Julia Brim-Edwards

Growing Up in Portland

Portland has shaped Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards in many ways. She was born at Good Sam hospital, the third daughter in a family making Portland its new home, renting first in NE and then eventually finding a long-time home in SE Portland

She grew up in a close family and had a free-range childhood: regular chores and lots of walking, biking and taking the bus. She and her siblings attended Glencoe, then a K-8 school, and summers meant taking the bus to East County to pick berries – hard, physical work that gave her a lasting appreciation for people who work in the fields.

Title IX Opens Doors

When Congress passed Title IX, it changed the trajectory of her life. Brim-Edwards became one of the first girls in shop class and provided her the opportunity to play and compete in sports at Washington High School (now Revolution Hall), where she earned 12 varsity letters. Sports taught her teamwork, discipline and relentless practice – lessons that continue to shape how she works today. After high school, Brim-Edwards attended and graduated with a BA from Oregon State University.  

Public Service, Family and Community Leadership

Julia worked in  Washington, D.C. for seven years, and then Brim-Edwards returned to SE Portland with her husband, Randall, and they raised their three children in the house where she grew up. As a working mom, she spent more than two decades advocating for public education and eventually served 12 years as a volunteer on the Portland Public Schools Board, twice serving as Board Chair and helping lead efforts to rebuild aging schools so they were healthy, safe, and accessible for students.  She advocated for and secured funding so that students had access to art, music, PE, hands-on career technical training, college prep classes and struggling students received the support they needed. 

Brim-Edwards was appointed to and served for nine years on the Oregon State University Board of Trustees and also served for six years on the Pacific University Board of Trustees, two boards where she focused on making college more affordable and accessible for more Oregon students 

At the same time, Brim-Edwards spent 17 years in leadership roles at Nike, helping provide the infrastructure to support thousands of manufacturing and headquarter jobs in Oregon, leading teams and major projects, and supporting investments in local parks, schools and libraries. In 2021, she wrapped up her tenure at  Nike and took on new work to impact  her hometown.

Bringing Urgency and Action to Multnomah County

As a Multnomah County Commissioner, Brim-Edwards has focused on creating pathways from homelessness to stable housing, expanding access to mental health services, improving community safety, addressing affordability, and spurring economic growth countywide.

Working with other commissioners and community partners, she helped restore school-based mental health services and support for Mental Health Court. She also brought together leaders in health care, law enforcement and addiction treatment to develop a new 24/7 Sobering and Crisis Stabilization Center, scheduled to open in fall 2027.

Commissioner Brim-Edwards has spent her life bringing people together to tackle difficult problems and get things done. She proudly represents East Portland and is honored to serve the people of Multnomah County.

Currently, Commissioner Brim-Edwards is the elected chair of the Local Public Safety Coordinating Commission, the Commission representative to the County’s Financial Audit Committee, and serves as a Board member on the Association of Oregon Counties and Travel Portland.