les says “I’d like to see a vibrant organization made up of people who really care about philanthropy, want to be involved in the Portland area community, who really enjoy themselves as part of a cohesive group.”
Les is originally from Hungary and moved to Venezuela when he was a baby. He attended college at the University of Southern California earning his Bachelor’s and Master’s in electrical engineering with a specialty in computers. He started with Intel in 1977 in Santa Clara before moving to Oregon in 1978. According to Les, “this is the best move I ever made.”
Les met and married Martha in 1969. Their son, Daniel, 29, works as Contracts and Compliance Manager at SEI here in Portland and married Jessica last August. Daughter Monica, 35, lives in Seattle working for Nordstrom as Credit Marketing Project Manager. Travel is huge for Les and Martha – they regularly seek the sunshine of central Oregon and Mexico with family and friends; past destinations include Ireland, Israel, Prague, Italy, Scotland and Hungary.