The City of Beaverton has been working for over a decade to invest in and energize its downtown. As the City has put an increasing emphasis on equity in its programs and investments, it became clear that the approach to downtown placemaking needed to shift to be more inclusive and protect existing residents and businesses.

Working with a team of culturally-specific organizations and the Coalition of Communities of Color (CCC), ECONorthwest supported the creation of the Downtown Equity Strategy, which lays out strategies to promote stability for existing residents and businesses and foster a sense of belonging in the downtown for a broader range of people. ECO provided research on national best practices, analysis of existing conditions, and synthesis of input from engagement, City staff, and practitioners within the culturally-specific organizations on the team to inform recommended modifications to existing City programs and potential new programs to expand the City's equity-focused work downtown. Our work drew on data from multiple sources, acknowledging the limitations of each. ECO worked collaboratively with staff from CCC and the City to integrate information gleaned from engagement with diverse communities with ECO's research and analysis and to develop recommended strategies informed by all aspects of the team's work and expertise.

Speakers:

Jade Aguilar is a practitioner-scholar with a deep understanding of institutional and systemic factors that create and promote social inequities. She has worked with a variety of private and public organizations to offer consultation on community-engaged research, institutional and systemic changes related to equity and inclusion, or providing an equity lens in project-based work. Her research focuses on examining these inequities, and effectiveness of strategies that try to close these gaps. Jade specializes in research methodologies that promote equity and center community engagement instead of traditional methods that may exacerbate or perpetuate existing inequities. She has a deep understanding of equity and civil rights laws and compliance measures. Jade has extensive public speaking experience, including teaching 15 years at the college level, eight years leading professional development workshops/training on topics related to equity and diversity, and numerous invited and academic presentations. She has been the recipient of national awards and grants for academic and administrative research, teaching, and diversity advancement initiatives.  

Cadence Petros is a Project Director at ECONorthwest with 23 years of experience implementing urban renewal, housing, parking, and downtown revitalization goals to help build vibrant neighborhoods that foster a sense of belonging and meet the needs of all community members. Whether negotiating public private partnership agreements, developing civic projects, establishing affordable housing programs, or creating implementation strategies, Cadence uses problem solving skills, flexible thinking, team building, and clear communication to articulate and meet goals and objectives.

Cadence graduated from Pomona College and holds a J.D. from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College. Prior to joining ECONorthwest, Cadence served as Development Division Manager at the City of Beaverton, a role that built upon her legal experience counseling local jurisdictions and nonprofit organizations.