Newest board member promotes equal access
The Portland City Council Wednesday approved the appointment of long time education advocate and Portland native Serene Stoudamire Wesley to the Prosper Portland Board of Commissioners. A five member panel, the volunteer board oversees the city’s economic and development agency.
Wesley is youth development director for the Oregon Department of Education and has more than 20 years of experience in program management, community relations and education policy. She previously served as Gov. Kate Brown’s policy director for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Serena Stoudamire Wesley
In a statement released by Prosper Portland, Wesley said she wants to ensure that the agency’s mission of advancing economic and social equity, along with creating jobs and closing gaps of disparity, align with her interest in ensuring that all members of the community have equal access to the opportunities that will come with Portland’s development and growth.
“I have lived through the changes that have directly and indirectly impacted my family and community through the years,” she said. “I am very passionate and motivated about this place I call home and want to contribute to the revitalization and transformation of Portland.”
Prosper Portland is defined by a commitment to grow quality jobs, advance opportunities for prosperity, create vibrant neighborhoods and communities, and collaborate with partners to create an equitable city, with prosperity shared by Portlanders of all colors, incomes and neighborhoods.