Generations Ruling Unanimously Overturned

An update from Mark Holloway following his May 8th post about the Portland Public School Board voting to halt the Native American Youth and Family Center's Generations project. 

You may have read my rant from earlier this month about the disgraceful fumble by Tim Koehler and Bobbie Regan at the Portland Public School Board meeting which threatened the Native American Youth and Family Center’s (NAYA) ability to move forward with its Generations Project.  In the depths of frustration at the PPS Board's ruling, NAYA leaders and supporters--including myself and NAYA’s SVP Lead Partner, Rebecca Brown Schroeder--turned to the community for help in changing the minds of the Board. Support for the project burst forth from the community in the form of phone calls, e-mails and social media posts. PPS Board candidates Amy Kohnstamm, Julie Esparza Brown, and Jose Gonzales held a rally, along with Color PAC, in support of the project. Many SVP Partners contacted school Board members and Portland City Commissioners to express disappointment in the decision and to demand immediate action to overturn the resolutions necessary to move Generations forward. A week after the initial decision, the PPS Board voted unanimously to move the project ahead. While the new resolution requires NAYA to carry a larger financial portion of the investment (which I and others are swallowing hard), we are grateful that Generations now has the opportunity to provide quality early education for Lents neighborhood-area children and stable, intergenerational community housing for foster children, caregivers and Elders.  I appreciate and honor each Board member—Mr. Koehler and Ms. Regan included—in their decision to honor PPS’s commitment to equity and the Generations project.

It is times like these that remind us of the importance of advocacy. I thank all of you who took action on behalf of NAYA. Without the push against the Board’s ruling from community members, including SVP Partners, NAYA’s project would be facing an unforeseeable future. Part of our role as investors is to ally with our community partners, in cases like this and by simply giving voice to their needs, dreams, desires and struggles in our everyday conversations.