TechTown Launches “Building an Industry for Everyone”

Prosper Portland Teams with Ten Local Tech Companies in Latest Video Release

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TechTown, a coalition of local technology companies powered by Prosper Portland, has released a new video highlighting diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the Rose City’s technology industry. “Building an Industry for Everyone,” the third in a series, features some of the city’s top technology companies and the partnerships they invest in that are influencing the next generation of technology leaders and the industry at large.

TechTown launched its latest video to highlight the work that is being done in the greater Portland area to advance DE&I in the technology industry. “Building an Industry for Everyone” tells five stories in five minutes of ways that local technology offices are engaging with nonprofit organizations and Oregon schools to improve diversity, increase inclusion and promote equity.

“The programs featured in the video are just some of the ways Portland companies are working to close the equity gap,” said Jared Wiener, Prosper Portland’s tech industry liaison. “It’s not only about attracting existing talent to the city, but also about better accessing local talent and introducing tech to young people as a viable career option. This is a work in progress — not something that will happen overnight — and we’re encouraging others to come join us and get involved.”

The video was supported by Prosper Portland, Business Oregon and ten Portland technology companies: AWS Elemental, an Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) company, Cloudability, Jama Software, Moovel, New Relic, Puppet, Simple, Thesis Agency, Vacasa and Zapproved. These companies, along with 17 others, have also taken the TechTown: Diversity Pledge, an actionable movement dedicated to expanding diversity, equity and inclusion within pledge companies.

“Technology presents some of our biggest future opportunities; however, building technology that furthers society in positive ways requires more diverse perspectives than we have today. Our opportunity and obligation is to come together and make the needed investments to move the needle on inclusion and diversity in tech,” said Yvonne Wassenaar, CEO of Puppet. “Being a part of TechTown allows us to share our experiences and draw inspiration from other like-minded leaders to further develop an inclusive and diversified technology community within Portland and our own company.”

TechTown’s video series launched in 2013 with an overview of hip local tech offices in Portland and was viewed more than 46,000 times around the world. In 2015, the second video showcased professionals who relocated to Portland to grow their careers in the technology industry. Both highly successful videos helped Oregon technology companies attract, train and retain top candidates and contributed to the technology industry’s remarkable growth.

“Building an Industry for Everyone” was produced by local production company Uncage the Soul, which also produced the first two videos. Uncage the Soul founder John Waller and director of photography Ben Canales served as the project leads. Shelley Midthun was the project manager who brought the story from concept to production.

The video will serve as the center of discussion for the Monday, Feb. 10 FutureTalks panel discussion held at New Relic. The event is free and open to the public, and those interested can register here. For more information on TechTown and getting involved, visit techtownpdx.com/together.

About Prosper Portland

Prosper Portland creates economic growth and opportunity for Portland. Our vision is to make Portland one of the most globally competitive, healthy and equitable cities in the world by investing in job creation, encouraging broad economic prosperity and fostering great places throughout the city. We aspire to be a workplace of choice with passionate staff excelling in an open and empowering environment and sharing a commitment to our collective success. To learn more, visit www.prosperportland.us.