City of Portland's Advancement of LGBTQIA2S+ Equity

Established by City Ordinance in 2011, the City of Portland Office of Equity and Human Rights has been tasked with providing leadership and developing policies, practices and procedures that dismantle systems of oppression and build equitable foundations for systemically excluded and institutionally oppressed communities in Portland. In 2021 the Office of Equity expanded its focus to explicitly include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and Two-Spirit (LGBTQIA2S+) issues. The creation of the LGBTQIA2S+ Program has been an important first step in formalizing the work of promoting equity and reducing disparities for the LGBTQIA2S+ community within City government. The team provides vital guidance, education and assistance to city bureaus, and has worked closely with community partners to promote LGBTQIA2S+ equity and inclusion within the city.

The LGBTQIA2S+ Program’s mission is to (1) provide education and technical support to City staff and elected officials; (2) identify and remove systemic barriers to fair and just distribution of resources, access, and opportunity for the LGBTQIA2S+ community and; (3) serve as the LGBTQIA2S+ community liaison.

The focus of this session is education around the City of Portland’s LGBTQIA2S+ Program. The session will highlight the authority of the Program, the focus of the Program as well as some recent initiatives that support the LGBTQIA2S+ community in Portland.

Learn more at www.portland.gov/officeofequity/lgbtqia2s

Citywide LGBTQIA2S+ Program Manager from the depths of Oregon’s legislative chambers to the boardrooms of Portland area nonprofits, Lex Jakusovszky has spent their career advocating for marginalized communities in Portland. As the City of Portland’s first LGBTQIA2S+ Program Manager within the Office of Equity and Human Rights, they bring an intersectional lens and deep policy expertise into the City’s equity infrastructure. Responsible for establishing the LGBTQIA2S+ Program, Lex led the charge to develop a first of its kind, ten-year strategic plan that bolsters City policy, City culture, economic development and data collection.

Lex’s work is informed by their own lived experience and years of serving as the Chief of Staff for multiple equity-focused state legislators including Oregon House Majority Leader Kayse Jama, former Oregon State Representative Akasha Lawrence Spence and former Oregon State Representative Karin Power. In their Chief of Staff role, Lex crafted and passed statewide policy on issues ranging from housing justice to climate justice to economic justice.

Most notably, they provided critical leadership in the development of Oregon’s largest cap and trade proposal as well as the Oregon Cares Fund for Black relief and resilience. Alongside Lex’s strong political and policy experience, they bring their passion as an organizer to their work. Lex is a former Board Member at Next Up and the Center for Women’s Leadership, and a proud alum of the Catalyst Leadership Program with Basic Rights Oregon and an American Leadership Forum of Oregon Senior Fellow.

They hold a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs and Gender Studies from Lewis & Clark College and are currently pursuing a Master’s of Business Administration from Willamette University’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management. A Coloradan at heart, you can find Lex exploring the glorious Pacific northwest on bike, enjoying the newest hip Portland brewery, or hiking with their sweet pup, Buffy, through the hills of Forest Park with their wife.