April 22, 2015
The
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INSIDE
Week in Review
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This page
Sponsored by:
L ocal N ews
Achieving for Public Good
Rev. T. Allen
Bethel named
‘Ecumenist of
the Year’
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O pinion
S ports
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The Rev. T. Allen Bethel, se-
nior pastor of Maranatha Church
in northeast Portland, is being
honored for his outstanding
work in the faith community and
for his advocacy of good public
policy.
Bethel will be named “Ecu-
menist of the Year” on May 7 at
the Ecumenical Ministries of Or-
egon Annual Community Awards
and Celebration Dinner. The
award is presented in recognition
of leadership and commitment
to fostering the love of Christ
Rev. T. Allen Bethel
through ecumenical dialogue,
witness and ministry.
In addition to leading Maran-
tha Church, a diverse and histor-
ically African-American congre-
gation for over 15 years, Bethel is
president of the Albina Ministeri-
al Alliance, the largest ecumeni-
cal organization of churches and
ministers in north and northeast
Portland.
The AMA’s Coalition for Jus-
tice and Police Reform works to
assure oversight to the Portland
Police Bureau. In 2005, the group
called for and helped to obtain a
U.S. Department of Justice inves-
tigation into the patterns and pol-
icies of the Portland Police Bu-
reau regarding lethal force. The
coalition continues to meet, hold
vigils, and call for more open
investigations of deadly force
shootings by the Portland Police
Department. Bethel also serves
on the faculty of North Portland
Bible College and Warner Pacific
College, and he has led mission
teams to Haiti and St. Kitts.
Urban League Hires Homegrown Leader
M etro
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C lassifieds
C alendar
F ood
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Former Oregon
press secretary
to guide
organization
A new era is beginning for
Portland’s premier civil rights
organization with new leadership
from a homegrown attorney who
is steeped in political experience.
Nkenge Harmon Johnson takes
office as the President and Chief
executive of the Urban League
of Portland after serving in the
Obama administration and as a
press secretary for former Oregon
Gov. John Kitzhaber. Her hus-
band, attorney Erious Johnson, is
the Director of Civil Rights with
Oregon Attorney General Ellen
Rosenblum’s office.
Harmon Johnson becomes
the fourth woman CEO to lead
the Portland Urban League, a
non-profit that oversees support
services and resources for the dis-
advantaged in Portland’s black
community and other populations.
“I’m honored and delighted that
the board of directors and support-
ers of the Urban League of Port-
land have entrusted me with this
opportunity,” Harmon Johnson
said. “I am pleased to join the ded-
icated staff, board, and supporters
Nkenge Harmon Johnson
in continuing our mission to shape
a community that works for all of
us; east, west, north and south.”
Raised in northeast Portland
and Salem, a product of Catlin
Gabel School and Harriett Tub-
man Middle School, she received
a Bachelor of Science in Busi-
ness Administration from Florida
A & M University, and a Master
of Business Administration from
Trinity University in Washington,
DC. She earned her Juris Doc-
torate from Howard University
School of Law. She is a member
of the Oregon State Bar and the
District of Columbia Bar.
Politics has played an import-
ant role in Harmon Johnson’s
professional career, having served
as a staff member in communi-
cations, campaigns, constituency
outreach and legislative matters
for U. S. Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee
(D-Texas), U.S. Sen. Harry Reid
(D-Nev.), U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabe-
now (D-Mich.); and the Demo-
cratic Congressional Campaign
Committee. From 2010 to 2013,
she took on an important respon-
sibility for President Obama’s Ad-
ministration as a Deputy Assistant
United States Trade Representa-
tive with national and internation-
al public affairs responsibilities
focused on the Americas and Chi-
na.
In her home state, she served
under Gov. Kitzhaber as Commu-
nications Director from January
to July 2014. Her departure came
after she raised ethical concerns
over the conflict between state
matters and private matters relat-
ing to the governor’s mate Cylvia
Hayes and her unofficial role as
First Lady.
Harmon Johnson succeeds Mi-
chael Alexander, who retires on
May 8 after leading the Urban
League of Portland since 2012.
Her selection was announced last
week and the organization threw a
small welcoming party Thursday
night to allow the community to
meet her. She will work with Al-
exander until his retirement for a
seamless transition.