Welcome New Partners

(From the March 2005 Newsletter)

Constance and Gary Edwards
Constance and Gary are long term residents of the Portland area residing in Beaverton. They both grew up in and are originally from Eastern Oregon/Milton-Freewater area. Constance is the Manager of Surgical Services at Salem Hospital in Salem. Prior to that she was Manager of Surgical Services for Meridian Park Hospital in Tualatin for many years. Gary is an Executive/Organizational Coach with a long term background as a Senior Healthcare Executive for different Healthcare Systems. The cornerstone of his work recently has been as a Partner and Area Director for "Best Year Yet", a transformational, strategic execution methodology for Business and Industry.

They are a blended family with five grown children who all reside in the area and they enjoy quality time with their four grandchildren. In their down time they enjoy time at their vacation townhouse in Seaside, Oregon. For many years the focus of their service work has been helping disadvantaged young people. They are long term sponsors in the Christian Children's Fund, CASA and other organizations. When they heard about SVPP they realized there was a natural fit with their interest and purpose. Both feel strongly that you can do right and do well in the world at the same time and leave a legacy of giving back to the world.

Pat and Joel Kaplan
Pat and Joel are long-time Portland residents. They have two daughters, Madison, a "first year" at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and Taylor, a senior at The Catlin Gabel School. The entire family enjoys tennis, which they play on their home court. Pat and Joel are enthusiastic vegetable and flower gardeners and like to travel. Joel is an amateur woodworker, and makes baseball bats on his lathe.

Joel is a partner with Foster Pepper Tooze LLP, a Portland-based law firm, where he heads the firm's corporate law department. He splits his time between corporate finance and securities work and a sophisticated real estate acquisition and finance practice. He serves on the boards of directors of Portland Center Stage (a professional theater company) and Neighborhood House (a social service agency based in Multnomah Village).

Pat owns a real estate brokerage and consulting firm, Kaplan Real Estate Group, and is active in local, state and national professional organizations. She served as a national officer of the National Association of Realtors, the largest trade association in the world, for four years. She has spoken at several international real estate conferences, including an upcoming meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam. Pat is currently president of the Realtor Relief Foundation and serves as treasurer on the Board of the International Real Property Foundation.

Josh Kornblatt
Josh, former bakery/restaurant owner, has also joined SVPP.

Kieren and Bill Porter
Kieren and Bill have lived in Northeast Portland since moving to the city in 2000. They are the proud parents of a charming three-year-old, Evan, and enjoy camping, hiking, traveling and gardening. Both Kieren and Bill grew up in Colorado, where they met working for the governor of the state. Here in Portland, Bill directs "Grantmakers for Education," a national network of private, corporate and operating foundations that seeks to make education philanthropy more effective. Kieren plays a key role in strategic communications and corporate philanthropy at The Regence Group, the parent company for four Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans in the Northwest.

They are looking to the SVPP network to learn more about the region's nonprofit sector and which organizations are leaders and innovators. Since they are both working in philanthropy, they are hoping their experiences with SVPP will deepen their understanding of the "craft" of grantmaking. And, most important, they hope to join with others in strengthening Portland's support for families and children.