June 11, 2009

I am proud to announce the appointment of Margaret Van Vliet as the first Director of the new Portland Housing Bureau.  Margaret brings extraordinary talent and experience to my team.  

Margaret currently works for Oregon Solutions in the Hatfield School of Government at PSU, a project that applies collaborative problem solving approaches to complex public policy issues.  From 2000-2008, she served as Deputy Executive Director at the Housing Authority of Portland, and from 2006 oversaw all operations and an annual budget of more than $90 million.

Margaret's impressive work history also includes private sector experience with First Interstate Bank of Oregon's Corporate Banking Group, nonprofit management as director for Network for Oregon Affordable Housing, and policy work as staff to Governor Kitzhaber.

The new Portland Housing Bureau will benefit from her strong management background and broad range of experience.  Margaret is an example of the outstanding talent we have right here in Oregon.

Special thanks to Baruti Artharee, the consultant selected to lead the search.

I am excited to welcome Margaret, and eager to begin our work in partnership with our stakeholders.  I encourage you to connect with her as we move forward to make the dream of housing a reality for everyone in our community.

Sincerely,

Nick Fish

Commissioner