Regional Leaders Seminar Series

The need for visionary, credible leadership is consistently one of the top critical issues in our Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region, according to the Institute's biennial Critical Issues Survey (see the Metropolitan Briefing Book).

In 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies offered a new opportunity for civic leaders to deepen their knowledge and understanding of our region’s critical issues, to discuss and debate the issues on neutral ground with their peers, and to advance solutions.

The 2003-04 series concentrated on economic development issues. A course outline and course materials are available as .pdf files:

• Course Outline
• October 13, 2003: "Prospering in A Knowledge Economy" by Joe Cortright (Impresa, Inc.)
• November 10, 2003: "Portland-Vancouver by the Numbers" by Eric Hovee (E. D. Hovee, Inc.)
• March 8, 2004: "Workforce Housing Report, Central City Portland" by Brian McCarl (Portland Business Alliance)
  
• March 8, 2004: "What's the Formula for Success in the Knowledge Economy?" by Mary Jo Waits (Morrison Institute for Public Policy, Arizona State University)
  
• May 10, 2004: "Investing in Regional Sustainability" by Norris Lozano (Portland Development Commission)
  
• May 10, 2004: "Sustainable Industries 101" by Nik Blosser (Celilo Group Media)

The 2005 series focused on workforce development issues. Outline and course materials:

• Course Outline
• March 28, 2005: "Private Sector Engagement: Unleashing the Power" by Mike McBreen (Nike, Inc.)
• March 28, 2005: "Workforce Trends, Challenges and Opportunities in our Regional High Tech Communities" by Hayden Thomas (Intel Corp.)
• April 11, 2005: "Demographic, Labor Market and Economic Trends in Oregon: Labor Supply and Workforce Development Implications" by Paul Harrington (Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University)
• April 11, 2005: "Workforce Systems: History" by Ray Worden (Workforce Development Manager, City of Long Beach)
• April 25, 2005: "Building a Regional Workforce Development System" by Lisa Nisenfeld (SW Washington Workforce Development Council) and Andrew McGough (Worksystems, Inc.)
• May 9, 2005: "Making it Happen: Putting Our Product to Work" [presentation notes] by Craig Shinn (Executive Leadership Institute, PSU)