I’m Jo Ann.

I have had the pleasure and privilege of serving as your City Commissioner since 2019.

Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty grew up in Baltimore, one of ten children, the daughter of a longshoreman.  After graduating high school, she joined the Navy, traveling to places like the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Kenya.  During this time, Commissioner Hardesty met countless kind and caring people who helped shape her understanding that people are at their root, good.

Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty’s life in Portland is a portrait of service, a navy veteran and small business owner with a thirty year history of fighting for Portland’s most underserved communities.  Her work in Portland began as a community organizer for the Black United Fund, and continued as president of the NAACP Portland Branch, the Albina Ministerial Alliance, and the director of Oregon Action (now Unite Oregon).  As a former state representative for North/Northeast Portland and a former Multnomah County senior policy advisor, Jo Ann holds expertise in crafting legislation and policy.   

Commissioner Hardesty is the first Black woman elected to city council, and holds a proven record of transformational leadership. She championed the Portland Street Response, an alternative to policing that provides unarmed teams of health professionals to respond to people experiencing crisis, and led successful ballot measures in 2018 for the Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund and in 2020 for Police Accountability

Jo Ann Hardesty knows what it feels like to bang her head against the doors of City Hall, demanding the voices of everyday people be heard. Jo Ann's body of work demonstrates her belief in coalition building to create a more engaged democracy, where decisions and policies are crafted from the voices of those directly impacted and most often excluded from places of power.

Commissioner Hardesty’s bureau assignments currently include Portland Fire & Rescue, Portland Bureau of Transportation, and the Office of Community & Civic Life.