Partner Profile: Laurie Weiss
(from the September 2009 Newsletter)
From being a member of the original bootstrap committee meeting almost weekly to create Social Venture Partners Portland in 1999, through two recent terms on the Board, Laurie Weiss has been a committed Partner, guiding SVPP with her sharp analytical mind and calm perspective. In between that passionate, visionary beginning and the present, Laurie has held many roles. She was on the first two Investment Teams and a third later on, was a Lead Partner for Metropolitan Family Services and also for the Forest Grove Latino Community Network, and served on two Strategic Planning teams.
She stepped off the Board this past spring and has lightened her SVPP time to the Community Impact Committee. Laurie has liked being on the ‘inside’ of SVPP, and has seen it as her niche to have the awareness of the full organization. She says a few factors consolidated in her life just as SVPP was getting started: she went part-time at Intel to devote more time to her Book Arts creativity and sales, to make a difference in her community, to meet people from a variety of businesses, and to honor the memory of her mother who had a strong ‘give back’ philosophy.
Laurie is originally from Dix Hills/Huntington, New York. She received her Forestry degree in Resource Management from SUNY in Syracuse. A junior year abroad at UBC in British Columbia as a forester completely sold her on the Northwest, although it took several more years working in Louisiana before she received the right offer to return here. Stationed out of Molalla, she skillfully handled the role of general forester, managing timber cruising, tree planting, fire fighting, helicopter crew, road, mapping and more and was quickly promoted. The early 1980s had a downturn in the industry so Laurie went to Law school for a year, and then changed to pursuing an MBA. This led her to Intel where she worked in planning and program management for 19 years until retiring in 1993 as Director of Product Engineering.
An accomplished Book Arts artist, Laurie creates stunning journals for travel, wine tasting, weddings, guests books, day planners and artists books. She designs one-of-a-kind books as well as some wholesale to wineries and for art fairs. She serves as the Conference Director for the bi-annual Focus on Books Arts conference held at Pacific University and is a member of the Portland Art Collective.
Issues of vital importance to Laurie are family stability especially the effects of homelessness, lack of affordable housing and hunger, and poverty and class issues.
When asked what advice she would give to new Partners with SVPP, Laurie replied, “Join an Investment Team – it is the best way to figure out what we do and what’s happening in the community. It really opens your eyes.”
Thank you Laurie, for all you do to keep the vision, mission and passion of SVPP alive and growing!