Policy Manager

Phone: 503-988-3290

Email: rhys.scholes@multco.us

Rhys moved to Portland the day after he graduated from college in Memphis, Tenn. and the contrast with the land of Dixie helps him fully appreciate Oregon.

He has been an organizer, a writer, a policy adviser and a campaign manager for organizations that include SEIU, OSPIRG, Oregon Rainbow Coalition, Oregon Democratic Party, Legal Aid and at least ten campaigns. He was executive director of Citizens for Oregon’s Future and president of the Oregon Alliance for Progressive Policy. Rhys first worked for Multnomah County in 1993.  

Over the years, Rhys has worked on energy and utility issues, pay equity and living wages, city/county consolidation, school/community connections, community building and taxation. He served on the Flying Squadron in the 1987 state employee’s strike and represented Multnomah County at the 1999 Seattle protest against the World Trade Organization.  

Currently Rhys researches and reports on intergovernmental issues and manages communication and bill-tracking systems.  

He lives in Southeast Portland with his wife Barbara, a children’s librarian, and his son Owen. Away from work, he enjoys volunteering for good causes, working in the garden, backpacking and playing board games with his family.