Elisa Hamblin
Associate City Planner at City of Portland
Favorite book of all-time:
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck. It is a rather obscure auto-biographical account written at the end of his career. It’s all about his travels across the USA with his dog and had some fascinating insight into human nature, cities and geography.
Books that are on your nightstand right now:
Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear. The most recent edition in a murder mystery series set in post WWI London, England. It features a strong female character and offers a peak at a time when England was still trying to recover from war, while preparing for another one.
As you can see my book choices have some common themes: far-off places, history and cities.
(Fill in the blank) When you wake up in the morning, you are motivated by………
The possibility of changing the future of a place by the seemingly small decisions we make in government each day.
If you ran for elected office, what position would you run for?
Never in a million years.
Your best piece of career advice:
If A is success, then A = x+y+z, where x = work, y = play, and z = keeping your mouth shut
Your favorite social media outlet:
Pinterest is amazing! I love the visual representation of things and the ability to learn and share with other users. Whereas other social media is inward-focused, pinterest is really about what you can learn.
Which actor/actress would play you in a movie?
Christina Ricci
What is the home page on your web browser?
City of Portland employee intranet
Biggest issue facing local government:
- A lack of trust from the general public
- Disbelief in the ability of government to enact change.
Two things that people will say about you at your retirement party:
I have no idea – this is still a lifetime away for me!
First concert that you ever attended:
BFD III – a festival-style concert hosted by the San Francisco radio station Live 105
Name three of your mentors:
- Grant Crowell, a former boss in Utah
- Jessica Richman, a colleague at the City of Portland
- Steve Iwata, my current boss at the City of Portland
Who is at the dinner table if you could invite any three people (dead or alive)?
- Mother Teresa
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Daniel Burnham
(Fill in the blank) Government….
where it’s at!
(Fill in the blank) ELGL is ……..
my first stop on my blog reader in the morning!
Previous Lightning Round Profiles
- Norma Alley, City of Newberg
- Mary Beth Henry, City of Portland
- Debbie Matheney, Eugene School District
- Jessica Struyk, City of Gresham
- Petra Schuetz, City of Coburg
- Rhyan Van Horn, TriMet
- Mark Stotik, Clackamas County
- Heidi Starks, West Slope Water District
- Teri Bankhead, City of Milwaukie
- Anthony Petchel, Bank of the Cascades
- Pat Mobley, Portland State University
- Ashley Graff, University of Kansas
- Eric Chambers, City of Gresham