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During Renée Rhiner’s 24 years as a project manager for Intel, she handled projects ranging from data centers to factory build-outs in Hillsboro; Chandler, Ariz.; and Dublin, Ireland.

But Rhiner, 53, felt something was missing. She wanted to serve the community in some way, she said.

“My thinking was that I felt kind of like there was a hole in what I was doing,” she said. “I was so focused on Intel that I couldn’t focus on anything else.”

After an early retirement, Rhiner took advantage of Intel’s participation in the Encore Fellows program: Intel pays a $25,000 stipend to finance retiring employees who lend their skills to local nonprofits over the course of a one-year fellowship.

Intel and companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Portland-based ±Ê°ä°äÌý³§³Ù°ù³Ü³¦³Ù³Ü°ù²¹±ô²õ have funded fellowships through Encore Fellows.

“We have really skilled folks who don’t just want to retire,” said Chelsea Hossaini, Intel’s Northwest regional communications manager. “They have these skills that they want to give back to the community.”

Rhiner was matched in September 2012 as a construction manager with Friends of the Children, an organization that since 1993 has focused on matching at-risk children with adult mentors for the long term.

Friends of the Children needed a building. Poverty was shifting east from Northeast Portland, and officials knew the trend was going to accelerate. They wanted to be in East Multnomah County to be closer to the children who needed their help most.

That is where Rhiner’s professional experience came into play.

“As a nonprofit that serves kids, we don’t have a lot of expertise in building projects,” said Megan Lewis, director of development and marketing for Friends of the Children. “Renée has been a godsend.”

With Rhiner’s help, Friends of the Children began a site selection process that ultimately led officials to a property in Gresham, at Northeast Glisan Street and 172nd Avenue. An existing building formerly was occupied by the Police Activities League.

“Unfortunately, the facility is old and has fallen into disrepair,” Lewis said.

The plan is to demolish the building and then construct an 8,500-square-foot center. An existing gymnasium will remain and be used by Friends of the Children. Rhiner, accustomed to accomplishing tasks for Intel at a fast pace, said this project has been much different.

“When I first started, I was under the impression that we were ready to start building the building,” she said. “After about a month, it was clear to me that they weren’t even in the space of being serious about finding land. It was a little frustrating, but I went with the flow.”

Rhiner began assessing Friends of the Children’s main facility in Northeast Portland and two others, and developing a five-year capital plan to maintain them. She put her degree in construction management and decades of experience into use, assessing mechanical and electrical systems, and looking at safety issues.

Meanwhile, she took over small projects, including a new roof for the main building. That freed up the finance manager, who was acting as construction manager, to do his job, she said.

“In May, they got real serious about locating some land for a new building,” she said. “They realized it would take them about two years to do this project.”

The effort moved quickly when the Police Activities League, a popular youth center in Gresham, closed its doors. City leaders approached Friends of the Children and the local Boys and Girls Club to take over the site. The Boys and Girls Club ultimately opted out, and Rhiner worked with the city to draw up the lease, she said.

The approach was a lot different from her experience managing projects for Intel, she said.

“I was a lot more on my own,” she said. “The biggest thing for me was the up-front part of this project – the development piece, and procuring the land. I learned a lot.”

Next was the predesign work that included finding an architect. Portland-based Jamin Aasum of Mahlum Architects provided pro bono work on rough site schematics. The new building will include a learning kitchen, a sizable living room, a media room, and an art and science room.

“It’s going to be a homey-type feeling for the kids,” Rhiner said.

Rhiner’s fellowship ends next month, so she is doing the final work needed to release a bid package by Feb. 24, she said.

She has used the fellowship experience to resurrect her consulting firm, New Day Resources LLC, which she plans to grow thereafter. She hopes to take Friends of the Children through to the grand opening of its new building, she said.

Friends of the Children is still raising the $5 million needed for the project, but ground is expected to be broken by spring 2015, Rhiner said.

“The experience has been phenomenal,” she said. “I am amazed at how many people I’ve met and the things they do in the nonprofit sector. It is a very dynamic and close-knit community.”