Bob’s story
As a Black man with a white mother, l was raised in Compton and Long Beach during the 1960s before we moved to Portland with my mother and sister in 1974 to create a safer life for our family. In the early years, we lived in public housing, relying on food stamps for groceries. My parents, who navigated the challenges of a mixed-race marriage, were together for over 50 years. Their unwavering commitment to unity left a lasting impact on me, and informed my purpose of bridging gaps and fostering connections despite stigma and uncertainty.
I have a strong love of family and community, and 35+ years of lived experience breaking glass ceilings as a person of color in my private sector career. I strive for a healthy life balance between work or community engagement. Now that my life partner of 25+ years and I are newly empty nesters, the timing in my life aligns perfectly with my passion to serve Portland and bring innovation, leadership, collaboration and results to our beloved North and Northeast Portland community.
As a graduate of Grant High School and an alum of Lewis and Clark College, I have navigated diverse paths. At LCC, I played baseball, led the Black Student Union, was an off-campus Senator, and managed a separate campus organization. My journey was made possible by my father, a campus janitor at the Law School. My graduation from LLC marked a historic achievement for our family as I became the first college graduate.
North Portland (NoPo) and Northeast Portland (NEP) stand out as the most diverse parts of our city. Within this unique community, we encounter both immense benefits and significant challenges. Personally, I cherish this diversity. My unwavering calling revolves around a single question: How can we improve?
The Commission’s expansion to 12 seats presents an opportunity to address complex city issues collaboratively. However, the challenge lies in swiftly focusing efforts and hitting the ground running. Imagine 12 mostly new members forming a fresh team. Reorganizations, though disruptive, are common in the private sector. Despite changes, the expectation remains: do more with less.
I bring 40 years of private sector experience, having worked across various roles in companies like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and insurance and tech firms. My innate drive is not just to identify problems but to solve them. I thrive on collaboration, creativity, and delivering results with transparency and accountability. As part of this new team, we face high stakes, and I will be the voice that pushes for progress, even if it means collectively stepping out of our comfort zones.
In the private sector, we have a strong bias for action and results. We intentionally design solutions, collaborating in real time to test and roll out initiatives. When we plan to launch a program, we first gather folks from different areas of the organization. This might include, finance, operations, marketing, service team, engineering, etc. We then agree to a “beta” approach, to test the solution in real time to a smaller sample audience. We then evaluate, debate and determine what the next iteration will be, make the changes, measure results, then discuss and modify.
This process occurs dynamically until we reach the solution that we will ultimately roll out to the broader audience. This approach leverages diverse skills, backgrounds, interests and ultimately creates better and faster results. This approach is very different from a traditional bureaucratic approach, where over-analysis and delays in decision-making ultimately leads to lack of action.
When we discuss diversity, we often think of race, gender, and sexual orientation. However, as we expand the City Council to 12 seats, we must also prioritize diversity of skills, backgrounds, and creative thinking. Unlike career politicians or public servants, I bring a complementary perspective, advocating for balance.
As this new team forms, the stakes are high. I pledge to be the voice that applies pressure, embraces discomfort, and relentlessly drives progress.
Lean In, Portland!
