Sarah Cohen-Doherty was more than just SVP Portland’s Community Impact Manager from 2017-2020. She was a dedicated advocate for high-quality, culturally-relevant early childhood education and literacy opportunities for all children. Sarah’s legacy continues through the Sarah Cohen-Doherty Memorial Fund, and we are honored to serve the important role of helping Sarah’s family invest in the work that she loved. The memorial fund, which specifically supports early childhood literacy, quality preschool, and advocacy, has already had an impact in our community. Read More »

Joe’s Court is a celebration to honor SVP Partners who have invested for 10 years or more. The concept for Joe’s Court came about in October of 2014 — 13 years after the launch of the Portland affiliate — to recognize both the founding and growing number of Partners that remained committed to our mission. This year’s Joe’s Court celebration was a time to reflect on the end of our 20th Anniversary celebration, which set the tone for the conversation among the Partners. SVP Portland started with a seedling of an idea that has been nourished for decades by dedicated Partners, and is now flourishing! We are proud of the successes and growth of our Community Partners, the Preschool for All victory, our equity journey, and the evolution of our governance. We are excited for the work to continue for the next 20 years and beyond! Read More »

Executive Director Lauren Johnson is proud to share highlights from the past year, made possible by the tenacity, creativity, resourcefulness, and collaboration of dedicated SVP staff, Partners, and Community Partners. We’ve continued to fill key gaps in our community through the roles of catalyst, convener, champion, and capacity builder. In this letter to the SVP community, she highlights some of our successes and reflects on our progress in 2021. Read More »

As the celebration of our 20th anniversary comes to a close, we are looking ahead to our future. The next step is an evolution of our governance that delivers on our mission, aligns with our values, and advances our commitment to be an anti-racist organization. At the November Board meeting, adoption of the new governance framework was unanimous. Bob Tate shared, “The 2021 Board charted a bold new course, designed to decentralize our governance operations and power our work with more inclusive and deeper community leadership. We’re expecting this to propel our potential for even greater impact, while continuing our drive to become an anti-racist organization. I’m excited to take on this new role as we thoughtfully and humbly advance this new concept, together." Read More »