Today, local history nonprofit Know Your City announced its newly-hired executive director: local activist and KYC board member Cameron Whitten. From an email sent by KYC staffer Benjamin Gerritz:

The Board of Directors at Know Your City is excited to announce Cameron Whitten as our new Executive Director!

For anyone who knows Cameron, one thing we can probably agree on is that we all know Cameron. His background in nonprofit administration and political advocacy has leveraged his mission in life—civic empowerment and justice for all people. His work has included collaborations with many local civic organizations, including the Bus Project, the Urban League, and the City Club of Portland.

Cameron serves on the Board of Trustees for Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Multnomah County Oregon Historical Society Levy Oversight Committee, the Bureau Advisory Committee for the Portland Bureau of Transportation, and the Advocacy and Awareness Board for the City Club of Portland. He is in his final year of a Bachelor of Arts in Economics at Portland State University. Cameron previously served as a Know Your City Board Member from May 2013, and as our Board President since January of 2013. He is succeeding our Interim Executive Director Amanda Tillstrom, who also served the organization as Programming Coordinator for the last three years.

Know Your City recognizes our community is in a flashpoint. Rents are skyrocketing, and hundreds of tenants in the region are receiving no cause evictions as the housing state of emergency grows worse. Portland experienced the hottest summer in a century while local policies fail to demand urgent solutions to climate change. And #BlackLivesMatter has brought a magnifying glass to the systemic racism that continues undermine the vitality of communities of color. Sometimes the daily injustices feel overwhelming, but we know that our community deserves better.

Former Executive Director Marc Moscato stepped down from his position back in August, with Programs Coordinator Amanda Tillstrom serving as as Interim Director while KYC searched for a permanent replacement. Whitten's first day is Monday, November 9, and the organization's planned a public welcome party from 5:30-8:30 pm at the Center for Intercultural Organizing for Monday, November 30.