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F red M iller
by Jack T urteltaub
red Miller, executive vice president
for retail and distribution services of
Portland General Electric, sits in
his 17th-floor office with a
panoramic view of downtown Port
land, the W illam ette River and the Lloyd
District. A n Oregon native since he was 6
months old, the married man has a vision for i
society that matches the expansive view j
from his desk.
Miller is a strong supporter of equal rights j
for sexual minorities because he thinks it is a j
question of fairness. He takes issue with the j
past efforts of Lon Mabon and the Oregon C it
W hen he worked for the stare, he notes,
izens Alliance to discriminate legally against the
“N ot one of the governors ever asked me
community.
what party I belonged to.” Perhaps that non
“That’s not the way you treat people,” he
partisan spirit also contributed to his breadth
says. “You don’t single out a group of people and
of
vision and his commitment to looking past
treat them differently.”
differences.
M iller notes that his work experiences
Miller started working for PGE in 1992 as
and world travel probably have helped teach
vice president for public affairs
him that “as you look at a lot of
and
community involvement,
different cultures, you realize
"You
don't
single
out
drawing on his experience as an
that no one is right. If some
body— like M abon— thinks
a group o f people administrator and a political
mover and shaker. During the
they’re right and everybody
and
treat
them
past
10 years he has tried to keep
else is wrong, then that’s a
the corporation— in spite of two
problem."
differently"
buyouts and its current ownership
Miller received his Ph.D.
— Fred Miller by Enron— focused on maintain
from Michigan State University,
ing Oregon’s quality of life.
was a teacher, then worked for
In addition to giving his own money to
several decades in Oregon’s state government.
defeat anti-gay ballot measures, Miller has
He had a distinguished career serving under
translated his passion for fairness and his com
four governors: as energy director for Bob
mitment to helping others through his work
Straub, as transportation director for Victor
with
Equity Foundation, a sexual minority
Atiyeh and then as executive department direc
organization dedicated to “building communi
tor for Neil Goldschmidt and Barbara Roberts.
F
Fred Miller
delivers a
pitch for cash
during the
Oregonians
Against
Discrimination
Luncheon on
April 10
ties that em
brace the dig
nity
and
worth of all
people.” He
has set up five
fu n d s — o n e
for himself;
one for his
wife,
Karla
Wenzel,
a
Portland Pub
lic
Schools
board mem
ber; and one
for each of his
four
ch il
dren— to get
everybody in his family involved.
It appears to be working: His wife is trying
Miller riling
\\ it h Equit\
Foundation
MacDonell (left)
and comedian Lih
Tomlin during the
Investments in
Dignity Awards
Gala on K b . 25
G eri W ashington
helped her beat a 12-year incumbent and earn a
seat on the Multnomah Education Service Dis
by Tom Stevenson
trict board.
That same year she served as deputy cam
paign manager for No on 9. She says her work
o Geri Washington, the rule of life
against the anti-gay ballot measure proved to
is quite simple: Everyone deserves
her once again that the queer community is wel
to have a decent standard of living,
coming to all.
and that includes respect for who
“It has not been difficult to come in from
they are.
the outside” as a heterosexual, she says. “I had
She follows her personal belief in her work as
a wonderful experience in my work” on the
a Portland Jobs with Justice organizer. And she
campaign.
follows it in her own daily walk through life,
Working with kids is another key reason
which includes showing endless support for the
Washington remains active.
queer community.
“W hat inspires me most to stay
“There are many things in our
"When
we
stand
involved with the sexual minori
lives that we have to fight for,”
Washington says. “One of those together, it is then, ties community is the youth,” she
says, noting she has seen the strug
fights should not be among our
and only then,
gles they face as they deal with
selves that creates division. When
coming out. “Youth are a priority
that happens, nobody wins, but
that we win
for me because they are our pres
when we stand together, it is then,
ent
and our future. I put so much
and only then, that we win justice
justice for all"
work into this because I believe
for all.”
—
Geri
Washington
that if I can help eliminate as
Washington says her personal
many barriers to their becoming
drive stems in part from the fact
adults...well,
I'll be there."
that she is a woman of color who comes from
The bottom line, according to Washing
the South.
ton,
is about respect. She says the sexual
“It is a promise I made to myself that I
minorities community has shown her nothing
would never participate in, nor contribute to,
but the utmost respect, and she believes it is
hatred that targets an individual, group or
her duty to do the same. Her advice to others
community," she says. “This promise I take
in the straight community who struggle in
seriously, especially when it comes to my
dealings
with the queer crowd is the same she
brothers and sisters who are part of the G L BT
gives her own children.
community because, again, an injury to one is
“Judge not lest you be judged," she says. “It is
an injury to all.”
not for you to judge, but it is for you to respect
Washington is one of those folks who stays
and appreciate the difference that each individ
busy away from work as well. She and her sup
ual brings to the table of life.” JH
porters ran a grassroots campaign in 2000 that
PHOTOS BY
T
Geri Washington (above)
protests Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia's Feb. 10
appearance at Lewis & Clark
College; Washington consults
with Kathleen Sullivan (center)
and Susan Drew during a
N o on 9 Campaign rally
Oct. 19, 2 0 0 0
to close the “achievement gap” in schools,
while his two older children, both in their 20s,
directly help others, one as a Peace Corps vol
unteer in the Ivory Coast and the other as a
tutor for Friends of Children, a Portland non
profit that mentors at-risk kids. He is clearly
proud o f his family’s charitable efforts.
As Equity’s largest donor, he won the inau
gural John Grigsby-Jim Vegher Investments
in Dignity Award during a banquet held
Feb. 25 on the Nike campus. To put the con
tribution in perspective, executive director
Matthew Nelson says M iller’s charitable work
supports an Oregon that “welcomes and
affirms all people, including the lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgendered communities.”
Nelson calls M iller “the consummate phil
anthropist. He challenges those around him
to become involved, whether they are family,
friends or colleagues at work.” j n