CUB Wishes Farewell to Deputy Director Janice Thompson
Posted on July 29, 2021 by Bob Jenks
Tags, General Interest
Janice Thompson, CUB’s Deputy Director, is retiring this summer. CUB wishes her well as she heads into retirement and travels America.
Janice has been a critical staff member of CUB since 2014. Previously, she was a valued member of our Board of Directors between 2004 and 2010. As Deputy Director, she has helped oversee the business as well as CUB’s development, communications, and membership programs. While on staff, she has been a strong advocate for utility customers at the legislature and water/wastewater customers at the City of Portland. She has trained, supervised, and developed staff. She has coordinated special projects and led our efforts in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She has done whatever is necessary to build and develop the organization.
Janice has saved Portland water and wastewater customers millions of dollars. She got the City to eliminate a yearly subsidy of private developers, saving customers $3.2 million. She also got the Bureau of Environmental Services to charge fees for some compliance issues rather than have wastewater customers subsidize them, saving an additional $1.4 million per year. And she got the Water Bureau to implement a monthly billing program, allowing customers to pay their bills monthly rather than quarterly. For customers who struggle to pay bills, consistent monthly bills can be easier to manage than more variable quarterly ones.
As Janice’s role came to expand beyond her initial capacity as CUB’s Consumer Advocate, she led our efforts in the legislature as we passed the coal-to-clean legislation phasing out coal plants, protected energy efficiency funding, and passed net neutrality legislation.
She has also been an insightful partner to me as we have worked together to manage CUB. She carried the ball in managing a number of behind-the-scenes projects that were necessary for CUB’s maintenance and growth, such as annual audits and our organizational merger in 2016. Never complaining, she did whatever was needed for the organization, and she did everything well. Janice has had previous experience as a nonprofit Executive Director and her advice to me has been invaluable, as has her well-developed skill at “managing up” (a kind way of saying she holds me accountable).
CUB has accomplished a great deal during Janice’s time here. We have passed major legislation. We have developed a talented group of staff people. We have grown the organization. We have built solid relationships with other stakeholders. And she has been a key part of it all.
Janice has had an accomplished career working for nonprofit organizations and in the consumer interest. CUB is fortunate that she spent time with us. We wish her good health and good luck in retirement.
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07/29/21 | 1 Comment | CUB Wishes Farewell to Deputy Director Janice Thompson