Jesse Beason
President & Chief Executive Officer
Pronouns: he, him, his
jesse@northwesthealth.org | 503.220.1955
Jesse leads the Foundation in pursuit of its vision of health for everyone in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Jesse has worked at Northwest Health Foundation since 2013. Before becoming President in January 2019, he served as Vice President of Strategy & Public Affairs. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2013, Jesse served as Executive Director of Proud Ground, as Senior Policy Director of Housing, Culture and Planning for then-Commissioner Sam Adams and in public affairs at Metro.
Jesse is a graduate of Neighborhood Partnerships’ Future Leaders Initiative, a Marshall Memorial Fellow of The German Marshall Fund of the United States, and recognized by Portland Business Journal as a top 40 under 40 and Portland Monthly as a Rising Star. He was a 2014 cohort member of the African American Leadership Academy.
Jesse serves on the board of directors for Oregon Climate Action, Proteus Action League, and Oregon Public Broadcasting; and the advisory boards of Funders' Committee for Civic Participation and North Star Civic Foundation. He’s member emeritus of Oregon Futures Lab, Imagine Black, Portland Housing Advisory Commission, Regional Arts & Culture Council and National Community Land Trust Network (now Grounded Solutions). Jesse served temporarily on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners from 2023-2024.
Jesse moved from Denver, Colorado to Portland to attend Lewis & Clark College two decades ago. He’s a proud uncle, a semi-closeted sci-fi geek and a middling beekeeper. Jesse and his partner live in North Portland.