Jason Friedman led the recent and well attended Growing Green Enterprises for Community Development Revitalization Workshop at the WSU Jefferson County Extension office in Port Hadlock, WA. The workshop was organized by Dr. Katherine Baril, Director; presented by EcoVentures International, NorthWest Area Foundation and Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore. Co-sponsored by Enterprise For Equity, Port Townsend Food CO-OP, Northwest Natural Resource Group, ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia, among many other leaders in the local sustainable development arena.Jason is with WEB Consulting Services and his Linkedin website is http://www.linkedin.
com/pub/4/bb3/999.
WEB builds strong women-owned businesses that lift up communities and families.
Jefferson, Clallam, and Kitsap Counties were represented among the 80 or so people who attended this workshop.
An estimated 40 of those attending were business owners involved in or interested in green enterprise development.Featured were business speakers Jason Friedman (WEB Consulting Services), Katherine Baril (WSU Extension Director), Margie Brand (EcoVentures International), Mark Bowman (Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia),
and Denise Pranger (Northwest Natural Resource Group.Information and discussion revolved around the creation and sustainability of businesses related to renewable energy, green building,
sustainable agriculture and forestry, and poverty alleviation.Margie Brand's webpage at EcoVentures is http://www.eco-ventures.org/
content/view/62/9/.
Jefferson County's own Economic Development Team attended, including Bill Wise, Briar Kolp, and Katherine Baril.
There are a growing number of opportunities arising from approaching micro and small business development through a natural resource management lens: new market niches, more efficient production; more effective and c
leaner technologies; and cost-effective inputs. Environmental entrepreneurs are able to develop a mindset that embraces and adapts to the dynamic changes both in the natural world and the global marketplace.This workshop is part of the on-going efforts within Jefferson County to develop a sustainable community that capitalizes on its natural environment and unique sense of place within economic development models.