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Paul Schulz, principal at Pence Construction, attended an event at the Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center a few years ago and recalls being impacted as Joe McFerrin, POIC鈥檚 president and CEO, spoke to young people about their futures.

鈥淚 grew up in Portland and I think we鈥檝e all got a lot to learn. Joe is a great partner to learn from and he has greatly impacted our emphasis on DEI,鈥� Schulz said.

Pence Construction has been intentional about increasing diversity, equity and inclusion for several years. Its principals reached out to leaders in underrepresented populations throughout Portland to understand where inequity exists in subcontracting and beyond.

鈥淲e believe that as a company and as individuals we have an obligation to represent our entire community, and our support of COBID companies is just one spoke of that commitment,鈥� Schulz said.

As Pence strives to support COBID-certified companies, the partnerships also benefit its employees who learn from those firms and how to identify barriers and find solutions. 鈥淲e鈥檝e found great partners through this process and each relationship has helped lead us down the path,鈥� Schulz said.

Among its DEI initiatives, which include direct mentoring and teaching classes through the Professional Business Development Group, Pence established a scholarship program and recently awarded its first to a minority student to study construction engineering and management at Oregon State University.

鈥淲e would be happy for them to come work for us after college, but our goal is industry-wide diversity in leadership,鈥� said Schulz, an OSU alum.

Franklin Smith, owner of Allied Systems Northwest, said he has attended several events sponsored by Pence to encourage and inform COBID firms of opportunities. 鈥淚鈥檓 constantly contacted by reps of Pence to inform me of opportunities by both phone and emails. They take action in promoting participation.鈥�