Allocation Committee

The Portland Children’s Levy is overseen by a five-member Allocation Committee that operates under a set of bylaws and meets publicly to make funding decisions. It is composed of one Portland City Commissioner, one Multnomah County Commissioner and three citizen members: two appointed by the Mayor and one by the County Commission Chair.

Meetings are open to the public, and notices are sent to our email list prior to meetings and posted here on our website. You can join our email list to stay in the loop about funding opportunities and updates from the Levy. 

Learn more about the city's advisory bodies.

Dan Ryan

Chair, Allocation Committee
Portland City Commissioner
503-823-3589

Dan Ryan took over as chair of the Allocation Committee in September 2020 from Mayor Ted Wheeler. Dan is very familiar and a long-time backer of the Levy,  having spent much of his career in the nonprofit world, most recently as the CEO All Hands Raised and previously, as a Portland Schools Board Member. He is a strong advocate of the Levy’s missions and goals, and has worked with many Levy parnters over the years. Dan said he  is specifically interested in Levy efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the community, and in its support of historically underserved children and families reaching their full potential.

"In these challenging times, the Levy stands firm in its belief that all children have an inherent right to thrive and prosper in our city -- and that includes refugees, immigrants, people of color and the most vulnerable of our population,"  Dan said. "The programs that the Levy support will continue to reach out and serve the disenfranchised so all Portland residents have the opportunity to thrive and prosper." 

Dan serves on the leadership advisory boards of Wells Fargo, the Portland Trail Blazers, and Trillium Family Services and the University of Oregon Alumni Association. Prior to All Hands Raised, Dan worked in the private, public and non-profit sector including positions at the Oregon Ballet Theatre, Portland State University, Metropolitan Group, Virginia Mason Foundation, and New School University. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oregon and did graduate-level work at New School University’s Graduate School of Management & Urban Professional. 

Felicia Tripp Folsom

Empowering Leaders Executive Director, The Contingent

Felicia  has a long history of community involvement in equity, children and housing issues.  She is the executive director of the Empowering Leaders program at The Contingent,  a board member of All Hands Raised, an executive board member of the Portland African American Leadership Forum and chair of the Community Housing Fund.

She was previously executive director of the Emergence Foundation, as well as the former scholarship chair of Black United Fund of Oregon. She is a long-time supporter of the Portland Children's Levy and its partners and is excited about the possibility of making transformational and positive changes in the community as a Levy Allocation Committee member.

Julia Brim-Edwards

Multnomah County Commissioner, District 3
503-988-5217

As commissioner for District 3, Julia Brim-Edwards calls on her experience as a longtime East Portland community and business leader, parent activist, and volunteer to bring people together to find solutions to Multnomah County’s most urgent problems. In addition to her role on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, Julia also sits on the Portland Public Schools Board, having served one term from 2001-05 and another starting in 2017 through the present day.

Julia has lived in Southeast Portland for more than 45 years, attended Glencoe Elementary, graduated from Washington-Monroe High School, and earned a BA from Oregon State University. She is a six-sport athlete, has been inducted into the Portland Interscholastic League Hall of Fame, and was a co-founder of the PIL Foundation, which supports equitable access for all students to middle and high school sports. In 2016, she was appointed by the Governor to serve as a Board Trustee for Oregon State University and recently was a Board appointee to the team that recruited and hired the new OSU President, Jayathi Murthy.

She and Randall Edwards have raised three children in Southeast Portland, and as parents, they both participated in their kids’ school communities, including 18 years of PTA and Site Council meetings and volunteering in the classroom and with athletics.

Traci Rossi

Executive Director, Friends of the Children - Portland

Traci has a long and successful career working in education, nonprofit organizations and youth development, focusing on service to women and emerging, emergent and under-served communities.

She is currently executive director of Friends of the Children-Portland, which provides vulnerable children with a nurturing and sustained relationship with a professional mentor. Previously, she served in leadership roles at the Center for Women's Leadership, Innovative Changes, Greater Than (formerly “I Have a Dream” Foundation) and Catlin Gabel School. She is a public member of the Board of Governors/Oregon State Bar; a board member of the Gray Family Foundation; and on the Board of Directors of KairosPDX.

Traci looks forward to working with the committed and wide range of non-profit organizations in our community, and to  connecting with the deserving programs that partner with the Levy. She wants to amplify their work and increase children’s access to proven programs that support the components that are necessary for all families in Portland to thrive and succeed.