The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, July 9, celebrated its monthly Proclamation Day by approving three proclamations.
“Proclamations serve to honor, celebrate and recognize or create awareness of groups and individuals for their services and achievements, or to provide recognition to significant events affecting our Multnomah County community,” Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said. “Today, we’re here for three proclamations that recognize the impact of our probation and parole officers, the contribution of data professionals, and to celebrate Pride Month for the Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual Community.”
Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week
The Board proclaimed July 20-26, 2025, as Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week. The proclamation honors the nearly 500 employees in the Department of Community Justice who provide supervision services to justice-involved adults and juveniles.
The proclamation was co-sponsored by Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards and the Department of Community Justice.
“Pre-trial, probation and parole supervision plays an integral role in our community public safety system,” said Brim-Edwards, who co-chairs the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council. “I’d like to express my gratitude to all of the employees of the Department of Community Justice for the work they do every day. They are everyday heroes.”
Department of Community Justice Director Denise Peña read the proclamation with Ansley Flores, interim director of the department’s Juvenile Services Division.
The proclamation highlights that the department supervises about 10,000 people each year, providing services that support people while also holding them accountable.
“Supervision may take the form of home contacts, drug testing, supporting justice-involved individuals to attend counseling sessions, mental health or substance abuse treatment, or finding suitable housing and employment,” the proclamation reads. “In doing this work, the Department of Community Justice is committed to treating justice-involved adults, youth and their families with dignity, while recognizing the right of the public to be safeguarded from criminal activity.”
Data Professionals Appreciation Day
The Board also recognized July 4, 2025, as Data Professionals Appreciation Day.
The day is “an important opportunity to recognize and celebrate data professionals here in Multnomah County and in the community,” Chair Vega Pederson said.
Celebrated the first Friday of each July, the day honors Multnomah County staff who “provide the data analysis and outcome-focused reporting essential to telling the story of the work we do in Multnomah County every day,” the proclamation reads.
The proclamation was co-sponsored by the Department of County Human Services, the Health Department, the Homeless Services Department, and the Department of Community Justice — all of which rely on data to guide decisions and better serve the community.
Taking turns reading the proclamation were Steve Richard, lead system administrator for the Homeless Management Information System for the Homeless Services Department; Kat Stevens, who manages data governance and quality initiatives for the Health Department; and Jacob Mestman, a quality and business services manager for the Aging, Disabilities and Veterans Services Division of the Department of County Human Services.
Data professionals’ “commitment to accuracy, rigor, and ethical practices ensures the reliability and integrity of the data-driven conclusions that equip Multnomah County to improve efficiency, enhance services, identify trends, solve problems, and ultimately advance the well-being of Multnomah County residents,” the proclamation reads.
Pride Month
The Board also recognized June 2025 as Pride Month for the Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (2SLGBTQIA+ or LGBTQIA2S+) Community in Multnomah County.
Commissioner Meghan Moyer co-sponsored the proclamation with Chair Vega Pederson.
Commissioner Moyer said that as a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, she was honored to bring the proclamation forward.
She began by sharing the experiences of her nephew, a teenager who is transgender. Despite living in a mostly affirming community, he still faces barriers because of his gender identity.
“He talked this week about his sadness that he is not able to participate in sports,” Moyer said. “Not because he is a genetic phenom, but because he wanted to join his friends.”
“I thought about that, and I thought about my childhood here in Oregon and the messages that I received growing up in the ’90s, through Measure 9 and other things, about what I couldn’t do,” she said, referring to a 1992 Oregon ballot measure targeting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community that voters ultimately rejected.
“So it is with great joy and pride that I join Chair Vega Pederson in celebrating the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and what life can be. The joy I experience living here. The life I am living with my wife and my children. My election to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners,” she said. “It is a beautiful time to be an Oregonian, to be a resident of Multnomah County. And it is my profound pleasure to be celebrating pride here in Multnomah County.”
Chair Vega Pederson noted that even though “this occasion serves as an important opportunity to celebrate the contributions and advancements of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community,” it also highlights “the threat this community faces — a threat that has only grown year by year.”
The proclamation highlights a dramatic increase in laws introduced by state legislatures across the country that target the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. In 2023, state legislatures proposed 510 bills targeting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. In 2024, that number rose to 533 bills. But as of June 2025 — only six months into the year — state legislatures had already proposed nearly 600 bills targeting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Vega Pederson noted that many of these bills specifically target transgender youth.
“These kids need a kinder, safer, more accepting world to grow up in. And they need trusted adults who they can turn to for support, who will fight to bring that world into reality. That is part of why we are here today,” she said. “I want to reassure our community members that in the face of the present and growing threats, Multnomah County is more dedicated than ever to being a welcoming home to all people including every one of our 2SLGBTIA+ employees, neighbors, and family members.”
The proclamation was read by Sam Silverman (she/her), a senior equity policy analyst for the Office of Diversity and Equity and treasurer for the Queer and Trans People of Color Employee Resource Group; JB, or Julia Brown (she/her/they/them), a mental health consultant in the Behavioral Health Division of the Health Department and a co-chair of the Prism Employee Resource Group; and Gabriel Hernandez (they/them), an emergency management analyst in the Office of Emergency Management who serves as the scribe for the Prism Employee Resource Group.
“This year's Pride Month comes at an increasingly dangerous time for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community who are facing increasing targeting, violence, and civil rights violations, as well as the continued and vicious dismemberment of the social and cultural safety nets in place to keep members of this community safe,” the proclamation reads. “In the face of these attacks on 2SLGBTQIA+ people and their rights, Multnomah County remains committed to deconstructing institutional racism, transphobia, and heterosexism, and providing programs and services in partnership with community organizations that meet the needs of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.”
