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Annie Ellison, executive director of Emerge Oregon, will soon leave her leadership role at the powerhouse political academy for women and go to work consulting on the campaigns of several candidates running for the Portland City Council this fall.
The chair and vice chair of Emerge’s board of directors announced Ellison’s departure in a June 11 email.
“During the transition, Annie has promised to remain engaged with the Emerge board as well as her successor and will always be a trusted advisor and supporter of Emerge’s work across our great state,” the email read.
Emerge runs training academies for women candidates seeking office, both locally, statewide and nationally. Its list of alumnae is impressive: Congresswoman Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Bureau of Labor and Industries Commissioner Christina Stephenson, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, and a slew of state representatives and senators.
Ellison declined to comment on which candidates she’ll advise (over 60 so far have filed to run for the expanded 12-member City Council), but said she will be “continuing the work of advancing candidates and issues in Oregon and beyond.”
A number of City Council candidates participated in Emerge’s previous training academies, including policy advocate Angelita Morillo, transportation advocate Steph Routh, Oregon Health & Science University communications specialist Mariah Hudson, Portland Public Schools Board Chair Michelle DePass, Verde executive director Candace Avalos and construction firm owner Debbie Kitchin.
Ellison, a longtime progressive campaign strategist, led Emerge for four years. She also led the organization through a political scandal in 2023 when Emerge’s most prominent alumna, former Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, was caught moonlighting for an embattled cannabis outfit co-founded by Rosa Cazares, who until last year was an Emerge board member.
Emerge is currently looking for a new executive director.