Dr. Jerome Craig teaches in the Functional Nutrition program.

The PCC CLIMB Center is a proud sponsor of Portland Radio Project's Biz503 show - the new Portland-centric startup and small business talk show on PRP.fm. 

Manda Draper is a nutritionist who graduated from the Masters of Science in Nutrition program at the National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM). Manda is the coordinator for the Food as Medicine Institute. She teaches the FAME series, a 12-week, community based, cooking, and nutrition course. Prior to completing her masters degree, Manda served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo, West Africa. As a Food Security volunteer she created a nutrition and feeding program for mothers with malnourished children. Manda’s passion is to encourage the growth and wellness of local communities through cooking and nutrition education. Manda will be hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from April- September while maintaining an entirely whole foods based diet.

In previous posts, we've discussed the benefits and advantages that quality certifications can offer your career or your business. However, we cannot understate the benefits of becoming a quality professional or hiring one for your company. Selecting the correct certification for you or your business is important. In today's post, we're going to discuss five of the most useful certifications and how they can impact your career and business.

As a small business owner, you're sure to know that your storefront is important. But do you realize just how important it is? Everyone's heard the adage, "don't judge a book by it's cover," but the truth is, customers make judgments about what they're interested in or what seems most likely to meet their needs in the first 15 seconds. Your storefront is the first impression you can make on a customer, and depending on their reaction, you may not get another chance to capture them.

Workplace drama, it’s something we’ve all encountered but the way we deal with it can go a long way in defining how future adversity and conflict will be handled.. Whether it’s a disgruntled co-worker, a manager with personal issues or simply a work-related disagreement that’s gone too far; many struggle with how to combat workplace drama.

That is why we’re presenting you with the following 10 tips and tricks on how to create a drama free workplace that every professional should follow in order to to keep everything on an even keel.

Heather Pratt is a natural born foodie with a passion for the medicinal effects of food. She is a Master Nutrition Therapist and is Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition and has been helping people to improve their health with nutrition for the past 10 years. She works for Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage as a Nutrition Writer and regular contributor to the Natural Grocers Health Hotline Magazine, where she educates staff and customers alike on how to use food and supplements to enhance their health. She also teaches nutrition classes to the public and offers individual nutrition counseling.

Mike Budd works in International Sales at Triad Speakers Incorporated and completed the 2014 International Trade Small Business Management program at SBDC.

Updated June 22, 2022.

David Jensen is past President at Acumed LLC . He has been a PCC SBDC business advisor and has also been a client of the PCC SBDC. 

Santiago Estrada, is the International Account Executive at Warco Products Incorporated. Santiago has participated in the 2014 International Trade Small Business Management program and has taken the CGBP Exam Prep Training course.