Growing Up in Parkrose
I was born in Parkrose, a neighborhood that would become part of Portland in 1983 as part of annexation. My Mom was a critical care nurse and later became a professor of nursing at Linfield College; my Dad was many things, including an auto mechanic and computer programmer. Both of my parents were active in their unions—Oregon Nurses Association and AFSCME 328—and it made me feel pretty excited when I later got my first union card with ILWU while working summers during college at a fish cannery in Alaska.
Knocking Door to Door
1992 was the year of Ballot Measure 9, “one of the harshest anti-gay measures presented to voters in American history.” I was a sophomore at Parkrose High School, and I knew that if that bill passed I could work as hard as anyone and still be fired simply for being who I was. And so on the weekends, I canvassed for a state representative who was against the ballot measure, coming out to strangers on their porches in the process. It was terrifying. The ballot measure’s defeat marked a turning point, for this state and for my life. I was proud of my neighbors for choosing to reject hate, and I realized the importance of literally walking my talk, of meeting people where they are, and organizing in common cause.
Moving Away, Coming Home
I went McMinnville to study music performance and theatre for college. During summers, I worked at a fish cannery in Dillingham, Alaska and carried my first union card, with ILWU.
After graduating from college, I moved to New York City to teach acting and scriptwriting in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn through an internship with an off-Broadway theater company. I was eventually lucky to find a job in a historic preservation architectural firm, which allowed me to quit the three low-paying jobs I had cobbled together to make the rent and instead volunteer on local issues and campaigns in my spare time.
A long story short: I lived in New York City during 9/11, northern China during SARS, and southern Thailand during the massive 2004 tsunami. I served as a skin dive support team leader as part of the post-tsunami disaster recovery effort in southern Thailand, leading volunteers to clean up over 100 tons of debris in an effort to save the fragile coral environment and support the local economy.
In 2005, I returned to Portland. My brother asked me to be the best person at his wedding, which remains one of the great honors of my life.
Oregon Walks
I joined Oregon Walks as its Executive Director. Thanks to the dedication of its board, volunteers, and supporters, we advocated for sidewalks and more walkable and rollable neighborhoods throughout the state. We still have a long way to go, but we accomplished a lot during my five-year tenure and had fun doing it.
The Neighborhood
I moved to the Lents neighborhood (Go Pickles!) in 2013. The Jade District was beginning to form at this time, and I was grateful to join the effort as Co-chair of the Jade District’s Policy & Equity Subcommittee.
Teaching and Learning
I joined the adjunct faculty of PSU’s urban planning school in 2019, teaching Community Organizing & Social Change. It has been a privilege to meet students who are dedicated to becoming involved in issues that matter to them.
This is also the year I was appointed to Portland’s Planning & Sustainability Commission, on which I have served as a Vice-chair and Chair. Here are two of my favorite projects that we have worked on:
Expanding Opportunities for Affordable Housing - There are more than 400 community-based organizations with hundreds of acres of buildable land in Portland. Many members of these communities want to help solve the housing crisis. Staff worked in partnership with faith-based organizations and nonprofits to cut some of the red tape in order to build shelters and housing.
Shelter to Housing Continuum Project - Expanded the toolkit to address the urgent need to provide more options for those who are homeless or could potentially experience homelessness, and facilitate transitions to permanent housing for housing-vulnerable Portlanders.
The Decision to Run
While I had expected that serving on the Planning Commission would be my highest public office (a lot of work for little visibility and no pay in service to the city I love!), I frankly became frustrated to see good policies with community buy-in get adopted and then go dormant. I believe that ideas are only as good as the actions they inspire.
I am running for City Council to advance community-based solutions to our city’s needs.