PLUS 2024 A MATTER OF TASTE How Sarah Masoni gives Oregon entrepreneurs their secret sauce WELL SUPPORTED The Sports Bra’s big victory March/April 2024 | OregonBusiness.com
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⁄Contents⁄ March/April 2024 FEATURES 24 The Tastemaker How Sarah Masoni’s ‘million-dollar palate’ has remade food in Oregon and beyond 33 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon Cover Story Which companies have workers who love coming to work in the morning? 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. 20 BRAND STORIES 10 AllCare Health CEO Max Janasik helps deliver local care to Southern Oregon. 18 AMAROK Electric fencing services enabling clients to simplify security and optimize business 28 ODOT Serve your business needs with Get There Connect, a free online commute planning, ridematching and rewards tool. MEETING & RETREAT PROFILES 57 World Forestry Center 58 Lane Events Center 59 Columbia Cliff Villas Hotel JASON E. KAPLAN 100 BEST NEWS Never Miss a 100 Best Survey! Find out how satisfied your employees are with their jobs through our anonymous and confidential surveys. Visit OregonBusiness.com/ 100BestNotify and sign up to receive information about how to register for future 100 Best surveys. Follow @OregonBusiness for breaking news, blogs and commentary. REGULARS 6 Editor’s Letter 8 Newsfeed 14 Tactics How Cyreena Boston Ashby, CEO of Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest, is leading youth in unprecedented times 20 Spotlight The wide(ning) world of (women’s) sports 54 Powerlist Ranking Oregon meeting facilities by total square footage of meeting space 66 Policy Brief Oregon Farm Bureau president Angela “Angi” Bailey writes about why farms of all sizes matter to Oregonians. 4
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⁄From the Editor⁄ Simply the Best WOMEN’S SPORTS have often been sidelined—both in terms of athletes’ compensation and in terms of how seriously they are perceived. That is rapidly changing, though, and one need look no further than Portland for the evidence. The popularity of the Portland Thorns — who boast the best-attended games in women’s soccer— offers one clue. Another? The success of the Sports Bra, which Amy Milshtein profiled for this issue (“The Wide[ning) World of [Women’s] Sports,” p. 20). The bar, which exclusively shows women’s sports on its TV sets, opened last year in Northeast Portland and has already done so well that owner Jenny Nguyen is looking to grow. A while back, we noticed that nearly every time we run a story about Oregon’s food scene, one name comes up again and again: Sarah Masoni. The process and product development director for Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center is so frequently mentioned, thanked or quoted in our pages that we thought it was high time to turn the spotlight on her — and the dozens of signature Oregon products she’s helped create, improve or get on to grocery store shelves. I spoke to Masoni and several people who’ve worked with her in some capacity for “The Tastemaker” (p. 24), finding someone who’s happily turned her creative energy to helping entrepreneurs get going in Oregon. In March we kick off spring by celebrating the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon (p. 33). This year’s list includes some repeat contenders, as well as a number of newcomers. It’s always inspiring — and eye-opening — to review survey data and see what makes workers sing their employers’ praises. Compensation — including competitive wages that help workers keep apace with inflation, as well as robust benefits — always matters. So does having the autonomy and trust to do great work. But another recurring theme is flexibility:Again and again, morale is highest at organizations where employees can make time for their families and outside interests without it hurting their careers. Congratulations to everyone who made this year’s list. EDITORIAL EDITOR Christen McCurdy christenm@oregonbusiness.com ART DIRECTOR Joan McGuire joanm@oregonbusiness.com STAFF WRITER Sander Gusinow sanderg@oregonbusiness.com STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Jason E. Kaplan jasonk@oregonbusiness.com COPY EDITOR Morgan Stone CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Angela “Angi” Bailey, Amy Milshtein, Brooke Strickland PUBLISHING PUBLISHER Courtney Kutzman courtneyk@oregonbusiness.com 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 VOLUME 47 ⁄ NUMBER 3 OREGON BUSINESS (ISSN 02798190) is published 8 times per year, monthly except Mar/Apr, Jul/Aug and Oct/Nov/Dec issues, 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 $24.95 per year, $49.95 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 © 2024 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 6
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ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT ●A Mighty Wind. Avangrid, a Connecticut-based wind-farm power provider, announced that it has made a deal to provide Amazon with renewable energy from an Avangrid farm in Eastern Oregon’s Gilliam County. The farm will have a capacity of 98.4 megawatts. ●Big Basin. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that $72 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will head to the Klamath Basin for ecosystem restoration projects and agriculture infrastructure modernization, in conjunction with a new memorandum of understanding with the Klamath Tribes, Yurok Tribe, Karuk Tribe and Klamath Water Users Association to address water challenges in the area. ECONOMY & FINANCE ●The Slow Walk to Recovery. The Portland Metro Chamber’s 2024 State of the Economy report painted a cautiously optimistic picture of Portland’s economy. Among the takeaways: Revenue collected by the city is up 26%, and downtown foot traffic is up 14%, but job growth in the metro area has been sluggish relative to the national average. POLITICS ●Walkout Lockout. The Oregon Supreme Court ruled unanimously that eight Republican lawmakers will be blocked from running for reelection after refusing to attend Senate floor sessions for six weeks last year. ●Green Query. The U.S. Attorney’s Office issued a subpoena to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries asking for records related a $500,000 grant made in 2022 by the agency to Endeavor, a cannabis nonprofit founded by Rosa Cazares, cofounder of the embattled La Mota dispensary chain. MANUFACTURING ●Hanging Up the Red Vest. Bob Moore, the founder of Bob’s Red Mill, died at his Milwaukie home at the age of 94. In 2010 Moore — who had by then turned the company into a national brand — announced plans to shift to an employee stock ownership plan rather than sell to a larger buyer. HEALTH CARE ●Broken Engagement. A proposed merger between CareOregon, which oversees care for the Oregon Health Plan’s 500,000 members, and the California-based Medicare Advantage plan SCAN Group ●The Final Frame. Mark Gustafson, the stop-motion animator and film director who won an Oscar in 2023 as co-director with Guillermo del Toro of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, died at 64. ●Get Jazzed. Portland jazz club the 1905, which closed last fall amid allegations of unpaid wages and financial mismanagement, is set to reopen this spring under new ownership. FARMS & FORESTS ●Countryside Shrinkage. Oregon lost 4% of its farmland between 2017 and 2022, and 5.5% of its farms during the same period, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data released in February. ●Half-Full. Per a newly released analysis by wine economist Robert Eyler, the Oregon wine industry’s economic value hit $8.17 billion in 2022, up 12.8% from 2019 — but the number of wine jobs in the state dropped 1.5%. EDUCATION ●Papercuts. Outgoing Portland Public Schools superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero, who announced in December that he is leaving to take a job in Los Angeles, said community members should expect $30 million in cuts for the 2024-25 budget. It was not immediately clear what programs would be cut. ●Virtual Beaver Nation. U.S. News & World Report named Oregon State University the fourthbest school in the nation to obtain an undergraduate degree online. This is the 10th year in a row OSU has made the top 10 in this category, which is based on factors like faculty credentials and graduation rates. was canceled by mutual agreement following criticism from top health care policy officials. RESTAURANTS & RETAIL ●Tipped Off. The U.S. Department of Labor sent a letter to former employees of two McMenamins alleging that the restaurant chain required servers to give assistant managers a cut of their tips, which is a violation of labor law. The DOL alleges that McMenamins owes servers $800,000 in back tips but is stopping short of filing suit against the company. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ●Fit to Print. The Eugene Weekly, which laid off all its workers in December and halted print publication after discovering tens of thousands of dollars in missing funds due to alleged embezzlement, resumed printing with a new edition hitting the streets Feb. 8. ⁄Newsfeed⁄ It’s amazing what switching to whole grains can do. A Connecticut-based wind farm power provider announced that it has made a deal to provide Amazon with renewable energy from one of its farms in Eastern Oregon’s Gilliam County. JASON E. KAPLAN 8
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10 BRAND STORY PRODUCED BY THE OREGON BUSINESS MARKETING DEPARTMENT BY NATALIA HURT In southern Oregon, a Coordinated Care Organization (CCO) AllCare Health looks beyond the medical setting to address the foundation of individual and overall health: community wellbeing. With experience serving diverse populations, new CEO Max Janasik shares the organization’s belief that healthier communities and lasting positive outcomes start with local solutions. Uniquely, the health care network is owned by a group of nearly 50 doctors and nurse practitioners who utilize their frontline experience to steer AllCare Health toward initiatives that reflect their patients’ struggles. “Each community is different in its health AllCare CEO Max Janasik addresses a community meeting. infrastructure and needs. You have to be on the ground to understand how to make it work,” explains Dr. Kelley Burnett, Chief Medical Officer, AllCare Health. “To really address health, the relationship piece and an understanding of the community and public health are really important.” The CCO serves a broad swath of Oregon spanning the counties of Jackson, Josephine, Curry and parts of Douglas, from coastal hamlets to inland cities. In pursuit of whole-person solutions, AllCare Health responds to the distinct social conditions of each community, from built environments to education, transportation and beyond. Janasik understands the intricacies of matching localized needs with local solutions. He is relocating to Grants Pass from Hood River, where he served as CEO of Where Health Care Is a Community Matter AllCare Health CEO Max Janasik joins the CCO to help deliver local care to Southern Oregon.
11 BRAND STORY nonprofit One Community Health of Hood River, Oregon, a federally qualified health center supporting underserved populations across four counties in the Mid-Columbia River region. “Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed time and again that there is no one-size-fitsall approach to health care,” Janasik notes. “Each community comes with its own history, cultures and social realities. All of this factors into determining our response.” AllCare Health’s business structure influenced Janasik’s decision to join the team: As an Oregon Benefit Company and certified B Corp, AllCare Health is free to invest back into the community rather than being obligated to simply maximize profit. This fundamentally impacts the board’s decision-making and the organization’s priorities. “Our structure gives us the freedom to find and fund creative ways to address health needs. Because of that, AllCare has an impressive legacy of inventive problemsolving,” Janasik explains. “If we secure excellent medical care, but we have community members who can’t access it due to insufficient transportation, then that becomes a health care matter in our eyes.” Social issues manifest differently in each community, so AllCare Health’s responses do too. It funds initiatives taking on major problems, like domestic abuse, houselessness, food insecurity, language access, health equity and natural disasters. In addition to funding community housing or recovery programs, for example, AllCare Health also works upstream to prevent negative outcomes. It supports the Good Behavior Game, an evidenced-based classroom management program that recognizes students for positive behavior rather than misbehavior. “Why is a health care company getting involved in the classroom? Well, for the kids who go through the Good Behavior Game for a year, we see a 70 percent decrease in smoking, and suicide rates drop,” Josh Balloch, Vice-President of Health Policy, AllCare health. “These are the types of investments that really impact the long-term health of the community.” Its investment in language services represents another example of its proactive health care approach. Medical interpreters play a crucial role in helping the region’s large Spanish-speaking population access care. When interpreters lost employment opportunities during the pandemic, AllCare Health feared that they would change careers or move away, leaving a shortage in the region. In response, the organization offered them employment opportunities at local food banks, which drew hundreds of Spanish speakers needing services. “AllCare has really been a leader on the community front. The social safety net has a lot of holes,” Balloch continues. “We also have a nationwide shortage of primary care doctors, behavioral health providers and cardiologists. Since we’re locally based and locally engaged, we make sure that care is available in our communities. “ Unlike larger statewide or nationwide health care networks, AllCare Health only covers about 70,000 people, meaning it has an incentive to provide care to everyone, from large cities to 500-person towns. Being a CCO, it relies on close collaboration and communication at all levels. Its steadily growing referral network allows providers to direct patients to nonmedical services. “Someone recently asked me for the definition of success for CCOs,” Balloch recalls. “And I said that, as a patient, it would mean that all of a sudden, your doctor knows a lot more people in the community who are able to help you. That’s the value of coordinated care.” Still in the early days of his new position, Janasik is taking the time to meet with providers and learn about their communities. “I really want to start by just listening and hearing peoples’ stories,” he concludes. “It’s only by truly understanding our local communities that we can understand our role in driving positive outcomes.” n “Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed time and again that there is no one-sizefits-all approach to health care. Each community comes with its own history, cultures and social realities. All of this factors into determining our response.” MAX JANASIK
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⁄Tactics⁄ Can you describe Girls Inc. for readers who might not have heard of the organization, or have only heard the name? Girls Inc. is a programmatic and advocacy organization. We support girls and youth to be strong, smart and bold, and that is through a curriculum that’s centered around social and emotional learning and emotional regulation. That’s conflict management, healthy friendships, healthy relationships, how to advocate for oneself in the classroom — and understanding mental health and that feelings related to stress or identity are normal. Eighty-nine percent of our youth who are enrolled in our programs are low-income; over 51% of them identify as non-white. Two-thirds of the schools that we have relationships with are Title I schools, meaning that the majority of the students are on free and reduced lunch. So we also have a financial-literacy curriculum as well as media literacy. We really want our youth to be very self-determined and able to advocate for themselves and advocate for other people. The other work that we do is provide advocacy training, speaker training, and then we have a premier program that’s STEAM-focused: It focuses on career and college readiness for eighth to 12th grade. We are the Girls Inc. for Oregon and Washington state. We are in five school districts in the Portland metro area, two school districts in Southwest Washington, and then we are in Seattle schools as well. We operate year-round in after-school settings, and then we have summer camps. And we rely on paid professional staff that are trained on our curriculum and mentor protocols to be, you know, positive influences in the lives of our girls and youth, and to be resources for their families as well. How has the pandemic affected the work you do? Schools were remote-only for a long time. How did that affect your ability to deliver those services and that curriculum? It was a very complicated, very scary time. Historically, our relationships have been school building-based. When schools closed down, we lost immediate contact with our youth and families, and really became a digital organization in the matter of one short month. Instead of trying to adapt our curriculum to Zoom or any sort of virtual platform, we did a survey at the top of the pandemic and asked our youth: What did they really need? What they really needed was support for online learning. So instead of focusing on our Girls Inc. curriculum, we just started bringing in professional volunteers for tutoring. We did homework help, subject-matter support, things like that. I think, through that, we became much more nimble in terms of understanding that digital is the way to connect with youth today, and then also just focusing more and more on what they really need to be successful. We call that youth-led programming and youth-led advocacy. You know, adultism is very real. Youth-development organizations think that they know what youth need, but it’s important to be receptive. We had some positive outcomes out of the pandemic; we connected with our girls in a much more direct way, and we adjusted the types of programs and services that we offered. Before the pandemic, we knew that stress, mental health, suicidal ideation, depression, difficulty maintaining friendships and feeling alienated at school were core issues that young people were confronted with. But that became so much more apparent during the pandemic, and especially with return to school. So what we’ve done is we’ve really readjusted how we’re talking about and advocating for our youth. We’re bolder around things like teen depression, disordered eating, suicidal ideation, and then offering resources. Fortunately for us, we continued with uninterrupted programming and operations. As a result, today we have more revenue and even more youth served, and more staff on our team to be responsive. I think the truth that every nonprofit has to figure out is who they are, every step of the way. You might have a mission, but your ability to meet that mission cannot be fixed. Cyreena Boston Ashby Steers Girls Inc. PNW Through Uncharted Waters Ashby talks about leading the organization through a challenging time for youth services. INTERVIEW BY CHRISTEN McCURDY Cyreena Boston Ashby grew up in Portland and left to pursue an education — she holds a history degree from Spelman College and has gone through executive training at the European Institute of Business Administration and the Harvard Business, as part of the International Women’s Forum Leadership Fellows Program. Now she’s back in the Portland metro area and leading one of the country’s oldest youth-services organizations. Girls Inc. was founded in 1864 in Connecticut to support young women who had emigrated from rural communities to cities in search of work amid the upheaval of the Civil War. Today the organization has 77 affiliates across the country; Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest has been operating in Portland since 1998, in Southwest Washington since 2017 and in Seattle since 2018. Funded primarily by grants and donations, the organization partners with schools and community centers to offer curricula focused on social and emotional development, but also on career building and financial literacy. In recent years the organization has also expanded its focus from cisgender girls to LGBTQ+ youth. Ashby stepped into her permanent role as CEO in March 2021 but had served as interim executive director since June 2020. Her prior experience includes roles at Hilltop Public Solutions, a public relations and campaign-advising firm; the Oregon Public Health Institute; and with Sen. Jeff Merkley’s Multnomah County field office and as deputy director of Obama for America’s Oregon field office. She also serves as the board chair of the Northwest Health Foundation. Ashby spoke with Oregon Business about how her organization adapted to school closures during COVID, why it’s committed to responding to youth needs and how it’s committed to serving queer youth amid a heightening cultural backlash. This interview has been edited for space and clarity. 14
JASON E. KAPLAN What does service delivery look like now that schools are open? Our core program is called Girls Groups. These are safe spaces where girls and youth come together with one of our staffers around a curriculum module. It could be social-emotional learning, it could be how to interrupt an oppressive moment, how to advocate for yourself to a teacher. Those happen in our after-school settings, or they may happen in community centers, like Boys and Girls Clubs. We still continue to have those traditional relationships with school buildings and community centers. We also have a virtual program that’s called Girls thINC Outside the Box, and four times a year, a subscription box is sent to your home with 15 hours of independent programming. That is to really support youth who are not in our primary service locations. We don’t have relationships in the Medford-Grants Pass area. We are not in Spokane, we are not in Prineville. But we are seeing that that is where our youth are getting their boxes. Then quarterly, we host a big, big Zoom party where they work on the boxes together. And it’s so much fun. I think one quarter alone, we sent out 700 boxes. Then we also have Leadership Council. That is our preteens and teens, who are our budding advocates from all over Oregon and Washington, and they meet virtually quarterly as well. That’s advocacy training, media literacy, writing letters to the editor. You mentioned earlier that you are an organization that serves LGBTQ youth. Right now schools and youth organizations that talk about queer issues at all are really kind of in the crosshairs and, in some places, facing state censorship. Have you seen any pushback on that in this region? We are a pro-choice organization at the national level; we are a gender-affirming organization. It has posed some complications, because not all Girls Inc.’s are operating in the same environment. One of our affiliates in Texas just lost two-thirds of their funding because they’ve been teaching reproductive health. In Oregon and Washington, we have some protections against that, but we also know that that can change in the blink of an eye. What we’ve decided to do is to be gender-affirming no matter what. At each of our Girls’ Groups, because we have gender nonconforming youth and gender-fluid youth who find our programs very empowering, we do gender pronouns; we don’t assume gender identity. We’ve had some times where some schools have heard that that’s what we’ve done, and we’ve been told we’re not allowed to do that. That’s actually not the case, but the fact that that’s been said to us by some school officials, and we’ve had to get that verified at the top — it means a couple of things. One, we have to just make sure that we stay very determined; there are youth that really do need us. This is also about being strong and well operated, so that if I do have to have a conversation with the school district, that I’m not feeling like we need to cower down. We have our own policies and procedures and we know the law, and I feel very comfortable speaking up about it. 15
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18 BRAND STORY PRODUCED BY THE OREGON BUSINESS MARKETING DEPARTMENT BY NATALIA HURT When running a company, certain challenges come with the territory—from securing funding to fine-tuning logistics to scaling up. Unfortunately, too many business owners find themselves consumed by a hurdle they never anticipated: property crime. AMAROK’s electrified security fencing and security-asa-service model provide a safe, easy way for them to protect inventory and get back to running their companies in peace. “Our customers didn’t go into business to learn about security and spend all their time on that,” reminds Rachel Garrison, Oregon Account Executive, AMAROK. “Every customer I’ve spoken with has told me that once we installed our fence, crime stopped, and that they wish they’d known about this option earlier.” Called The Electric Guard Dog™, the name pays homage to AMAROK’s roots as a guard dog service company launched in 1973. Typical client industries include distribution, trucking, collision repair, car rentals, landscaping, and other organizations that store valuable inventory on property. “We believe in perimeter security. Cameras are great for intel, but if a camera is activated, someone is already on your property,” Garrison explains. “Electrified security fencing is a fantastic solution because there’s no human factor. It’s always there protecting your entire property. Security guards can only be in one spot at a time, and criminals can plan around that.” For companies required to have security guards, AMAROK fencing allows for the reduction of security staff and improved safety. The Electric Guard Dog™ utilizes a low voltage pulsed Perimeter Security that Protects Property and Peace of Mind AMAROK safeguards Oregon businesses with effective electric fencing and security services The security-as-a-service approach lets business owners avoid large upfront costs by paying a monthly service fee that covers permitting, installation, maintenance, service, full perimeter monitoring, and the security fence’s liability. AMAROK’s flagship 10-foot-tall electric fence is installed behind a non-electrified barrier as an additional layer of perimeter protection, discouraging and physically preventing anyone from accessing assets stored outdoors. Once installed, the security solution is 99 percent effective at preventing external theft.
19 BRAND STORY electric current safe for animals and people, even individuals with a pacemaker. If someone is brazen enough to attempt a breach of the fence, not only does this deliver a shock, but it allows for perimeter monitoring. A disruption of the current sends the system into alarm and notifies necessary individuals or authorities. Despite all these lines of defense at the ready, the solution aims to deter intruders from any attempt. “Nobody wants anyone to touch the fence.”, Garrison elaborates. “We want people to see the warning signs and move on.” AMAROK’s security-as-a-service model sets the solution apart, freeing customers from dealing with maintenance, repairs, or upgrades. It also lets them add layers of security and adapt the offering as necessary. Clients who opt to add visual surveillance to the fence, for example, benefit from immediate dual verification (the fence alarm and camera visual), a prerequisite in Oregon for timely police response. While at home or traveling, owners can freely check in on their property for added peace of mind. This smart approach to perimeter security has empowered thousands of businesses nationwide to protect their products and their people and take back their company’s future. Garrison’s favorite cases are ones in which AMAROK significantly improved the business owner’s quality of life. “With smaller businesses, it’s not uncommon for somebody to sleep in an RV on their property to protect it. I’ve run into that several times. It’s dangerous,” Garrison continues. “Our solution would prevent anyone from having to be on-site to physically watch the property.” This means fewer missed meals at home, fewer sleepless nights, and a reprieve from the constant threat of theft, which has become increasingly more sophisticated. Just one attack can end a small business. An Oregon business loses an estimated $83 thousand annually due to property crime. The impacts go beyond the cost of losing and replacing property—damaging reputation and client trust, which are often harder to rectify. Due to backlogs of materials, such as those caused by COVID-19, stolen items were sometimes literally irreplaceable, halting operations. Every new customer relationship begins with a tailored business case that considers the company’s assets, site specifications, and regional crime statistics. From there, AMAROK drafts an ROI report that calculates each company’s risks and current costs, which can include the financial burden of potential theft, time wasted on monitoring property and guarding inventory, opportunity cost, and security expenses (barbed wire fencing, security guards, etc.). On average, AMAROK saves Oregon businesses a total of $61.5 thousand per location annually. Its security solution can impact a business’s bottom line by allowing management to streamline operations and focus on revenue-generating tasks, instead of walking the perimeter or implementing other timeconsuming security measures. “We’re not just preventing theft, but also improving operations,” Garrison says. “I talked to someone yesterday who was bringing their trucks in every night and then bringing them back out every morning. That adds an hour and a half of work each day. By allowing them to securely leave their trucks out at night, we can help with their operational efficiency.” Oregon supports an organization’s right to protect its property safely and legally. As of January 2023, a new state law confirms that business owners can install batterycharged electrified security fencing under most circumstances. Having worked with Oregon’s state and city legislators for decades, AMAROK ensures a streamlined, compliant, responsible solution that lets both multistate corporations and small entrepreneurial teams get back to running their core businesses. In Portland, where property crime is 300 percent above the national average, Garrison encourages businesses to explore all available options for protecting their hardearned livelihood, today and well into the future. “This is where we live. None of us want crime here,” Garrison concludes. “I’m just happy that we have a solution that gives business owners a fighting chance. They deserve it.” n To learn more about AMAROK or to request a site visit for your business go to amarok.com/oregon
The Wide(ning) World of (Women’s) Sports Historically sidelined, interest in women’s sports is surging. Jenny Nguyen, owner of the Sports Bra, looks ready to ride the wave. BY AMY MILSHTEIN YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD of The Sports Bra by now. Located in Northeast Portland, the two-year-old pub with the cute, punny name is the first of its kind: a women-owned sports bar, featuring food and drink from women purveyors and dedicated to showing only women’s sports. Since its meteoric rise on Kickstarter (more on that later), stories about “The Bra,” as owner Jenny Nguyen affectionately calls it, pop up on the most disparate news venues. Local, national and international publications, mainstream outlets, LGBTQ+ sites, vegetarian blogs, travel newsletters and business journals alike have profiled Nguyen and her restaurant. After two years, the flurry has yet to die down. The attention still makes Nguyen, a self-described introvert, uncomfortable. “Running a business is hard, and doing all of this press is hard,” she admits. But Nguyen keeps powering through. Why? “In the beginning we saw ourselves as a novelty, a new thing. Now we are starting to see ourselves as ‘becoming what is possible.’” JASON E. KAPLAN ⁄Spotlight⁄ 20
And for the world of women’s sports, that untapped possibility looks endless. Men’s sports, of course, are big business, making gobs of money for owners, players, broadcast networks, merchandisers and more. Women’s sports, not so much. Quantifying the value of a concept as big as “sports” is tricky, but focusing in on one sport — say professional basketball—lays out the common thread. In 2022, according to the World Sports Network, the NBA generated $10 billion in revenue compared to just $60 million for the WNBA. This disparity drove Nguyen from the start. Her idea was born in 2018 after she and some friends visited a traditional sports bar to watch the NCAA women’s basketball championship game. After pleading with the bartender to switch one screen to the broadcast, the group watched a nail-biter of a contest in the corner on a tiny television with no sound. The unfairness of the experience stuck with Nguyen. While musing about creating a welcoming space that centered women’s sports, the jokey name popped into her head. For years she and her friends kept the bit alive, laughing about the Sports Bra until Nguyen was ready to make it happen. The idea, while novel, was not too far a stretch for Nguyen. As the executive chef for Bon Appétit Management Company — a restaurant management company that provides cafe services and catering to colleges and other large institutions — she knew her way around a commercial kitchen. But overseeing the food-service operations for Reed College is one thing; running an untested concept bar is another. The idea was so unique that when writing her business plan the question, “Who is your competition?” stumped Nguyen. “I wrote one sentence and it was: ‘The only competition is the status quo,’” she revealed during a CNBC’s Make It virtual event. Two years in and the Sports Bra is kicking the status quo’s butt. From the frenzy of that initial Kickstarter campaign — the original ask for $48,000 was soundly crushed by over $105,000 worth of pledges—to a line out the door on opening day, the Bra punches far above its weight. Portland Thorns fans pack the place on game days, but volleyball, softball and basketball games also draw people in. The Bra has become such a destination that they offer to store luggage for out-ofstate fans stopping in on their way from or to the airport. “The demand to watch women’s sports has always been there,” insists Asia Wisecarver, general manager of the Oregon Ravens, a competitive member of the Women’s National Football Conference. “The Sports Bra gives exposure to the content that’s out there. It’s hard to capture what that means to women in our community and beyond. The Sports Bra is a small place with huge energy. And the dream is not yet fully realized.” Nguyen confirms that the scrappy little 40-seat venue pulled in $944,000 in its first eight months of operation and continues steadily on that trajectory today. Ten percent of those earnings come from merchandise, an impressive number considering the Bra’s tiny merch display tucked into a back corner. (The Sports Bra also offer merchandise for sale on its website; sales are split evenly between the site and the brick-and-mortar location, Nguyen’s press representative confirms.) Brands, organizations, leagues and professional teams have noticed, rushing to support and work with the Sports Bra. Nguyen reports collaborating or doing events with the WNBA, Athletes Unlimited, Strava and Nike. “The Sports Bra’s success is a true testament to what is possible when women’s sports are a top priority in your business model,” said Women’s Sports Foundation CEO Danette Leighton in an emailed statement. “We applaud Jenny Nguyen, for recognizing that girls and women in sport deserve equal and equitable airtime, and it is our hope that her unwavering commitment continues to inspire others, showing them that investing and showcasing women’s sports is indeed smart business!” Yet no one seems more surprised by that “The Sports Bra gives exposure to the content that’s out there. It’s hard to capture what that means to women in our community and beyond. The Sports Bra is a small place with huge energy. And the dream is not yet fully realized.” ASIA WISECARVER, GENERAL MANAGER OF THE OREGON RAVENS, A COMPETITIVE MEMBER OF THE WOMEN’S NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE Jenny Nguyen, the founder and owner of Northeast Portland’s the Sports Bra 21
success than Nguyen herself. “I opened the Bra thinking it was something that was wanted and saw, even before we unlocked the door, that it was something we needed,” she says. But who is “we?” The Sports Bra is not a strictly lesbian or gay bar, although Nguyen is quick to acknowledge the importance of LGBTQ+ safe spaces, especially as they continue to disappear throughout the United States. While she reports that it “seemed like every queer person in Portland came through the doors when we first opened,” Nguyen envisions the Bra as something bigger: “A place for everybody to feel safe, heard and represented. Sports fans, nonsports fans, families with kids, families with no kids—no matter how you identify—come on in. Just no haters.” That’s a pretty big pool, and Nguyen is ready to dive in. When asked what’s next for the Bra, she answers, “World domination would be ideal.” A joke, for sure, but she is getting ready with trademarks and service marks in place, more collaborations set up, and a growing merchandise line. And don’t be surprised if (when?) new Sports Bra locations show up in other cities. “We would love to expand,” Nguyen says, “but we want to do it sustainably and in a way that pushes the agenda of women’s sports forward.” Pushing that agenda forward is something Nguyen cannot do alone. Her bar is an unqualified success, and she is constantly fielding calls from other entrepreneurs looking to start a similar business. But right now, only 15% of female athletes are given airtime, appearing on a combination of broadcast and cable television, streaming services, and online access. That is barely enough to fill the Sports Bra’s five screens every day. If there are no women’s sports to show, the screen is blank. Still, Nguyen believes change is coming. “In 2023 alone, every day was a record-breaking day for something in women’s sports — viewership, ticket sales, merch sales, game attendance or salaries. How quickly networks make the shift to showing more women’s and girls’ sports is to be determined, but if it does not scale, there will be billions of dollars left on a table somewhere. The trajectory is a space rocket.” The numbers bear her out. Front Office Sports reports that WNBA midseason viewership was up 46% on ESPN platforms last year. The expansion of legalized sports betting promises to add more fuel. “Sports betting and women’s sports are two of the biggest areas of growth in the sports industry, and we’re only scratching the surface for both in the U.S.,” WNBA chief growth officer Colie Edison told Front Office Sports in an article. “Betting and viewership [feed] each other.” Even with this billion-dollar rocket within reach, Nguyen remains firmly grounded in her original idea. Designs will morph to suit their surroundings. A St. Louis, Los Angeles or Las Vegas Sports Bra should look different than the original Portland location. But not much else should change. “At its heart, soul, and core, the Bra has a mission to serve the community and push the agenda of women’s sports. I would rather not expand if any of that is lost in translation.” “At its heart, soul, and core, the Bra has a mission to serve the community and push the agenda of women’s sports. I would rather not expand if any of that is lost in translation.” JENNY NGUYEN, OWNER OF THE SPORTS BRA JASON E. KAPLAN A crowd gathers to watch women’s college basketball on an early evening. 22
[ OREGONIANS HELPING OREGONIANS ] In 2020, a project was launched that turned empty hotels into homes for the unhoused, including people who’d lost their homes in the recent wildfires. Brian Resendez, a broker bringing hotels into the fold, was so moved by the experience that he became a donor to support organizations providing critical services to the unhoused. Thank you, Brian. Want to find the perfect match for your generosity? Oregon Community Foundation can help. Let’s get started. “I give because I saw what an impact one person can have in our community.” — BRIAN RESENDEZ, DONOR SINCE 2021 LET’S GET STARTED | OREGONCF.ORG/GETSTARTED
Sarah Masoni grew up in Minnesota, but her heart has always been in Oregon. Her father grew up in Grants Pass but moved to Minnesota to get his Ph.D. in food science. In summers, though, the family — Masoni’s parents and their four children — would travel to Oregon for vacation. “I remember climbing over the backseat of the yellow Dodge station wagon, saying to myself, ‘When I grow up, I’m moving to Oregon,’” Masoni tells Oregon Business. TASTEMAKER BY CHRISTEN McCURDY PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN Sarah Masoni has been quietly shaping Oregon’s food scene for more than 20 years. The 24
If you’ve read an article about Oregon’s food industry in recent years, chances are you’ve seen Masoni’s name in print. Sometimes she’s there as a quoted subject, offering insight about a particular product or sector. Sometimes the primary subject of the story mentions Masoni, or someone at the Food Innovation Center—where she has worked for 23 years — is quoted as crediting her for playing a pivotal role in developing a recipe. But those appearances, however frequent, are usually cameos rather than starring roles. Masoni herself is rarely the center of attention, save a 2018 New York Times profile and a CBS News segment, both of which described her as having a “million-dollar palate.” (On a recent episode of her podcast, “Meaningful Marketplace”—which she says has 6 million listeners — Masoni deadpans that she should get her palate insured, a nod to the story of Hollywood legend Betty Grable getting her legs insured for $1 million.) Masoni is the process and product development director and a senior faculty researcher at Oregon State University’s Food Innovation Center, which opened in 1999. The center receives funding from the university and from grants; entrepreneurs can also pay $140 an hour to meet with Masoni and get her advice. She’s helped usher a staggering number of Oregon food startups to either become beloved local favorites or to national distribution and prominence: Ruby Jewel’s ice cream sandwiches, Choi’s kimchi and several Bob’s Red Mill products. “The thing that I love about Sarah is she gives unrequested feedback to every food business,” says Sarah Marshall, co-owner of Marshall’s Haute Sauce, a line of hot sauces that can be found at New Seasons, Zupan’s and Northwest gift shops like MadeHere and Tender Loving Empire. “And she’s never wrong. She’s telling you something that is very true. She says it like it is.” Marshall is a former social worker who started making hot sauce on the side and decided to look into starting a business when she realized she was burning out at her day job. When she met with Masoni in 2010, Masoni tasted her sauces and said that while they tasted great, they didn’t look good enough to sell. “Within the first, like, minute of me meeting her and her tasting my sauces, she’s like, ‘It’s kind of brown. Nobody wants to buy brown sauce.’” So Marshall took Masoni’s feedback and altered the sauce’s formula: She’d been using a combination of green and red peppers to make the sauce, but on Masoni’s advice, she separated them into two recipes. Masoni’s ability to quickly size up what is and isn’t working with a product — and to deliver feedback that,however blunt, never seems to come across as hostile or snotty — is one reason she’s so sought after. There’s also that “million-dollar palate”: She has great taste. And she has a marketer’s sense of how to present and package a product so it will sell. And then there’s this. Masoni knows a lot about food—how different crops are grown in different parts of the country and how different food products are made. Since their initial meeting, Masoni and Marshall have become friends, getting together at the Emerald Line near the FIC, or traveling to trade shows together. Marshall is also the co-host of “Meaningful Marketplace”; together she and Masoni interview a different food entrepreneur each week. Recent guests have included Jana Jenkins, the founder of Oregon Ag and Oregon Wild Rice; Andrea Ludlow of Showstopper Cookies; and James Barry, whose business, Pluck, makes food seasoning out of a combination of spices and freeze-dried organ meats. Conversations can get a bit into the weeds, sometimes literally. During her conversation with Jenkins, Masoni describes the way wild rice is harvested in Minnesota, using canoes and rice sticks — which are like enormous chopsticks rice harvesters use to bend rice stalks and sweep the stems into the boat. “My dad was a food scientist, so I tell people I got my food-science training at the kitchen table,” Masoni says. Her father, Edmund Zottola, was an extension agent with the University of Minnesota and later a professor of food microbiology at Minnesota’s department of food science and nutrition. Sarah Masoni in the test kitchen at OSU’s Food Innovation Center 25
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