Len Mills: We’re not afraid to lead

This is the sixth in a series of profiles on the seven members of the Clackamas ESD Board of Directors. Our elected board governs the ESD, setting policy, and hiring and managing the superintendent. Board members represent the geographic diversity of Clackamas County, and bring a range of life experiences to their ESD work. They are a vital part of our team, and we want you to know them better.

Len Mills’ career as an educator was highly rewarding, but it came about almost by chance. He was in college, looking at all kinds of careers, when he asked his literature professor for advice.

“’What do you like to do?’ my professor asked,” Len recalled. “I said, ‘I like to learn.’ He replied, ‘That’s simple. You want to be a teacher.’”

Len’s path to actually becoming a teacher was anything but straightforward. Orphaned during his first year of high school in Tacoma, Wash., he eventually earned a bachelor’s degree from Gonzaga University, a master’s degree from Seattle University, and a Ph.D. from Washington State University. He served as an Army officer in Korea, and spent more than a month traveling that country with a social worker. He also worked at a photography store, and had his own photography business on the side.

Len started what would become a 35-year education career as a fifth-grade teacher, and later served stints as a school district program evaluator and achievement testing coordinator. But he found his true calling in the Reynolds School District, teaching in the talented and gifted (TAG) program for more than 20 years.

“I identified the interests of students and created courses around them, from the major academic subjects to specialized classes in art, drama and music,” Len said. “My wife Lisa, a molecular microbiologist, taught after-school TAG classes in science and math, and helped me create courses in astronomy and biology. It was a great period of time and we did all kinds of exciting things.”

His TAG teaching experience brought him the opportunity to work extensively with an education service district.

“I saw what could be done, what a powerful role ESDs could play in helping school districts function,” Len said. “When the chance came along to serve on the Clackamas ESD board in 2006, I jumped at it.”

At the time, Clackamas ESD was particularly well known for its technology services, and Len has been pleased to see the agency’s reputation grow in other areas over the years.

“We’ve worked hard to provide services throughout our own county. We’ve helped other ESDs and become an education leader in the state, and I find that exciting,” Len said. “You have to be the best to really bring the best. We’re going places, we’re doing great things and we’re not afraid to lead.”

Len has many interests outside education. He’s always loved music and theater, and has performed in many plays over the years. Thanks to his animal-loving wife he also shepherds a large herd of dairy goats on his Milwaukie property.

“We started with rabbits with our children, until we found out two of us in the family were highly allergic,” Len said. After switching to baby goats, a spontaneous decision by Len’s grandson at the county fair sparked another shift.

“We told him he could choose any goat he would like, and he chose a dairy goat,” Len recalled. “I pointed out the difference in the kind of goat he was choosing, and he said, ‘I don’t care. I want this goat.’ So we got into breeding dairy goats. They’re so fun and so bright. We now have 21 of them – and there are more on the way.”

After retiring from his paying job in 2003, Len has loved staying connected to education through his service on the Clackamas ESD board.

“It’s been every bit the opportunity to help school districts that I thought it would be,” he said. “This is an amazing place, with a great bunch of people working hard together to make good things happen.”