Since the Mentor Match Teen Entrepreneur Program was launched in Wallowa County, Oregon (pop. 7,100) in September 2010, 119 teens have completed the program, successfully creating, launching and running their own for profit businesses. From 2010-2011 to 2024-2025 we documented our results.
Roughly 11% of graduates of the program are making their livings as entrepreneurs. That includes a salon owner in Joseph (see Shelby, below); a photographer based in France (Emma, who has traveled through Europe and Africa for her work); another professional photographer in San Francisco (Madison); one social media marketer for nonprofits documenting environmental causes around the world (Erich, who was on a team documenting the trash and waste on Mt. Everest, and later found the lost boot of missing Everest hiker Sandy Irvine on an expedition with filmaker Jimmy Chin); a freelance video-photographer who traveled with National Geographic Photographer Paul Nicklen, and others (Kyle, Erich’s brother, who has since developed a specialty in underwater videography; Landra, a local massage therapist; Silje, a local graphic designer and artist who launched Steep Creek Studio in 2023, and recently curated the Women’s Art Exhibit at the Josephy Center for the Arts; Emily and Ashtin, who run family ranches with their husbands and young children; John, a software engineer who launched a software services company; Foster also started his own software company; Jacob developed an app as a side hustle; and Cailey makes her living traveling around the world teaching English.
Bringing our young people back
Since the Mentor Match program launched in the fall of 2010 in tiny, remote Wallowa County, Oregon, we have seen some exciting results for our community, as well as the teens: 29% of Mentor Matchers that are at least four years out of high school have returned! They are working in the business community, and contributing to the growth and vitality of our county. They are getting married, buying homes and having babies: 22 and counting! That’s huge for our rural, remote county!
Some examples:
Shelby, owner, Roots Salon, Main Street, Joseph: Shelby graduated from Enterprise High, 2012, and went to Lewiston for beauty school. She paid for her education working for a reputable multi-level marketing company. After working in Lewiston and Boise, Shelby returned to Joseph as a newly single mother, and opened her salon, expanding into a larger facility in May, 2019. She and her husband live in Enterprise and have two young children.
Matthew, Director of Finance, Wallowa Memorial Hospital: When a 28 year-old accountant talked to the Mentor Match teens about accounting as a career, Matt asked a lot of questions. He pursued Caio’s path, graduating from Eastern Oregon University after two years at Clackamas Community College. Matt was hired just shy of graduation by Wallowa Memorial Hospital, who worked with his schedule as he completed his degree in the spring of 2016. Today, Matt is Director of Finance for Wallowa Memorial Hospital, with an MBA to his credit, paid for by his employer. Matt created Blue Mountain Boys Recycling in the Mentor Match program with four partners. Matt read every personal finance book we recommended in the Mentor Match class, and recently purchased his third home. Married since 2015, Matt and his wife have three children, and he is enjoying the standard of living he longed for.
Katie, Farmer’s Insurance: We talked Katie out of becoming an x-ray tech, fearing we would lose her talents and gifts to another community. Katie thankfully majored in business at Lewis & Clark State College. Graduating in 2018, Katie returned to the county, got a job at Farmer’s Insurance, and is pursuing her insurance agent’s license. She can also be seen working at our famous local pub, Terminal Gravity, helping with the summer crowds.
John, software engineer: Through the Mentor Match program, John qualified for a two week innovation camp at Babson College outside of Boston, which he attended summer 2013. Through FCCLA, he won national recognition by winning first place for his Entrepreneur project at the National Convention in Anaheim, California in 2011, because he was the only one who had actually run the business — it wasn’t just a hypothetical exercise. After graduating from Chapman University with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Math (2017), and working in the tech industry in downtown San Francisco and Austin, Texas, John decided to bring his job with him back to the county to enjoy the beauty of the area and its outdoor lifestyle. After six months working remotely, John joined the team at Chrisman Development group, directing their IT department and automating processes to streamline everyone’s workflow. He is on the recycling committee and owns his own home.
Welcome to Stacy Green Marketing 