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OTI’s Next Executive Director: Kelly Kupcak
Kelly Kupcak (left) with Connie Ashbrook (right). Photo by Don McIntosh / NW Labor Press
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 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.
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Read more about Kelly from Stephanie Basalyga, Editor of the Daily Journal of Commerce:
Get Strong and Support OTI With Fulcrum Fitness!
Sign up for the Fit Life Challenge and Fulcrum Fitness will donate half the proceeds back to Oregon Tradeswomen!
Open to everyone 18 and over, the 2017 Fulcrum Fit Life Challenge is a fun and motivating way to burn fat, build muscle, and have a great time getting in shape. Join the Challenge and get six weeks of strength-building, fat-melting boot camp and small-group personal training sessions as well as the chance to win a $1,000 membership credit you can spend on any type of workouts you want!
In addition to the grand prize, we’ll also be giving away a two-month Small Group Personal Training membership runner-up prize, as well as motivating weekly prizes from our community partners, including MYZONE belts, chiropractic treatments, naturopathic services, Fulcrum gear, and more!
The Fulcrum Fit Life Challenge runs from April 3rd – May 15th and costs just $97 for new members. Registration ends April 14th, so sign up today and be sure to list Oregon Tradeswomen as your referral source:
OTI Hosts Global Women Leaders Discussion
On February 10, 2016 OTI was honored to host a group of 20 women from 20 different countries. These women were visitors to the U.S. through the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program.
According to the Department of State, the goals for this group are to:
- Examine the U.S. political system and women’s participation at the local, state, and national levels;
- Explore programs and initiatives that encourage young women to become involved in politics, run for office, and run effective campaigns;
- Introduce the role of women’s organizations in shaping political dialogue and convey an understanding of effective interaction and support among women across various sectors;
- Gain insight to legislation and programs that promote equal pay and fair treatment for women in the workplace and promote the value of women’s contributions in the home and as primary caregivers for the young and the elderly; and
- Introduce initiatives and legislation that address women’s needs in the areas of health and education.
OTI staff Leigh McIlvaine and Tiffany Thompson really enjoyed presenting to this incredible group of women. During their hour with the group they explained construction apprenticeship, OTI’s Programs, and the larger advocacy work of both OTI and the National Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s Issues. They also covered some brief information about International Tradeswomen work including a 2015 Calendar featuring tradeswomen from across the world (our own AJ Banuelos was featured as May!), Susan Moir’s Fulbright Scholarship researching women in the trades in India, and women in the Trades and Civil Engineering in Japan.
The second half of the visit was spent in open discussion about OTI’s work and women working in the trades in other nations. These women leaders were incredible and insightful; discussion topics included from maternity leave, union political power, cultural perceptions of women working as manual laborers, and fighting myths about the value of blue collar work. Many of the women shared that this was the first time they had a chance to talk about women working in the construction industry and they were excited to think about career opportunities for women in a different way. OTI is certainly looking forward to questions from them in the future about advocating for tradeswomen in their countries!
If you are interested, you can see the full list of visitors below:
Participant List Women in Pol & Social Sectors (MRP).
2015 Outstanding Volunteers
One of the highlights of my year is when I get to recognize the hard work of OTI’s volunteers. These folks often work behind the scenes and their contributions to our mission are so often missed! This year, I am excited to highlight four volunteers who have gone above and beyond to support OTI and tradeswomen.
Outstanding Board Member
Irais Gandarilla
If her face looks familiar, but you can’t quite place it, look back to your 2015 Women in Trades Career Fair materials. Irais was the face of brand new materials that feature real tradeswomen. She also represented our Board and the organization, acting a spokeswoman . The 2015 Tradeswomen Leadership Institute would not have been the same without her this year either, she served on the planning committee and, in partnership with Annie Burton, presented a workshop Social Justice: When Diversity Isn’t Enough.
Outstanding Volunteers
Bea Jenkins
As an organizer for the Operating Engineers, Bea has been involved with OTI through presentations to TACC. However, in 2015 she decided to volunteer with us and jumped in with both feet! First, she started as a member of the Tradeswomen Leadership Institute planning committee. In January of last year, I don’t think Bea knew exactly how big of a role she would play. Ultimately, she ended up being one of the storytellers for Tradeswomen Stories. She also recruited her good friend, Merilee McCall, to be the keynote speaker for the event!
Sho is on the left.
Sho Newman
This incredible woman will sneak quietly under your radar, but she is a force to be reckoned with. Last year, Sho was holding down two jobs, one being her Carpenter’s apprenticeship and then another just to fill up those free hours on the weekend. However, she didn’t let this stop her from being a Lead on our new Volunteer Outreach Team. Sho, and her team, really moved this forward helping OTI staff represent our mission at community events. She recruited folks who had never been involved with OTI and was always bringing a friend (or two!) to social hours.
Shondra Washington
If you have met Shondra, you may not believe that she just graduated from OTI last year. Out of the gate, Shondra was representing OTI, Tree Trimmers, and workers’ right at the 2015 Summer Institute for Union Women. Of course, she didn’t stop there. Shondra regularly presents for TACC. While most people shy away from fundraising efforts, she has also advocated for OTI on this front, presenting to groups about funding OTI and being featured in our 2015 Give Guide Campaign.
I hope you can join OTI staff in recognizing these amazing volunteers. If you are friends with them on Facebook, give them some love and some kudos! Send them a sweet text. Or, best of all, come out and give them a round of applause at our Annual Meeting.
Business Membership Spotlight: Hamilton Construction
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. welcomes the support of the business community to help us fulfill our mission to engage more women and girls in the trades.
Hamilton Construction is one of our partners in this program and we thank them for their contribution to OTI.
Hamilton Construction has been meeting clients needs since 1939. It has grown from a small firm building concrete roads and irrigation systems in Oregon, to a corporation performing over $100 Million annually in concrete and steel construction throughout the Western states. During this time, Hamilton has met the demanding needs of both public agencies and private firms, including Oregon, Washington State, California, Colorado and Alaska DOTs, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Union Pacific Railroad, Tri-Met, Weyerhaeuser, Georgia Pacific and Portland General Electric to name a few. They have worked with many of our clients for over 40 years.
OTI thanks the staff of Hamilton Construction for their support of our programming as a business membership program participant!
If you want to learn more about our business membership program, please send an email to dennise@tradeswomen.net for details on how you can be involved.
Special Event
Our executive director, Connie Ashbrook, and a few former board members are coordinating a special fundraising event for Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.
November 14, 2015
Details: A special screening of the new short film Sista in the Brotherhood portraying the challenges and successes of an African American woman carpenter apprentice. This film was created by former OTI staffers Dawn Jones Redstone and Roberta Hunte.
**Invite Only**
If you would like to make a donation, please click here – thank you!
Out and About: Alpha Delta Kappa
(L to R) Shondra, Dennise and Thea
Recently, Dennise M. Kowalczyk (OTI’s development director) and Shondra Washington (a Trades and Apprenticeship Class graduate and tradeswoman) were asked to speak at the Alpha Delta Kappa Founder’s Day celebration.
The luncheon included an overview of the history of the group’s beginnings to provide a space for educators to gather and build a sisterhood of support. Alpha Delta Kappa is an international honorary organization of women educators dedicated to educational excellence, altruism and world understanding.
OTI thanks chapter president, Thea Hayes, for the invitation to speak and the entire chapter for their warm welcome!
Business Member Spotlight: TCB Industrial Corporation
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. welcomes the support of the business community to help us fulfill our mission to engage more women and girls in the trades.
TCB Industrial Corporation is one of our partners in this program and we thank them for their contribution to OTI.
The companies mission is to service the environmental community by providing a highly trained, reliable, and flexible labor pool, as well as to provide quality OSHA training that meets the standards of 29 CFR 1910.120 for Hazardous Waste Operations. Contact them if you are in need of labor or 40hr Hazwoper training, or other training compliance.
TCB Industrial Corporation believes in providing, honest, hardworking, and professional technicians that can get the job done effectively and efficiently on time and budget no matter how big or small.
OTI thanks the staff of TCB Industrial Corporation for their support of our programming as a business membership program participant!
If you want to learn more about our business membership program, please send an email to dennise@tradeswomen.net for details on how you can be involved.
Business Member Spotlight: NW College of Construction
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. welcomes the support of the business community to help us fulfill our mission to engage more women and girls in the trades.
NW College of Construction is one of our partners in this program and we thank them for their contribution to OTI.
The school is a privately funded, non-profit educational facility with a mission to promote life-long learning by delivering craft, technical, supervisory and management education to workers and managers at all levels in the construction industry.
OTI thanks the staff of NW College of Construction for their support of our programming as a business membership program participant!
If you want to learn more about our business membership program, please send an email to dennise@tradeswomen.net for details on how you can be involved.
Pacific Northwest Combined Federal Campaign
Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. is pleased to announce that we are one of the participating non-profits in the Pacific Northwest Combined Federal Campaign.
The Pacific Northwest Combined Federal Campaign is administered by a committee of federal employee volunteers called the Local Federal Coordinating Committee (LFCC). The Oregon Federal Executive Board provides support to and participates in this committee. The mission of the CFC is to promote and support philanthropy through a program that is employee focused, cost-efficient, and effective in providing all federal employees the opportunity to improve the quality of life for all.
The CFC is the only official workplace charitable fundraising program allowed in federal government offices. During a six-week time frame between Sept. 1st – Dec. 15th of each year, the local CFC is promoted and federal employees are given the opportunity to designate a payroll deduction, cash or check donation to any of thousands of charities locally and nationally.
Learn more by visiting the local CFC website to find out how you can support Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.!