Willamette West

My professional career has taken several twists and turns over the years. After changing from sales to education to ministry to architecture, I took a job in 1970 as overdraft bookkeeper in a bank branch close to our home. Over the following years, I progressed in the banking profession to the level of Vice President and Manager of Consumer Compliance for a major west coast bank. In 2007 I began making plans for retirement, a fact which I shared with Ed Brauner, Director Emeritus, with the board of Willamette West Habitat for Humanity. Ed invited me to attend a board meeting and the first annual Fund Raising breakfast. After the breakfast, I was hooked and knew that this would be an avenue of service for me after retirement. I retired in August, 2008, and began attending board meetings regularly in September, 2008. When asked to join the board as a director, I was happy to say “yes.”

Brent Warren graduated from the University of California, San Diego and completed a graduate program in elementary education at U.C. Santa Barbara.  He has been an Oregon banker for 27 years.  He has held a number of positions including Vice President and Community Development Manager for Key Bank's Oregon/SW Washington Region and Affordable Housing Asset Manager responsible for 65 Section 42 Tax Credit Investment Projects in 6 Western States.  He current is Vice President & Community Development Officer for Banner Bank.  He has been involved in loan product development and sales for consumer and mortgage lending, specifically to increase first-time home buying opportunities.   He has also been responsible for administering bank community grant programs.  During the past 2 decades, Brent has been involved with a number of non-profit organizations which promote affordable housing:

• Board president of Portland Habitat for Humanity
• Board president & executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Oregon
• Board chair the Consortium of Salem Area Lenders
• Chair of the Oregon Bankers Association's Community Involvement Committee
• Founding board member for the Portland Housing Center
• Board member of the Network of Affordable Housing (NOAH)
• Board member of the Association of Oregon Community Development Organizations (AOCDO) - Currently know as Oregon Opportunity Network
• Community Development Network (CDN)
• City of Portland Fair Contracting Commission
• Board member of Adelante Community Development Corporation
• Housing Committee member of Community Partners for Affordable Housing

When I left work almost 4 years ago, I gave a great deal of thought to the volunteer opportunities in my community.  Habitat for Humanity was always on my short list to research.  Their mission to eliminate substandard housing by using volunteers together with the hard work of the people it served just seemed right.  The more I became involved, the more it became evident that the people I was working with were dedicated, capable, and generous- making WWHFH a rewarding experience.  My first career was as a Medical Technologist at Good Samaritan Hospitals in Portland and in Corvallis (while my husband finished his graduate work).  After several years of working and motherhood, I decided that raising two boys was enough of a job, and I stayed home and became a “domestic specialist”.  When it was time to return to the workforce, the laboratory was not where I wanted to be.  I returned to school and graduated with an MBA from Portland State, and was a financial analyst at Intel doing consolidation and budget analysis.  I enjoy traveling, gardening, swimming, and quilting.  My husband, Wally, travels in his work as the VP of Customer Services Division at Credence Systems in Hillsboro, so we work hard to carve out time to visit our children and their families in the Los Angeles area.

I graduated from Linfield College in McMinnville, OR in 2002 with a degree in accounting. I have spent the last seven years with a local CPA firm in Lake Oswego, where I am currently an audit manager. After passing the CPA exam and becoming certified I decided to look for opportunities to get involved in the community with my spare time.  I have always been impressed with Habitat for Humanity so when I saw an opening on the board of directors for my local chapter I thought this was the perfect way to get involved.

I became involved with Willamette West Habitat for Humanity in the early 1990's when I encountered a WWHFH booth at the Beaverton Good Neighbor Days and it has been a part of my life ever since. I am a CPA with the firm of Dethloff and Associates in Beaverton. I have been with Dethloff & Associates since 1987. In my spare time I enjoy reading, walking, rafting, and camping. My wife Janice works at Intel. My twins Aaron and Lauren are students at the University of Oregon.  (Leon is and will be Controller for Willamette West until 2019!)

Habitat came into my life when our son Bill accepted a staff position with Habitat in Americus, Georgia.  He married a girl he met there, and they went to serve in Guatemala.  They suggested I learn Spanish, so I could have some independence when I visited them.  After two years at PCC, I learned that WWHfH urgently needed someone with knowledge of Spanish to work with family partners who spoke only Spanish.  That was more than ten years ago, and I have worked with partnering and family selection ever since.  My husband Ed and I are retired, both active in Habitat and Sunset Presbyterian Church.  We have two adult daughters and three granddaughters living in Beaverton, as well as Bill and his family now living in Boston.

I was recruited to Habitat by my former president where I work Director of Training at Cascade Employers Association. Cascade serves 500 member organizations with HR services. He was Pres of the affiliate in Salem. Since my construction skills are non-existent, I decided to volunteer in communications in my own area and after a year, Melanie nominated me to the Board in 2004. I have served WWHfH as VP and PR Committee Chair. I spent 18 years in Higher Continuing Ed and now teach at night and serve as President of the OR Ethics Commons. Habitat is a wonderful organization with terrific people who put ethics into positive action. My newest role is helping orient new Board members.

After 32 years in the HR Technology field working for companies in the Portland area, I was ready for a break and an opportunity to take a new path in life.  I wanted to include non-profit volunteering as part of that new path, and recalled hearing the founder of Habitat International speak at my nieces’ University of Portland commencement.  I started working at the job site and participated in the 2008 Women’s Build event, where I met Cherry Williams, who was then the Board President.  She encouraged me to consider serving on the board and, as they say, the rest is history!

It seems like I have always been involved in volunteering ... from high school, college, and on through my professional life as a manager of human resource and corporate trainer   My volunteer experience has included:  The Perry Center for Children, Jr Achievement, Youth for Progress (mentor for kids in the juvenile justice system), Mt Hood Ski Patrol, Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity.  I began volunteering for WWHFH after reading a request for HR help.  Upon completion of the initial projects, I joined the steering committee to collaborate with several others to construct the affiliates first Women's Build home in 2003.  In 2004 I was invited to join the Board and took on my first partner family.   I enjoy working with the board and I continue to partner with new families each year.  I’m looking forward to working with the affiliate for many more years to come.

I graduated with a master’s degree in Public Administration from Clark University and started my career at Jesuit High School in event fundraising.  From there I moved to a sales management position at LaCrosse Footwear, Inc./ Danner, Inc. While at LaCrosse I was able to serve in a number of leadership roles by managing the key accounts for sales, then transferring to manage the internal customer service department and ultimately holding the position as Director of National Sales.  Upon becoming a mother I chose to stay at home full time.  Currently in the most challenging and rewarding job of I’ve had I sought after meaningful volunteer work in my local community which lead me to Habitat for Humanity.  My husband and I have been supporters of Habitat’s work for several years and this was a natural fit for me.  I look forward to contributing to the growth of Willamette West Habitat for Humanity.

I have worked in my family construction business for the past 39 years.  Despite having lost my husband, an important part of our family and business, I continue to work alongside my Sons and Daughter building custom homes and remodeling.  My construction experience was acquired from on the job training.  You can say that I started from the ground up.....pouring foundations, framing, painting etc.  My time is now spent in sales, estimating and overseeing our projects.  I worked on a Habitat blitz build thru the homebuilders association many years ago. I have often thought that I would like to work with Habitat again, when this opportunity came up, it seemed like the right time.

Steve joins the board with over 40 years of experience in the Real Estate and Construction industry.  He has built over 120 custom homes, completed several residential planned unit developments, has developed, built, and owned apartment complexes, assisted care facilities, and medical office buildings, and developed condominium conversions and commercial retail strips.  Projects have ranged in price from the low hundred thousands to over nine million dollars. 

Three years ago Steve sold the last of his properties and decided it was time to give back to the community.  He searched for the perfect charitable fit where his experience and construction background could be utilized best.

I was raised in a construction family and have always liked the business even when I was just sweeping the floors. Later I received my degree in Civil Engineering but was drawn back into the home building business. I having been building in the Portland area for the past 15 years and been lucky enough to be involved in building a lot of homes for a wide range of cliental. Upon starting my own business I wanted to make sure the business was “giving back” to the community and the opportunity for Habitat came around. Habitat allows me to share my time and resources for the benefit of providing housing to those whom otherwise would not have a chance for a home of their own.

 My participation in Habitat began around 1985 when I began leading teams from Valley Community Presbyterian Church, in Raleigh Hills, to work with Portland HFH.  In late 1990 I attended the first training conference held by HFH International in the Northwest.  There, I met volunteers from the new affiliate on the west side of Portland and was invited to join them.  After attending a Willamette West board meeting, I was asked to serve as President as this position was vacant.  I served for 1-1/2 years, was succeeded by Bill Lindsay, and later elected to another year as President.  

After 6 years on the Willamette West board, I became active in organizing Habitat for Humanity of Oregon, an umbrella affiliate that works on statewide fund-raising and publicity, especially with the Oregon State government. I served several years as Vice President of HFHO.

After retiring from the HFH-Oregon board, I was looking forward to some rest but soon got involved again with Willamette West and served on the Board for 3 years.  More recently, as Director Emeritus, I serve as an ex-officio (non-voting) member of the Board and Executive Committee.

My educational background is as a MSW Social Worker, my specialty was in administrative services and management, and I received my degree in 1974 from Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.  After graduation I worked for 11 years for the American Red Cross in various administrative capacities in St. Louis, Mo., Norfolk, Va., and lastly in Portland, Or where my role was Executive Director/CEO.  I made a directional change in my career and moved into Financial Planning and Financial Services. For the last 25 years I have worked as an advisor for New York Life and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.  I have been involved with Habitat for over 20 years although up until recently my involvement was mainly in the construction aspect of Habitat and as a local coordinator of Thrivent’s involvement in the Habitat / Thrivent Builds program.  My experiences have been very satisfying and I look forward to the opportunity of serving as a Board Member for Willamette West Habitat for Humanity.

Although my degree is in Landscape Architecture, my career path has not been a straight one. I have spent over 10 years with architecture companies in Yakima and Boise, and 4 years running my own consulting office in Yakima. In 2001, after losing my job with a site development and design company due to downsizing, I decided not to go back to work. As I evaluated how to invest my energies and experience, Habitat came to mind. I joined the building/construction committee and later, the Board. This experience has far exceeded my expectations for challenge, personal growth, and gratification. I happily look forward to it continuing.

I am a business associate with Perkins Coie, LLP in the Corporate Governance and Transactions and Emerging Companies groups. I represent public, private and nonprofit corporations in financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and other corporate and securities matters.  I also serve on the Board of Directors and as Treasurer of Oregon Women Lawyers.  I spent 2 weeks in Northern Ireland in 2000 working on a Habitat project in Belfast.  I have worked with Willamette West Habitat for Humanity on legal matters since 2007.