Featuring our Panel of Experts

Lillian Tsai, TsaiComms, LLC
Gale Castillo, Executive Director, Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
Greg Wolley, City of Portland

About the topic:
In the past, appealing to the varied ethnic groups was not a major concern to marketers in most industries. Ethnic groups in the United States were expected to assimilate into the mainstream over time. But time has proven this reasoning faulty. As a result of many economic and social factors, people are beginning to discover that the U.S. is no longer the melting pot it once was. Instead of looking to assimilate, certain ethnic groups such as African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics have not only maintained their own cultural integrity, but from politics to advertising are now influencing every level of American society as a whole. The buzz in the business world is the ''world is flat'', but a large majority of Americans fail to recognize that America is flat too. We focus too much on the opportunities beyond our borders and fail to see that globalization is already happening within our own communities at a rapid pace. In addition to staying culturally viable, ethnic populations have also greatly increased in number, and are large enough to whet any marketer''s appetite. The U.S. Census Bureau reports show that by 2050, half of the U.S. population will be made up of the Latino and Asian populations.

Marketers need to recognize the need for ethnic marketing because these demographic segments are a huge source of potential business. In this session, you will learn that to be successful, your ethnic marketing efforts should be part of a year-round focused campaign. It would seem logical that ethnic groups will spend their money with companies who are the most “culturally intelligent” by utilizing a targeted marketing program that is sensitive to and knowledgeable about the diversity of these target cultures.

About the speakers:

Lillian Tsai
Lillian Tsai is President of TsaiComms, a marketing and ethnic communications consulting firm specializing in Chinese culture workshops, Asian community outreach and marketing to Asians. Lillian started TsaiComms in 2002 after a career in high tech at global companies such as Mentor Graphics, Hewlett-Packard, Analogy, GemStone Systems, Brokat Technologies, and Encorus Technologies in Stuttgart, Germany. In 2003, TsaiComms was named on the Portland Business Journal’s Top 25 Minority Businesses after its first year of operations. Lillian was “VIP of the month” in the April 2006 issue of Oregon Business Magazine and is the first Asian American woman to be featured in this profile.

Her clients include: Anthro Corp., Custom Craftworks, City of Portland, Columbia Sportswear, ESCO Corp., InFocus Corp., Intel Corp., International Freight Systems, Jet Reports, Multnomah County, Oregon Bridge Delivery Partners (OBDP), The Port of Portland, Portland Classical Chinese Garden, Portland Rescue Mission, RadiSys and the University of Oregon Law School.

Gale Castillo
Gale Castillo is the Executive Director of the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber. Ms. Castillo is one of the founding members of the Hispanic Chamber that was established in 1994. The Hispanic Chamber is a local chapter of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber in Washington D.C. The mission of the Hispanic Chamber is to work with all members of the community to increase the economic advancement of Hispanic-owned businesses. Ms. Castillo represents the Hispanic Chamber as a member of the Contract Management Group (CMG), responsible for the management of the City of Portland’s “Smart Park Garages”. The CMG includes: Star Park, the African-American and the Philippine American Chambers of Commerce. Ms. Castillo is also the co-owner of Cascade Centers, Inc., one of the largest privately held firms which provides Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services nationally.

Before taking on the responsibilities of the Hispanic Chamber, Ms. Castillo operated a retail store: Bellissima Fine Gifts and a business consulting firm: Castillo and Associates. Consulting contracts included projects funded by the Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Economic Development Department, and Tri-Met to provide technical assistance to minority and women-owned businesses throughout Oregon in the areas of: management, marketing, finance, construction, and contract opportunities. Ms. Castillo also conducted international training seminars for groups from Latin America regarding: strategic planning, leadership development, training of trainers and other topics.

Ms. Castillo has worked in both public and private sector. Public service has included working as an Assistant to Governor Neil Goldschmidt. Ms. Castillo was appointed by the Governor, as the State Manager of the Oregon Economic Development Department''s Job Training Administration. Ms. Castillo has also worked for Portland Community College and a community action agency for a variety of job training and community development programs. In the private sector, Ms. Castillo has worked for AT&T, Pacific Northwest Bell, and RESTOR Communications in management, marketing, and national sales positions.

Greg Wolley
Greg Wolley coordinates a marketing and outreach program designed to increase the numbers of minority, women, and emerging small businesses that work as professional consultants for the City of Portland. He manages numerous small business support services, including media and advertising, special events, outreach groups, and individual business consultations. Prior to his work with the City of Portland, Greg coordinated community relations for TriMet’s Interstate MAX project, with an emphasis on coordinating communications and support services for Interstate Corridor businesses throughout project construction.

Greg received his Bachelor’s and Masters degrees in Psychology and Environmental Education from UC Berkeley and Southern Oregon University. Much of his career has been spent in the fields of environmental education, natural resource management, and environmental planning. Often one of few people of color in his profession, he strived to bring more diversity to these fields by introducing hundreds of students to the work he loved. Greg has served on numerous boards and committees, including the Northwest Association of Environmental Professionals, The National Association of Black Public Administrators, Friends of Trees, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and Habitat for Humanity. He recently founded the African American Outdoor Association, which addresses health disparities in the African American community by engaging groups in vigorous physical activity in the natural environment.