The Portland Metro Region Innovation Hub selected its first executive director, tapping Rose Kaz for the role that will help build the new resource.
Kaz, who was a frequent visitor to Portland over the years, moved to the city just more than a year ago. She had been in Portland in the summer of 2020 as part of a cross-country photo essay project for her production company.
Kaz also brought her consulting business, which worked with small and medium companies on production and digital media strategies. She was also working on starting up a digital tool that could better connect women and other marginalized business owners with resources to help them build their companies.
“I was trying to build a digital product and realized I didn’t want to return to what I was doing before,” she said. “The last four years I’ve been deeply studying the (business) ecosystems in cities.”
Which led her to more clearly focus on ensuring people have access to knowledge they may have never been exposed to before. And in turn she found this role and the potential to create a community-wide connection point.
The Innovation Hub is being housed at Portland State University and the school is acting as facilitator for a coalition of 37 community partners. The massive group consists of higher education, community development centers, local governments, Northwest Tribes, economic development groups, entrepreneurship groups and private companies.
The goal of the hub is to foster connections between entrepreneurs and people and resources who can help them build their businesses.
“We're very happy to have Rose on board as Director of the Metro Region Innovation Hub. She has already built relationships with many of the region's entrepreneur support organizations, and has the energy and passion to truly knit together an equitable, accessible path to resources and services for innovation-based entrepreneurs in the region,” said Joseph Janda, assistant vice president for innovation at PSU, and one of the hub’s organizers.
The first year of the Innovation Hub is funded through $750,000 awarded by Business Oregon. Kaz will be building her staff and creating programming. She is currently looking for several part-time community liaison roles that are meant to be a conduit between the hub and different communities.
Kaz is also tasked with figuring out future funding for the hub. She wants to build a coalition of the different organizations aimed at boosting entrepreneurship to go after larger amounts of funding from a broader array of funders. This could then limit the amount of competition among local groups for limited local funds or duplication of effort.
“Getting a larger groundswell of different organizations that are trying to help their targeted entrepreneurs, or nonprofits running on thin budgets, the goal with coalition funding and general leadership is that we are strengthening existing programs,” she said.
The hub is being housed at PSU, but is not a part of the university, officials said. The office will be within a building that is undergoing renovations at Southwest Fifth Avenue and Southwest Lincoln Street.
The hub is expected to open in October.
