For Portland Monthly’s fifth annual Oregon Woman issue, we spoke to fearless pioneers in Portland and beyond: Indigenous activists and creative super-nerds, executive directors and prison educators. Some are forward-thinking power brokers. Others are working to disrupt and upend power structures themselves. But each of our 2019 Oregon Women share one key trait: the desire to forge dramatic change in our state.

In This Feature:

Women of Color Are the Majority on the Multnomah County Commission. It's a Big Deal.

Turns out it matters who has a place at the table, even when you’re talking about soil erosion and transportation funding. Welcome to the matriarchy.

04/23/2019 By Sarah Mirk

6 Amazing Oregon Women-Led Projects

From serious documentaries to full-contact football to sex education, here are six local projects changing the game.

04/23/2019 By Sarah Mirk, Margaret Seiler, Ryan Ashby, Kelly Clarke, and Rebecca Jacobson

Meet the Portland Woman Penning the Words for Nike’s LeBron James Commercials

She's a comics nerd, marketing whiz, and possible superhero.

04/23/2019 By Karen Brooks

At Coffee Creek Women’s Prison, Mercy Corps Teaches Women How to Be the Boss

The nonprofit’s first of its kind LIFE program helps inmates think like entrepreneurs (and stay out of jail, too).

04/23/2019 By Eden Dawn

On Vailey Oehlke’s Watch, the Multnomah County Library Is Anything But by the Book

The library's director has built our system into a cutting-edge program envied the world over.

04/23/2019 By Beth Slovic

One Indigenous Activist Is Making a Place for Two Spirit People in Portland

Candi Brings Plenty has a history of making change happen.

04/23/2019 By Fiona McCann