Serena Cruz, Chief Operating Officer and Director of the Department of County Management
Chief Operating Officer Serena Cruz (she/her/hers) served eight years (1999-2006) as the District 2 Multnomah County Commissioner for North and Northeast Portland, the first Mexican-American ever elected to the Board. Prior to her appointment as COO, she spent eight years as executive director of the Virginia Garcia Memorial Foundation, a Foundation for a Federally Qualified Health Center second in size only to Multnomah County. Five years before that she co-led a small construction and development firm building sustainable and affordable home ownership units in partnership with the City of Portland and Proud Ground.
Serena oversees the day-to-day operations of the County, ensuring that all departments are working efficiently to achieve the organization's goals. Serena also serves as the Department of County Management (DCM) Director. This role is responsible for corporate-level divisions — with support from the Deputy COO — managing human resources, finance, budget, and assessment and taxation.
Serena graduated from Lewis & Clark with a BA in political science, and then later earned a concurrent MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a JD at the University of California at Berkeley.
She serves on the Lewis and Clark Board of Trustees. She lives in Northeast Portland with her daughter.
Travis Graves, Deputy Chief Operating Officer
Travis Graves (he/him/his) is the Deputy Chief Operating Officer. Travis is dedicated to Multnomah County, as reflected in his 25 years of service. He most recently served as the County’s Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and Department of County Management (DCM) Deputy Director. In addition, during the beginning of the pandemic, he stepped in on an interim basis to lead DCM as the Department Director.
He started his journey with the County at the Health Department, then moved to the Department of Community Justice where he served as the department’s HR Manager. He eventually landed in DCM as the leader of the County’s human resources functions, a role he held for 16 years.
Travis is committed to continual growth and learning as he champions the work of the County's Workforce Equity Strategic Plan (WESP) promoting safety, trust, and belonging for all.
In addition to directly supervising a portfolio of programs and divisions within DCM, his responsibilities include directing the organization’s cohesive strategy toward its enterprise and internal services across departments.
Andrea Damewood, Strategic Initiatives Manager
Andrea (she/her) grew up in Eugene, leaving the Pacific Northwest to attend Northwestern University in Chicago, earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism and international studies.
After learning that the rest of the country is too hot and/or too cold, she returned to Oregon and worked as an investigative newspaper reporter for close to a decade. Andrea then moved to administrative investigations, first as a Senior Civil Rights Investigator at the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and then as a police misconduct investigator with the City of Portland’s Independent Police Review. She joined the County in 2019, where she built, then managed, the Complaints Investigations Unit. She joined the COO’s team in 2024.
Andrea lives in North Portland with her partner, two unruly cats, and a chinchilla. She enjoys both prestige and trash TV, writing about Portland’s amazing restaurants, and Asian noodle soups.
Allison Don, Strategic Initiatives Manager
Allison (she/her) has served as a Strategic Initiatives Manager with the Office of the Chief Operating Officer since 2021. She supports COO Cruz and Deputy COO Graves by managing special projects that vary in complexity and scope, from efforts that pertain to the Department of County Management, to enterprise-wide initiatives.
Allison grew up in the Portland metro region, moved all over the country and the world, and returned to Portland in 2018 to work for the City of Gresham. Prior to that time, Allison worked for the U.S. Congress, California State Senate, and San Diego City Council. Three years in Gothenburg, Sweden (2015 - 2018) provided a beautiful respite from American politics.
Allison holds a BA from Pomona College and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. She lives with her husband, plucky dog, and equally plucky toddler.
Crystal Reidy, Administrative Analyst Sr.
Crystal (she/her) has served as the Administrative Analyst Senior to Serena Cruz and Travis Graves since November 2023. She provides administrative support, coordinates projects and meetings, develops and implements policies and procedures, prepares reports and presentations and frequently takes on other duties as assigned.
Prior to joining Multnomah County, Crystal worked with one of Oregon’s largest utility companies with an ambitious decarbonization goal for a greener future. Before that, she worked with a healthcare company who focused on providing physical, occupational and speech therapy to those in need.
A life-long Oregon resident and Portland native, Crystal now resides in Northeast Portland with her husband and dog. She is passionate about recovery work and helping others to overcome addiction and rebuild their lives.