2019-2020 Annual Report: Impact

Sustainable growth through supply chain education

Axkana Rios-Martinez ('19) first heard the term “circular economy” when representatives from Suez Water Technologies & Solutions held a workshop at PSU. Simply put, the concept is all about sustainability. It’s about reducing waste, prolonging the life of products and cutting pollution. 

This immediately struck a chord with Rios-Martinez, who, as a child in Mexico City, was raised with the importance of conserving resources.

“It was very uncommon where I grew up to see people wasting water like crazy,” he said. “If you own your own well, or share a community well, you don’t take long showers.”

Rios-Martinez knew he wanted to learn more, and Suez was happy to have him. The company offered him a six-month internship in its Richmond, VA office over the spring and summer and another one at its Bellevue, WA office that overlapped with his final academic year. Rios-Martinez earned a bachelor’s degree in business management and supply chain logistics, areas he believes fit with his mission.

“Whatever I can do with supply chain management to help companies think outside the box — that’s what I want to do.”

Rios-Martinez’s parents are college educated and had professional jobs in Mexico, but chose to move the family to the United States when he was 7 in search of economic opportunities. They started out in California before settling in Beaverton, OR. Rios-Martinez graduated from Aloha High School in 2011, then went to Portland Community College where he earned his associate’s degree.

At PCC, he became a peer mentor in the college’s THRIVE program, which helps students navigate college, find resources and gain leadership experience. 

“I felt if I could go to college, others could too,” he said.

When it came time to pursue his bachelor’s degree, he had his pick of universities. He chose Portland State because of its commitment to helping students from all backgrounds. 

“Every other school is trying to promote diversity. But at PSU — and especially The School of Business — they’re actually investing in it. To me that’s more impressive than any flyer,” he said. 

Through The School of Business, Rios-Martinez received several grants and scholarships, including occasional emergency grants to help him cover unexpected costs. And when he went to Richmond for his internship, the school lent him a laptop computer to take with him.

PSU has offered him tools for success in other ways too. He received mentoring during his first year through GANAS, a program that provides mentoring and academic assistance to Latinx students. After his first year, he became a GANAS mentor to younger students, and worked with Latinx students through his job in the Undergraduate Business Programs office.

He was also part of the school’s Dean’s Future Leaders Group and ATMOS, a program that provides academic support and professional development to diverse students.

“When I came to PSU, I had no support, no network,” he said. “ATMOS gave me a network of not only peers, but professionals, to connect with and help me along.”

With that foundation, Rios-Martinez is ready to get to work.

“I want to save the world. That’s all — no biggie.”

Responding to COVID-19 and keeping students in school

In mid-March, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Business Programs Erica Wagner quickly realized that COVID-19 was going to have serious and far-reaching impacts on PSU students. Employees were being asked to work from home and instructors were worrying about the safety of continuing in-person classes. It was clear the growing pandemic was going to significantly affect the student experience this year, and perhaps even longer.

Then, in April, many people — including PSU students — lost their jobs. There was an immediate increase in requests for financial support from The School of Business Hardship Fund. 

“A number of our students were already vulnerable, and we were dealing with a shortage of available money, despite our best fundraising efforts,” Wagner said.

The School of Business team swiftly came together to move funds from other areas (marketing, graduate programs, Wagner’s discretionary fund and additional funding from the Provost) and raised over $40,000 from individual donors and corporate partners to supplement the immediate and serious financial need.
 

Amanda McLain submitted one of the over 160 applications for financial support between March 11, 2020 — the day the World Health Organization declared a pandemic — and early September 2020. Around 80% of these applications were from first-time applicants. PSU was the only university McLain applied to, and she was willing to do whatever necessary to make sure this campus was where she earned her degree. Studying accounting and balancing full-time employment, McLain was heartbroken to learn that she’d reached the student loan limit and wouldn’t be able to get aid for the 2020-2021 school year. 

When COVID-19 hit, her situation became even harder; living states away from family and friends, she worried hard work wasn’t enough to take her across the finish line. Determined to continue her education, she applied for the Hardship Fund and received the money needed to cover her costs for the fall term. She is now on track to graduate in 2021 with plans to make her mark on the accounting industry.

“Challenges are the fuel that force me to achieve more within my personal and professional life,” McLain says. “I plan to continue pushing myself and be proud of all that I’ve been able to accomplish.” 

Stories like McLain’s are common. The average dollars per request from the Hardship Fund in Spring 2020 was $1,800.

“These students want to be in school, and such a small amount should not keep them from finishing their degree,” Wagner said. She has heard from numerous undergraduate business students that the more than $225,000 awarded since March 11 has meant rent is paid, food is on the table and coursework is back on track. 

Additionally, more than $65,000 in hardship funding benefited graduate business students impacted by COVID-19. 

“As an access institution, we must offer the services and resources that back up that label,” Wagner said. “The promise of a college degree still lives here, and many of our students are supporting families through their education. These students are changing the world of business — it’s worth it to invest in them.” 

There is still a great need for Hardship Fund contributions; requests have totaled over $236,000 since March 11. Not all requests have been able to be met for multiple reasons, including lack of available funding. The School of Business’ COVID-19 response is representative of the school’s ethos and mission to ensure every student successfully earns their degree. People wanting to donate can do so through the PSU Foundation.

Investing with impact

In 2019, four Master of Science in Finance (MSF) capstone students founded PSU Impact Ventures after exploring the role capitalism plays in addressing emerging environmental and social issues.

The student-led program provides opportunities for students to make real-world investments using real money. Impact Ventures, the first-student led impact fund in the Pacific Northwest, is made possible through philanthropy and private support. Ultimately, investment returns will fund scholarships for future generations of business students.

“We’re doing this for the greater good,” says MSF student Matt Safko. “And to demonstrate that we’re committed to improving our business ecosystem.” 

The new student-led impact investing fund closed its first deal in April after months of due diligence and considering nearly 70 pitches from regional startups. Impact Ventures invested $25,000 in optimize.health, a remote patient monitoring (RPM) platform that’s now surging amid COVID-19.

“optimize.health helps a lot of people,” Safko says of the Seattle-based startup. “Measurable social impact is a key investment policy of Impact Ventures. Together with its quick sales growth and high-value management team, the company aligned well with what we were looking for.”

Safko managed the deal with MBA student Ben Orndoff and undergraduate finance student Zac McKinster. The team had two terms of hands-on experience working with Impact Ventures and collaborated with the fund’s investment partner Keiretsu Forum Northwest.

“They did a robust, diligent process,” says optimize.health Co-founder and CEO Jeff LeBrun. “It was in line with what a typical venture capitalist would do — maybe even more."

optimize.health started in 2019 and saw early success prior to COVID-19 with its turnkey RPM solution that elevates patient care and optimizes revenue capture through automated billing and reimbursement. LeBrun believes their user-friendly software helps mitigate the high burnout rate among healthcare workers. 

“If we can design something healthcare workers like using, then it makes them happier and they can do a better job,” LeBrun says. “We’ve been pretty much just working, eating and sleeping to keep up with demand.” Practitioners need tools like those provided by optimize.health to deliver on the influx of remote care necessitated by COVID-19.

Originally from Oregon, LeBrun says it’s an honor to be the first startup in Impact Ventures’ portfolio. As a student, he participated in University of Michigan’s Wolverine Venture Fund, the nation’s oldest student-led venture capital fund. University of Michigan’s Social Venture Fund is also an investor in optimize.health.

“Michigan and the Pacific Northwest have a long way to go compared to Silicon Valley,” LeBrun says about venture capital investing. “Most companies get started through personal connections, and it’s exciting to bring this model to our region.”

Participation in the program was a fitting culmination for Orndoff, who works as a regulatory analyst with PGE. 

“The experience tied together everything I learned throughout The Portland MBA program,” he says. “It was eye-opening to see all of the pitches and creative solutions startups are using to address the vast problems in today’s society.”

McKinster insists that impact investing is not only a way to be bold in today’s business environment, but should be the future of venture capital.

“Venture capital is inherently risky,” he says. “While typical investments only look to maximize capital return, we’re focused on investments that will look more attractive over time because of their impact on people, community and the environment. Impact Ventures fits well with what PSU represents.”

All three students found tremendous value in the professional nature of the fund and the access to a community of investors they otherwise wouldn’t have had. It panned out especially well for Safko, who landed an internship with Keiretsu during a lunch meeting.

“It’s a great continuation of what I was learning,” Safko says. “And now the door is open for another PSU student to hold the same role in the future.”

Female enrollment reaches 50% in two graduate business programs

Despite the growing attention around women in the boardroom and pay equity in the workplace, most graduate business program pipelines are still under-serving professional women, which makes it more difficult for employers to recruit a diverse, qualified workforce. PSU is committed to being a leader in filling this gap, and The School of Business reached a major milestone in Fall 2019: For the first time, both The Portland MBA and Master of Science in Finance (MSF) programs had male and female students represented in equal numbers*. 

The women in this year’s cohorts are shining examples of the tenacity, creative thinking and passion needed in today’s business leaders. 

Kristen Currens, a Spring 2020 MBA graduate and commencement speaker, has had a fascinating career as a wetland scientist. After coming to the West Coast in 2001 for an internship, Currens eventually moved into a role with a natural resource consulting company. As she took on more project management responsibilities, including overseeing finances, Currens saw a gap for someone with both the scientific and business skills needed in the field. 

“Improving the business end of things would mean we could turn around and do better natural resources work,” she said. 

Currens began diving into ways to improve business practices and considering how to strengthen her skillset, leading her to consider an MBA program. The Portland MBA hit important notes for her: an in-person option, a focus on sustainability and the ability to make it happen within her busy schedule as a working mother. Currens said she sees program flexibility as a key enabler of women’s success. 

“There’s an understandable perception that something like this is too difficult as a mother,” she said. “I was able to make this work by using my kids’ schedules to my advantage. If I can do this, anyone can.” 

Chelsea Wiater, a 2021 MSF candidate, echoed these sentiments. 

“A number of women in my cohort have children,” she said. “It’s empowering to have each other to lean on and a supportive university behind us.”

Wiater had an added layer of complexity during the first year of her program: She welcomed her second child in Spring 2020. She credits the MSF community as integral in finding the balance between school, work and family, which has allowed her to continue in the program without taking a leave of absence. 

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Trinity University in Texas, she returned home to Oregon in hopes of pursuing a career in sports marketing but struggled to find a job that was a good fit in the middle of the Great Recession. She eventually landed a temp role at an asset management firm, where she quickly discovered an exciting new career option and worked her way up to an analyst position. She set her sights on becoming a portfolio manager and knew she needed a master’s degree to make her next move.

Wiater said she has been deeply impacted by the women in PSU’s finance faculty and support of career development.

“PSU does a phenomenal job with career advising,” she said. “It can be extremely intimidating as a woman in finance, and we need more of us in the room together to be heard.” 

Both Currens and Wiater are optimistic that The School of Business is headed in the right direction to support more women’s professional dreams. Both encouraged women — especially moms — to not discount grad school as an option. Wiater noted that “you don’t have to do things in a particular order or come from a business background to excel,” a point that Currens echoed.

“It’s hard work but worthwhile,” Currens said. “If you’re considering this and are excited about the idea, take the leap — you can make it work.” 

*This turning point is indicated by legal sex data collected during the admissions process as per HECC standards. At this time, in order to protect and respect the identities of our students, gender identity data are not currently collected by PSU in a way that allows for aggregate reporting.

In Memoriam: Brenda Eichelberger

Senior Instructor II of Management Brenda Eichelberger passed away in April after many years of triumph over chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Brenda was a pillar of The School of Business community for over 20 years — her belief in colleagues and students was contagious and enabled so many to become better people and better professionals. Her high-impact personal finance course and significant contributions toward PSU's entrepreneurship programs are just two pieces of her legacy. Brenda’s kindness, generosity and unparalleled commitment to student success will be deeply missed. Here is a selection of comments shared about Brenda on social media:

Brenda was my "boss," mentor and inspiration for the best of times. She supported and encouraged me when I stood at the front of the classroom, trying to emulate her professionalism and spirit. Couldn't have done it without her. Thank you Brenda for everything you did for me. We appreciate you more than ever and miss you very much. - Ron Johnson

I’m so sorry to hear this. Brenda was my entrepreneurship professor and a serious inspiration. She encouraged me to start a small business involving a mutual passion: puppy training. She believed so much in me that she was my very first client. Rest In Peace, Brenda. -Jill Suydam

Brenda was one of the most impactful professors I ever had. Her care and dedication was unbelievable, helped me through a lot of situations and even guided my professional career. I owe a lot of my growth and the way I conduct myself to her. This is such devastating news but I know she left this world changing it for the better and I know she knew this as well. Brenda you will be missed and never forgotten. -Nikhel Chand

Terrible news but such a privilege to have studied under Brenda. Her dedication to the SB was unrivaled and her encouragement of entrepreneurship (those who remember or participated in e-club) was the catalyst for many well beyond their PSU years. Many have come and gone but few have left such indelible marks. She went above and beyond for her students. She was very quotable. Here’s one she shared the morning after a grueling deadline, one that has defined my own grit in career and all else - “for all of you that say you’re tired this morning, I’ve been tired for 35 years.” Her message was to keep pushing, for what you value and believe in, and it’s one that has stayed with me to persevere through all of life’s ups and downs. Thank you beyond words Brenda!!! -Christopher Harris

Very sad news. I had one of her classes this year. She was very invested into the success of her students and truly wanted to make a positive impact into the community, by sharing life lessons and encouraging us to constantly serve our community. She will be greatly missed. -Alfredo Texta