Kim Malek

Salt and Straw Co-owner 

Ice cream goddess and Salt and Straw founder Kim Malek cashed in her 401K, created a custom food cart, and sold her artisanal ice cream with her cousin Tyler on Alberta Street in 2011. Now Salt and Straw has lines wrapping around three brick and mortar locations in Portland, and another in Los Angeles. 

Photo courtesy Salt and Straw

If you described yourself and what you do in a tweet how would that look? 

I love creating great neighborhood gather places.

What do you think are the issues facing Portland and how would like to engage the city in making it a better place to live for all of its citizens?

 I think it would be helpful to grow our economic base. To address this, it could be good for Portland create programs and policies that are more aggressive in supporting the development of successful, growing businesses. I'm also concerned that Portland isn't as accessible to racially diverse populations as we could be. I'd love to see the City focus on issues around racial diversity and equality. 

And what inspires you? 

Creating opportunities for others and seeing them flourish. The stories of other entrepreneurs that I've met through (the group) Entrepreneurs Organization. A walk on the beach in Gearhart. A fun evening with my friends. My two dogs, two cats, three chickens and my bunny. My kids.

Bill Oakley

Television Writer and Producer

American television writer and producer Bill Oakley is best known for his Emmy-award winning work on The Simpsons. After his time working on The Simpsons, Oakley created Mission Hill and worked on Futurama. Oakley has served as a co-executive producer and writer on Portlandia and is currently writing a live-action pilot for Amazon and another animated one for FOX-TV. He is also adapting his anime “Flower Teen Kill Team GO!” into a comic book. 

Photo Credit: Bill Oakley, via Wikimedia Commons

Kate Bingaman-Burt

Designer and Illustrator

Illustrator Kate Bingaman-Burt’s 2010 book Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today? sparked a conversation about the things that we buy and our attachment towards stuff. Since then she has published two more titles and has designed for major companies like Chipotle, Madewell, and The New York Times, as well as locally for The Museum of Contemporary Craft and Reading Frenzy. She is now an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Portland State University. 

If you had to describe yourself and what you do in a tweet, what would that look like?

I mostly teach, organize, draw, document, collect  & share but I also do a lot of other things that involve energy, conversation & exchange. (exactly 144 characters! BOOM!)

As someone who could do your work almost anywhere in the world, why did you choose Oregon and what do you get out of living here?

The illustration and design community is so strong and supportive. I could draw anywhere, but teaching is a different story. School is more than just what happens in the classroom, so being able to have Portland as the city where my students can explore and learn. Portland is another instructor almost. The city, and the community, is a HUGE resource and one of the reasons the graphic design program is so strong at Portland State University. Yes, I could set my studio up anywhere, but it sure is more fun and supportive to work amongst a community of designers and illustrators.

What do you think are the issues facing Portland and how would like to engage the city in making it a better place to live for all of its citizens? 

Part of my work with Design Week Portland was to promote design as our city's most promising cultural and economic resource. Design Week exists to increase awareness about design—what it is and what it can do for business, education and the economy of Portland. This is an issue that I can speak directly too and hopefully have a positive impact in having design have a seat at the table. 

Photo credit to Nicholas Peter Wilson (image cropped) 

Chris Guillebeau

Author/Blogger/World Traveler

Chris Guillebeau is the New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness of Pursuit, The $100 Startup, and other books. During a lifetime of self-employment, he visited every country in the world (193 in total) before his 35th birthday. Every summer in Portland, Oregon he hosts the World Domination Summit, a gathering of creative, remarkable people. His The Art of Non-Conformity blog is a platform to share stories about personal development, entrepreneurship, and travel.  

Photo Credit: Jen Lemen from Silver Spring, USA, Mr. Granger (Cropped from [1]) via Wikimedia Commons (image cropped) 

Kari Chisholm

Political Consultant 

Kari Chisholm is the go-to-guy when it comes to political discourse, specifically when it comes to the blogosphere. Chisholm is the publisher of the widely read political blog Blue Oregon (and oddly enough one of the nation’s most accomplished projectors of football’s Heisman Trophy winners). 

Chisholm, who earned a political science degree at University of Southern California before working on Darlene Hooley’s first Congressional campaign, is president of Mandate Media an online political consulting company, whose clients have included Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden. 

Pictured Kari Chisholm on left with Rep. Shemia Fagan on right.  

Photo Credit: Byron Beck (image cropped) 

What kind of Portlander are you?
I guess you'd call me one of those urban progressive creatives that's found a way to marry my passion and my work. There's lots of us here. 

As someone who could do your work almost anywhere in the world, why did you choose Oregon and what do you get out of living here?
Portland is, hands down, the best city in America. It's got the exact right mix of big city and small town. I love that I can get to the mountain or the beach in just over an hour.  I love that there are world-class restaurants, bookstores, breweries and wineries here.  And I love that there are lots of smart and creative people doing really interesting (and often really weird) things.  Oh, and I love that when Portlanders complain about "traffic", they're talking ten minutes, not ninety.

What do you think are the issues facing Portland and how would like to engage the city in making it a better place to live for all of its citizens?
Well, there are lots of things.  But if I had to pick one:  I'd ask the city and the state to invest heavily -- and I'm talking nine figures here -- in making Portland State a top-tier research university.  We're the only major city on the West Coast without one, and it's holding us back.

What is on the horizon for you?
My favorite day every election cycle is the day AFTER Election Day.  All the pieces on the big chess board are back up in the air, and it's time to start figuring out again where they're going to land for the next round. So yeah, what's on my horizon?  2016.

Is Portland a good place to do your kind of work?
Absolutely.  It'd be more fun if the Republicans here didn't suck at politics so much.  But I'm having fun sitting in Portland and working in 23 other states (and counting) around the country.  Best of all, I only have to visit DC, not live there.

And what inspires you?
Winning.