I'm stepping down from running PUGS to teach more

Dear PUGGERS, 

As you know, the PUGS motto is that "we're half learning and we're half community." In the last four years, we've grown from offering a single course to offering 60-70 courses and 1,000 students a year. I'm proud of how we've been able to serve so many people over time. 

I've decided to step down at the end of the year. The reason is two-fold. The first reason is I'd rather spend my time teaching at PUGS. If someone else was leading PUGS, I could focus on just teaching, which is where my heart really lies. I just love being in the classroom. 

The second reason is that PUGS needs someone else to take it to the next stage. PUGS has a chance to become a real institution that creates learning and builds community for many more Portlanders.  Our mission is to provide education and community for everyone in Portland, no matter their income. Again, we serve around 1,000 students a year.  I think someone with the right combination of mission, business skills, and organizational experience could grow it to serve 5,000-10,000 in the coming years. We want everyone in Portland to have the opportunity to learn and grow throughout their entire lives. We believe learning is a human need and a human right, so we need institutions that provide access to that.

So I'm going to step down from PUGS on December 1 and help transition someone else into leadership with me staying on as a teacher. I'll be back next week for more thoughts on that, but, for now, I just wanted to thank you for being part of this journey. So many smart, interesting people have come to class to learn from each other and contribute to each other's intellectual growth. If you've come to PUGS, you know what I'm talking about. It's been so much fun to meet you all and I hope we all can continue building something amazing for this city and this community. 

Douglas - Founder of PUGS

p.s. As I focus on teaching, check out my upcoming courses:  Financial Freedom, The Appreciation Project, Manager's Toolkit 1: How to Train, and The Catalyst Course for Small Business.