Boards and Staff

Summer Fowler

Owner/President, Well Faculty, LEED AP+ BD&C, Assoc. AIA

ecoREAL (D/E/WBE #6977): Green Building consulting company founded by Summer Fowler in 2009 with a mission to provide sustainability with equity in the built environment. Summer has over 20 years of experience in the Green Building industry starting in a global architecture firm. Her team provides services for reaching LEED, Living Building, Path to Net Zero Energy to Zero Carbon, and Well Building goals with cost-effective tools and training, including proprietary Green Canary healthy material tracking software to optimize sustainability and equity goals.

Mel Jones

Director of Inclusion, Hoffman Construction

Mel Jones is the Director of Inclusion at Hoffman Construction where he leads the corporate initiative for a more wholistic inclusive environment. With over 30 years of experience in the construction industry, Mel has developed strategies and implemented processes that increase employee engagement and work satisfaction as well as increased diverse and small business inclusion at all levels of the design and construction process. His role serves as a catalyst to promote a culture of inclusion, where all individuals thrive and remain highly engaged.

Mel facilitates inclusive business practices for women, minorities, and small businesses in support of construction projects and actively conducts community outreach to develop new partnerships with MWVESB firms.

Natasha Hendricks, CEPA

Financial Advisor, Financial Planning Specialist

Natasha Hendricks is an entrepreneur, a speaker, and a business owner. She is a first generation immigrant from Russia, and she has a unique experience of owning a metal fabrication business for fifteen years, as well as running a Wealth Management practice at Morgan Stanley. She graduated from the University of Portland Pamplin School of Business with an MBA in Finance and has been a financial mentor to many businesses. She also holds the Financial Planning Specialist and Certified Business Exit Advisor (CEPA®) designations, along with being licensed as Registered Investment Advisor in Oregon and Washington and holding Series 7 and 66 Licenses in 22 states.

Natasha is passionate about helping individuals, businesses and public entities making sound financial decisions while making positive impact on their lives and communities.

Kenyatta Trice

Founder, TRICE OCS

Kenyatta Trice is the founder of TRICE OCS, a black-owned, woman-owned consulting agency specializing in business and career development. She is dedicated to helping job seekers secure meaningful employment and assisting entrepreneurs in launching and growing successful businesses through strategic plan management.

Kenyatta has over 20 years’ experience, holding positions as Recruiter (Brooks Staffing), Economic Empowerment Coordinator (Bradley Angle), Director of Access To Capital (OAME) and the Program Director of a federally-funded program (MBDA). Within all positions held and in current business, advocacy, awareness and stabilization are at the heart of her work. 

Matthew Calhoun

Owner, G.I. Junk Removal

Matthew Calhoun is a military veteran, entrepreneur, and community leader. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising from Northern Arizona University in 1994 immediately commissioning as an Army officer. He served in Air Defense Artillery and later transitioned to Army Intelligence, completing deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait. In 2005, he joined the Oregon Army National Guard, retiring in 2014 after 20 years of service.

In 2018, Matt founded G.I. Junk Removal, a company built and run with Integrity, Respect, Compassionate Approach, Mission First and Exceptional Service — values that align with his personal code. He became a board member in 2024 and is the Veteran Committee Chairperson for the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME).

Matt lives in Portland with his wife, Jennifer, and their three children—two sons and a daughter. 

James Faison

Owner, Faison Construction

Mr. James Faison opened the doors at Faison Construction in 2004 with one truck, out of a small office in N.E. Portland. Since then he has grown Faison Construction into a recognized, widely respected, and successful Construction firm. Having partnered with privately held companies like Hoffman, Fortis, Skanska, and Wildish as well as publicly owned / managed clients like TriMet, ODOT, Portland Parks and many others, Faison has positioned himself as one of the NW’s premiere Concrete / General contracting firms.

Naim Hassan

Naim Hasan Photography, LLC

Naim Hasan has been a trusted provider of high-quality photographic services since 2002, serving a diverse clientele that includes local, regional, and national entities such as government agencies, business associations, and travel and tourism organizations.

Moayad Zahralddin

Operations Director

Bill Prows

Director of Events

Della Shanley

Event Producer