3 Things with Tim Elley

Portland has an amazing sustainability community, and we want to highlight the people and work that shape our unique city. We’re sharing their answers to questions we posed.

Meet Tim Elley. Tim is a mechanical engineer and project manager at PAE. Tim has been at PAE for 18 years, since completing his master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Portland State University. He lives in southeast Portland, where he and his family can often be found on Mt. Tabor and at Clinton Park.

Now, we’ll hand it over to Tim to share his perspective on sustainability, Portland’s future, and the projects and collaborations that inspire him.

1. What does sustainability mean to you?

Sustainability means using the resources you have so they don’t run out or otherwise undermine your future wellbeing. It means being thoughtful about the energy and water you use, the money you spend, the materials and goods you purchase, the maintenance burdens you create, and the work and stress you take on personally. It means using our scarce resources for maximum benefit so that we all can and want to continue down that path in the future.

2. Name a Portland (or Oregon) project or collaboration that has inspired you, and tell us why.

The Portland Waterfront Park Redevelopment Project inspires me. I love walking along the water and feeling the calm and beauty. It feels like a lunchtime vacation to a coastal city somewhere else in the world. I imagine I’m transported to the coast or taking a sabbatical in Europe. Portland is a beautiful city with great people - an ambitious plan to make the most of our waterfront keeps me hoping for a broad revitalization of our city center.

3. What can Portland (or Oregon) be doing better to be more sustainable?

It’s a hard question. Portland is SO sustainable in the conventional sense of the word. I think a lot of hearts and efforts are in the right place. We need to find to a way to make our city work for everyone in all parts of the city – businesses, schools, parks, roads, in the city center, East Portland, and more. That’s easier said than done, and of course it means compromise, respecting the needs and opinions of others, and not always getting everything we want. Appreciating the sometimes complex and difficult nuances of reality in lieu of oversimplified easy answers. Reminding ourselves to keep an open mind and start by assuming we all share a similar goal – a safe and vibrant city for ourselves, our friends, and our families.