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Senator Margaret Carter
Heart of the Community Award |
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First elected to the Oregon House in 1984, Margaret Carter
is the first African American woman elected to the
Legislative Assembly. In 2000, Ms. Carter was elected to
her first term in the Oregon Senate, and in January 2005
as Senate President Pro Tempore. Ms. Carter has received
numerous awards including the Elliott Human Rights
Award, the "Legislator of the Year" award from the
National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL), THE
PORTLAND OBSERVER Community Award for "service to the
youth of our city," the "Mary Rieke Award" from the
Oregon Women Political Caucus, "Friend of Nursing" from
the Oregon Nurses Association, and special recognition
from the OREGON HEALTH FORUM in February 2005 for
"tireless efforts to improve health care for all
Oregonians."
Salutatorian of her high school class, Ms. Carter is a
graduate of Portland State University with a Bachelor of
Science degree in education and holds a professional
Masters Degree from Oregon State University in
psychology. Immediate Past President and CEO of the
Urban League of Portland, Ms. Carter has worked as a
youth counselor, teacher, served as a Board member of
the local chapter of the American Red Cross, a counselor
for women in prison and for 25 years as a counselor at
Portland Community College, where she founded the
Portland Community College Skills Center.
As a legislator, she has helped to create the Oregon
Convention Center, a permanent state Head Start Program,
the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps, was the chief
sponsor of the Oregon Anti-Apartheid Act (South Africa
Divestiture) Act of 1987, the Oregon Human Rights &
(Sudan) Anti-Genocide Act of 2005, the bill to establish
a state holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
legislation to protect the scenic waterfalls of the
Columbia Gorge and wetlands protection, advocacy for
emerging, minority and women businesses, and funding for
the Portland Public Schools. In 2005, Senator Carter was
co-sponsor of Senate Bill 1 to create parity for mental
health services; and chief sponsor of Senate Bill 847 to
restore assistance for low and moderate income families
for home ownership in North-Northeast Portland. Most
recently, Senator Carter has been working on helping
local efforts in Oregon to assist families affected by
Hurricane Katrina.
Though she's received various awards as a citizen,
legislator and as a professional, her proudest
accomplishment is her family. Ms. Carter is mother to 9
children, 26 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. |
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