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This content was published: June 1, 2011. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.

Congressman hosts small-business talk at PCC

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U.S. Congressman David Wu, Oregon’s 1st Congressional District, will conduct a panel discussion on small business lending at the Rock Creek Campus of Portland Community College.

The event is set from 9 to 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 7, in Building 9.

Topics for discussion will include small business lending and federal resources available for business owners.

Among the panelists is Tammy Marquez-Oldham director of the Small Business Development Center at the CLIMB Center.

CLIMB is PCC’s one-stop center for employees, employers, managers and entrepreneurs.

Marquez-Oldham has three decades of experience in education, health care, software and food industries, and has helped women in seven underdeveloped countries become business owners.

“Small businesses are the heart and soul of Oregon’s economy,” Marquez-Oldham said. “Panel discussions like this are an ideal way for the entrepreneur to maximize the services that are out there.”

Other panelists include:

  • Sam Brooks, president of S. Brooks & Associates Inc., and chairman of the board and founder of Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs. The association helps non-profit organizations that provide services to minority, women and emerging small businesses.
  • Damon Rose, senior vice president and senior credit officer of Pacific Continental Bank. Rose oversees roughly one half of Pacific Continental’s total portfolio, in addition to oversight of its U.S. Small Business Administration lending.
  • Tom Taylor, senior vice president and regional business banking manager at Wells Fargo. Taylor said one of his goals is to make SBA lending easier than ever before for small businesses.
  • Larry Trujillo, director of lender relations at the Portland Small Business Administration. Trujillo oversees the SBA’s efforts to provide assistance through access to capital; entrepreneurial development; government contracting; and advocacy.

Reservations are requested and can be made by calling John Trull at (503) 326-2901 or via e-mail at john.trull@mail.house.gov.

Maps to and of the Rock Creek Campus can be found online.

To learn more about PCC’s legislative activities, or what issues could affect the college, visit pcc.edu/about/legislature

About Dana Haynes

Dana Haynes, joined PCC in 2007 as the manager of the Office of Public Affairs, directing the college's media and government relations. Haynes spent the previous 20 years as a reporter, columnist and editor for Oregon newspapers, including ... more »