About Us
Our Mission
The Blueprint Foundation aims to eliminate the opportunity gap for Black youth within the Portland Metropolitan Area. This is accomplished by engaging youth in culturally specific experiences that introduce them to, and prepare them for, family sustaining careers in disciplines where black-identified individuals are currently underrepresented.
The Blueprint Founcation was founded on the premise of equality and opportunity for all persons regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identification, gender expression, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, or socioeconomic status. Consequently, although we focus on supporting Black-identified youth, TBF activities are open to all interested youth.
Core Values
- Challenge youth’s perceptions of what is possible.
- Maintain high standards and expectations for youth.
- Remain committed and accountable to youth development.
- Be adaptive to issues impacting youth.
- Encourage their positive self-image and cultural pride.
Meet The Staff
Derron Rafiq Coles, PhD (he/him)
Executive Director
MJ (they/them)
Internship Director
Jason Stroman (he/him)
Program Director
Bria Beale (they/she)
Program Coordinator
Marc-Daniel Domond (he/him)
Board Chair
Ian Heisser (he/him)
Board Secretary
Aubré Dickson (he/him)
Board Treasurer
Kimberlynn Heller, DO, FACOG (she/her)
Board Member
Blake Dye (he/him)
Board Member
Cashauna Hill (she/her)
Board Member
Bobby Daniels (he/him)
Board Member
Terrence Rawls (he/him)
Mentor
Gabrielle Liwaru (she/her)
Mentor
Alexander Rhodes (he/him)
Mentor
Sharif Liwaru (he/him/his)
Mentor
Our History
The Blueprint Foundation was founded by members of the Portland chapter of the historically Black fraternal organization, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. The move was in response to a 2010 census report on the state of education in Oregon that identified large disparities in high school retention and graduation rates for Black students in Portland’s Public high schools versus their white counterparts.
Our intent was to shift the numbers by providing Black youth with access to workforce development that would complement their schoolwork and solidify their interest in careers of the future. The green sector is growing due to major investments in tackling global environmental challenges that happen to disproportionately impact Black community members. Recruitment and retention literature stresses the importance of personal connections to one’s work for retention in any career, but particularly in fields related to science and engineering. Consequently, the combination of promising job prospects and culturally meaningful work led us to select the green sector as the focus of our efforts.
Blueprint operates according to our core values:
- Challenge youths’ perceptions of what is possible,
- Maintain high standards and expectations for youth,
- Remain committed and accountable to youth development,
- Be adaptive to issues impacting youth, and
- Encourage youths’ positive self-image and cultural pride.
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