SOBER SIPPING Portland’s nonalcoholic beverage scene WHAT’S UP, DOC? Why are there so few primary care providers in Oregon? Q4 | OregonBusiness.com 2025 Plus KEEPING THE FAITH How Oregon nonprofits are staying alive in challenging times
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SOBER SIPPING Portland’s nonalcoholic beverage scene WHAT’S UP, DOC? Why are there so few primary care providers in Oregon? Q4 | OregonBusiness.com 2025 Plus KEEPING THE FAITH How Oregon nonprofits are staying alive in challenging times COVER PHOTO: Jason E. Kaplan ⁄Contents⁄ Q4 2025 FEATURES 30 Staying the Course Cover Story How Oregon nonprofits are weathering a chaotic year 39 2025 100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon REGULARS 6 Editor’s Letter 8 Newsfeed 12 Tactics Keely York, CEO of Thesis, talks about the current state of digital marketing. 16 Profile: Dry Drinking Portland’s fast-brewing nonalcoholic beverage scene 22 Spotlight: The Doctor Is Out Why it’s so hard to find a primary care provider in Oregon 58 Powerlist Credit unions ranked by total assets 60 Downtime Live, work and play with Treasure Valley Community College president Dr. Dana M. Young. 62 Policy Brief PR professional Kelliann Amico writes about why nonprofits need to embrace strategic communication. Subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter featuring the best of OregonBusiness.com, plus articles from our print publication. To sign up, go to OregonBusiness.com. BRAND STORIES 10 WesternU Oregon medical school to expand, change name to Heatherington College of Osteopathic Medicine. 14 Marsh McLennan Full-spectrum insurance agency helps protect mission-driven organizations. 20 SeaPort Airlines Northwest commuter airline makes crucial inperson meetings doable. 28 GNSA HR technologies that delivery strength and resilience to nonprofits of any size 56 Oregon Community Foundation The James Beard Public Market aims to help revitalize downtown Portland while creating a pipeline for wealth generation for entrepreneurial vendors. JASON E. KAPLAN CHECK OUT THESE EXCLUSIVES (AND MORE) ON OREGONBUSINESS.COM ON THE COVER n Amid a Challenging ‘New Normal,’ Portland’s Design Community Reimagines the Downtown Waterfront— Concepts involve splitting Tom McCall Waterfront Park in two, constructing temporary housing for homeless people and “re-wilding” a section of Salmon Street. n Report: Downtown Portland Foot Traffic at Highest Level Since Pandemic — Weekends are said to drive downtown activity, though office workers remain elusive. n Rep. Dexter Hears From TariffAffected SmallBusiness Owners — The Portland Democrat gets an earful about rising costs and unpredictable trade policy. n In Conversation: Cascade AIDS Project’s Edgar Mendez — Cuts are ‘permanently damaging’ CAP’s ability to provide services. Follow @OregonBusiness for breaking news, blogs and commentary. 16 Faith Dionne, maker of nonalcoholic beverage Dappled Tonic From left: Cecilia Estraviz, operations manager; CaSaundra Johnson, development manager; and Stephanie Barr, executive director of Lift UP Portland. See “The Hunger Games,” p. 31 4
⁄From the Editor⁄ Forging Ahead EVERY YEAR Oregon Business honors the 100 Best Nonprofits to Work For in Oregon (p. 39). This spring, while brainstorming this year’s issue, we realized something: 2025 has been an especially challenging year for the nonprofit sector. At that point, we’d already spoken to a number of nonprofit leaders about the challenges posed by federal cuts, which abruptly cut off funding for many of them. But even before those cuts were announced, many nonprofits were facing the headwinds of inflation—driving up their own costs and affecting donors’ ability to give — as well as a shifting philanthropic climate and ongoing political and economic uncertainty. It’s the kind of big, complicated story that’s pretty much impossible to tell comprehensively. So we decided to reach out to a handful of nonprofits in different sectors around the state to find out how they’re weathering the storm. Amy Milshtein spoke to food-bank directors around the state about how cuts to nutrition assistance are affecting them amid increased demand for their services. Garrett Andrews wrote about Oregon Humanities, a statewide organization dedicated to supporting the arts and to fostering difficult conversations. And I traveled to Vale to meet with the director of CASA of Eastern Oregon, which advocates for foster youth around the state. All of these organizations have been affected by recent political and funding changes in one way or another. They’re all responding to the changes in different ways: Oregon Humanities, for example, took the federal government to court this summer, arguing that the Trump administration abused its power in severing funds. Others say they’re reaching out to their communities and to the state for more help. The result was “Staying the Course” (p. 30) — which I hope offers a valuable snapshot of where Oregon nonprofits are in 2025, and what leaders are thinking about as they chart a path to the future. VOLUME 48 ⁄ NUMBER 4 OREGON BUSINESS (ISSN 02798190) is published quarterly by MEDIAmerica Inc. at 12570 S.W. 69th Ave., Suite 102, Portland OR 97223. Subscription inquiries should be directed to 503-445-8811. Subscription charge is $15.95 per year, $27.95 for two years in the USA. Single copies and back issues available at above address and at selected newsstands. The editor is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. Copyright © 2025 by MEDIAmerica Inc. All rights reserved. All material is protected by copyright and must not be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Printed in Oregon. Periodicals Postage Paid at Portland, OR. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Oregon Business, 12570 S.W. 69th Ave., Suite 102, Portland OR 97223 EDITORIAL EDITOR Christen McCurdy christenm@oregonbusiness.com ART DIRECTOR Joan McGuire joanm@oregonbusiness.com STAFF WRITER Garrett Andrews garretta@oregonbusiness.com STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Jason E. Kaplan jasonk@oregonbusiness.com COPY EDITOR Morgan Stone CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kelliann Amico, Amy Milshtein, Hannah Wallace, Marc Young PUBLISHING PUBLISHER Andrew Insinga andrew@mediamerica.net EVENTS MANAGER Craig Peebles craigp@oregonbusiness.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Evan Morehouse evanm@mediamerica.net ADVERTISING AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Greta Hogenstad gretah@mediamerica.net DIGITAL PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Alison Kattleman alisonk@mediamerica.net PRESIDENT AND CEO Andrew A. Insinga CONTROLLER Bill Lee BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIRMAN André W. Iseli PRESIDENT Andrew A. Insinga SECRETARY William L. Mainwaring TREASURER Win McCormack 2025 6
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ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA ●Pyro genesis. Portland’s new WNBA franchise now has a name — the Fire, in honor of the WNBA team that played in Portland from 2000 to 2002 — and a new general manager in Vanja Cernivec, whom the team plucked from the Golden State Valkyries. ●Panda suit. In mid-September the Trail Blazers announced the team had reached a deal to sell the team to an investment group that includes Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon and the Cherng Family Trust. As this issue went to press RAJ Sports, which owns the Portland Thorns and Portland Fire, sued to stop Andrew and Peggy Cherng, who own the Panda Express restaurant chain, from participating in the deal, arguing they violated an earlier agreement with RAJ Sports. ●Folding the paper. The Portland Tribune ended publication in June and laid off most of its staff. The newspaper was launched in 2001 by industrialist Robert Pamplin, who eventually added about two dozen other newspapers around the state to his chain, all of which were sold to Carpenter Media Group last year. Pamplin started the Tribune in the wake of an Oregonian investigation into one of his other companies, Ross Island Sand & Gravel. REAL ESTATE ●Bargain-basement tower. The Big Pink sold this summer for a modest $45 million to Jeff Swickard, owner of Swickard Auto Group. Formally the U.S. Bancorp Tower, the state’s second-tallest building last sold in 2015 for $375 million. ●Dashboard revelation. The city of Portland’s new building permit dashboard reveals some alarming data on development. A new commercial- building permit in the Rose City takes on average 147 days, i.e., two times the city’s target and nearly five times that of the city of Vancouver. HEALTH CARE ●Mother Mary Jane. Oregon Health & Science University was awarded $6.7 million by the National Institutes of Health to study the effect of cannabis on pregnant women with HIV. ●Flip the ’scrips. Five major pharmaceutical companies filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Oregon to stop a new law intended to help safety-net providers acquire discounted prescription drugs. HB 2385 was signed by Gov. Tina Kotek this summer. EDUCATION ●School’s out forever. Concordia University’s parent organization settled a lawsuit with tech contractor HotChalk for $300 million. The defunct Northeast Portland school closed in 2020 in large part due to its relationship with HotChalk, which it hired to expand its online learning opportunities. ●Classroom agreement. The state of Oregon signed a $10 million agreement with NVIDIA to teach “AI literacy” to K-12 students. ●Cafe revival. Beloved Portland chain Jim & Patty’s Coffee, which closed amid financial difficulties, reopened a location on Northeast Fremont. APPAREL ●Name claim. Oregon-based hockey equipment-bag manufacturer Mammoth is being sued for copyright infringement by Utah’s new pro hockey team of the same name (formerly the Arizona Coyotes). POLITICS ●Die, death tax! Petitioners want to ask voters to repeal Oregon’s estate tax. Supporters include Republican state Rep. Kevin Mannix, the architect behind Measure 11, the state’s mandatory minimum sentencing law approved by voters in 1994. ●Aging in place. Oregon has joined half of U.S. states with deaths here now outnumbering births for the first time. Demographic data also shows seniors outnumber children in the Beaver State. ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT ●At this rate. The Bonneville Power Administration, which operates 75% of Oregon’s high-power transmission lines, announced that next year ratepayers will see an average increase of 8.9%. TECH ●Fiber source. AT&T purchased CenturyLink’s residential internet service in Oregon as well as 10 other states. It made the deal with L.A.-based Lumen. ●School ties. Stanford University announced its next athletic director is former Nike CEO John Donahoe. The 65-year-old Stanford MBA alum was said to be a “unicorn candidate” because of his business experience and ties to the school. RESTAURANTS AND RETAIL ●The Wright vision. Rick Wright, the CEO of the Eugene-based grocery chain Market of Choice, died in June at 62. ●Single origin. Beaverton- founded Black Rock Coffee is now valued over $1.27 billion after a successful initial public offering in September. The Arizona-based chain has 158 corporate-owned locations with a goal of 1,000 by 2035. ●So long, farewell, goodbye. Portland’s last Orange Julius location, in the Lloyd Center mall, closed in June, shortly after the death of franchise owner Bob Slayton, who started working at Lloyd Center shortly after it opened in 1960. ⁄Newsfeed⁄ Jim & Patty’s Coffee reopened its location on Northeast Fremont and still features its signature Black Tiger coffee. JOAN McGUIRE 8
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10 BRAND STORY PRODUCED BY THE OREGON BUSINESS MARKETING DEPARTMENT BY JON BELL Does the name Western University of Health Sciences ring a bell? If not, it should. WesternU, as it’s informally known, is one of only two medical schools in Oregon, the other being Oregon Health & Science University. Its campus in Lebanon, Oregon, established in 2011, has graduated more than 1,000 medical students. Thanks to a generous land donation of 150 acres and a $50 million gift from the Heatherington Foundation of Innovation and Education in Health Care, the medical school has now been named Heatherington College of Osteopathic Medicine (founded as COMP-Northwest) and WesternU is positioned for an expansion that will help address Oregon’s provider shortage and ensure that Oregonians can get the health care they need. “We have a health professional shortage crisis in the United States, and I believe we’re the solution for a multitude of reasons, the most compelling of which is that we’re very unique,” said Robin Farias-Eisner, MD, PhD, MBA, president of WesternU. “It’s not just that we have all these amazing colleges and that we provide superb education, but we really are about academic excellence — so not just quantity of service, but quality as well.” Backed by humanism and science The quantity — and quality — that Farias-Eisner mentioned spans beyond Oregon. WesternU was originally founded in 1977 in Pomona, California, where it still maintains its main campus. Over the years, it expanded, adding colleges specializing in health sciences, pharmacy and graduate nursing as well as veterinary medicine, dental medicine, optometry and podiatric medicine. The Oregon campus, which more than 400 students attend annually, is home to both the medical school and the College of Health Sciences-Northwest, which launched with a physical therapy program in 2021 and graduated its first Doctor of Physical Therapy students in 2024. For the past two years, U.S. News & World Report ranked WesternU a Tier 1 medical school in primary care — one of only 16 medical schools in the nation to receive such an accolade. Farias-Eisner, himself a surgeon and a scientist, said WesternU stands apart from other universities partly because of its adherence to the osteopathic tenets of medicine and its holistic philosophy, which encompasses the body, mind and spirit. A Med School Making a Difference WesternU, one of two medical schools in Oregon, is expanding and tackling the provider shortage. Left: WesternU student doctors volunteer at free clinic in Lebanon. Below: WesternU President Dr. Robin Farias-Eisner.
11 BRAND STORY “Our belief is that all three are critical components of health,” he said. “It’s a holistic approach, and it’s one of humanism.” It’s also one backed by science. “We are very committed to medical research that is supported by evidence-based practices,” Farias-Eisner said. Making it better For years, Oregon, like most states, has been experiencing a shortage of health care providers. A 2025 report from the Oregon Health Authority found that, while Oregon’s health care and social assistance sector increased by 15,000 jobs in 2024, it still had nearly 19,000 job vacancies. Despite a great need, the state ranks near the bottom of the list in terms of access to mental health care, and demand for primary caregivers outweighs supply — all issues that are magnified even more in rural areas. Farias-Eisner said WesternU can play a vital role in addressing those issues, in part through its planned expansion in Lebanon. In August, the university announced it had received 150 acres of land in Lebanon from the Heatherington Foundation. The land, along with a $50 million gift, will help the university expand its Oregon campus. This latest gift builds on more than $5 million the foundation has provided in Lebanon community benefit support over the past 15 years. Though it’s early in the planning stages, WesternU is initially envisioning an Interprofessional Behavioral Health Institute and a graduate nursing program on the site. “I am excited to have seen the development and expansion of the osteopathic medical school over the years. It continues to develop highly qualified and desperately needed physicians for the Northwest every year,” said Jeff Heatherington, president of the Heatherington Foundation, “and this gift will create a new and expanded campus and a behavioral health college to provide equally needed and critical behavioral health services.” But there’s more to treating the provider shortage than expanding WesternU in Oregon. “The answer isn’t to continue to create new schools, because that’ll just make more graduates,” Farias-Eisner said. “What the state needs is more residency training programs. The graduates have to train somewhere, because where they train is where they stay to practice. So in order to keep them in the state of Oregon, we have to train them in the state of Oregon.” As a result, Farias-Eisner and others have been advocating for creating more residency options all over the state so graduates can get the real-world training they need to meet board requirements. WesternU is specifically partnering with Samaritan Health Services to establish clinics around the state to provide new residency training programs, largely in family medicine. Community, connection WesternU’s evolution in Oregon will also mesh with a continuation of the university’s engagement with the community. FariasEisner said WesternU already provides a range of outpatient medical services in Lebanon, and students have lent their hands, compassion and expertise over the years helping residents during severe wildfires, administering COVID-19 vaccines, partnering with the Lebanon Fire District and more. He said the campus expansion will only increase those opportunities. “The students have a very close relationship with the community,” Farias-Eisner said. “And the Lebanon community, there aren’t sufficient superlatives to describe the extraordinary support and bond between the community and our students. We have so much gratitude for their support of our university, our colleges and our students.” For more information, visit Oregon.WesternU.edu. Current site of COMP-Northwest in Lebanon, Ore., which is now in the process of transitioning to its new name, Heatherington College of Osteopathic Medicine. The Heatherington Foundation donated 150 acres of land in Lebanon, Ore., to WesternU.
⁄Tactics⁄ What are you hearing from clients right now, as far as what they’re looking for? A few months ago, I was hearing that there was a lot of hesitancy around ad spends. I think hesitancy is the best way to describe the environment that we’re in right now. It’s not like it was when we entered into the pandemic. I would say for the first year and a half — maybe two years — into the pandemic, the entire world tilted digital. We were shut down; we were remote. Brick and mortar did not exist in the same way that it did [before], so brands were really leaning on digital marketing efforts. They were leaning on email more than ever. They were leaning on digital activations. The world has kind of come back out on the other side a little bit. We’re not in that period anymore where we’re all leaning digital. I think we’re in a period that really exemplifies what true partnership looks like. We have clients that we deeply respect, and it’s our job to kind of see them through this, and it’s our job to work with them and to make the budgets that they do have go the furthest, and get really creative and innovative about how we’re spending that budget. But yes, we’re in a period of pullback, for sure. And I think everyone’s feeling that a little bit. I think the brands are feeling it. I think agencies are feeling it as well. When you talk about people shifting away from digital a little bit, what are people wanting to spend on now? I think digital is still the primary channel. Obviously, that’s the space that we’re in, so that’s what we feel. I think there’s reprioritization within digital. Earlier on, it was more activation-based. We were doing a lot of high-volume production. We were doing heavily email work and output, and that still very much is a priority, and it’s an ROI driver. That’s something that is our bread and butter, and we’re going to always be in that. But what I am seeing a shift in — and maybe more of an expansion into — is wanting to explore multichannel when it comes to digital efforts, and wanting to explore user-generated content, and really looking at how AI can be leveraged to allow budgets to be stretched further and to help assist with output, especially in the production world. I think, lastly, that conceptual and visual creative is a big space where it’s a moment and an opportunity for brands to come forth and produce that ad, produce that film, that maybe is 30, 60 seconds, and it really gives the consumers this unmatched experience for what that brand is representing and what they’re putting out into the world. I feel like we’re seeing an expansion beyond performance marketing — which is still absolutely a key priority — but we’re seeing expansion to these other spaces, and we’re working to kind of meet that demand and stay ahead of it and innovate within it, and be a driver for it instead of being responsive to it. I think it’s more of an expansion and less a move away from digital. All channels are on the table right now, and clients are wanting multipronged solutions. How Keely York Keeps It Real The CEO of Thesis talks about AI, authentic experience and why the digital creative agency is not abandoning DEI. INTERVIEW BY CHRISTEN McCURDY When Keely York started at eROI 13 years ago, the firm was small and focused on email marketing. York started at entry level as an account coordinator, gradually working her way up to account manager, creative officer and then president of the agency. In 2019 eROI rebranded as Thesis, a full-service creative agency focused on performance marketing as well as operations and integration support and conceptual creative work. And in 2022, York became CEO, succeeding founder Ryan Buchanan (who remains co-owner and a member of the firm’s advisory board). The idea, York says, was to “create a different agency model amidst a very interesting landscape.” “The oncoming headwinds have felt pretty relentless the last five years,” York says. The pandemic upended every industry in the world, including marketing, “but it’s also been everything after that. It’s been the ripple effect. It’s been the economic changes. It’s been the political implications. It’s been shifts in how people want to work and just human behavior, consumer behavior.” Another setback came in 2023 when Isaac Lee Morris, a former chief product officer for Thesis, was charged with embezzling more than $100,000 from the agency (a separate civil suit tallies the losses at $815,000). The following summer a Multnomah County circuit court judge dropped the criminal case as Morris was unable to find counsel due to a shortage of public defenders in the state. York declined to comment on the matter for this story, but according to a spokesperson for the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office, the criminal case is “very much open,” with a trial scheduled in December. Through those headwinds, Thesis has persevered. One of the top creative agencies in the state by headcount (with 172 people on payroll as of last fall), Thesis’ clients include Estée Lauder, Airtable, MLS and Throne. In July York met with Oregon Business at Thesis’ Slabtown headquarters — a four-story mass-timber building constructed in 2024 — to talk about what digital marketing looks like in 2025. “Consumers are looking for more authenticity and relatability in the marketing and advertising they’re seeing from the brands that they purchase from, and that they’re followers of,” York says. “So I’m trying to kind of set us up internally to configure us in a way that’s going to serve where this space is headed, but also simultaneously not looking too far out, where you’re pre-planning for things that may or may not happen.” This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 12
JASON E. KAPLAN You mentioned AI. How are you currently using AI, or looking at using AI in your work? I think it’s a question that we talk about daily, if not weekly. I feel like other CEOs that I’ve spoken to, they’re in similar spaces and are also navigating the same moment. None of us know where AI is going to go at this moment in time. We know it’s very real, it’s here, right? It’s not, like, knocking on our door; it is in the room with us, and it is hyper critical that we leverage it for a lot of different reasons. But we also don’t know where it’s going to be in two or three or five years. It’s still this nebulous thing that’s constantly evolving and changing. I just think it’s important for us to continue to watch and not necessarily pre-plan for where it might be going in the next several years. What we’re doing with it internally right now is ultimately trying to leverage it for production-side work, so that if we’re looking at 300 clicks, we’re leveraging things like AI to take that down to half or less of what was previously being done — so that we can leverage that talent that previously was employee-based and level that talent to more conceptual thinking and creative work, which AI is not necessarily capable or shouldn’t be in the space of. One of the reasons that I was interested in that is that earlier you mentioned that consumers are wanting more authenticity and engagement, and a lot of generative AI does not give you those feelings of authenticity and connection. It’s very alienating. It sounds like you’re not interested in using it for copywriting or for the actual creative work. I’m never going to be this predictive person in the sense of “I’m never” or “I will,” but right now, my clear stance on it is I do believe in exactly what you just said. I think that there is a credibility and a creative superpower and talent that is needed to create that relatability and in a brand positioning for consumers. I think if you allow AI to take all of that over — and even if they don’t take all of it over — if the integration is reckless, it really degrades that consumer experience. I don’t think it does the brand justice in what they’re trying to do to position themselves. So I’m looking at the mundane; I’m looking at the 300 clicks. I’m looking at optimizing the movements within the work and speeding those up, and then repositioning the talented people that we have here. Because I feel like we have a killer employee base of hyper-talented people at Thesis, and [we’re] up-leveling that creative thinking to do the conceptual pieces that I don’t think AI should be replacing right now. I think this is why agencies exist. We’re a creative agency. This is what we need to be doing. We need to bring things and work into the world that no one else can do. That’s my goal. I’m standing firm on it right now. But also, again, with so much change happening, I am always here to adapt and stay ahead of it, but I also don’t want to be overreactive to it either, and start forming plans further out that may or may not come to fruition. I think we just need to be smart in how we’re adapting to it, and I also think we need to protect the integrity of our work. You talked about the political climate, and one of the things that’s happening right now is a lot of backlash against DEI initiatives, with some companies canceling their DEI programs. What is Thesis’ position on those initiatives? We’re in it, we’re staying in it, and we’re not going to take our foot off the pedal at all. We’re going to stay true to our commitment. DEI is a cornerstone of who Thesis is, and I think it’s absolutely imperative. [We’ve made a] commitment to make sure that employees of all backgrounds have an opportunity to showcase their talent here, and to do so in a space where they’re welcome for exactly who they are. I think 2024 was our biggest investment year yet. I hope that signals our commitment, and that will continue forward. It will never be a journey that is over. I want to be clear about that, and it’s never going to be something that we hang our hat on or act as though we’ve got it. It’s going to be an ongoing journey, and we’re going to continue to navigate it. So the commitment remains steadfast. 13
14 BRAND STORY Jacob Colmenero, left, and Dominique Easterling, right, are Sales Executives at Marsh McLennan Agency. PRODUCED BY THE OREGON BUSINESS MARKETING DEPARTMENT BY NATALIA HURT On their missions to protect people and planet, many nonprofits overlook critical steps for protecting themselves. Patchy health benefits and liability coverage leave room for risks that can dismantle a lifetime of effort. On the other hand, according to experts at leading insurance brokerage Marsh McLennan Agency, full-spectrum insurance strategies let nonprofits shine as exceptional employers and stewards, ultimately translating into growth and resilience. Despite shoestring budgets, nonprofits still have complex responsibilities to uphold, from managing benefits (401K, PTO, medical,dental…) to implementing effective processes (payroll, onboarding, donor tracking...). Then, there’s the complicated world of risk management—negotiating airtight contracts, transferring risk and securing competitive rates. “All of this represents dollars being diverted from their mission,” explains Jacob Colmenero, Sales Executive, Employee Health and Benefits, Marsh McLennan Agency. “And with nonprofits, we do everything we can to minimize that. We make sure we understand where they’re going, how they’re growing and if their policies reflect that.” Nonprofits, along with mainstream businesses, can often miss vulnerabilities or redundancies, simply due to the complexities of insurance or a lack of experience—their eyes set on their mission, not on the worst-case scenarios. “Nobody starts a nonprofit assuming they’re going to be sued one day,” says Dominique Easterling, Sales Executive, Business Insurance, Marsh McLennan Agency. “Inevitably, lawsuits or threats of lawsuits are going to happen. But when an autobody shop closes down because they got sued and didn’t have the right coverage, you go to a different one. If a youth shelter for homeless teens gets shut down, those teens can’t walk down the street to different housing.” To fully protect nonprofits, Marsh McLennan Agency works together across departments to illuminate blind spots, synergize strategies and design cost-effective solutions. For example, when a nonprofit reached out due to an unbearable price increase to its employee health and benefits Marsh McLennan Agency Protects Nonprofits As stewards and employers, nonprofits need full-spectrum insurance strategies to succeed. Nonprofits Protect People and Planet
15 BRAND STORY package, the team answered with a holistic solution. “We came in, did an evaluation and ended up saving them 20% on their employee health and benefits package,” Colmenero recalls. “But while in conversation, they mentioned other issues, such as their property insurance being denied due to being in a high-risk fire zone. That’s where we brought in Dominique [from the insurance team].” Marsh McLennan Agency understands that nonprofits live in a high-stakes, lowbudget, big-vision world and need specialists who understand both nonprofit constraints and carrier appetites. The liability insurance team works with nonprofits to help them gain competitive coverage. “Often, organizations don’t realize what they can do to make themselves more appealing to carriers,” Easterling points out. “For nonprofits that work with kids, for example, it sometimes just comes down to providing a specific employee training, or installing additional cameras.” In this case, it meant trimming brush to 10 feet from the property line and installing sprinklers tied to the central alarm system. Not only did the client end up getting their buildings insured, but Marsh McLennan Agency also helped them implement cybersecurity coverage and volunteer accident coverage, all within budget, leaving the nonprofit physically and financially protected. Proper benefits and liability insurance extend beyond risk management, impacting professionalization and credibility. It displays competence to the board, donors and employees. As federal policies change and nonprofits compete for dwindling funding, reputation becomes increasingly more critical, as does cost savings. Before designing a holistic service package, Marsh McLennan Agency begins with a consultative deep dive into the company, in search of inevitable gaps and redundancies. An organization, might for example, have solid auto and property coverage but overlook employment practice liability insurance (EPLI), directors and officers (D&O) insurance or cyber insurance. Or, they might have one area double insured. “Many entities don’t realize that there’s also third party EPLI which covers them if a member of the public accuses an employee of discrimination,” Easterling elaborates. “Then there’s the importance of a robust D&O program. Without it, somebody can name you personally in a lawsuit. This affects your home, your kid’s college fund…” “During the consultative process, we look at everything.” Colmenero continues. That includes digital solutions, cybersecurity and data showing common practices among their peers. “Nonprofits tend to be smaller and leaner, but we provide guidance to nonprofits of any size.” As one of the largest insurance brokerages in the nation, Marsh McLennan Agency draws on an expansive portfolio of specialized carriers, pinpointing optimal pairings and working to get competitive rates. By collaborating across departments, its team prepares nonprofits and their people for every opportunity and risk scenario. “We’re never going to hit the easy button,” Colmenero concludes. “We want to empower them, remove the veil and show them how the market works. That way they can hold us accountable and make informed decisions.”n Special opportunity for current & prospective Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO) members: Reach out for a complementary insurance review & evaluation by Marsh McLennan Agency experts. To fully protect nonprofits, Marsh McLennan Agency works together across departments to illuminate blind spots, synergize strategies and design cost-effective solutions.
BY HANNAH WALLACE WHEN MARLA AND LIAM HOBAN were living in a small German village outside of Nuremberg, they noticed something curious at the local gasthaus. “Nonalcoholic beer was presented just like regular beer. It was served in a nice big glass,” Marla says. “What was fascinating to us was seeing folks seamlessly switch between alcoholic and nonalcoholic. You’d be at a table of people, and you didn’t know who was drinking alcohol. They’re just coming back with beers.” At the time, they both worked for Adidas. When they returned to their hometown of her job with Nike at the end of 2019, which freed up time to work on this new venture. In 2021 the couple struck up a collaboration with Sarah Masoni and Mike Adams at OSU’s Food Innovation Center to begin working on a recipe. Roaming Nobles was born, becoming Oregon’s first dedicated NA brewery. It’s no secret that (alcoholic) beer consumption in America is declining: Last year was the first in two decades that more craft breweries closed than opened. The one silver lining? Nonalcoholic beer. This sector, led by large companies like Athletic, saw sales grow by 30% last year, according to the Brewers Association. Indeed, the entire nonalcoholic beverage sector is booming. According to survey data published by the market research firm NC Solutions, 49% of American adults say they’re trying to drink less. The same firm reports that 19% of adults between the ages of 21 and 28 — that is, the segment of Generation Z that’s old enough to drink — does not drink any alcohol, and more than half of Gen Z-ers over 21 expressed interest in trying a nonalcoholic drink in the near future. Gone are the days when the only person at a dinner party not drinking alcohol was either pregnant, taking antibiotics or a now-sober alcoholic. While beer and wine sales plummet nationwide, nonalcoholic beverages have been the third-fastest-growing beverage category in the United States for the past two years, according to Numerator. And not just during Dry January. Consumers — also driven by fitness and wellness goals — are more sober-curious than ever. Marla calls the trend she spotted in Germany over a decade ago “alcohol fluid.” At the time, this behavior — sometimes having a drink, sometimes opting for a nonalcoholic version, even in the space of one evening — was unusual here in the states. “But now I think everyone is experimenting with their relationship to alcohol,” she says. In Portland a handful of new craft non- alcoholic beverage companies are meeting the consumer where she’s at. All three happen to be led by women. A Temperant Tonic Faith Dionne, a former pastry chef at Higgins Restaurant, is no stranger to the alcohol industry. After starting — and then selling — the bean-to-bar chocolate company Bees & Beans, she launched crafts distiller Jaz Spirits. But after having some health scares — she had 11 skin cancer lesions removed in four years — she decided to change course. A longtime forager, she had always seen Jaz Spirits as a vehicle for wild-foraged native plants like salal berries and spruce tips. That these ingredients were preserved in alcohol was somewhat arbitrary. ⁄Profile⁄ Marla Hoban PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN Portland in 2013 they thought it was strange that Oregon didn’t have a nonalcoholic brewery. “We kept thinking, ‘Why has nobody done this?’ We are in this state that’s known for craft beer. We were honestly baffled that no one had opened a nonalcoholic brewery yet,” she says. Initial conversations with local breweries led nowhere. It wasn’t until a year or so into the pandemic, when people started reevaluating their work-life balance — and drinking habits — that their idea took root. At that point, the couple was working for Nike — Marla as brand director and Liam as a product director for global football apparel. Marla left Dry Drinking Portland’s Booze-Free Brands Break Through 16
“There is a clean, clear line from alcohol to cancer. There just is,” says Dionne. “And so as I’m getting surgery after surgery, biopsy after biopsy, and I’m making liquor, I was like, ‘No. This does not feel right.’” As she cast about for her next project, Dionne grew introspective. What is it that she savors about craft spirits and other alcoholic beverages? She realized it’s the mouthfeel and engagement as she drinks them. “It’s evaporative and it’s engaging different parts of your palate at different times,” she says. She’d long enjoyed tonic water — the quinine has a cleansing, bitter taste that lifts the palate. Yet there were few craft tonic waters in the U.S. There’s Blake Lively’s Betty Buzz and Q, but both are sweetened with agave, which some consumers don’t like. Fever-Tree, made in the U.K., is the tonic water of choice among U.S. bartenders. “I realized that there’s space for more expression in tonic,” she says. But it wasn’t until a German machine that prints cans digitally became accessible to small businesses in the Portland area that Dionne founded Dappled. (This technology avoids the use of paper labels, which make cans impossible to recycle.) She contracted with a local company that had the machine, and then she had to find access to a unique canning line that allows for a higher level of carbonation than most lines for beer, cider or kombucha do. Dionne is insistent about having a high carbonation level for her tonic water, which measures about 3.4%. “Without the high carbonation level, [tonic water] just falls flat,” she says. “It doesn’t have the same mobility in the mouth.” So far Dappled has three flavors: aromatic (flavored with cardamom, vanilla and lemongrass), citrus (yuzu, lemon and lime), and floral (rose, chamomile and lavender). Since April 2024, the cans have been carried by Market of Choice; this past March, New Seasons began selling them too. Dionne says a half-dozen out-of-state shops have also begun ordering Dappled—many of them booze-free bottle shops. “They’re reaching out from Florida and New Jersey and Boston and Chicago,” she says. Market research that she and her crew have conducted at grocery demos and other consumer-facing events has revealed that a full 40% of Dappled customers are buying it to drink on its own rather than as a mixer. “That was stunning to me,” Dionne says. “They’re looking at it as a standalone craft beverage, which was our intention. But it feels so good that it’s actually working!” The Hops Heartland When Victoria Pustynsky moved to Oregon a decade ago, she worked briefly in the wine industry before realizing that there was a stumbled upon hops as an ingredient. “It was so tasty. It was herbal and piney and super citrusy!” she says. Hops and cannabis are part of the same family and use the same extraction method, too, so the move to hops wasn’t super challenging logistically. In early 2021, just a year into the pandemic, she launched Aurora Hops in a 330ml amberglass bottle in two flavors: pomelo sage (with Citra hops) and yuzu orange blossom with peppercorns (with Citra and Mosaic hops). Early press was extremely positive: In summer of 2022, the New York Times’ Wirecutter included it in a roundup of the best nonalcoholic drinks. Bi-rite, the high-end San Francisco grocer, was Aurora’s biggest customer. But because of the Aurora name, there remained confusion about whether or not the hops version of Aurora had CBD. (It didn’t.) In the summer of 2022, Pustynsky repositioned the hops drink as Lolo Hops and started packFaith Dionne great business opportunity in creating a cannabis-based beverage. It was 2015, and recreational cannabis had just been legalized statewide. Her initial idea was to offer a lowdose apéritif with 2.5 to 5mg of THC. But this was shot down by some in the industry, who favored cannabis-infused beverages spiked with massive amounts of the intoxicating cannabinoid. She found that irresponsible. She chose, instead, to create a CBD-based beverage. In 2017 she founded Aurora Elixirs. “We were pretty early on with capturing this idea that people wanted something that was participatory but not intoxicating,” Pustynsky says. “They wanted to feel something that’s relaxing — but also kind of a ritual that you can wind down with at the end of the day.” But even with CBD, a nonintoxicating cannabinoid, there were a lot of regulatory hurdles like banking and payment processing. She and her team started exploring other nervine herbs like ashwagandha. They 17
aging it in cans, introducing a third flavor: Cascadia Field Blend, which uses Chinook, Mosaic and Ekuanot hops. (Aurora Elixirs, the CBD-infused beverage, is a separate line with different branding.) Pustynsky says that the adult non–alcoholic beverage space went from nonexistent to being a giant category in the space of a few years. It’s gotten more competitive, she says, and consumers have grown more sophisticated. “I think the consumers’ understanding is changing,” she says. To that end, Pustynsky says that though Lolo Hops contains hops, she wouldn’t call it a hop water, per se. “Ours is slightly sweet and has a very different taste profile,” she says. “It’s not just straight hops.” In addition to having a little sugar, Lolo Hops is also sparkling. When she describes it to consumers or journalists, she calls it a botanical soft drink. “I think it’s closer to a Casamara Club—or what they call a leisure soda,” she says. (Casamara Club is an amaro-infused NA beverage made in Detroit.) Locally, Lolo Hops is sold at New Seasons, Market of Choice and Wellspent Market. It’s also on tap at Bauman’s on Oak and occasionally at Loyal Legion and other bars around town. Though it doesn’t have the budget for marketing, Lolo Hops has been served at most of the bars at Pickathon for years, and this is how many Portlanders first encounter the beverage. Some online customers order 10 cases a month, says Pustynsky. “Once people try it, they love it,” she says. “We have a lot of opportunity with the Lolo brand,” she says. “And I’m leaning into the Pacific Northwest provenance. This area is the hops heartland.” A Flavor-Packed NA Beer Marla Hoban at Roaming Nobles eventually found a partner with Steeplejack Brewing Co., based in Hillsboro. She reached out to Steeplejack because she liked that it had a female lead brewer, Anna Buxton. She was further impressed when co-owner Brody Day returned her message within half an hour. “Brody and Anna were both so supportive,” says Hoban. “They saw the vision of where we were going early on.” As Roaming Nobles grew, the initial recipe that came out of the Food Innovation Center had to be tweaked, which is often the case as businesses scale. Anna has continuously evolved the Pilsner. And Hoban tapped brewer Sean Burke — formerly of the Commons and Von Ebert, and co-founder of ForeLand — to update the recipe for Roaming Nobles’ flagship IPA. (He suggested adding Mosaic hops.) The new version will be in stores by fall. Burke was also behind the brand’s recent seasonal launch: a West Coast IPA with notes of guava and stone fruit. (It contains CTZ, Citra, Krush and Strata Indie hops.) The West Coast IPA sold out, so Hoban has made it part of the company’s year-round line of flagship beers. One thing that distinguishes Roaming Nobles from most large national NA breweries is that they brew the beer in a traditional manner and then halt fermentation before the alcohol gets above .5%. (By law, NA beverages must contain less than .5% alcohol.) Many national NA breweries make an alcoholic beer and then de-alcoholize it — either using a spinning machine or boiling it off in a vacuum. (Others, like Athletic, do neither of these things and tightly guard their process.) Without revealing Roaming Nobles’ exact process, Hoban says, “I would say that time and temperature are everything.” She acknowledges that hundreds of batches need to be thrown out until you dial in the perfect time and temperature. “You almost have to think of it as part of your innovation costs,” she says. Hoban is also committed to sustainability: The brand uses digitally printed cans (easier to recycle) and compostable toppers that can be tossed in the green compost bin. Hoban, whose dad was a microbiologist, makes sure to pasteurize her beer so that it remains shelf stable. (With the presence of yeast and sugars but no alcohol, you have to or it could quickly spoil.) This adds to the cost Victoria Pustynsky PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN 18
seaside is for Surprise overnight getaways EXECUTION: SEASIDE CAROUSEL BOY FILE NAME: seaside_OBJ_4.625x4.875_carousel_boy.indd PUB: Oregon Business Journal FINAL SIZE: 4.625" wide x 4.875" tall seasideOR.com @visitseasideOR and time to get the beer to market, but the beer maintains its integrity and flavor. Roaming Nobles has many fans in the Portland restaurant industry. Foremost among them is chef Gabriel Rucker, who has been sober for 12 years. (The beer is available at both Le Pigeon and Canard.) Rucker, who is on a tasting panel for Roaming Nobles, says that its pils is “the perfect beer for me.” “Their beers are all very refreshing. They are all, to me, great summer outside beers,” he says. Perhaps more importantly, Roaming Nobles’ beers go well with food. “If I have a can of Roaming Nobles on the table, it’s going to be delicious with anything that comes out of the kitchen,” he says. You can also find the beer at Belmont Station, New Seasons and John’s Marketplace. At press time, Hoban said she was hoping to entertain a strategic partner or investor in the brand to help it grow. “People are thirsty for something that treats them like sophisticated consumers,” Dionne of Dappled Tonic says. In one way or another, that’s what these three women have been able to do— offer sophisticated NA beverages right at a time when the number of Americans who are sober-curious has ricocheted to new heights. Hoban recalls that just two years ago, most Portland breweries and restaurants would carry just one NA option. “But now we’ve gone from the kids’ menu to the blackboard!’” Hoban says. 19
20 BRAND STORY PRODUCED BY THE OREGON BUSINESS MARKETING DEPARTMENT BY JON BELL Back in early July, Kent Craford was driving north out of Portland on I-5 when he caught a glimpse of something that, in a way, only reinforced the case for his latest business endeavor: a miles-long traffic jam. Over in the southbound direction, crews had closed a lane — mid day — so they could trim the cottonwood trees that line the highway. The resultant backup snarled traffic into a near standstill that stretched for miles between Woodland and Kalama. “I mean, it’s just ludicrous,” says Craford, CEO of SeaPort Airlines, a reborn commuter airline offering daily flights between Portland and Seattle. “Those poor people. Some of them were coming from Seattle to Portland for business or vice versa, and they just added an hour or two to their trip, totally unplanned and unpredictable.” Fast-forward a week or two, and Craford was kicked back in one of the nine cush seats of a Pilatus PC-12 turboprop airplane, soaring past the snowy peaks of St. Helens, Adams and Rainier. The plane had taken off from the Atlantic Aviation terminal at Portland International Airport promptly at 9:26 a.m. It touched down not at the bustling Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, but at the library-quiet King County International Airport four miles south of downtown Seattle 41 minutes later. Craford, a former lobbyist and political campaign director, took a meeting or two, extended an interview over lunch nearby, then hopped on a southbound PC-12 and was back on the ground in Portland by 3:30 p.m. — with plenty of time to make it home for dinner. “These days, there’s no truly reliable option to get between Portland and Seattle. The train, I-5, SeaTac, all of it is highly unreliable,” Craford says. “We should be able to stand up a reliable, consistent, frequent and punctual transportation option Fly Away in a Day SeaPort Airlines gets daily Portland-toSeattle commuters home in time for dinner. PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN
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