Troy Douglass is a Portland community leader, cultural connector, and entrepreneur with deep roots in both the Native and Filipino communities. He is an active member of the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon and the NW Native Chamber of Commerce, and is a longtime advocate for culturally grounded economic empowerment.

In 2011, Troy founded Cultural Blends, a lifestyle brand built on identity, representation, and human connection. He opened a retail location at Lloyd Center in 2018, and in 2020 he launched Back to the Basket on Hawthorne - now Portland's premier basketball memorabilia and sneaker store, further cementing his commitment to community-centered business.

Troy currently serves as Communications Director for Respond to Racism (August 2024–present) and previously sat on the planning committee for Lakad for Lumad, a nonprofit 5K supporting Lumad communities in Mindanao, Philippines.

On the advisory council, Troy brings more than entrepreneurial experience - he brings a deep care for the community and for youth. His work consistently centers representation, opportunity, and creating spaces where the next generation can see themselves reflected, empowered, and thriving.

Matt Patterson

Matthew Patterson serves as Director of Student Services at Visions In Education, where he leads critical student-support initiatives and drives equity-focused strategies that improve academic access, wellbeing, and overall success for thousands of students across California.

He holds an appointment to the California Practitioners Advisory Group (CPAG)—one of the most influential advisory councils to the State Board of Education. In this role, he helps shape statewide accountability and equity policies, lending his expertise to decisions that impact millions of students.

Matt is also a fellow of the Nehemiah Emerging Leaders Program (NELP), an elite fellowship that develops influential civic leaders across the Sacramento region. His selection reflects his demonstrated leadership, community impact, and commitment to advancing opportunities for underserved youth.

Grounded in his own lived experience growing up in foster care, Matt brings both insight and empathy to Dream Big City, strengthening our mission to build opportunity, community, and pathways to resilience for youth.

Lulu Dawson

Lulu is a creative strategist, entrepreneurial connector, and community builder with 10+ years of experience founding companies, scaling ventures, and coaching innovators.

From launching two speakers bureaus to leading a successful grassroots social media campaign, to co-founding Cure MAPT FTD; a nonprofit accelerating clinical trials for a neurodegenerative disease, her career has always centered on one thing: bringing ideas to life and building the communities, partnerships, and resources that make them thrive.

In Portland's entrepreneurial ecosystem, she works with founders and small business owners through the Metro Region Innovation Hub—helping entrepreneurs clarify their voice, design growth strategies, secure funding readiness, and connect to mentors, investors, networks, and opportunities.

She thrives at the intersection of innovation, creativity, and connection—whether that means designing a workshop, producing a brand or event or podcast, or forging a strategic partnership that unlocks growth. Her passion is cultivating equitable access to opportunity so that every founder, idea, and community has the chance to succeed.