About Oregon Tradeswomen

Oregon Tradeswomen is excited to announce the appointment of Courtney Hamilton as our new Executive Director. With over 10 years of non-profit management experience and a PhD in Behavioral Health, Hamilton is poised to drive the organization into a refreshing new chapter in 2025. Hamilton has been working with Oregon Tradeswomen for the past year, redeveloping systems and processes to improve the Pathways to Success program and its outcomes. Prior to joining Oregon Tradeswomen, Hamilton’s work centered around serving women experiencing homelessness and women re-entering society after incarceration. Over her career, Hamilton has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to creating and sustaining healthy work environments and providing the support necessary to help women transform their lives for the better.

2025 marks a pivotal moment for us as we look to build on the tremendous work of the organization’s last 35 years. Hamilton assures that “We stand committed to our legacy of providing training, mentorship, and advocacy for women in the trades, while also developing a highly skilled workforce that continues to build communities across our state.” Oregon Tradeswomen looks forward to engaging in deep collaboration with community, industry, and union partners to ensure women have access to life-changing career opportunities in the skilled trades industries.

Looking forward to the year ahead, we are energized to continue delivering our programs and services, centering around workforce development and advocacy efforts. Oregon Tradeswomen remains focused on creating pathways for women to enter and succeed in high-wage, high-demand careers in the trades, and to foster an environment where they can thrive. We are looking forward to continuing work with the Safe From Hate Alliance at the annual Safe From Hate Summit on April 11th, as well as introducing thousands of students and job-seekers to careers in the skilled trades at Oregon Tradeswomen’s 30th annual Career Fair on May 16th and 17th.

“We are excited about the future, and under Courtney’s leadership, we will continue to build upon our successes and increase our impact across Oregon,” says Nami Bigos, Deputy Director. “Together, we can ensure that women have the tools, resources, and support they need to create a brighter future for themselves and the communities they build.”

We are pleased to announce that Oregon Tradeswomen is a union shop! In February of 2023, the staff at Oregon Tradeswomen came together to organize under the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local Lodge 63. By the end of 2023, a collective bargaining agreement was reached that serves the needs of both staff and the organization.

In our nearly 35 years as an organization, Oregon Tradeswomen has been driven by our mission to empower women to break barriers and thrive in the traditionally male-dominated construction trades. Not only does that entail providing training and career support, but that all workers, Oregon Tradeswomen graduates or not, are treated fairly and have a voice in the workplace.

Oregon Tradeswomen’s Bargaining Team with their contract!

Through the ups and downs of the bargaining process, we have committed to these values, ultimately ensuring that our workers have a seat at the table in how Oregon Tradeswomen moves forward as an organization. Starting in January 2024, Oregon Tradeswomen’s first union contract took effect, establishing a 4-day work week and securing competitive wages and benefits for staff as they work hard to serve the community. In the spirit of collaboration, the contract also established an Ad Hoc Committee comprised of staff, management, and subject matter experts to discuss how Oregon Tradeswomen moves forward regarding organizational structure, and staff roles and responsibilities. The Ad Hoc Committee met regularly and, by the end of March, successfully produced recommendations put into action by Oregon Tradeswomen’s management team, including a plan to hire the staff power needed to achieve our common goals and further our mission.

This milestone is exciting for us as an organization that supports the good work of unions in the skilled trades, as well as the work of the labor movement that is in the midst of a much-needed resurgence. Through some solid teamwork between the union and management, Oregon Tradeswomen can proudly declare that we are a union shop! Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to pave the way for a brighter, more equitable future in the skilled trades. Together, we are forging a stronger, more united Oregon Tradeswomen!

Donna Hammond in front of the mural at Amalfi’s restaurant.

When Kelly Kupcak, Oregon Tradeswomen’s 2^nd ever Executive Director, announced to our Board of Directors that she needed to return home to Ohio to be in closer proximity to her family and aging father, the Board rallied and worked with a consultant to determine the best next steps for the organization.

Now entering our 34^th year as a nonprofit, Oregon Tradeswomen (OTW) is excited to share that a founding member, former Board of Directors Treasurer, and tradeswoman pioneer, Donna Hammond, has stepped in to serve as Interim Executive Director.

Under Kelly’s leadership, Oregon Tradeswomen made strides to expand opportunities for Oregonians. Our organization was able to level-up and secure our own workshop to run our program in-house for the first time in our history.

Oregon Tradeswomen also began expanding state-wide to provide crucial career education to women and non-binary individuals living in rural communities. Oregon Tradeswomen now serves more BIPOC students than ever before, hand-in-hand with the implementation of the Helen Getchell Women of Color Fund to provide specific support to BIPOC tradeswomen+.

Almost all people served through our pre-apprenticeship program, the Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class, report having a low-income and are looking to leave poverty behind. Because of  Kelly’s leadership, we removed an additional barrier to attending our class class by providing all students with a $15/hr wage equivalency during training. In a groundbreaking move, Oregon Tradeswomen also successfully launched a direct-entry pipeline from our pre-apprenticeship training to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48 and United Association Local 290 Plumbers, Steamfitters, HVAC/R, and Marine Pipefitters apprenticeship programs, supporting the high job-placement of our Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class graduates!

Over the past 6 years, Oregon Tradeswomen’s work has grown to encompass more advocacy efforts to improve the experiences of non-traditional tradesworkers on the jobsite. Oregon Tradeswomen made great efforts to increase retention of women in the trades through the implementation of a job-site culture change program called RISE Up– and is an affiliate trainer of this program. Today, more than 700 employees at 15 different organizations have already completed training and we are working with another 10 organizations to implement RISE Up on their job-sites.

This initiative strongly compliments the work done with the Safe From Hate Alliance and the Tradesworker Equity Council, engaging both industry partners and diverse tradesworkers to stand up against racism, sexism, and trans/homophobia in the industry.

Kelly’s leadership also made significant impacts in the legislative sphere as she engaged local, state, and federal policymakers to include funding for pre-apprenticeship programs and initiatives to increase racial and gender diversity and equity in the trades.

Oregon Tradeswomen’s founding Executive Director, Connie Ashbrook, reflected on the change, saying, “As the founder of Oregon Tradeswomen and longtime colleague of Kelly Kupcak, I am so proud and appreciative to see the growth and expansion of Oregon Tradeswomen that she has led over the last six years since I retired… I am excited to see what is next for Oregon Tradeswomen that will be made possible because of the work accomplished under her leadership.”

Connie Ashbrook (left) with Donna Hammond (right) in Washington DC

As Donna Hammond assumes leadership of OTW as it’s 3^rd ever Executive Director, she shared, “It is an honor for me to serve as the Interim Executive Director. I’ll be working alongside some of the best, brightest, and most passionate individuals in the construction industry who share a commitment to pre-apprenticeships. My goal is to build upon Oregon Tradeswomen’s success while continuing to expand and support the pathways of competent applicants to meet tomorrow’s construction needs.”

Oregon Tradeswomen is fortunate to have Donna’s lived experience, long history with the organization, and commitment to this work and mission. Change is never easy, but passing the torch to Donna Hammond will surely build upon our organization’s strong foundation as we continue to serve women, non-binary, and trans individuals on their pathways to prosperity.