Serving as the Executive Director and Founder of Vive NW, Jorge F. Guzman has over 15 years of experience working in the private, non-profit and public sectors. Outside of Vive NW, Jorge is also the co-founder of Hispanicpros (now a program of Vive NW) and managing partner at Versicube.com and TV Jam.
Guzman served as an Economic Development Consultant for the City of Gresham in the State of Oregon. Under this role, he consulted on the development and implementation of a Catalyst Site, an economic development engine aimed to provide access to healthy food, education, healthcare, technology and business development opportunities. Guzman has also served on advisory committees for Business Oregon (Oregon’s Economic Development agency), Travel Oregon (Oregon’s Tourism Agency) and Metro (Regional Government) to help shape policies and strategies around, economic development, entrepreneurship, tourism, diversity, inclusion and innovation.
Previous to his current titles, Guzman worked at Hacienda CDC, a Latino Community Development Corporation. During his tenure at Hacienda CDC, Guzman managed Hacienda CDC’s Mortgage Payment Assistance Program, a multimillion dollar program that served approximately 4,000 families who were facing home foreclosures in Multnomah County. After successfully completing this three year project, Guzman transitioned to the Economic Development department. During this time, Guzman also became part of the development team for The “Portland Mercado” a Latino themed market that serves as a business incubator for low-income entrepreneurs.
Prior to his work at Hacienda CDC, Guzman was the Operations and Compliance Manager for McGee Wealth Management, Inc. Former Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and city commissioners appointed Guzman in 2015-2016 as Board Commissioner for Home Forward (formally known as the Portland Housing Authority), where he served as treasurer. Guzman was also appointed by Portland State University to serve as an expert in public policy and housing affairs and advisor for the development of the Master of Public Policy program. Jorge Guzman is committed to serving and making a positive impact and change through his work.
Guzman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing and a certificate in Food and Retail management from Portland State University. Guzman also holds a certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Texas in San Antonio, TX. Guzman is multilingual, multicultural, and an avid traveler, having spent time trekking through Latin America, Asia, and Europe. Guzman enjoys hiking, running surfing, snowshoeing, traveling and spending time with family and friends.