Partner Profile - Nathan "Than" Clevenger, Suzanne McGrath & Ryan Hildebrand

(From the July 2006 Newsletter)

Nathaniel "Than" Clevenger - In 2005 Than Clevenger joined SVPP and has touched
many aspects of our organization since then. He has helped us take an investee from a concept to an organization with identity (CASH Oregon), with branding, logo, and a website. He recently guided us through the creative aspects of a website redesign. And, he has helped us refine policies and procedures which will strengthen SVPP. He's done this with a sense of humor, enthusiasm and high energy.

Than is CEO of "3, the creative communications company" which he formed after leaving Fleishman Hillard--currently the largest public relations firm in the world--as Vice President and Co-Chair of the Global Technology Marketing Team. Prior to joining Fleishman Hillard, he spent the previous seventeen years toiling in a variety of positions with increasing buck-passing responsibility in agencies and organizations around the globe--mostly from offices in Washington D.C. (This is all from his web site!) He and his wife moved to Oregon in 1998 believing 17 years in D.C. is enough for anyone.

SVPP appreciates the experience, guidance and exuberance Than brings to the varied and sometimes messy tasks we ask him to unravel.

Suzanne McGrath - Suzanne was a 2006 winner of the Business Journal's Outstanding Oregon Women. Diversity and the joys of exploration have shaped Suzanne's career. She co-founded Vision Capital Management with her daughter, Marina Johnson, in 1999. It is the largest registered investment advisor firm, solely owned by women, in Oregon.

Suzanne grew up in Salem, Oregon and Alaska where she worked for the high school newspaper taking her own photographs and uncovering new stories. Then she went to OSU and studied mathematics. It was math that led her to teach at Newberg High School but the work was too inactive, as much as she liked the pupils. She found a coupon one day promising "you, too, can become a CPA". And so she did. This career morphed into the investment business in 1983 and she's loved it ever since. "Constructing a portfolio is an art," says McGrath. "It takes fine-tuning and creativity."

Another philanthropy Suzanne enjoys, in addition to SVPP, is her alma mater, OSU. She and her husband, Bernie, serve on the Beaver athletic scholarship board. She also serves on the Oregon Society of CPAs Educational Foundation Board. "I love handing out scholarships," she says. "I love helping people get more education."

OSU College of Business Honors SVPP Partners at Awards Event
Ryan Hildebrand, a partner and associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, and a 2004 graduate of Oregon State University, was the sole recipient of the Distinguished Young Business Professionals. This is an award given by OSU's College of Business at its annual Alumni and Business Partner Awards in Portland every spring. Ryan is involved in Portland area entrepreneurship organizations and is active in the college's Austin Entrepreneurship Program. He served on the Investment Committee for SVPP and actively helps us recruit younger partners.

Also recognized at this celebration was partner Jeff Jones, representing Stockamp & Associates, a national provider of performance improvement solutions for health care companies. Stockamp was given a Distinguished Business Partners award. The company has supported the college's management information systems program and hired several of the college's students as interns and employees.