It’s quite simple really. We feel energized and gratified by the type of work we get to do. We’re not just communicators—it’s so much deeper than that. Employing each of our unique talents, we are storytellers and movement builders. We are change agents, reframers and advocates. And continually proud of the impact we make. Learn more about what drives us in our staff-written blogs.
October 20th, 2016
“Where are you from?” That’s a common question I dread being asked as I never know how to answer it. Do I say where I was born, or my two nationalities? Or should I mention all of the places I’ve lived? Due to my dad’s job, my family and I moved approximately every three years…
September 28th, 2016
The ash kept falling like snow, but it just wouldn’t melt. Citizens roamed the streets, their anxious faces dressed in unfamiliar surgical masks to protect their lungs. Nervous cars hid in their garages fearful of clogged air filters. It seemed Portland, my beloved hometown, would be forever lost to unpredictable Mother Nature. I celebrated my…
June 20th, 2016
Growing up in North Carolina, I don’t remember listening to much country music. Now that I live on the opposite coast, I can’t get enough of it. That’s partly because, as much as I love Portland and the Northwest, I miss the touchstones of home: Southern accents, properly-fried okra, four distinct seasons (as opposed to…
May 6th, 2016
My son Cameron came home last night for a visit from college. Catching up with him reminded me of our trip about a month back for spring break. The two of us and my wife Madeline headed to Utah and hit the slopes. In these last years of our kids growing up and leaving the…
March 21st, 2016
It was the jazz-loving beats of 1950s San Francisco. Then it was the raw talent of a few fearless kids that brought skateboarding to life in 1970s Venice Beach. Now it’s the rain-soaked cyclists of Portland. The bike scene in the Pacific Northwest is a movement all its own and Tim Jacks, one of our…
September 23rd, 2015
Last December, I moved back to Portland after having lived in Seattle for the past eight years. I began working at Coates Kokes as a Senior Account Manager, and one of the first clients I started working on was Metro, the governing agency for the three counties that make up the greater Portland area (Multnomah,…