Women at Work
“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you are proud to live.”
–Anne Sweeny
Stories by Dick Baltus Photos by Thomas Boyd
Success comes in many forms, and it rarely comes easy. For women, the path to success can be an even more difficult journey. But, in the Umpqua Valley, there is no shortage of women who have overcome challenges and cleared obstacles to reach the top – in their professions, at home and in our community. In this feature, UV is proud to profile just a few of the many Umpqua Valley women who have built lives to be proud of and to which others can find inspiration.
Anne Kubisch
President/CEO
The Ford Family Foundation
Anne Kubisch may not have done or seen it all, but it hasn’t been for lack of effort. She was born in Niles, Mich. Her father’s State Department job had the family living in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Brazil, Mexico, France and Greece. Other stops included Boston, where she earned a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University, and New Jersey, where she earned a master’s degree from Princeton. In her career, Kubisch has worked for an international development organization, the Ford Foundation (related to the Ford motor company) in New York and Nigeria, directed research and public policy at The Aspen Institute think tank and, for the last six years, led The Ford Family Foundation. Along the way she and her husband raised two children.
List five words that best describe you.
Compassionate. Extroverted. Optimistic. Curious (about the world). Impatient (with poverty, injustice and inequity).
What has most helped you get to where you are?
Curiosity about, and exposure to, the diversity of human beings, cultures and communities in the United States and around the world.
What satisfies you most in life?
When the people I love are healthy, happy and fulfilled.
Who are your heroes?
This question is a hard one for me. It suggests that individual stars influence me. Instead, I believe that success for families, communities and nations comes as a result of hard work, every day, by a lot of committed and courageous people. But, if you push me: My daughter and son, who are growing up to be incredible young adults (despite the deficiencies of their parents!).
What are your proudest personal and professional achievements?
My two fabulous children and becoming president/CEO of The Ford Family Foundation.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Store up on sleep and get into a fitness routine because when you’re trying to pursue a career and raise children at the same time, sleep and fitness time fall away.
Was there a favorite quote that has inspired you through your career?
From Theodore Parker via Martin Luther King, Jr.: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Anita Cox
Vice President, Branch Manager,
Oregon Pacific Bank
After graduating from Oakland High School and Southern Oregon University, Cox was hired as a teller at First National Bank in Sutherlin. That was the beginning of a banking career that has spanned 41 years. Cox’s contributions to community causes are legendary. She’s served on the boards of, or otherwise volunteered for, UCAN, Sutherlin School District, Boys and Girls Club, Rotary Club, Douglas CARES, Douglas ESD, Oregon Community Foundation and The Ford Family Foundation. Twenty-three years ago she founded Ladies in Leadership to give area women the opportunity to network with other women
List 5 words that best describe you.
Considerate. Compassionate. Adventurous. Empathetic. Reliable.
What has most helped you get to where you are?
Family, friends and mentors who helped me along the way.
What satisfies you most in life?
Family. Making a difference for others.
Who are your heroes?
Local women who have achieved their life goals and made accomplishments through their own perseverance and vision.
What are your proudest personal and professional achievements?
Raising my children to be achievers. Influencing successful community projects. Sharing my own experiences to help others. Achieving a management position in my career.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t let your past define you. Stay strong through the storms of life because they will shape you into a better person.
Tabbitha Layman
Assistant Manager,
First Interstate Bank
At age 15, Sutherlin native and current resident Tabbitha Layman started working in fast food and was on the fast track to a career in the industry. She worked her way up to assistant to the area manager before shifting careers in order to spend more time with her husband, Fred, and their three children. Layman had similar success in her new banking career, quickly moving up the ranks to her current position. Layman is a committed community volunteer, serving on the Festival of Lights Committee, as a CASA advocate and helping many other events and organizations. In July she starts her term as president of the Roseburg Rotary Club.
List 5 words that best describe you.
Dependable. Organized. Compassionate. Effervescent. Driven.
What has most helped you get to where you are?
My determination to provide a role model for my children. Perseverance over obstacles is a lesson learned
early in life from my family.
What satisfies you most in life?
Feeling like I have made those who matter proud, and making a difference in someone’s life.
Who are your heroes?
My mother, Neilene Blakely, who selflessly helps others time and time again, and my sister, Mae Sliva, who showed me at a young age that women can do anything they want.
What are your proudest personal and professional achievements?
My proudest personal moments come from my kids. I feel proud when they want to volunteer, or give their things to people in need or feed the homeless. Professionally I would say the recognition that comes from my involvement in the community.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Slow down and enjoy the ride!
Was there a favorite quote that has inspired you through your career?
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” –The Dalai Lama
Lisa Platt
President, Mercy Foundation
Roseburg or Chicago? That was the choice Lisa Platt faced after being offered her job with Mercy Foundation 16 years ago. She had also been offered an opportunity in Chicago, where she had been the gift development officer for the Chicago Archdiocese-Catholic Extension Society. But Platt had lived in the Gresham area between college and graduate school and had vowed to return to the Northwest if the opportunity arose. So she took “a leap of faith” and left metropolitan Illinois for rural Oregon. Platt grew up in the Midwest and also lived in the South, working in Texas as a life insurance specialist and later as chief administrative officer for a large third-party administrator. While there she was named by the YWCA as the Outstanding Business Woman of the Year.
List 5 words that best describe you:
Honest. Compassionate. Risk-taker. Gregarious. Generous.
What has most helped you get to where you are?
Having great mentors in my life and understanding what servant leadership is all about. Also, knowing you cannot achieve success by yourself.
What satisfies you most in life?
Right now it is watching my 17-year-old goddaughter blossom into a young woman. I have been raising her since she was 11 after her mother passed away.
Who are your heroes?
Sr. Jacquetta Taylor (former Mercy CEO). Others would include Gilda Radner, Lauren Bacall, Katherine Hepburn and Meryl Streep.
What are your proudest personal and professional achievements?
I think it is our Healthy Kids Outreach Program and how we saw that a focus on prevention and wellness was the key to making a real difference in our communities.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Balance. The younger me did not have a healthy balance between family, work and pleasure.
Was there a favorite quote that has inspired you through your career?
“Sometimes the juice just ain’t worth the squeeze.”
Kim Tyree
COO, Evergreen Family Medicine
Tyree moved to Roseburg from her native Klamath Falls to become chief operations officer for Evergreen Family Medicine. She was formerly COO for a health center and residency administrator for the OHSU Family Practice Residency program, both in Klamath Falls. She earned her associate’s degree at age 26 and went to work in healthcare settings. At age 40, while still working full time, Tyree earned her bachelor’s degree. Following the death of her mother, who had always wanted to get a master’s degree, Tyree went back to school and got hers.
List 5 words that best describe you.
Driven. Innovative. Passionate. Strong-willed. Resilient.
What satisfies you most in life?
My family. I have an amazing husband, who truly is my best friend, three grown kids, two grown step-kids and nine grandkids.
Who are your heroes?
My grandmother worked for the Forest Service in Idaho until finally retiring from the Older American Work Program at 88. My mom was a nurse for 57 years, retiring at the age of 77. She also was a smart, strong woman who taught me the value of hard work.
What are your proudest personal and professional achievements?
My proudest personal achievement is watching my kids in their role as parents. My proudest professional achievement was getting my MBA.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t take things too seriously, and don’t get frustrated with things that are outside of your control.
Was there a favorite quote that has inspired you through your career?
“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” - Colin Powell
