rex burkholder
2824 SE Yamhill Portland, OR 97214
Phone: 503-317-9037  E-Mail: rexburkholder@gmail.com
getting to2100.org
Education
BS
MA
Biology, Portland State University, 1984
Urban and Environmental Policy, Tufts University, 1989
Experience
Metro Councilor, Metro (the Portland area regional government) 2001-2012
o
Oversee agency responsible for regional land use and transportation planning along with
regional services such as the Oregon Convention Center, the Oregon Zoo and Metro Parks
System as well as regional solid waste disposal system.
o
Personal focus on transportation and land use. Chaired Metropolitan Planning
Organization (MPO) for the region for 5.5 years. Founded statewide coalition of MPOs.
Board member of national Association of MPOs (2008-2010). Introduced idea of Health
Impact Assessments into regional planning regimen.
o
Council lead on Climate Change adaptation and mitigation strategies, including
championing innovative Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory, Climate Prosperity
economic strategy, GHG reducing land use and transportation scenarios and pioneering use
of GHG emissions as evaluation criteria for mega-projects.
o
Council lead on strategic planning. Effort led to first outcomes based budget for agency and
first broad set of outcomes for regional development used to guide all policy and investment
decisions.
o
Led four-year collaborative effort to create first ever regional conservation education
strategy, including securing over $1million annually for Outdoor School.
o
Led regional Conservation Education Task Force leading to creation of Conservation
Education Leadership Council, hiring of regional conservation education manager and
$10Million center for Conservation Education at the Oregon Zoo.
Research Associate, Portland State University School of Community Health (2012-present)
o
Develop strategy for integrating public health outcomes into agenda of Oregon Department
of Transportation. Client: Oregon Health Authority
Founder and Policy Director, Bicycle Transportation Alliance Portland, Oregon1992-1999
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Founded and served as Policy Director of one of the most successful and effective statewide
bicycle advocacy and promotion organizations in the country.
o
Successes included: persuading TriMet, the region’s transit provider, to become the first
transit agency to have 100% of vehicles accessible to bicycles; establishing second largest
bicycle event in North America; getting bicycle facilities included in all state, county and
city road projects; Portland declared most bicycle friendly large city in North America five
times by Bicycling Magazine; producing statewide bicycle and pedestrian conference.
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Program Manager 1000 Friends of Oregon
o
Portland, Oregon1990-1992
Managed implementation of the Land Use, Transportation and Air Quality study that
served as the basis for Metro’s Region 2040 Growth Concept.
Presentations
• Bicycles and the Future: Keynote, ProBike/ProWalk, Portland, OR 1994
• Creating Sustainable Regions: Keynote, Birmingham Livability Forum, Birmingham, AL 2002
• Regional Governance Models, Cascadia Project of the Discovery Institute, Vancouver, British
Columbia November 2003
• Value Pricing of Transportation Experience in Oregon, Cascadia Project of the Discovery
Institute, Redmond, Washington December, 2003
• Regional Governance and Transportation Decision Making, Testimony to Washington State
House Committee on Transportation, Olympia WA January, 2004
• Smart Growth for Elected Officials, Partners for Smart Growth, Portland, Oregon, 2004
• Regional Governance, Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Vancouver, BC, 2004
• Land Use, Transportation and Climate Change, Asilomar Transportation Conference, Monterey
CA, 2006
• Urban Sustainability and Transportation, World Urban Forum, Vancouver, Canada 2006
• Sustainable transportation, public health and climate change, Multiple conferences of the
international network of Ciclovias Recreativas: Guadalajara, Mexico; Lima, Peru; Quito, Ecuador;
Medellin Columbia, 2004-2011
• Bicycling into the Future: Portland’s Story, Conference on Sustainable Transportation, Mexico,
DF, 2006
• Sustainable Transportation Planning, APTA conference on sustainable transit, Chicago IL July
2008
• Climate Change, Transportation and Land Use: the Portland Experience, Transportation
Research Board, Washington, DC 2008
• Climate Change, Sustainable Transportation and the Bicycle. Universidad Catòlica, Lima, Peru.
2008
• Bicycling Culture in America’s Most Bicycle Friendly City. Inaugural Day Without Cars, Lima,
Peru. 2008
• Outcomes-based Regional Transportation Planning, Rail~Volution, Boston, MA. October 2009
• Collaborative Approaches to Preventing Climate Change, Forlì, Romagna, Italy. 2011
• Data Needs for Decision Making in States and MPOs, Transportation Research Board committee
meeting, Newport, CA 2011
• Forum: Greening Urban Development in Asia, Think City/Khazanah Nasional Sovereign
Fund/World Bank, Penang, Malaysia 2012
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• Low Carbon Economy, Public Interest and Environment Law Conference, Eugene, OR 2012
• Moving toward a Low Carbon Economy, WTS Seminar, Portland, OR 2012
• Data and Community Change, National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership Meeting, Portland,
OR 2012
• Sustainability Panel I: Jobs, Politics and Relationships, University Professional and Continuing
Education Association, Portland, OR 2012
• Bicycling and Cities and Bicycle Economics, 5th Congress of Urban Cycling, Oaxaca, Mexico 2012
• The Portland Bicycle Story, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan 2013
• Cycling and the Future of Cities, Congres Du Club Des Villes Et Territoires Cyclables, Nice,
France 2013
• Cities And Climate Change: Metro And The Portland-Metropolitan Area’s Experience, 50th
International Making Cities Livable Conference, Portland, OR 2013
• Health and the Built Environment-Clinica, Biennial of the Americas, Denver, CO 2013
Publications
• The Value of Waste. Rain Magazine, 1981
• Reducing Climate Impacts in the Transportation Sector. ‘Chapter 8: CO2 Reduction through
Better Urban Design: Portland’s Story.’ Burkholder, Rex and Rose, Eliot. Eds. Cannon and
Sperling. Springer, 2009: Boulder, Co.
• Moving Toward a Low Carbon Economy, Report to the German Marshall Fund as part of
requirements of the GMF Urban and Regional Policy Fellowship. German Marshall Fund, 2011.
• Cities and Climate Change: Metro and the Portland-metropolitan Area’s Experience. Atwater,
Jessica and Burkholder, Rex. Taller para Autoridades Municipales: “Integración del cambio
climático en los Planes de Desarrollo 2012-2015.” Fundacion Ciudad Humana, March, 2012
Committees/Community Service
• Responsible Urban Neighborhood Technology, Restored and operated energy conservation
demonstration house in inner city Portland, Board member, 1981-1986
• Coalition for A Livable Future, unique coalition of 100 community groups focused on sustainability
and social justice. Founding trustee, 1992-1999
• Northeast Community School, innovative public/private middle school. Board member, 1995-1998
• SW Washington Regional Transportation Council, MPO for Vancouver, WA area 2001-present
• Rail~Volution National Steering Committee, a conference on transit and urban redevelopment.
Member, 2007-present
• Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, ODOT. Appointed by Governor to two
terms, 1989-1997, Chair 1993-1997
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• Oregon Transportation Plan Update, integrating climate change and urban development objectives
for the first time. Advisory committee member. 2002-2003
• Governor’s Committee on Climate Change Mitigation, Appointed by Governor, 2003-2005
• Governor’s Committee on Climate Change Adaptation, Appointed by Governor, 2005-2008
• Oregon Metropolitan Planning Organization Consortium, Founder, board member, 2005-2009
• Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Board member, vice president, 2006-2009
• Oregon Solutions: Division Main Street Project, Convener, 2007
• Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation Board, Portland College of Urban and Public
Affairs, providing graduate-level training and research. Founding director, 2008-present.
• Executive Council on Active Transportation, public-private group advocating for increased
investment in walking and cycling in Portland region. Board member, 2009-2012
• Oregon Solutions: Gateway Green, Convener, 2010
• State Transportation Strategy Committee on Greenhouse Gas Reduction, member, 2011-2012
• First Stop Portland Advisory committee, hosting “policy tourists” interested in Portland’s
innovations in sustainability and governance, board member and presenter, 2011-present
Awards
• Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America, 1973
• Regional Director’s Award, League of American Bicyclists, 1996
• Most Effective Citizen, 1000 Friends of Oregon, 1998
• Founder of the New Northwest, Sustainable Northwest, 1998
• Alice B. Toeclips, Bicycle Transportation Alliance, 1999
• Conservation Education Leader, Environmental Education Association of Oregon, 2005
• Global Ambassador for Ciclovia, Ciclovias Recreativas, Mexico, 2011
• Most Effective Elected Official-2012, Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations
• Weston Award for promotion of more walkable communities, OregonWalks, 2012
• Administrator’s Public Service Award 2013, Federal Highway Administration
Professional Development
• Senior Executives in State and Local Government, Harvard University Kennedy School of
Government, 2005
• Aspen Environment Forum Scholar, Aspen Institute, 2011
• Pacific Leadership Program, Willamette University, 2011
• German Marshall Fund Urban and Regional Policy Fellow, visited and met with leaders of
Rotterdam, NL; Birmingham, UK; and Bologna, IT studying low carbon economic development and
cross-sector collaboration. 2011
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Interests
• Collector and player of four string instruments in the guitar family, including tenor guitars,
ukuleles, Columbian tiple, cavaquinho and tenor banjo.
• Gardening, in particular restoration of native plant communities. Working to have my yard certified
as “platinum” by the Backyard Bird Certification Program. Also volunteer on restoring natural
areas and re-treeing the city.
• Outdoor activities including birdwatching, hiking, kayaking (flat water), sailing, mountaineering.
• Foreign travel especially to Latin America. Have visited six South American countries and three
Central American countries. Prefer to travel and stay where the nationals do. I speak Spanish
sufficiently to find my greatest pleasure in meeting people and serendipitous adventure.
• I cycle to work and most of my daily activities and have for fifty years (40 of commuting).
• Married to Lydia Rich (32 years!), an early childhood educator, and father of two sons, Gehron and
Lars who are Portlanders through and through—cyclists, surfers, world travelers and committed to
their community and the earth.