Celebrate Juneteenth by Supporting Black-Owned Local Businesses

Juneteenth is a day that commemorates the end of slavery [...]

2025-06-18T11:36:48-07:00June 18, 2025|Alberta, Beaumont District, Division/Clinton, Lloyd, Midway, Montavilla, Old Town, Parkrose, Soul District, St. Johns, Williams District|
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Celebrate Oregon Wine Month at These District Businesses

The Willamette Valley is recognized as one of the premier [...]

2025-05-22T09:28:20-07:00May 21, 2025|Beaumont District, Central Eastside, Division/Clinton, Foster District, Greater Brooklyn, Midway, Mississippi Ave, Montavilla, NE Broadway, NW District, St. Johns, Williams District|
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Pick Up a Locally Made Pie During Pizza Week

While Americans may not agree on everything, one thing is [...]

2025-04-16T11:01:49-07:00April 16, 2025|Beaumont District, Division/Clinton, Foster District, Greater Brooklyn, Hawthorne, Mississippi Ave, Montavilla, NW Industrial, Soul District, St. Johns|
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Celebrate Filipino Food Month at These Delicious Eateries

Established in the Philippines, Filipino Food Month is celebrated every [...]

2025-04-10T09:17:37-07:00April 9, 2025|82nd Avenue, Alberta, Central Eastside, Division/Clinton, Foster District, Lents, Parkrose, Stadium District|
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Venture Portland Awards $90,000 to Stimulate Economic Development in Business Districts 

Portland, OR - Portland's small businesses are the lifeblood of [...]

2025-04-07T10:16:35-07:00April 7, 2025|Division/Clinton, Foster District, Hawthorne, Hillsdale, Lloyd, Montavilla, NE Broadway, Old Town, Parkrose, Soul District|
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Get Stuffed on National Burrito Day at These Local Businesses

After another fly-by month, April is upon us! If you [...]

2025-04-02T16:03:08-07:00April 2, 2025|82nd Avenue, Beaumont District, Central Eastside, Division/Clinton, Foster District, Hillsdale, Montavilla, Parkrose, Raleigh Hills, St. Johns, Williams District|
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Celebrate National Reading Month at These Local Book Stores

March is National Reading Month and there is no better [...]

2025-02-26T11:24:11-08:00February 26, 2025|Alberta, Beaumont District, Belmont, Central Eastside, Division/Clinton, Foster District, Lloyd, Mississippi Ave, Multnomah Village, NE Broadway, Soul District, St. Johns, Stadium District, Uncategorized|
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Celebrate National Drink Wine Day at these District Businesses

The Willamette Valley is recognized as one of the premier [...]

2025-02-19T10:19:31-08:00February 19, 2025|Beaumont District, Central Eastside, Division/Clinton, Foster District, Greater Brooklyn, Hillsdale, Mississippi Ave, Montavilla, NE Broadway, NW Industrial, St. Johns, Williams District|
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Support Black-Owned Businesses During Black History Month and All Year Long

February is Black History Month! We always look forward to [...]

2025-02-11T09:16:48-08:00February 11, 2025|Alberta, Beaumont District, Central Eastside, Division/Clinton, Foster District, Lents, Lloyd, Midway, Old Town, Soul District, St. Johns, Williams District|
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Celebrate Native American Heritage Month at These Native-Owned Businesses

What we now call Portland and Multnomah County are the [...]

2024-11-06T14:56:11-08:00November 6, 2024|Alberta, Central Eastside, Cully, Division/Clinton, Hawthorne, Hollywood, Midway, Multnomah Village, Williams District|
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All Materials © Venture Portland 2025

Leah Kohlenberg

Leah Kohlenberg is a former journalist turned artist who has lived and painted in Portland since early 2012.   She currently serves as the volunteer president of Portland Open Studios, and also runs her own art school, including both online and in-person classes, called The Roaming Studio (www.theroamingstudio.com).  As a small business owner who runs a teaching business, an art sales business, and an off and on gallery business, she has a passion for small business and group marketing.  Though she’s a relative newbie to Portland, she grew up in Seattle, Washington, and considers the Northwest her stomping ground.

Sam Montanaro

Sam is an event planner, graphic designer, entrepreneur, activist, artist, musician, and thought leader who is passionate about bringing the Portland community together. On top of founding multiple event-based, community focused businesses, she has served on the executive board of Historic Parkrose since 2016 and has volunteered with Venture Portland since 2017. In 2023 she joined the Venture Portland team as their Events and Marketing Manager, bringing 20 years of visual communications, experiential marketing, event planning and community building.

Laura Martinez

Laura has been with Venture Portland since 2023. She was born and raised in the Los Angeles area but loves the weather and the melting pot of the Pacific Northwest. Her background is in event planning and in the music industry as an Artist Manager, promoter, music education advocate who has worked behind the scenes for over 20 years in the world music and jazz idioms. Curating cultural music programs, master classes, traveling marketplaces and art shows is her calling.

Blest Weter

Blest has been with Venture Portland since 2023. Born and raised right here in rainy little Portland, Blest came of age as Portland grew from a sleepy little town into the booming city it now is. Having owned and operated a number of small businesses in the city, Blest has a strong understanding of the joys and challenges that come with entrepreneurship. Blest is vey much looking forward to working with business owners to develop strong communities to weather the hard times, and celebrate the good!

Jeff Lynott

Jeff grew up in the Bay Area, but has lived in Portland for 17 years. Prior to Venture Portland, he worked in social services with youth struggling with behavioral and mental health issues. He also spent several years as a volunteer supporting the Foster-Powell community. Now at Venture Portland, Jeff loves connecting with the people and organizations that make up the Foster Area Business District.

Kathy Madore

Kathy has been with Venture Portland since 2019. She is originally from Boston, MA. Her background is in advertising and graphic design. She is an experienced designer/project manager with an eye to detail. She likes taking on challenges and coming up with creative solutions. She is very organized, a good communicator and problem solver. She has lots of energy and enjoys helping people. Her passions are traveling, eating out, playing tennis, hiking, walking her dogs, cooking, reading, knitting and watching Netflix.

Tanya Hartnett

Born and raised in Oregon, Tanya has a huge belief in and passion for community and the environment. Working her entire career overseeing departments and product categories in the Outdoor Industry for Portland based companies, Tanya understands the complete lifecycle of what it takes for a business to be successful and is excited to help the St Johns Boosters thrive. In her spare time, she volunteers for her children’s events, and loves to Ski, mountain bike, run, camp, knit, sew, bake…

Nana Hoerth

Nana is a first-generation American born, Ghanian and comes to Venture Portland with over 10 years of Business and retail banking experience. She is no stranger to small business, growing up in an entrepreneurial home, where her mother ran multiple businesses from African markets, to a Vacuum repair shop. In 2003, Nana moved to the Gateway area in NE Portland where she fell in love with the beautiful outdoors and the spirit of unity that welcomes so many backgrounds and cultures to the Pacific Northwest.

Jacob Falkinburg

Jacob has been with Venture Portland since 2013. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Jacob has a diverse background that includes video production, marketing, non-profit administration and grantmaking with organizations like the Pew Charitable Trusts. A passionate advocate for Portland’s neighborhood business districts, Jacob has helped grow Venture Portland by developing new grant programs, trainings, marketing tools, and the Catalytic Investment Initiative.

Joy Church

Joy Church started with Venture Portland in 2019, serving as the Executive Director since 2020. She brings over two decades of  executive non-profit leadership experience to the role. Joy’s political work includes spearheading initiatives with Mayor Brown in San Francisco and organizing actions with Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith, Congressman Blumenauer, and Governor Brown. Joy brings extensive human resources, finance, media, governance, and strategic planning to Venture Portland.

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