About Oregon Tradeswomen
Looking Ahead to 2018!
As we begin 2018, Oregon Tradeswomen would like to thank our industry and community partners and supporters. Each of you contribute to changing the lives of the women we serve, and we are grateful for all that you do.
With your support, we are building our capacity to reach and serve more women each day. In 2017 we provided more than 1,000 women with career education and support to pursue a career in skilled trades in construction and manufacturing.
Because of your commitment, support, and generosity, Oregon Tradeswomen was able to provide 159 women with industry skills training, hundreds of women with job placement, access to registered apprenticeship, career counseling, supportive services, advocacy, and leadership development. Our work – with your support – ensured that women were able to move themselves and their families out of poverty and into prosperity. They have gained skills and confidence and community. They have been able to build a career and a future and a sisterhood. Thank you for making all of these things and more a reality for women in the Portland region and across Oregon.
As we begin this New Year, Oregon Tradeswomen invites you to continue to support our work, and to join us as we think and dream and do – bigger and bolder.
We have big changes underway – including the development of a three-year strategic plan, revamping of our decade old pre-apprenticeship training program, and expanding services. We are raising money to purchase our own building where we will house a training workshop, community space, on-site childcare, and low-income housing. We are building an advocacy platform to ensure positive changes for women and industry at the local, state and national level are realized. We are developing a mentoring program, expanding our services to rural communities and engaging new partners.
We invite you to join us as we build this vision and our future for the women, industry and community we serve.
With gratitude,
Kelly Kupcak, Executive Director
IBEW Local 48 Awards Connie Ashbrook With Honorary Membership
Oregon Tradeswomen founding Director, Connie Ashbrook, was awarded with an honorary membership by IBEW Local 48 Business Manager Gary Young and President Wayne Chow.
This prestigious award is historic – it is the first time in the Local’s 106-year history they have recognized someone who is not a member! President Chow stated that the Local sought this honorary membership for Connie because of her tremendous contributions to promoting equity for women in the trades, and clearing the path for women to become leaders in their unions, in their communities, and in the construction industry.
Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition, Connie!
Women Build Nations 2017
This past October, a few of Oregon Tradeswomen’s finest flew to The Windy City of Chicago to attend Women Build Nations, a conference for tradeswomen to address industry issues and to learn from each other. More than 1,500 women from all over the US and the world to talk about their trade, to network and connect with other tradeswomen.
Women of all ages, skill levels, and trades had the opportunity to check out a wide variety of workshops such as:
- Anti-Oppression 101: Building Solidarity by Breaking Down Bigotry
- Tradeswomen’s History: Learning From the Past to Change the Future
- Rising to a Leadership Role in the Union: Examples and Advice
- Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Letting Go of Feeling Like a ‘Fraud’
Oregon Tradeswomen pre-apprenticeship graduate and Journeyman Laborer, Vanessa Enos, and Isis Harris, IBEW, both received “Emerging Tradeswomen Leaders” scholarships to attend the conference and also had the honor of speaking on a tradeswomen panel, “Perspectives from the Field.” Lori Baumann, Journeyman Laborer, Liuna Field Representative, and Oregon Tradeswomen Board Member came to represent Laborers Local 737.
Other friends of Oregon Tradeswomen, Donna Hammond and Bridget Quinn from IBEW Local 48, spoke on a panel focused on recruitment and outreach of women and people of color.
This conference spoke to the needs of women in the trades and truly fostered a space where tradeswomen could be themselves and feel a camaraderie with other women who are having many of the same experiences in their careers. When only 3% of all trades positions nationwide are filled by women, the existence of an event, for tradeswomen, by tradeswomen is of utmost importance.
Thank you Chicago Women in Trades for organizing Women Build Nations 2017, and we can’t wait to see you all next year in Seattle!
Building on a Mission
Oregon Tradeswomen was founded on principles that women should have access to training, education, and career pathways in blue-collar industries as a means to economic self-sufficiency. Beginning in the 1970s, women began to organize nationally to impact federal public policy, as well as at the local level to bring about much needed changes for women working in the skilled trades and other “nontraditional” jobs. Here in Portland, a small support group was founded in 1989, led by four tradeswomen, (an elevator constructor, two carpenters and an operating engineer), later forming Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc., in 1999. That elevator constructor was Connie Ashbrook, founding Executive Director, who built the organization from its early foundation to where it stands today – an integral nonprofit partner working to ensure access, opportunity, and equity for women across our community and the country as a whole.
After dedicating her life’s work to the organization and to the tradeswomen movement, Connie Ashbrook retired this summer, building a foundation and legacy of which she can be extremely proud. All of us at Oregon Tradeswomen are honored and grateful that Connie has graciously committed to continue to contribute her time, talent, and expertise as Executive Director Emeritus, contributing to special projects for Oregon Tradeswomen as we move our work and vision forward.
As the new Executive Director, I am excited to be a part of Oregon Tradeswomen, and the tremendous community of which we are a member. As Connie “passed the torch” to me just a few short weeks ago, I have reflected on the privilege that comes with being engaged in work you love, for which you have a passion, and for being able to help make the world a better place. I recognize the big shoes I must try to fill in carrying this important work forward. While I don’t know everything, I do know that this community has shown dedicated support of the great work of Oregon Tradeswomen and that the work of our mission cannot be done alone.
In that, we invite you to continue to build with us, as we set a bold vision for our future. In the coming year we look forward to expanding our programming across Oregon to reach more women – especially those in rural communities. Deepening our commitment and our reach into our communities of color as we adopt and implement a racial justice plan. Forging new relationships with industry stakeholders in manufacturing, transportation, and other nontraditional occupations and industries to increase opportunities for women. Increasing our capacity to provide technical assistance to support our partners in achieving diversity, inclusion, and equity. Responding to the new challenges and opportunities in our community through engaged and intentional collaboration. Building a shared wealth creation model so all the members of our community may prosper. Please join us as we move forward with a bold vision for change. I look forward to doing good work together.
In solidarity,
Kelly
Build With Us! A Call to Makers!
Oregon Tradeswomen is having a party! Build With Us is our inaugural and celebratory fundraising event set for September 8, 2017, to support our work and to celebrate the 10th annual Tradeswomen Leadership Institute which facilitates the development of leadership and advocacy skills for tradeswomen. We hope you will attend and help us share our mission with the public and raise funds to support tradeswomen and their training. Mark your calendar and come have some fun!
Do you make things out of metal, wood or something else? We’re looking for donations of handmade items from tradeswomen and their friends. These items will be auctioned off at Build With Us to help support Oregon Tradeswomen. Here’s what we’re looking for:
- Tables, bookcases, fire pits, benches, etc.
- Jewelry, art, etc
- A gift certificate we can auction off (examples: you offer to go to a person’s home and build planter boxes, or a trellis, or a photography session, etc.)
Live edge coffee table with hairpin legs will be built and donated by
Oregon Tradeswomen staff member, Emma Brennan!
If you want to donate but have questions, please reach out to lisa@tradeswomen.net or 503.335.8200 x 38.
We’ll need all donations to be delivered to us by 8/21. We’re excited to see what you have!
Alumnae Spotlight: Lisa Davis
Lisa Davis has lived an incredibly full life for her short 34 years on this earth! She was born in New Mexico and completed most of her school years in California and Texas before moving back to California to attend UC Davis, where she would eventually earn her Bachelors of Science in Microbiology.
During college, Lisa’s goal was to become a surgeon and she did very well as a pre-med student, even receiving a coveted surgical internship at Baylor University in Texas. She moved to Portland, OR with the intention of attending medical school at OHSU, but reevaluated her goals upon her arrival and decided that she wanted to take her life in a different direction.
During her undergraduate studies, Lisa worked as a mechanic at a bowling alley, which helped her realize the similarities between humans and machines (when it comes to diagnosing and fixing the problem) and the satisfaction she got from working with machines. Once she moved to Portland, she worked for 2 years as a perfusion assistant, helping monitor the medical equipment that keeps patients hearts and lungs working during surgeries. This was an incredibly grueling, on-call position that often had Lisa working 20+ hours at a time and ultimately led her to leave due to burn out. After leaving this position she decided to move to Hawaii for a year where she held a myriad of positions – including trades related work.
She moved back to Portland in 2008, during the height of the Great Recession. Due to many lay-offs and the general nature of the labor market at that time, she struggled to find steady work. At one point in this time period, she held 3 part time jobs and was still unable to afford housing, which caused her to have no other option but to live in her truck with her partner until she could find more steady work.
Lisa eventually secured a position that allowed her to revisit her work as a Bowling Alley Mechanic. Unfortunately, as the only woman on the team of mechanics, she experienced a lot of misogyny and chose to leave this position due to the hardships she experienced. At this point, Lisa was downtrodden; feeling as though there was no place for women who were drawn to trades work. She sat down at her computer and typed “what can women do in the trades?” into her Google search bar and Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.’s website popped up! From this moment the rest is history. Lisa quickly enrolled in OTI’s Trades and Apprenticeship Career Class (TACC) in 2008 at the age of 26.
During her time in TACC, Lisa fell in love with metal. OTI was able to help her take this love and narrow it down down into a viable career in the sheet metal trade. Lisa loves the industry for the breadth and depth it offers and for the fact that she would be entering a career that allowed her to do something different every day. After TACC, her OTI career counselor helped her secure funding in order to attend Clackamas Community College so she could increase her skills in welding and machining which would allow her to be more competitive in her chosen field.
Lisa applied for a Sheet Metal Apprenticeship but had to wait almost 2 years to be accepted due to the scarcity of jobs during the Great Recession. Three months after her acceptance into the apprenticeship, she found a place with General Sheet Metal and primarily worked on architectural sheet metal, HVAC duct installation, and shop fabrication for her first couple years. Around this time General Sheet Metal decided to start their own service department and tapped Lisa’s shoulder to audition for their new Service Apprenticeship.
Lisa ended up doing both apprenticeships at the same time – completing the requirements for her Building Trades apprenticeship by day and dedicated her nights and weekends to specialized service classes. After she journeyed out, Lisa continued to work for General Sheet Metal and quickly moved into a foreman role. Within only a year of working at the Journeyman level, Lisa was recruited by the Sheet Metal Institute to develop and implement a Service Apprenticeship, like the one she had gone above and beyond for in her own apprenticeship.
Lisa comes from a long line of educators and felt drawn to teaching herself. Nowadays, she is providing guidance and mentorship to more than 200 new apprentices a year. Due in part to her enthusiasm for the role of women in the sheet metal industry, 7% of her students are women. This figure is higher than many other trades, though still has room for improvement. She is also teaching and doing some consulting work for the International Training Institute (ITI) and is participating in an exciting task force to write a book regarding the important work of the sheet metal industry. Not only does Lisa love her job but it PAYS! She makes about $43.75/hour which is just about 4 times greater than her highest pre-trades wage of $12.50/hour.
When asked what advice she has for other women looking to enter the trades Lisa confidently replied; “Our society has us convinced that we can’t do it. Not only are they wrong but we are wrong for believing it! Do it! Try it! Never limit yourself and never stop learning!”
Lisa is thrilled to have found herself in a dynamic career that allows her to use her hands and teach others a valuable skill. As for future plans? Lisa plans to continue learning as much as she can in this world and will see where that takes her. She plans to take a breath in 5 years or so to strategize about her next move. We are so glad to have Lisa in our community! Check her out in our Apprenticeship 101 video!
Tradeswomen in the News!
Oregon Tradeswomen and our graduates have been in the news recently and we wanted to put all the links here in case there were stories you missed on our social media channels!
Oregon Tradeswomen Names Executive Director
Daily Journal of Commerce | May 16
Video series: Isis Harris, electrician apprentice
Oregon Business Magazine | May 17
KGW’s Drew Carney Previews the Women in Trades Career Fair
KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8 | May 19
Women in the Trades
NW Labor Press | May 31
Women in Trades: Meet Danielle Marcial, Water Operations Mechanic
Website Story June 2017
Tradeswomen’s Fight for Gender Equity
Huffington Post | June 1
OTI’s Next Executive Director
Thank you for all of your well-wishes, congratulations, and other kind words when we announced OTI founder and Executive Director, Connie Ashbrook’s, forthcoming retirement last October.
We are pleased to tell you that Oregon Tradeswomen’s Board of Directors has hired OTI’s next Executive Director.
Kelly Kupcak, from Chicago Women in Chicago Women in Trades, will take the reins of Oregon Tradeswomen on July 10, 2017. She brings more than two decades of nonprofit management experience to her new role as Executive Director of Oregon Tradeswomen.
Kelly holds a fundamental belief that economic equity and gender inclusion are critical to building strong women, strong families, and strong communities. Kelly brings considerable skills in strategic visioning, collaborative leadership, and outcomes-driven planning, and looks forward to expanding OTI’s impact in workforce development and building diversity in Oregon’s construction trades workforce.
From Left: Sharon Latson (Chicago Women in Trades), Kelly Kupcak (OTI’s Incoming Executive Director), Melissa Jennings (Volunteer), and Olivia Porter (Volunteer)
Most recently, Kelly served as the Director of Technical Assistance for the National Center for Women’s Equity in Apprenticeship and Employment at Chicago Women in Trades. She managed a highly competitive, multi-year U.S. Department of Labor ten-state regional grant-funded initiative and a U.S. Department of Labor contract, national in scope, to improve outcomes for women in nontraditional sectors through technical assistance to industry partners including employers, registered apprenticeship, workforce system, career technical system, and government entities.
Connie will continue to be involved with national policy by serving as co-chair of the Taskforce on Tradeswomen Issues and conducting training, providing technical assistance and other consulting services to help employers, apprenticeship programs, unions, and government agencies diversify their workforces, and assisting Career and Technical Education (CTE) trade programs to attract and retain more women and girls.
Kelly plans to visit the 25th Women in Trades Career Fair on May 19 and 20, 2017, and she will officially start in her new role with Oregon Tradeswomen on Monday, July 10, 2017. Kelly looks forward to meeting you soon, whether at the Women in Trades Career Fair or another event later in the year.
Visitors from Korea Learn about OTI’s Training Program!
A few weeks ago at Oregon Tradeswomen, we were honored to host 4 women from Korea who are leaders in journalism-print and television, government, and environmental policy. We had an engaging conversation about OTI’s pre-apprenticeship program and OTI staff answered all of their thoughtful questions about construction in the western part of the United States.
After our wonderful conversation about the construction trades, we suited up in our personal protection equipment (PPE: hand-hats, safety glasses, and ear protection) and took a walk to see OTI’s pre-apprenticeship students in action. We were lucky enough to see OTI’s class during their first “hands-on day” and got to see students learning to use a variety of tools including: jigsaw, chopsaw, table saw, safety lifts, and more! During a break for our hard working students, the Korean visitors had a chance to ask questions and hear directly from women planning to enter careers in construction. One of our students even got to practice her Korean language skills!
The Korean visitors were thrilled to meet our students and as staff, we are always excited to tell stories of how our graduates are breaking down barriers and shattering glass ceilings and concrete floors!
OTI’s Annual Meeting: February 2, 2017!
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
RESCHEDULED to Thursday, February 2, 2017
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Oregon Tradeswomen
3934 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Suite # 101
Portland, OR 97212
OTI can’t exist without the support of our membership base, our allies, and supporters. We depend on members to support OTI’s efforts, to guide the decisions of the organization, to contribute financially to the organization, to volunteer, and much more!
We hope you can join us in January to enjoy some social time, great Mexican food from La Cocina, voting on new OTI Board members, hearing about the highlights from 2016 and learning what OTI hopes to accomplish in the new year!
OTI will provide dinner and non-alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase from the restaurant bar.
Questions? Please contact Lisa Palermo, Development Director at lisa@tradeswomen.net or 503.335.8200 x 38