Linda Brown: A life of “giving back”

This is the fifth 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.

Not all of us remember our teenage years fondly, but Linda Brown learned a lifelong lesson when she was about 16 years old – a lesson that set her on a path to community service.

“I saw how badly some people could treat other people for no particular reason, and it made me angry,” Linda recalls. “And you either do something about it or get out of the way. That’s why I got involved. I’m not necessarily going to do a better job than someone else, but someone needs to do it.”

That “someone needs to do it” attitude has led Linda to become the consummate community volunteer. Her current service on the Clackamas ESD Board of Directors is one of a long string of volunteer positions she has held over the years to improve the lives of others. In 2021, Linda and her husband Bob were honored by the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce with the Bob Bigelow Lifetime Achievement Award for 35 years of volunteerism and service to the community.

Like many transplanted Oregonians, the Browns moved here looking for new opportunities and the ability to fully engage their love of the outdoors. Linda grew up in Missouri and moved to Colorado to attend college. It was while working as a dental associate in Boulder that she met Bob, a patient.

“He had really good teeth,” Linda remembers with a laugh. “And he had a house with a big kitchen and a double oven. I still joke about whether I married him because he was cute or he had that great kitchen. But 44 years later, it was clearly a smart move on my part.”

Linda is an active Rotarian, and as a member of the peace committee, has spearheaded placement of 43 “peace poles” throughout the community – including at many schools and near the entrance to Clackamas ESD’s administrative building – to give children and adults a special place to consider the impact of their actions in advance.

Interestingly, Linda describes some of her community service work as “penance.”

“When I was on the Lake Oswego School Board, we had to cut our budget 11 out of 12 years,” she remembers. “In 2008, we had to make dramatic cuts. We surveyed teachers about three electives in elementary school – music, PE and library – because we had to cut one of them. After we had to eliminate librarian positions, I began volunteering at our local library as a kind of penance for the cuts I had to make as a school board member.”

A similar desire led to her involvement with the Lakewood Center for the Arts, where she serves as a board member.

“My daughter took an acting class at the center. She became a really good speaker and a world-class debater,” Linda says. “People saw her talents and helped her nurture them. I joined the board at Lakewood, so other kids can have that same experience.”

When CESD board member Len Mills approached her about an open board position, she listened because the mission to “serve the underserved” hit close to home.

“I have a sister with special needs,” Linda says. “If she had had some of the services we now offer to kids and families, she would have had a better life.”

Since joining the CESD board in 2015, Linda has learned much more about the organization’s array of program offerings designed to help regional districts better serve all students, not just those with profound needs.

“I had no idea when I started at the ESD what the opportunities would be,” Linda says. “I have served on a lot of different boards and committees, and this particular organization’s commitment to serving districts and children is very powerful. The camaraderie and spirit of working together in the sense of heart for the mission – that makes it a joy to participate.

Linda is particularly looking forward to improving the preschool and child care support CESD offers in the region through purchase and renovation of a new facility, and enhancing CESD’s reputation as a “go-to partner” in creating innovative solutions to area districts’ challenges.”

“I am one of a group of people all unified in truly wanting to serve people who are our future,” Linda says. “To me I can’t imagine anything more fulfilling, more rewarding.”