NECN staff gifted longtime NECN Executive Director Adam Lyons with a Pendleton blanket last month, as he handed the organization’s leadership to former Associate Director — now Interim Executive Director Jessica Rojas. Staff photo
By Jessica Rojas, NECN Interim Executive Director
It is with great pride and a little sadness that I take the wheel as Interim Executive Director of NECN, and at the same time congratulate my colleague, former Executive Director Adam Lyons, as he moves on to a new position on the staff of newly-elected Portland Commissioner Mingus Mapps.
On behalf of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods, I would like to thank Adam for his years of service. Adam began his time at NECN as the Neighborhoods Program Manager but soon found himself in a position of greater leadership. During his tenure at NECN, he stabilized our organization and expanded our scope of work to be more inclusive of low income and houseless community members. He supported us expanding our outreach in the faith sector, which has led to a new Coalition of Alternative Shelter Providers, in collaboration with the Interfaith Alliance on Poverty.
Adam represented our community on the Office of Community and Civic Life’s Budget Advisory Committee; Port of Portland Community Advisory Committee; Multnomah County Local Implementation Plan; the HereTogether Advisory Board and many other efforts to support community safety. Adam is a dedicated supporter of Right to Dream Too and helped leverage more support for them in addition to other shelters and livability projects in our district.
He wasn't your average ED, he made time to utilize his artistic skills for our communication needs. He made the best memes for our staff meeting agendas, and illustrated the poster-sized graphic design for one of our most popular issues of Hey Neighbor: “The Affordable Housing Rabbit Hole.”
He did this all while finishing a Masters degree in Public Administration, and taking care of his growing family.
Like many leaders who served our coalition, Adam put personal energy into our community and work, as this is more than a job or career, but rather our home geography. I know he will continue to look out for North/Northeast Portland and our most vulnerable community members in his new role in Commissioner Mapps’s office.
With that, NECN is still hard at work. We continue to refine and update our office procedures to reflect the reality of COVID. We have expanded our staff this year and welcome Lisa Loving as our Communications Coordinator and Charlotte MacDonald as our Fiscal Sponsorship Coordinator. Recently our Office Manager, Jona Davis, became NECN’s representative on the Environmental Justice committee at our local chapter of the NAACP.
We recently received a generous donation from community members whose toy store business closed due to the economic downturn during the pandemic. We were able to share those toys with several organizations who do their own toy distribution/ serve vulnerable families, such as Bradley Angle, Good in the Hood, Oregon Intertribal Breastfeeding Coalition, Unite, Lutheran Family Services and more.
We are currently wrapping up a large effort for one of our fiscally sponsored projects with the United Congolese Community of Oregon and just sent our 17th issue of Hey Neighbor! to the printer (that is more than 4 years of free community news in the mailbox to over 22,000 people per issue).
Several of our neighborhood associations are currently active on issues related to air quality, affordable housing, supporting neighbors during times of need/ mutual aid, neighborhood history, emergency preparedness and community safety. Many if not all, would welcome new participation, energy and support.
Those involved in mutual aid efforts, people who provide support to one another at the grassroots level, those who want to learn from the elders or want to connect with the youth -- you are needed. Employees and local businesses in our neighborhoods are always welcomed. Those who lived here longer than I have been alive to those who just moved here -- you are all welcomed. Maybe you are staying in one of the local shelters, a neighboring camp, or in your vehicle around here. You are welcome and your voice is needed in our collective work.
With that being said, I look forward to the year ahead serving in this role and continuing the ever evolving craft of supporting North/ Northeast Portland, including those from here since time immemorial, those who have been displaced, and those yet to come.
Happy New Year 2021!
Jessica Rojas
Interim Executive Director, Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods