Dora Perry appointed interim Chief Equity Officer

Washington County Administrator Tanya Ange has appointed Dora Perry to serve as interim Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer.

Perry will take over from Latricia Tillman who served for three years as the county’s first Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer. Tillman is departing Washington County to travel and spend time with family.

Perry has over 30 years of experience in training, coaching, facilitating and organizing with a focus on social justice, equity and inclusion. She is the founder and principal of Cultural Coaching Solutions LLC, a minority-led, multi-generational consulting team that works to transform spaces for equity and belonging. She also played a key role in the establishment of the Office of Equity and Human Rights for the City of Portland, including serving as its interim director.

“We are grateful to Dora for taking this important interim appointment and for carrying on with Latricia’s foundational accomplishments over the last three years,” said County Administrator Tanya Ange. “Dora brings a compassionate, empathetic and authentic approach to this work, an approach that has built trust and fostered a sense of belonging in the workplaces of her clients.”

“This is also an exciting ‘heart move’ for Latricia, but I know I am not alone in feeling the loss her departure will mean for the organization,” added Ange. “Thankfully, Latricia has agreed to continue contributing to Washington County in the near term through contracted project work.”

Perry is a graduate of the University of Washington and earned a master of arts in urban planning at Portland State University, with a concentration in housing and community development. She is a former commissioner of the Oregon Commission on Black Affairs, past president of the African Women’s Coalition, past co-chair of the board of Unite Oregon and past board member of Resolutions Northwest.

Washington County is located on the western side of the Portland metropolitan area and has a population of 606,378, the second largest in Oregon and among the state’s most diverse. Washington County is home to Oregon’s largest county population of Latino/a/x community members and the highest percentage of Asians and Pacific Islanders. Nearly one in four Washington County residents speaks a language other than English. After English, Spanish is spoken by the largest segment of the county (one in eight county residents speak Spanish).

In February 2020, Washington County made a historic commitment to equity with the passage of the equity, diversity, and inclusion resolution by the Washington County Board of Commissioners. Among other things, the resolution created Washington County’s Office of Equity, Inclusion and Community Engagement (OEICE) to ensure that all Washington County residents have culturally and linguistically appropriate access to the County's services, programs and opportunities to participate in the decision-making. The resolution also acknowledged Washington County’s moral and legal responsibility to provide all its residents with equitable access to the County’s public resources.

Washington County has a mission to provide excellent and cost-effective services that support healthy, peaceful, safe and sustainable communities and encourage meaningful participation in community activities and county governance. The organization is supported by a budget of $1.6 billion and is staffed by 2,368 full-time equivalent employees. More information about Washington County can be found at washingtoncountyor.gov.