Bradleigh Jenkins

Meet Bradleigh Jenkins (she/her/hers):

Bradleigh accidentally fell into the world of urban planning after studying public health and never left. She completed her degree in Environmental Design & Planning at the University of Colorado Boulder, and would like to attend graduate school in the near future. She has worked in housing, disaster planning, urban design and specializes in working with Latinx communities with experience in Colorado, Texas, Puerto Rico and Colombia. She is very good at both making and eating delicious food, and is currently perfecting her homemade ramen recipe. She loves reading, watercolor painting, and attempting to tire out her very energetic dog with long hikes. She is looking forward to working with passionate people who care about their communities.

Community and Organization:

Veneta is located 20 miles west of the University of Oregon campus, providing a wide array of both urban and rural housing opportunities. Veneta is located near the Fern Ridge Reservoir, with a bevy of recreation activities, including paddling, hiking, fishing, sailing and cycling. Veneta has a selection of restaurants, coffee shops and bars, with access to all of the urban amenities in Eugene.

Veneta traces its history to the turn of the 20th century as a historic timber town, but was only incorporated in 1962, making it one of the youngest cities in Oregon. Veneta employs approximately a dozen civil servants in a staffing capacity, a half dozen public works employees, and houses a Lane County Sheriff’s Office substation for contract community policing. City staff pride themselves on fostering a warm, friendly atmosphere and a collaborative culture, willing to wear multiple hats in helping each other.

Project:

As an Economic and Community Development Specialist with the City of Veneta, Bradleigh wore many hats. She worked on local entrepreneurship, improving broadband, chronic homelessness, local events and public safety, and strategic planning implementation. She coordinated workshops and events for VenetaWorks, a collaborative entrepreneurship hub, to encourage a creative, supportive environment for small businesses and improving the downtown Veneta blocks. She also worked to connect households to affordable, high speed Internet and looked into providing services for the local homeless population.