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John Downing has started his own business, worked in the public sector and now has returned to the private sector with Skanska USA Building.

All of those roles have prepared him well for his new position as director of outreach and diversity for Skanska’s Portland office, which is responsible for some of the largest construction projects in the metro area.

Oh, and Downing finished earning an MBA from Corban University in September while also learning to ride a unicycle, publishing several children’s books and helping raise his three children. It’s a busy life, and all in all, he’s glad to be back to work in Portland, where he already has deep roots.

鈥淚 was in the Portland community with (the Oregon Department of Transportation) for quite a while,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here were a lot of partnerships and collaboration efforts, and I’m getting plugged into those once again and really re-establishing myself in those communities.鈥�

While Downing once ran Atlas Professional Services, a short-lived firm that worked with underground construction, public infrastructure and utility acceptance testing, he also made his mark in the ODOT civil rights division as its business programs manager. There, he worked to provide equitable contractor engagement throughout the state as he developed programs to connect small businesses with governmental agencies and their capital projects.

Now he’s back working in a familiar role, albeit in the private sector. In short, Downing is looking to find minority-owned businesses interested in partnering on projects with Skanska, much like he did for the state up until three years ago. This primarily has to do with Oregon’s Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity, or COBID. This program certifies qualified businesses or contractors owned by minorities or women. Using those certifications, prime contractors or others can fulfill state or federal diversity mandates required of public projects. These standards are also widely used in the private sector, which is where Downing comes in with Skanska, one of the largest prime contractors on the West Coast.

鈥淚t’s a lot of public-facing interaction,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 work with a lot with advocate groups for small businesses owned by minorities and women, and we talk about anything and everybody.鈥�

Community building is a big part of this process, he said, noting he works with groups such as the Metropolitan Contractor Improvement Program, the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs and the National Association of Minority Contractors’ Oregon chapter.

鈥淚 interact with those groups that are trying to build their communities in different ways through construction, specifically,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then I collaborate with a lot of public agencies, prime contractors and growing contractors to help those same communities.鈥�

In the Northwest, Downing has found it difficult to find enough certified contractors for Skanska to partner with. The same was true when he worked for ODOT.

鈥淲e do these big projects with a lot of requirements, a lot safety involved,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o how does someone like Skanska work with an owner to help remove the barriers to make it more appealing for small companies? That’s a challenge 鈥� the reality is there are not enough out there, there’s too much work and not enough contractors to fill these goals.鈥�

Trust issues also come into play.

鈥淵ou have companies out there, and I was one of them, not really trusting the government,鈥� Downing said. 鈥淭here are some businesses out there that just won’t go down that road.鈥�

Part of the issue could be the amount of financial and other confidential information required of applicants. But Downing doesn’t think that’s the entire story.

鈥淚t’s really not that invasive, but some people are overly cautious,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are a fair amount of people who wouldn’t necessarily get certified, yet public agencies want us to use certified firms. So there’s this gap; how do you bridge that? It usually takes seeing other small businesses getting certified to break down those barriers.鈥�