Westside Economic Alliance
10220 S.W. Nimbus Avenue
Suite K-12
Tigard, Oregon 97223
Keynote Speaker
Candace Beeke – Publisher and President, Portland Business Journal
Candace Beeke (bee-key) loves a good story, especially sharing those of business growth in the Portland metro region. As publisher and president of the award-winning Portland Business Journal, a position she accepted in September 2020, she gets to do that every day, along with a team of great journalists, marketers and event planners.
Beeke previously served as publisher of Albuquerque Business First and editor in chief of the Houston Business Journal, both sister publications to PBJ. Prior to that, Beeke was editor of the Business Review West Michigan, the publication where she began her career in journalism as a manufacturing reporter in 2001.
Beeke serves on the boards of the Portland Metropolitan Chamber and International Women’s Forum – Oregon Chapter, where she is also chair of the Membership Committee.
She graduated from Western Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and a minor in journalism. She taught advanced and basic journalism as adjunct faculty at WMU from 2003 through 2010.
PBJ is owned by American City Business Journals.
Featured Speaker
Council President Juan Carlos González – Metro
Council President Juan Carlos González (he, him, él) is the first Latino to serve as Metro Council President, as well as the youngest. He is the proud son of immigrants, born in Forest Grove and raised in Cornelius. From 2019-2026 he represented District 4, which includes Western Washington County.
Throughout his career at Metro, he has focused on economic development, affordable housing, transportation justice, and creating a region where everyone can afford to belong. At Metro, he currently chairs the Supportive Housing Services Regional Policy Oversight Committee (SHS RPOC) and Future Vision Commission.
González earning a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from Georgetown University. Prior to becoming Metro Council President, he worked as Chief Strategy Officer at Centro Cultural, a Cornelius-based nonprofit that works with families to create self-sufficient, engaged citizens. He lives in the Oak Hills neighborhood in Beaverton with his wife, Lorena, and baby daughter Sofia.