Life history interview conducted by Janice Dilg.
January 21, 2015Location: Multnomah County Board of Commissioners Office, Portland, Oregon.
Loretta Smith (b. 1966) graduated from OSU in 1987. A Broadcast Communications major, Smith was involved with KBVR television and radio during her student years, and also developed close ties to the university's Educational Opportunities Program. Following the completion of her degree, Smith spent twenty-one years working in the office of Oregon Congressman Ron Wyden, first as a receptionist and later as a community liasion and staff manager. In 2010 Smith successfully ran for election to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, a position to which she was re-elected in 2014. In her interview, Smith discusses her college experience at OSU, her political education as a member of Wyden's staff, and her own career as a public servant.