2026 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner: Leslie Goodlow

Leslie Goodlow is a lifelong Portland resident, equity-driven public servant, and respected community leader whose career spans more than three decades of service to culturally rooted, community-centered institutions. She has dedicated her professional and volunteer life to advancing equity, preserving cultural legacy, and strengthening civic infrastructure—particularly within Black communities and communities historically excluded from decision-making and investment.

Leslie currently serves as the Director of Equity & Business Operations at the Portland Housing Bureau, where she oversees compliance, human resources, administration, communications, the neighborhood housing program and community engagement for a bureau managing over $300 million in public investment. Since joining the City of Portland in 2012, she has been a key architect of equitable systems change, including her leadership of the N/NE Neighborhood Housing Strategy, a nationally recognized effort to address historic displacement of Black residents and restore pathways for community return, stability, and generational opportunity.

Her public service career began in 1992 with Multnomah County Human Services, where she spent nearly 20 years in progressively responsible leadership roles across mental health, developmental disabilities, child and adolescent services, and systems coordination. Throughout her career, Leslie has centered collaboration, cultural responsiveness, and community voice—values that align deeply with the mission of arts and culture organizations dedicated to preserving history, storytelling, and creative expression as tools for justice and healing.

Beyond her professional work, Leslie is a pillar of Portland’s cultural and civic life. She has been a board member of the Portland Rose Festival Foundation since 1999 and served as President in 2007 during its Centennial Celebration, making history as the organization’s first Black president. Her leadership helped steward one of the city’s most visible cultural institutions through a landmark moment, reinforcing inclusive representation within Portland’s public celebrations. Additionally, she was the first Black board member of the Portland Kaohsiung Sister City Association, and during her board service she traveled to Taiwan seven times, representing both the Rose Festival and the PKSCA board.

Leslie’s extensive board and volunteer service includes the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission, the Historic Albina Advisory Board, the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, and long-standing leadership within Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Zeta Sigma Omega Chapter, where she has served in multiple executive roles, including Chapter President. She has also supported youth, education, and family-centered organizations through PTAs, community leagues, and nonprofit boards—demonstrating a consistent commitment to intergenerational leadership and cultural continuity.

Her contributions have been recognized by numerous organizations for leadership, service, and community impact. Honors include the Delta Sigma Theta Women of Excellence Award (2007), the Good in the Neighborhood Community Service Award (2019), the Fresh Out Community-Based Reentry Program Outstanding Service to African Americans in Oregon Award (2024), and the National Forum for Black Public Administrators President’s Award (2024). She has also received sustained recognition from NFBPA for her leadership as Conference Planning and Evaluation Chair from 2018–2025.

Leslie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Grambling State University and a Master of Social Work from Portland State University, and she is a Licensed Master Social Worker. Her work reflects a deep belief that arts, culture, public policy, and community engagement are inseparable—and that honoring history while investing in people is essential to building equitable and vibrant communities.