Focus 2013 - Changing Forces - Rebuilding the Mid-Valley Work Force

Focus 2013

CHANGING COURSES

Making the cutIf you’re looking at raw data, you might be led to believe that retail clerk is Oregon’s fastest-growing career. According to the Employment Department, there are more openings for retail clerks per year in the Linn-Benton-Lincoln area than for any other employment category. But job openings alone don’t tell the whole story.

“In most jobs that require only short-term, on-the-job training, there are a lot of openings,” said Will Summers, work force analyst with the Oregon Employment Department. Low-wage jobs almost always have frequent turnover, so those openings don’t necessarily indicate new jobs being created.

To determine what constitutes a job worth investing the state’s limited work force training dollars in, employment analysts weigh a number of other factors.

“We also take into account how many people are already coming out of our education programs. We may have a ton of people already graduating in a certain fi eld,” said Brenda Turner, employment economist with the Oregon Employment Department. “We also keep in mind the age of the average worker. People are getting older and there are a lot of openings expected over the next 10 years.”

They also look for jobs that pay more than the median wage (currently, that means an occupation that in 2011 had a median wage of at least $16.94 per hour).

Continued on page 2

Rebuilding the Mid-Valley’s Work Force for the Future

Making the right choicesFOCUS / CHANGING COURSES • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2013

Today’s fi nal installment of this year’s three-part Focus edition looks at some of the hard work ahead of us as we shape the mid-valley’s work force of the future: What jobs will we need? And how are we preparing to fi ll those jobs?

So this section includes stories in which the experts at the Oregon Employment Department offer their best assessments of the areas where they see the best job prospects developing through 2020. And we talk to the hiring experts at some of our biggest employers, who share some of their thoughts about the changing work force.

We also talk to the educators and other offi cials who are working to make sure that we’re offering the right training for the workers of tomorrow: It’s a process that involves a detailed and continuing conversation between educators and businesspeople. In addition, we take a look at the Mechatronics program at Linn-Benton Community College, which might offer a blueprint for how we train tomorrow’s work force.

Today’s section includes some personal stories as well. We went searching through the mid-valley for people who decided to make a dramatic career shift – in the process, often leaving behind successful and lucrative careers for something considerably riskier.

(If you missed the profi le of Corvallis entrepreneur Chris Nordyke and a feature on how employers can best deal with an increasingly fl exible work force, you can go back and fi nd those on Monday’s InBusiness page.)

My hope is that you’ll fi nd these stories of people who have changed course in the face of uncertain economic seas inspiring. And the other stories in this section may give you a better sense of which way our work-force winds are blowing.

Thanks for reading this year’s Focus edition.

Mike McInally, editor,Mid-Valley Newspapers

The Future Work Force

By Jennifer Rouse

What should I be when I grow up?That’s the question students ask themselves from

elementary school right up until graduation.

Researchers at Oregon’s employment department have a report that might help young people answer that important question.

It’s called the Occupational Prioritization for Training Tool, and it ranks jobs based on predicted demand over the next decade, and also weighs in factors such as salary, and whether or not there are already a number of people qualifi ed to step into those roles.

The result? A listing of the top 20 high-demand, high-wage occupations. Health-care related careers lead the way, along with high-tech jobs and trades. (See the list on page 2).

The report provides a look ahead—a sneak peak at where today’s students can expect to fi nd tomorrow’s jobs.

03 Educators, business leaders bridge work force gap together 04 Dennis Dunmyer: Taking the plunge

into a brand-new career in senior care 06 Mechatronics: multi-skilled operators requiring more precision

Service Technician Jay Annunzio works on a radiator recently in the service department at Power Honda in Albany. The demand for skilled technicians is growing. (David Patton/Democrat-Herald)

How much education do you need to prepare for these careers?

All of these occupations are expected to have job opportunities in the mid-valley.

ON-THE-JOB TRAININGIn general, no previous work-related skills, knowledge, or experiences are needed for these occupations. Usually, an experienced worker would show a new employee how to do these jobs.

2010Employment

AverageAnnual Job Openings

2011 Average Hourly Wage

Retail Salespersons 3,179 144 $11.65

Cashiers 2,165 133 $10.44

Waiters and Waitresses (Lic.) 1,636 125 $12.22

RELATED WORK EXPERIENCESome previous work-related skills, knowledge, or experiences are helpful in these occupations. You can gain these requirements through volunteer work, hobbies, or a related job.

2010Employment



Supervisors and Managers of Retail Sales Workers 925 36 $17.42

Teacher Assistants 1,286 35 $26,058*

Supervisors and Managers of O� ce and Administrative Support Workers 676 31 $23.71

POSTSECONDARY TRAININGIn general, some education beyond high school is required. These occupations require training from career schools or community colleges that usually lasts one or two years.

2010Employment



Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer (Lic.) 1,540 64 $19.14

Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks 1,337 40 $16.54

Electricians (Lic.) 343 19 $28.09

ASSOCIATE DEGREEIn general, completion of a two-year college program will give you the education you need for these jobs.

2010Employment



Registered Nurses (Lic.) 1,567 76 $34.04

Biological Technicians 613 31 $18.17 †

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education (Lic.) 303 14 $11.83

BACHELOR’S DEGREEIn general, completion of a four-year college program is necessary to qualify for these occupations.

2010Employment



General and Operations Managers 926 37 $44.53

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education (Lic.) 889 23 $48,292*

Accountants and Auditors (Lic.) 503 22 $26.35

ADVANCED DEGREESIn general. extensive skills, knowledge, and experiences are needed for these occupations, including at least one year of college coursework-beyond the completion of a bachelor’s degree.

2010Employment



Postsecondary Teachers, Except Graduate Teaching Assistants (Lic.) 1,146 33 $77,289*†

Physicians and Surgeons (Lic.) 401 16 NA

Pharmacists (Lic.) 253 13 $54.28Source: Oregon Employment Department

*Annual Wages **Includes job openings due 10 growth and replacement needs. NA - not available† Regional wage data not available. Oregon wage data presented.

How much education do you need to

2 FOCUS/Changing COUrSeS • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2013 ALBANY DEMOCRAT-HERALD, CORVALLIS (OR) GAZETTE-TIMES ALBANY DEMOCRAT-HERALD, CORVALLIS (OR) GAZETTE-TIMES FOCUS/Changing COUrSeS • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2013 3

OCCUPATION TOTAL OPENINGS 2010-2020 MINIMUM EDUCATION COMPETITIVE EDUCATION OVERALL RANKMedical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists 1,087 Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree 1Physical Therapists 1,077 Master’s degree Doctoral or professional degree 2Supervisors and Managers of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers 1,815 High school diploma or equivalent Postsecondary non-degree award 3Registered Nurses 14,499 Associate’s degree Bachelor’s degree 4Physicians and Surgeons 3,711 Doctoral or professional degree Doctoral or professional degree 5Medical and Health Services Managers 1,704 Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree 5Human Resources, Training, and Labor Relations Specialists, All Other 1,397 Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree 5Computer Hardware Engineers 1,099 Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree 5Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives, Technical and Scientifi c 2,359 High school diploma or equivalent Bachelor’s degree 9Loan Offi cers 1,680 Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree 9Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists 1,587 High school diploma or equivalent Postsecondary non-degree award 9Mental Health Counselors 908 Master’s degree Master’s degree 9Occupational Therapists 475 Master’s degree Doctoral or professional degree 9Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives Non-technical and Scientifi c 7,070 High school diploma or equivalent Associate’s degree 14Accountants and Auditors 5,112 Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree 14Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics 2,003 Postsecondary non-degree award Associate’s degree 14Sales Managers 1,734 Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree 14Computer Programmers 1,575 Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree 14Pharmacists 1,537 Doctoral or professional degree Doctoral or professional degree 14Fire Fighters 1,316 Postsecondary non-degree award Associate’s degree 14Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents 1,271 Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree 14Machinists 1,257 High school diploma or equivalent Postsecondary non-degree award 14Industrial Production Managers 858 Bachelor’s degree Bachelor’s degree 14Medical Transcriptionists 754 Postsecondary non-degree award Associate’s degree 14

By Maria L. Kirkpatrick

Educators in Linn and Benton counties are working to keep ahead of the curve when it comes to work force changes to make sure students are ready

for employment.

From colleges to high schools, department heads work to keep abreast of needs and to make sure tomorrow’s employees are prepared and ready to fi ll vacancies.

“There are a number of ways we do it,” said Ilene Kleinsorge, dean of Oregon State University’s College of Business. “Each of our disciplines has a curriculum advisory council of representatives from a variety of industry leaders across many different industries.”

Advisory boards typically meet twice a year to discuss continuing changes. Faculty members speak with industry leaders and the industry leaders give time to classrooms and college events.

Larry Rodgers, executive dean of OSU’s College of Liberal Arts, spends much of his time scanning the landscape and watching employer trends.

“We provide the skills to not only get the job, but to become tomorrow’s leaders,” Rodgers said.

He’s trying to get a feel for the characteristics employers want in their new employees and his college strives to instill leadership skills in graduates.

“Our faculty are able to respond in real time to integrate some soft skills along with the technical topics the very next term,” Kleinsorge said.

In the business college, a process started seven years ago so that major curriculum changes are made with industry input and feedback.

The Austin Family Business Program, for example, has its own advisory board consisting of family business owners and family service providers who help to inform how the college crafts its program offerings, seminars and workshops.

Typically, these college leaders are OSU alumni invested in the college who want to see it succeed. Kleinsorge also gets cold calls from CEOs asking how to get involved. If she thinks they are a good match, they are invited to participate.

“We make sure we are dynamic with the changes of a global economy,” she said. “To make sure we graduate students who can deliver value in Oregon and who are also globally competitive.”

Regional focusAt Linn-Benton Community College, regional analyses

are done to determine areas of need. Feedback also is garnered from area businesses and students to assess the satisfaction level of graduates and their employers.

“It’s diffi cult,” said Beth Hogeland, LBCC’s executive vice president for academic affairs and work-force development. “It’s an imperfect system and hard to project future work force needs.”

Dawson Offi cer, owner of 4 Spirits Distillery, poses for a photo at his Adair Village headquarters last year.

(Amanda Cowan | Corvallis Gazette-Times)

continued from page 1

Health and science

Health care occupations and related fi elds are at the very top of the list. In Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties, four of the top fi ve

high-wage, high-demand occupations are somehow related to health care: medical lab technologists, registered nurses, physical therapists, and pharmacists.

“Health care is about the only industry really poised to see much growth from 2010 levels,” Summers said. “It didn’t fall much in the recession.”

Locally, health care employers say that changes in the law as well as a scarcity of training for certain programs are driving their job needs.

Amanda Morris, director of employment for Samaritan Health Services, said that physical therapists are one of their most critical needs—and yet there is only one school in Oregon with an accredited physical therapy program: Pacifi c University in Forest Grove. George Fox University in Newberg has been granted “candidate for accreditation” status but isn’t accredited yet.

“That’s a big part of the issue; the lack of in-state programs,” Morris said.

Other job needs are evolving as the larger health care industry changes.

Shelley Vitus, director of human resources for The Corvallis Clinc, said that Oregon’s new health reform program has led to the creation of an entirely new position: patient care coordinator. These employees help make sure doctors are delivering the preventative care that’s now required.

Other positions are becoming harder to fi ll, with new laws requiring extra certifi cations or specialized knowledge.

“In the past, we could hire a medical assistant; now, we have to hire a certifi ed medical assistant,” Vitus said. “IT positions are a big need for us too, but with the demands of electronic medical records, the technical requirements are much more challenging, and much more specifi c to the industry.”

Trades and tech

Other high-demand areas in the mid-valley include high-tech occupations like engineers and computer programmers, as well as a

number of trade positions—hands-on jobs that generally require some professional training but not a four-year degree.

Mechanics, diesel engine specialists, machine tool operators, machinists, and electrical engineering technicians are all on the list of high-demand, high-wage occupations.

As aging workers retire, and as everything from car engines to factory assembly lines increases in complexity, demand for these professions is expected to increase in the next decade.

Drew Koehnke, general manager of Power Honda in Albany, said he’s already experiencing a need for skilled mechanics, and he expects that trend to continue.

“I only see the demand rising,” he said. “People are always going to need repairs done, and with the changes in technology and number of computers that are on the newer vehicles, you really need an expert.”

According to a 2012 report from the Oregon Employment Department, the manufacturing industry has struggled to fi nd workers with the specialized skills they require. Possible reasons cited by the report include students who were not encouraged to go into manufacturing careers and fewer schools offering classes that focus on using tools, reading blueprints, and operating machines.

These gaps faced by Oregon employers—situations where the need for physical therapists or mechanics far outpaces the number of qualifi ed graduates entering the work force—are real, and they’re what employment analysts are hoping to avoid.

“Business needs to talk to education, and education to business, to make sure the skills being trained for are what the industries are hiring for,” said Turner, of the Employment Department.

That’s what leaders at the Employment Department are hoping their research can do: point the way toward tomorrow’s work force gaps, so today’s students and educators can fi ll them before they start.

Jennifer Rouse is a freelance writer based in Albany.


You could say spiritual enlightenment brought Dawson Offi cer to his new career as a distiller.

Offi cer’s life has seen him through college and into banking. He’s survived a military tour in Iraq and he’s credited with making profi table changes at United Way of Benton and Lincoln Counties. Now he spends his time making liquor and building his business, 4 Spirits Distillery.

It’s been quite a transition, Offi cer said.

“It takes a lot of time to get licensed and going and the learning curve has been pretty high,” he said of the distillery trade.

Offi cer studied business and fi nance at Western Oregon University and has a minor in economics. So, he said, the business side of operations is understandable. Making his own spirits, however, is something completely different. Researching books, the Internet and listening to his still maker, Offi cer has picked up the knowledge required thus far to make batches of alcohol.

But he has gone through several transitions before reaching what he says may be his true calling.

Offi cer worked in banking to put himself through college. With two terms left before graduation, he was called to duty as part of the fi rst Army National Guard unit in Oregon to report to Iraq. He spent 18 months on tour. In 2005, he returned home to fi nish college and returned to work in

banking. After graduation, Offi cer went to work at the United Way as its resource development director.

“That gave me a lot of insight,” he said. “It was a very good experience. Gave me worldly knowledge and it helped me with a philanthropic mindset. The connections were amazing. You meet all sorts of different kind of people, from all walks of life, and I got to meet a lot of business owners.”

But it wasn’t as meaningful, he felt, as life should be. Offi cer wanted to do something he felt passionate about.

It all began one day while Offi cer was sipping whiskey and pondering directions in life.

He was searching for something that would make him completely happy.

“I was brainstorming,” he said. “I thought maybe of doing a cider, but I didn’t drink cider. I was drinking whiskey at the time.”

The rest is history.Whiskey, however, is

a long process and vodka is quicker to make. So his fi rst batch of vodka was made from wine. Now, he has several college-themed vodkas and 4 Spirits whiskey selling in nearly every liquor store in the state.

Startup money for 4 Spirits came from Offi cer’s savings. He bought key pieces of equipment along the way and saved until he could afford to open the business. This is how he plans to continue, with help and support from his wife, Kelly. Investors are not an option. Offi cer wants to be able to try new ideas and take different directions if the urge should hit.

4 Spirits is named in recognition of four combat offi cers that Offi cer served with in the Oregon National Guard 2 Battalion, 162 Infantry Brigade. Lt. Erik McCrae, Sgt. Justin Linden, Sgt. Justin Eyerly and Sgt. David Roustum lost their lives in 2004 serving in Iraq. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the whiskey will be going to help veterans of foreign wars and their families.

Growth Rate 2010 Median Pay

Personal Care Aides 70% $19,640/yr

Growth Rate

Home Health Aides 69% $20,560/yr

Growth Rate

Biomedical Engineers 62% $81,540/yr

Growth Rate

Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, & Tile & Marble Setters 60% $27,780/yr

Growth Rate

Carpenters 56% $25,760/yr

Growth Rate

Veterinary Technologists and Technicians 52% $29,710/yr

Growth Rate

Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers 49% $38,430/yr

Growth Rate

Physical Therapist Assistants 46% $49,690/yr

Growth Rate

Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipe�tters, & Steam�tters 45% $26,740/yr

Growth Rate

Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners 44% $45,260/yr

Fastest Growing Occupations in the United States 20 occupations with the highest percent change of employment between 2010-20.

Growth Rate 2010 Median Pay

Diagnostic Medical Sonographers 44% $64,380/yr

Growth Rate

Occupational Therapy Assistants 43% $51,010/yr

Growth Rate

Physical Therapist Aides 43% $23,680/yr

Growth Rate

Glaziers 42% $36,640/yr

Growth Rate

Interpreters and Translators 42% $43,300/yr

Growth Rate

Medical Secretaries 41% $30,530/yr

Growth Rate

Market Researchers & Marketing Specialists 41% $60,570/yr

Growth Rate

Marriage and Family Therapists 41% $45,720/yr

Growth Rate

Brickmasons and Blockmasons 41% $46,930/yr

Growth Rate

Physical Therapists 39% $76,310

source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Dawson Offi cer

Age: 33

Old occupation: Resource development director at United Way of Benton and Lincoln

New occupation: Distiller and owner of 4 Spirits Distillery

Best advice: “Life is too short not to at least try. Do what makes you happy. It may be cheesy and cliche but you only have one life. Do what you want. Failure is fi ne as long as you learn from it.”

Offi cer’s spirited career

What Should I Be? The Oregon Employment Department’s List of High-Demand, High-Wage Occupations Focus 2013



Educators in Linn and Benton counties are working to keep ahead of the curve when it comes to work force changes to make sure students are ready

for employment.

From colleges to high schools, department heads work to keep abreast of needs and to make sure tomorrow’s employees are prepared and ready to fi ll vacancies.

“There are a number of ways we do it,” said Ilene Kleinsorge, dean of Oregon State University’s College of Business. “Each of our disciplines has a curriculum advisory council of representatives from a variety of industry leaders across many different industries.”

Advisory boards typically meet twice a year to discuss continuing changes. Faculty members speak with industry leaders and the industry leaders give time to classrooms and college events.

Larry Rodgers, executive dean of OSU’s College of Liberal Arts, spends much of his time scanning the landscape and watching employer trends.

“We provide the skills to not only get the job, but to become tomorrow’s leaders,” Rodgers said.

He’s trying to get a feel for the characteristics employers want in their new employees and his college strives to instill leadership skills in graduates.

“Our faculty are able to respond in real time to integrate some soft skills along with the technical topics the very next term,” Kleinsorge said.

In the business college, a process started seven years ago so that major curriculum changes are made with industry input and feedback.

The Austin Family Business Program, for example, has its own advisory board consisting of family business owners and family service providers who help to inform how the college crafts its program offerings, seminars and workshops.

Typically, these college leaders are OSU alumni invested in the college who want to see it succeed. Kleinsorge also gets cold calls from CEOs asking how to get involved. If she thinks they are a good match, they are invited to participate.

“We make sure we are dynamic with the changes of a global economy,” she said. “To make sure we graduate students who can deliver value in Oregon and who are also globally competitive.”

Regional focusAt Linn-Benton Community College, regional analyses

are done to determine areas of need. Feedback also is garnered from area businesses and students to assess the satisfaction level of graduates and their employers.

“It’s diffi cult,” said Beth Hogeland, LBCC’s executive vice president for academic affairs and work-force development. “It’s an imperfect system and hard to project future work force needs.”

Off campus, businesses, organizations and schools are beginning to ask what they can do to help their community get more jobs and bring more business to the area.

Jim Merryman, president and chief operating offi cer of Oregon Freeze Dry in Albany, said it is important to be able hire employees from the mid-valley with the skill sets required by area businesses.

Those employees, he said, are more likely to stay on with the company than employees that the company had to bring in from elsewhere. “The more you can work with people from this area, the better your odds,” he said.

Merryman and other business leaders are looking at what can be done to increase the local hiring pool. They are putting their heads together with Albany Area Chamber of Commerce representatives and educators to determine what needs to be done.

“Maybe we need to get back to the basics,” Merryman said. “Back to STEM: science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which starts in K-12. What if we went to the community college level and asked to get back to vocational

training in trades? The overall goal is to create a mecca of highly educated, highly trained technical workers. This way other businesses would say they want to locate in the area to hire our work force. That way we can be attracting businesses and have a thriving community again.”

Janet Steele, president of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, helped facilitate several recent meetings between educators Greg Hamann, president at Linn-Benton Community College; Maria Delapoer, Albany Public School District superintendent; and several other business representatives to see what could be done.

“Work force development and this gap issue has been around for years,” Steele said. “What the industry leaders are doing is setting the stage for a new direction we hope in the Albany area.”

The most recent effort began in January as part of the chamber’s “12 at 12” series of meetings, Steele said. Industry leaders were saying they weren’t getting the type of employees they need to fi ll their work force needs. This sparked a larger conversation and has spurred additional meetings.

“The educators were there and were very willing listeners to what the industry leaders were framing as

the need for reorganizing and discussing how we are going to educate and train our future work force,” Steele said. “So that they are trained in the type of occupations our local industries need.”

Hamann and Delapoer were there, and outlined their future plans.

Followup meetings will feature meetings between manufacturing leaders and educators to help focus employment opportunities and the skills needed so that LBCC can better direct training efforts and classes and so those students have the right path from K-12 to LBCC.

“Our mission is to engage in an education that enables all of us to participate in, contribute to, and benefi t from the cultural richness and economic vitality of our communities,” Hamann said. “We cannot accomplish this if the knowledge and skills we give to our students does not lead to them being successful in a job.”

Hamann said that when graduates cannot fi nd “meaningful employment” in their own communities,

Continued on page 3

Educators, business leaders bridge work-force gap together

“Work force development

and this gap issue has been around

for years,”Janet Steele,

President of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce

Local business-to-education partners Jim Denham of ATI Wah Chang, left, Greater Albany Public Schools Superintendent Maria Delapoer, Oregon Freeze Dry President Jim Merryman and Janet Steele of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce have been working together to put in place training for a new generation of workers. (Mark Ylen/Democrat-Herald)

Focus 2013


continued from page 3

area education has failed in its mission and is not making communities stronger and better.

“The key to all of this is developing and maintaining effective relationships with our business partners,” Hamann said. “Making sure that the competencies developed in our certifi cates and degrees match those needed in the employees our businesses hire. Effective, long-term relationships in which both college and business invest in our students’ and employees’ success is the only way to achieve this. This is what we are striving to do with businesses like Oregon Freeze Dry and its president, Jim Merryman.”

High school impactsPreparing students for higher education, Albany high

schools do a number of things to get students to think about what they will do after graduation, including programs that expose students to options available in the workplace.

Established this year, Delapoer said, is the regional trades academy funded through a state grant. The academy is a partnership with Lebanon High School and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Tangent. Half of the day students spend their time in courses more oriented toward the trades.

The district provides an online information system for students to interact with businesses. Businesses come to talk with students about their industries. Teachers even do summer internships in local industry and return to design lesson plans to be used in class.

“We are looking at identifying students interested in becoming employees in local industry,” Delapoer said. “With further training or apprenticeships they would be ready for employment with industries in town.”

Not all students will go on to a four-year college. That’s a good thing, Steele said, as there are shortages of trained employees in many sectors.

“There is the discussion of the cultural gap out there,” Steele said. “Not only in the community but in the United States, on how we have focused for 40 years or more on how kids need to go to college. (Everyone says students) need the four-year degree. Yet, when you get the statistics in front of you, only 30 percent go on to a four-year institution and only half of those graduate.”

While the university system is necessary, there also is a great need for those willing to look at a one-year certifi cate or two-year training program to fi ll the shortage in the trades. Welders, plumbers, machinists and electricians are needed and the pay for these occupations can be more than those graduating with a four-year degree.

Steele is working even more with education leaders to fi nd out how to affect a cultural shift for those who aren’t college-bound so that they also are gainfully employed.

“It’s been an excellent conversation,” she said, “getting all these people in the room.”

Merryman said the time has come for everyone to come to the table.

“It’s time for businesses leaders to step back up again,” Merryman said. “If we pull together as a community it will help the whole community.”

A new career with seniors

By Mike McInally

In retrospect, it seems clear that Dennis Dunmyer was doing research for his new career even before he knew for certain that he was searching.

Today, the director of admissions and marketing for Timberview Care Center in Albany thinks it might be that the seeds for his switch in careers – in his previous life, he was a real estate appraiser and broker – were planted during a stretch in which he lost several family members in a relatively short period of time.

It was during that time when “we ran across a lot of dysfunctional processes,” a lot of things that he would do differently were he working with a population of older adults in a caregiving situation.

“That was the beginning,” Dunmyer said in a recent interview. “That was the start. What could we do to make this better?”

Those were the sorts of thoughts that eventually led him to leave behind that successful real estate career for his current work, providing services for an aging population.

After an earlier stint with Regent Court Memory Care in Corvallis, he’s landed with Timberview, where he works with community relations and outreach in addition to his work with marketing and admissions.

He said it was important to him that his transition in a new part of senior care would include working for a company that he believed “got it” as far as his work mission was concerned – and he was looking for a boss who would understand how important it was to provide the tools necessary to be successful. He said both Prestige Care (parent company for Timberview) and the administrator at Timberview, Anne Haddock, have provided the support for him to continue learning and applying new ideals to assist those in need.

The slumping market in real estate in the late 2000s helped provide some fuel for his search for something different, but the bottom line for Dunmyer stayed the same: He wanted to fi nd an area where he could make a difference, day in and day out, in the lives of people.

His early experiences with services for the aging helped convince him that he could help to improve those programs and facilities.

And his research suggested that the need for services for aging Americans was going to boom. He notes that one in six Americans suffered from some sort of memory illness in 2010.

And the number is just going to grow as the American population ages: Some estimates suggest that number could be as high as one in three in the future.

Dunmyer worked hard to educate himself in his

new profession, reading and reaching out to experts such as Western Oregon University psychology professor Robert Winningham, whose “Train Your Brain” program offers tips to help keep older minds sharp.

And he took a deep plunge early into all the programs offered at the facilities where he worked.

“I did as much as I could by being involved in all the different activities,” he said, noting that he still works hard to pick up as much education – formal and informal – as he can.

“It’s that education,” he said, that is vital. “Keeping yourself engaged and then sharing the wealth.”

One unexpected downside to the job: Coping with the deaths of patients with

whom he’s become close.“You’ve been personally attached to these residents. You

have to hold it together.”His best advice for those situations: “Just remember

to breathe.”And his best advice for people thinking of a similarly

dramatic shift in career?Do your research, fi rst. But then: “Don’t be afraid to

take that step. It doesn’t hurt to take that step outside your box.”

Dennis Dunmyer

Age: 59

Old occupation: Real estate appraiser and real estate broker

New occupation: Director of admissions and marketing for Timberview Care Center (skilled nursing and rehabilitation) in Albany.

Best advice: Do your research. “I think it’s just as important to make sure where you’re going to land as it is to make sure you want to land someplace different.”

Dennis Dunmyer of Timberview Care Center in Albany. (David Patton/Democrat-Herald)


Corvallis Main Branch 541.752.5161Corvallis Circle Branch 541.752.5161

Philomath Branch 541.929.3228East Albany Branch 541.967.1992West Albany Branch 541.812.6178

Good Business. Good Friends.www.citzensEbank.com

SAFE & SOUND COMMUNITY BANKING SINCE 1957

Other Branches in:


Cassie Peters has come a long way, and traveled a very circuitous route, from selling hemp clothing at the Saturday Market in Eugene to serving as the head of the Ten Rivers Food Web in Corvallis.

While studying business at the University of Oregon, Peters operated a hemp clothing business. That turned into a wholesale operation that lasted 15 years. In 2006, she decided it was time to make a career change. Peters thought maybe law school. But with a teenage son, moving wasn’t an option and so she moved forward in small steps.

Everything worked in her favor and she found herself enrolled in law school at the University of Oregon, focusing on small business law.

“I made it work,” she said. “After running a small business for so many years, this seemed like a good path for me.”

About halfway through law school, she became interested in issues involving sustainability and agriculture. And in her third year, she decided she wanted to work with farmers. Peters completed her juris doctor at Oregon when an opportunity presented itself at the University of Arkansas to do a master’s program that included agricultural law. She moved south in 2010.

Throughout law school, she found her interest in shaping public policy starting to outstrip her interest in practicing law.

Within a year, another opportunity moved her to West Virginia to do some consulting. During this time, she wrote a report on the food supply chain and infrastructure in the state. She discovered that while she is good at research, she wanted to be out in the community and communicating with farmers.

“That was a really good experience,” she said. “There were a lot of people to get to know so I could be effective and partner with people on future projects.”

Little did she know all of her research, knowledge

and networking would bring her back, close to where she started.

Four months ago, Peters was hired as the executive director of the Ten Rivers Food Web. Ten Rivers is an area nonprofi t organization that focuses on areas such as food literacy and low-income access to healthy food – and the organization’s goals jibe nicely with the original reasons why Peters got into this line of work in the fi rst place.

Peters said coming back to Oregon wasn’t part of the plan, but when she heard about the job she didn’t think twice.

“If I wrote my own dream job description,” she said, “this would be it.”

Peters said this is what she was meant to do with her life. She plans to bring together amazing people to do amazing things.

And, even though she’s not practicing law, she said that she wouldn’t have found this career path without law school. She gives the law school experience credit for teaching her how to be a critical thinker, how to read carefully and how to build a case in support of a proposition or project.

Those skills come in handy every day, for example, when she’s writing grants or creating partnerships.

Cassie Peters

Age: 42

Old occupation: Hemp clothing wholesaler.

New occupation: Executive director, Ten Rivers Food Web.

Best advice: “If you want to make life major changes, be open to possibilities and open to changing your plans. Be willing to work hard, overcome fears and build a name and reputation for yourself.”

By Mike McInally

If you’re looking for the patterns that unite the two halves of Karen Miller’s professional

life – the science part and the art part – stop right there: It’s all about patterns.

Whether it was the time she fi rst was entranced by the study of octopus blood (a vivid and beautiful blue when it’s carrying oxygen) or when she’s working on the intricate work of cutting a stencil so that it’s just right, a love for the beauty of patterns – and the satisfaction that comes from closely studying and identifying those patterns – has animated Miller’s work.

“The satisfaction of looking at something hard and saying, ‘Oh, that’s how it’s working,’ is still there,” she said.

Miller was hooked early on, in high school, with the notion of marine biology – inspired in part by public service messages about science from Dixy Lee Ray, a marine biologist herself who became the state of Washington’s fi rst female governor. “My mother said she could see the wheels turn” as young Miller absorbed Ray’s messages.

She studied at Berkeley and San Diego State before landing at Oregon State University and connecting with Ken van Holde. She called van Holde “one of the nicest people, fabulous to collaborate with. He gave me a lot of freedom.”

Her work with van Holde trying to crack the mysteries of hemocyanin, which she called “a very beautiful protein” remains one of her professional high points. “When we fi nally fi gured out how it was put together, it was so exciting,” she said – and, in a very real sense, that kind of observation and study informs her art work.

She started working with katazome – a Japanese method of dyeing fabrics using a resist paste applied through a stencil – in 1993, some eight years before she retired from her OSU position. By 2001, after years in which grant money for her research work became increasingly hard to fi nd – she thought the time had come to step away from the university.

“Having a second career that gives me this much satisfaction has been a

pleasure,” she said.

And the discipline between the science job and the art work often is similar,

she noted:

Mixing the dyes and pastes used for the katazome is easier after years in the lab: “The chemistry of art is more second nature to me.”

There’s another similarity as well: Art work is real work.“It’s a full time job. It really is. I work hard. … I would rather do that than sit around and prune the roses and dust the furniture.”

The hard work has paid off: Her fi ber art has been displayed around the world and has won praise from critics. It’s been featured on OPB’s “Art Beat” program.

And it still boils down to the close observation and careful study involved in identifying and fi nding just the right pattern: “If you get far enough away or close enough,” she said, “you will see the pattern showing up.”

You just have to be willing to work hard

enough to fi nd it.

A long road to a dream

Cassie Peters, executive director of the Ten Rivers Food Web, poses for a photo outside her Corvallis offi ce March 19. (Amanda Cowan | Corvallis Gazette-Times)

In pursuit of patterns

Katazome textile artist Karen Miller said she prefers the fi ne detail and structure in nature, which is reminiscent of her work as a scientist at Oregon State University.

(Andy Cripe | Corvallis Gazette-Times)

Above top: Details from “Umbrellas in Indigo” by katazome artist Karen Miller.

Above middle: Close-up detail of a stencil of a white oak leaf skeleton Karen Miller

cut from shibugami, a mulberry fi ber paper. Miller would cut about 2 square inches a

night and completed the stencil in six weeks.

Above bottom: Three stages of the katazome process, the stencil upper

right, with resist paste applied through the stencil on the left, and the fi nal dyed

product on the bottom right. (Andy Cripe | Corvallis Gazette-Times)

And the discipline between the science job and the art work often is similar,

she noted:

And it still boils down to the close observation and careful study involved in identifying and fi nding just the right pattern: “If you get far enough away or close enough,” she said, “you will see the pattern showing up.”

You just have to be willing to work hard

Scientist and artist Karen Miller poses with a

stencil of an octopus in her basement workshop

in Corvallis. While a scientist at Oregon State

University, Miller did research on octopus and

intertidal animals.

Karen Miller

Age: 67

Old occupation: Physiologist, with an emphasis on marine biology.

New occupation: Fiber artist, specializing in katazome.

Best advice: “It’s probably a good idea to narrow your focus so that you can do something that’s uniquely you.”

6 FOCUS/Changing COUrSeS • FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2013 ALBANY DEMOCRAT-HERALD, CORVALLIS (OR) GAZETTE-TIMES

Denis Green is guiding LBCC’s mechatronics program to meet the needs of the work force. (Mark Ylen/Democrat-Herald)

By Steve Lathrop

Denis Green believes that when Linn-Benton Community

College started its Mechatronics program in 2008 it was a visionary move by the school.

“The face of equipment operation was changing,” Green said. “It was moving toward multi-skilled operators requiring more precision.”

Green, who has been at the front of the program since it originated, said thanks to partnerships with local businesses Oregon

Freeze Dry and National Frozen Foods, LBCC was able to get ahead of the curve in prepping the equipment operators of the future.

The program may offer a model for the types of training programs needed to train tomorrow’s work force.

Today’s industrial facilities require a more highly trained and diverse technician than in the past.

“Sensors, conveyors and other machinery all move at precise speeds now,” Green said. “They require skill-sets, not one specific skill.”

That means Mechatronics

graduates come out of the program with skills that could include pneumatics, electronics and computer programming. Green said as many as five different skills could be necessary for success.

“The days when a boiler operator worked simple motor controls are gone,” Green said. “There are no more shade tree mechanics. Now controllers use automated sensors and the system could be monitored in another state altogether.”

Green said LBCC took a bit of a risk when it brought

on the Mechatronics program. He said the demographics for the area didn’t fit the program.

“It’s a big city program in a small area,” Green said. “It required diversifying

the curriculum to make students attractive beyond the mid-valley.”

Students leave the program with the ability to work anywhere in the world in industrial or commercial buildings of any kind, Green said.

The diversity of the program offers provides skills in maintenance, troubleshooting, repair and energy efficiency.

The program recently purchased a $250,000 Flexible Manufacturing System, which includes the type of equipment that students would encounter as they move through the work force.

A grant from the National Science Foundation was key to the purchase. The fact that the system included energy efficiency measuring systems for compressed air was instrumental in earning the grant.

Green said the technologies are moving beyond business and into the home, opening up additional opportunities for workers.

“Energy efficiency is a money saver and knowing how to properly service systems is important for the future work force,” Green said.

Currently about 20 students, including several local high school students, are enrolled in the program at LBCC, but it is growing.

Green hopes to establish what he calls an Applied Mechatronics Pathway, which would begin in high

school, travel through the community college level and finally move on to a four-year degree.

The idea is to emphasize fundamental and applied skills.

“Jobs have been lost in the last 10 years partly because machines have replaced skilled workers,” Green said. “Attaining the skills to maintain those systems is a promising path to employment stability.”

Green says the possibilities are expanding for potential jobs in the field. He said automotive, HVAC systems, food processing, aviation and robotics are just a few of the careers Mechatronics touches.

LBCC offers a two-year associate of arts and science degree in Mechatronics as well as a one-year certificate and a mini-certificate specifically for industrial refrigeration.

Green said the program has close to an 85 percent graduation rate but he wants to improve that. “It’s OK but it’s not acceptable,” he said. “We want everyone who enters the program to graduate.”

Green admitted it is a difficult program and not for everyone.

“We are constantly modifying and fine-tuning,” Green said. “There is some attrition because it is hard but it’s a demanding trade and the rewards can be great.”

Mechatronics shows the way

“Jobs have been lost in the

last 10 years partly because machines have replaced skilled

workers,”Denis Green,

LBCC, Mechatronics Program

Focus 2013 - Changing Forces - Rebuilding the Mid-Valley Work Force

Documents