Southern Willamette Valley Innovation Corridor Initiative
Time: Noon to 1:15 pm
Venue: WOW Hall
291 West 8th
Eugene, Oregon
97401
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We will meet at the WOW Hall, 291 W 8th. Learn more: https://wowhall.org/about-us/. Walk, ride a bike or take the bus. You may park on the street or in the parking lot of FOOD for Lane County's Dining Room, across 8th from the WOW Hall. A freewill donation acknowledging the Dining Room's generosity may be made at the meeting.
Sorry - we no longer offer lunch. However, you are welcome to bring your own food.
Topic:
In 1959, three universities, government, and business leaders in North Carolina came together to build Research Triangle Park. Nearly 70 near later, the Park has become the largest research park in the United States, home to more than 300 companies employing 65,000 workers across a 700 acre campus. This investment – and the ambition it embodied – set the stage for a surge of economic growth that has continued well into the 21st century.
Right here in the Willamette Valley, we are blessed with two flagship research universities separated by 40 miles – with an airport in between, to boot. Enter the Southern Willamette Valley Innovation Corridor Initiative – a growing effort to build “a long-term strategy that connects academic innovation with industry momentum, land readiness, and quality of place.”
We’ll welcome leaders from government, academia, and the business community that are working toward to build the Corridor and the economic opportunity that comes with it.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Speakers
Title: Associate VP, Ecooic Development & Strategic Relations
Organization: University of Oregon
Website: https://gcr.uoregon.edu/economic-development-and-strategic-relations
Biography:
Biography is provided by the speaker
Tina Guldberg is Associate Vice President for Economic Development and Strategic Relations at the University of Oregon, where she leads efforts to connect the university’s research, innovation, and talent with industry, government, and community partners to advance economic growth across Oregon. With more than 25 years of experience spanning higher education and industry, she specializes in building public- private partnerships that strengthen innovation ecosystems, support workforce development, and translate research into economic impact.
Prior to joining UO, she held leadership roles at the Georgia Institute of Technology and began her career in product development engineering at Ford Motor Company. Guldberg serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Oregon Life Sciences Association and on the advisory council supporting Business Oregon’s statewide economic development strategy. She holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Michigan.
Title: Mayor
Organization: City of Eugene
Website: https://www.eugene-or.gov/3458/Mayor-Kaarin-Knudson-Bio
Biography:
Biography provided by the speaker
Mayor Kaarin Knudson is an architect, writer, and educator with more than 25 years’ experience in design, sustainability, and community building.
Trained as a journalist before becoming an architect, her work has always focused on people and place. In 2017, after a decade in architectural practice, she organized the public-interest project Better Housing Together to address Lane County’s housing crisis. This work supported the creation of Eugene’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Lane County’s first Affordable Housing Action Plan, and Oregon’s landmark middle housing reforms.
In 2024, she was elected with 73% of the primary vote and 96% in the general election. She is the first All-American runner to be elected mayor of TrackTown, USA.
Mayor Knudson teaches planning and urban design at the University of Oregon, and she speaks regionally and nationally about housing, sustainable cities, and the work of guiding community change. Her first book, The Sustainable Urban Design Handbook (Routledge), was published in 2024.
Title: CEO
Organization: The Pape Group
Website: https://www.pape.com/
Biography:
Biography is provided by the speaker
Jordan Papé is CEO of The Papé Group. The fourth generation Papé to lead the organization, he manages a diverse portfolio of capital equipment dealership brands with coverage from Mexico to Alaska.
Originally joining The Papé Group as a financial analyst, he later moved to Portland to become the Vice President and General Manager of Flightcraft, a fixed-base operation with locations at Portland International Airport and the Eugene Airport.
He later worked as part of the technology and communications mergers and acquisitions team at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray in San Francisco.
In 2008 Mr. Papé returned to Eugene to become the Director of Product Support Operations for The Papé Group and, later, the Corporate Controller and CFO before being named CEO in 2013.
Active in business and community affairs, Mr. Papé serves as the Chair of the Southern Willamette Valley Innovation Corridor. He also serves on the board of Oregon Business and Industry (OBI), the state’s chamber of commerce, and Oregon Business Council, the business-roundtable for the State of Oregon.
Mr. Papé earned a MBA from the University of Oregon and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Colorado- Boulder.
Married to Keri Papé, they reside in Eugene, Oregon, with their son Braden (19) and daughters Madeline (17) and Eleanor (14).
