Profile: Linda Nilsen-Solares, Project Access NOW
Health as a passion and a brand
If there’s one person who can squeeze Guatemala, insurance, collaboration, chicken, and branding in a few sentences, it’s Linda Nilsen-Solares, Executive Director of Project Access NOW, a Portland nonprofit that coordinates a network of volunteer physicians providing health care to the uninsured. During our recent phone conversation, a single issue underlined Linda’s seemingly limitless energy and positive attitude: “Health has always been close to my heart.”
After completing her undergraduate degree in international studies at Graceland University, Linda, a Michiganite, worked with Outreach International in a number of Central American countries. The work: participatory human development, or “community organizing with a public health emphasis”, e.g. waste disposal, potable water access and similar projects.
Her first job in Oregon was at a temp agency where she helped people find and get jobs. “I noticed that most people didn’t have health insurance. It was a real eye opener.” The experience only intensified when she worked at the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, a clinic for low-income Latinos.
Linda’s subsequent years with the Washington County health department exposed her fully to health issues in the County. The experiences also paved the way to the transition to Executive Director of Essential Health Clinic, a free urgent care clinic for the uninsured.
“I loved my job at the Essential Health Clinic,” Linda said, “but community collaboration and getting physicians more involved in the community felt even more right.” She learned of the Executive Director position at Project Access NOW because she was a member of the organizing committee, and when the position opened, she applied.
“At Project Access NOW, we’ve been connecting the area uninsured to health care for almost a year now, leveraging approximately $1 million in health care costs so far. We’re starting to get the first outcome data in,” Linda said proudly. She sounded almost dismissive about having concurrently worked on her masters in public administration, which she finished in March 2008 just as Project Access NOW was launching. “It feels like a big accomplishment, but there’s a lot more to do.”
According to Linda, collaboration is key. “I haven’t done this alone, it’s been a collaborative effort all the way,” Linda said. “A lot of people have chipped in and pushed through in difficult times. As a nonprofit, everything we do is a result of an investment from individual donors and volunteers, foundations, and community partners. It’s a big responsibility.”
Changing gears to how branding shaped the organization’s development, Linda said, “Branding is a chicken and egg issue for me. From the outset we considered the importance of branding and our community presence. We had a big vision who we wanted to be but few resources. We knew that to grow and serve more people, we’d need more dollars, and in order to get more funding, we’d need to communicate better. So building an effective marketing program and a strong brand has been crucial to our success, and we’re grateful to The Regence Foundation for supporting our marketing efforts.”
Asked what difference has branding made for Project Access NOW, Linda said, “Good branding makes a lot of difference in what you appear to be. People take you more seriously if you are and, more importantly, look organized. Our visual identity as a nonprofit, while not flashy, is very intentional, solid, and consistent. All of our staff, volunteers, and board members take pride and own the Project Access NOW brand, which helps move the organization forward. Our branding aesthetic created an image of our vision, and with the move to a bigger space in NW Portland, I feel like we’re now growing into our brand.”
On the issue of execution, Linda said simply, “Particularly in small organizations, some things are not going to get done unless you pay for them. We’re pleased with our investment in better marketing.”
(December 2008)
