Michelle Brence | File

Portland kicked off the new year with nine new and interim bureau directors after that many city leaders left their jobs last year.

Last year’s newbies, Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, pushed out five of them. Three others left of their own volition.

Portland Bureau of Emergency Management Director Carmen Merlo left her role to serve as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer under Tom Rinehart.

This year’s list of new directors includes eight women and one man. Five are people of color.

Keep scrolling to see this year’s lineup, starting with the most recently hired.

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Photo courtesy of Ernest Jones

Courtney Patterson, interim director, Bureau of Emergency Management

Start date: Jan. 2, 2018

Years employed by the city: Almost five

Prior job: Emergency operations manager, Portland Bureau of Emergency Management

What's your favorite thing about Portland? Close to amazing natural wonders with all the convenience and activities of a city

What would you like to change about the city? Pave every unpaved street

What's the biggest challenge you expect to face in your new role? Unhoused populations are increasingly moving into Portland's natural areas such as Forest Park and the Springwater Corridor. As we experience natural hazards, especially minor flooding, people camping in these areas are at risk. One of my priorities and greatest challenges is ensuring our emergency plans take into account the safety of people in these areas.

Favorite Portland food spot: Best Baguette on Southeast Powell – cheap, fast, and delicious

Best Portland memory: Watching in person as all 22 players took penalty shots, including the infamous "double post" shot, when the Portland Timbers beat Sporting Kansas City in the first round of the MLS playoffs in October 2015

Favorite hobby: Whitewater kayaking, snowboarding, and reading

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Photo provided by Jennifer Cooperman

Jennifer Cooperman, chief financial officer

Start date: January 1, 2018

Years employed by the city: Since 2010

Prior job: City treasurer, City of Portland

What's your favorite thing about Portland? Hail, rain, sun and double-rainbows all in the same day!

What would you like to change about the city? Too early to say…

What's the biggest challenge you expect to face in your new role? Anything that will impair the city's financial condition.

Best Portland memory: First visit to Powell's and to the Multnomah County Central Library.

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Photo provided by Koffi Dessou

Koffi Dessou, interim director, Office of Equity and Human Rights

Years employed by the city: Nine

Prior job: Equity and business operations manager



What's your favorite thing about Portland? Opportunities and potentials to build and empower communities

What would you like to change about the city? Help the city increase access and improve the outputs, impacts, and outcomes for everyone, from the resources we administer and the services we deliver.

What's the biggest challenge you expect to face in your new role? Change the perception of equity from politicized views to performance-based and results-based accountability.

Favorite Portland food spot: Mekong Bistro on Northeast 82nd Avnue and Siskiyou Street and Cuisine of Africa on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard

Favorite hobby: Formerly playing football (soccer in the U.S.), now playing drums.

Fun fact: I can improvise songs and get people to dance with me

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Photo provided by Shannon Callahan

Shannon Callahan, interim director, Portland Housing Bureau

Start date: December 2017

Years employed by the city: 12

Prior job: Assistant director for policy and strategy, housing

What's your favorite thing about Portland? The weather

Favorite hobby: Gardening

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Screenshot taken from YouTube

Serilda Summers-McGee, director, Bureau of Human Resources

Start date: December 1, 2017

Years employed by the city: One

Prior job: HR and workforce development director, Portland Development Commission, now called Prosper Portland

What's your favorite thing about Portland? Surprisingly, I love biking! I never imagined myself as a biker, but I have come to appreciate, respect and adore the biking culture of Portland. I get to see the city from a different vantage point. Biking allows me to skip the gym and spend more time with my family, I get to avoid traffic during peak hours. And I get to be reflective and quiet in ways that I don't get to experience while driving. I will add that I am a fair-weather cyclist; my afro doesn't respond well to wind and rain!

What would you like to change about the city? I think we can all agree that Portland is changing in significant ways. As it continues to morph and shift, I'd like for all its people to be a part of its evolution and I'd like to see the city do a better job of bringing a more diverse swath of its community to the table to help shape the changes that are occurring.

What's the biggest challenge you expect to face in your new role? I expect my biggest challenge to be building relationships with the city's workforce. In HR, people have to trust you to accept your counsel, to share their challenges, and to be forthcoming with information; that takes time and requires proactive outreach. I can build those relationship, but it's currently the biggest challenge before me.

Fun fact: I love comedy and most people close to me know me to be a funny person with quick comebacks. I'm direct when it comes to business, but once that's out of the way I'm pretty laid back, which is an inside joke for those who know me!

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Photo provided by the city

Rebecca Esau, director, Bureau of Development Services

Start date: Oct. 25, 2017

Years employed by the city: 21



Prior job: Land use services division manager at the Bureau of Development Services

What's your favorite thing about Portland? The unique neighborhoods

What would you like to change about the city? I wish our community could collectively provide more comprehensive services to people who are houseless. It's heartbreaking to see people suffering.

What's the biggest challenge you expect to face in your new role? Multiple bureaus have staff who are part of the building permit process, and each bureau is under its own commissioner. My challenge is to create greater integration between all of these participants, so that the customer experience and service delivery are improved. This is in the broader context of fluctuating construction activity and funding and ever-increasing/changing regulations we are responsible to administer, while trying to keep costs down.

Favorite Portland food spot: Stammtisch

Best Portland memory: Watching a tall bike rodeo on a little dead-end street by the Brooklyn rail yard

Favorite hobby: Gardening

Fun fact: I sometimes speak a blend of English & Nepali at home, including profanity (I learned Nepali while in the Peace Corps)

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Stephanie Yao Long

Danielle Outlaw, Portland Police Chief

Start date: Oct. 2, 2017

Years employed by the city: Three months

Prior job: Deputy chief of police, Oakland Police Department

What's your favorite thing about Portland? The amazing and diverse food scene

What would you like to change about the city? Contrary to what I've been told, sometimes it takes more than just 20 minutes to get to most places in Portland.

What's the biggest challenge you expect to face in your new role? Since I am not from Portland, I will need to earn the trust of the community.

Favorite Portland food spot: Miss Delta

Best Portland memory: The warm welcome I received at the Center for Women's Leadership 11th Annual Power Luncheon. I am looking forward to making many more memories.

Favorite hobby: Cooking

Fun fact: I used to play the clarinet

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Photo provided by Suk Rhee

Suk Rhee, director, Office of Neighborhood Involvement

Start date: Aug. 21, 2017 (total solar eclipse day!)

Years employed by the city: 4 months

Prior job: Vice president, strategy & community partnership at Northwest Health Foundation

What's your favorite thing about Portland? The confluence of many rivers

What would you like to change about the city? More sunny days

What's the biggest challenge you expect to face in your new role? Balancing immediate and longer-term needs

Surprising fact: People often mistake me for 5 feet 3 inches, but I'm actually 5 feet and half-an-inch tall.

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Photo provided by Lisa St. Helen

Lisa St. Helen, interim director, Bureau of Emergency Communications

Start date: April 1, 2018

Years employed by the city: 22



Prior job: Operations manager, Bureau of Emergency Communications.

What's your favorite thing about Portland? I was born and raised here; this is home. I love the culture, the people and the quirkiness.

What would you like to change about the city? I'd like to see everyone have a safe place to call home.

What's the biggest challenge you expect to face in your new role? Finding innovative, creative and meaningful ways to provide an all-around healthy workplace for our 911 employees.

Best Portland memory: Going to the Rose Festival Parade every year with my sisters, brother and father.

Fun fact: I'm kind of a puzzle nerd – I love them.

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