Organization for Economic Initiatives, Inc.

OEI is an Oregon private, non-profit corporation that has successfully assisted Oregon small businesses in developing new markets for over 25 years. OEI began Oregon's first statewide sustainability program, Oregon Marketplace, linking purchasers of raw materials and components to Oregon suppliers and manufacturers. From 1985-1995, Oregon Marketplace was written about in the Wall Street Journal and Horizon Air's in-flight magazine, and duplicated in several states and Canadian provinces, keeping about $100 million in state.

In 1993, OEI took over the administration of Oregon's only Procurement Technical Assistance Program. Since 1986, the Government Contract Assistance Program (GCAP) has provided counseling and opportunities matching resulting in Oregon businesses landing hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts, creating and retaining thousands of jobs. OEI has also managed outreach and training efforts for the Jobs-in-the-Woods program with the US Department of Forestry and for the Emerging Small Business program with the Oregon Department of Transportation. In 2007, OEI became the prime contractor and grantee in support of the Northwest Manufacturing Initiative, a remarkable public-private partnership aimed at improving advanced manufacturing capabilities and markets for NW firms.

OEI Staff

• Rick Evans- OEI Executive Director 541-756-5596

• Ellen Fuller- OEI Business/Grants Manager 541-753-5919

OEI Board Members

• Alex Pawlowski, Board President, former banking executive and current Business Development and Loan Manager with Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc
  
  
• Jon Richards, Board Vice President, former Small Business Development Center Director, and current international business consultant
  
  
• Jeanene Louden, Board Secretary, former entrepreneur, business owner and government contractor
  
  
• Dr. Robert Young, Board At Large, Assistant Professor, Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon