Portland Metro Chamber Recognizes Jordan Schnitzer And Albina Vision Trust For Outstanding Achievements At Annual Business Leadership Evening
- 11/13/25
Portland Metro Chamber Recognizes Jordan Schnitzer and Albina Vision Trust for Outstanding Achievements at Annual Business Leadership Evening
With elected leaders in attendance, the William S. Naito Outstanding Service Award and the President’s Award was bestowed to business community leaders.
Link to Photos and Videos of Event, Speakers, and Awardees
PORTLAND, OR — Nov. 12, 2025 — The Portland Metro Chamber brought together the region’s business community yesterday evening for one of its most anticipated annual events—the 2025 Business Leadership Evening. More than 550 industry professionals and elected officials gathered at the Portland Art Museum to celebrate exceptional leaders whose contributions to business, philanthropy, and civic engagement strengthen the fabric of the Rose City. At a time when the region faces economic headwinds, the event underscored what can be achieved when the community unites around shared values and a common vision for progress.
Speakers included U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, former State Senator Betsy Johnson, Chamber President and CEO Andrew Hoan, and honoree Jordan D. Schnitzer. They highlighted how the resilience and creativity of Portlanders has shined especially bright recently in the face of federal and local challenges. They also emphasized the integral role of business leadership in driving innovation, fostering collaboration, and building a strong and inclusive Portland economy.
The Chamber bestowed the William S. Naito Outstanding Service Award to Jordan D. Schnitzer. In honor of the late Bill Naito, the award recognizes Schnitzer’s decades of visionary leadership in building one of the West Coast’s most successful commercial real estate portfolios and driving regional economic growth.
Schnitzer’s journey began in 1965—Jordan, Harold and Arlene Schnitzer’s son, began working weekends and evenings performing maintenance and janitorial duties in the family’s apartment, retail and office buildings. After graduating from the University of Oregon and Lewis & Clark Law School, Jordan joined the family business full-time in 1976.
By 1995, Jordan Schnitzer assumed the role of President and CEO of what is known today as Schnitzer Properties, growing the company’s commercial real estate holdings from 3.4 million square feet to 31 million square feet across six Western states by 2025.
Jordan combined his father’s love for smaller-unit buildings like apartments and offices with his interest in flex industrial warehouse spaces to carve out a visionary niche for industrial workspaces for small and mid-sized manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and service providers—the backbone of the American economy.
Today, the 75-year-old family company owns more than 200 properties with 4,250+ tenants with nearly $500 million of new development underway in 2025. Schnitzer works every day from his office in downtown Portland and lives with his family in Multnomah County.
Beyond his real estate achievements, Schnitzer is an internationally recognized art collector, named by ARTNews as one of the world's top 200 art collectors. The Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation, with its collection of thousands of contemporary artworks, has organized and funded more than 180 exhibitions at 130 museums at no cost to the museums. Additionally, Schnitzer serves as president of the Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation, which has donated over $300 million to fund hundreds of nonprofit projects.
“I'm honored to accept this year’s William S. Naito Award. Bill and I served together on several commissions and if there ever was someone that committed his heart and soul to helping improve Portland, it was Bill Naito,” said Schnitzer.
Schnitzer added, “I hope I have followed in Bill’s footsteps and look forward to continuing to work every day, not only in our real estate business, but philanthropically and civically to make our home, Portland and the State of Oregon, a wonderful place to live.”
The President’s Award was presented to Albina Vision Trust (AVT) for its exceptional accomplishments to transform the future of our community—leading the largest restorative redevelopment effort in America. Executive Director Winta Yohannes accepted the award on behalf of AVT.
Once known as the “Harlem on the Willamette,” the neighborhood of Lower Albina was nationally recognized as a West Coast hotspot for jazz and soul music before urban renewal projects displaced families and dismantled its social and cultural fabric. Albina was classified “blighted” and redlined, and families were displaced so that the neighborhood could be demolished and replaced by Interstate 5, Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and the Portland Public Schools headquarters facility.
Today, Albina Vision Trust is reclaiming land and creating inclusive opportunities for housing and economic development to rebuild the 94-acre thriving community. In 2023, Albina Vision Trust broke ground on the inaugural 94-unit, family-centered affordable housing development, Albina One. In September, the $66.7 million, seven-story apartments opened 94 units of 100% affordable housing, welcoming people back into the district for the first time in 40 years.
Albina Vision Trust is now in the process of acquiring the 10.5-acre Portland Public Schools headquarters campus to deliver 1,000 units of housing for over 3,000 working-class Portlanders, mixed-use commercial space, an education hub for marginalized students, and accessible green spaces.
“I am honored to accept this recognition on behalf of the entire Albina Vision Trust team,” said Albina Vision Trust Executive Director Winta Yohannes, noting the partnership between the Chamber and AVT. “The Portland Metro Chamber was right there cheering on our landmark partnership with the Portland Trailblazers, called the Albina Rose Alliance.”
Yohannes added, “Whenever we’ve asked PMC to show up in Salem to testify alongside us, they’ve never wavered. They’ve rolled up their sleeves to join us in coordinating national coalitions for infrastructure investments.”
The Portland Metro Chamber is proud to recognize Albina Vision Trust’s exceptional leadership in spearheading a nationally heralded, precedent-setting model for 21st century urban restorative development, which has literally and figuratively broken ground to deliver inclusive opportunities for affordable housing and land development, wealth building, and cultural revitalization.
The Chamber is proud to celebrate Jordan Schnitzer and the Albina Vision Trust for their visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to shaping the future of Portland.
