Colors of Influence Reviews

from press release The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Alaska-Oregon-Washington State Area Conference (AOWSAC) is holding its annual Spring Convention from Friday, March 26 to Sunday, March 28, 2010 at the Salbasgeon Suites Hotel & Conference Center, 1730 NW 9th Street, Corvallis, Oregon. The theme for this year's spring convention, hosted by the Corvallis NAACP, is “Learning From The Past, Teaching For The Future.” On Friday evening March 26, the Convention will host an Oregon Northwest Black Pioneers Exhibit/Reception for attendees and the general public; keeping with the theme, “Learning From The Past, Teaching For The Future.” Saturday workshops include “Volunteer Recruitment, Retention and Relationship Building,” 10 to 11:30am.Facilitated by Mr. Gregory Akili, NAACP Senior Manager of Field Training & Field Organizing, Region 1. "In Pursuit of Excellence In Education," 1:30 to 3pm. Facilitated by Dr. Ell...

Delivering Value: Vanessa Gaston, Director, Clark County Community Services   What is your primary charge as Director of Clark County Community Services? Vanessa Gaston The Clark County Community Services is responsible for managing certain social services for Clark County. We work in partnership with other community groups and nonprofits in different jurisdictions to accomplish that. In my role, I primarily oversee mental health, drug and alcohol services, weatherization and heating help, and housing and homelessness programs. We manage a veteran’s relief program, a small youth program, I have a staff of 86 and an annual budget of $76 million, with lots of difference funding sources. Majority of the funding we receive come from the state and federal governments. What was your career path leading up to your current post? I’m blessed to be where I’m at, and it’s been a long journey. I started out being in the military. I was in the Army for three years, and five years in the...

The Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce is fast becoming the premier API business networking group in the Portland-Vancouver metro area. At its March 2010 quarterly event, APACC welcomed more than 70 guests at its gathering at Hai Du Restaurant in NE Sandy, Portland. City of Portland Housing and Parks Commissioner Nick Fish was a guest speaker, and he commented on the financial crisis and the many and varied ways it's affecting City services. Fish followed a presentation by Roy Kim, of Central Bethany Development Corp., who offered survival tips for small business owners trying to make it through a challenging economic landscape. The next APACC event is scheduled for Wednesday, April 14 at Bambuza Vietnamese Bistro, 3682 SW Bond Avenue in Portland. Click here to learn more

from press release Women of color face an enormous wealth gap when compared to the rest of society, undermining their future economic security and the nation's long-term prosperity, according to the report released by the Insight Center for Community Economic Development . Single black and Hispanic women are particularly hard hit, owning only a penny of wealth for every dollar owned by their male counterparts and a fraction of a penny for every dollar owned by single white women. "Because gender and racial economic disparities have been studied separately, we have failed to recognize the daunting economic reality faced by women of color who experience the compounding negative economic effects of being both a woman and a person of color," says the report by former Harvard associate professor Mariko Chang, author of the forthcoming book "Shortchanged: Why Women Have Less Wealth and What Can Be Done About It." "Women of all races experience a gender...

Colored Pencils Art & Culture Night , also known as New Portland's multicultural living room, will be held at Portland State University’s Smith Memorial Student Union on Friday, March 26, 2010. Every last Friday, Portland's various cultures and communities meet once a month to tell stories, dance, sing, read poetry and during the open mic. This month's art exhibit will feature artists from members of the Iraqi Society of Oregon, event co-host. New Portland Colored Pencils Night is co-hosted by the venue host and sponsored by Colors of Influence e-magazine, MESO (Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon), The Asian Reporter, the Cambodian American Community of Oregon, Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO), Vision into Action (VIA Coalition), and Portland's Office of Human Relations/Human Rights Commission. Here are some highlights from the February event, held at Portland Center Stage: