Wilhoite Named to PDC

Mayor Tom Potter has nominated Charles A. Wilhoite to become a commissioner on the Portland Development Commission board.
Wilhoite is a managing director at Willamette Management Associates, a firm specializing in financial consulting, economic analysis and business valuation services. Before joining Willamette Management in 1990, Wilhoite was a senior auditor for KPMG Peat Marwick, an international accounting and consulting firm.
Wilhoite serves on the boards of directors of the Urban League, Portland Business Alliance, Oregon Health & Science University Medical Group, Jesuit High School, Oregon Children's Foundation and the Portland State University Foundation.
He is a member of the Portland Fire and Rescue Bureau Advisory Committee, the Portland Chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants and the Citizens' Crime Commission.
Additionally, Wilhoite until recently served as chair of the Mayor's Charter Review Commission, a diverse group of 26 community members who have undertaken the first comprehensive review of the city's charter since 1922.
"Charles' evenhandedness, integrity and city-wide perspective have been critical to the work of the Charter Review Commission," Potter said. "His broad understanding of Portland's business needs, deep community roots and civic involvement will help guide the important work facing the PDC."
Approved by the City Council, Wilhoite's term will begin Aug. 1. He fills one of two seats being vacated by the retirements of PDC Chair Eric Parsons and Commissioner Doug Blomgren.
Wilhoite is the mayor's fourth appointment to the five-person PDC Commission, which is composed of volunteers nominated by the mayor to serve three-year terms. The board oversees the city's semi-autonomous economic development agency, which focuses on neighborhood revitalization, housing and job creation.
Last year, Potter made three PDC appointments: In February, Bertha Ferran, a senior mortgage consultant with Windermere Mortgage Services who has spent much of her career working on affordable housing issues, joined the board. In April, Mark Rosenbaum, a financial planner and longtime community activist in children's issues, joined her. Potter's third appointment in June was businessman Sal Kadri, owner of ValueCAD, a Portland-based information technology, geographic information system and computer-assisted drafting company with offices in Portland and San Francisco.