Betsy Bergstein

Betsy Bergstein is the only child of Paul and Leonore Weston and is being honored by her mother, Leonore Weston.

Paul and Leonore both came to the United States as refugees at the end of the World War II. Leonore was born in Berlin, Germany; Paul was born in Czechoslovakia.

Betsy was raised in southern California and obtained her bachelor’s degree at the University of California at Berkeley and her master’s degree at Portland State University.

In 1974 she moved to Portland to attend graduate school, and in 1976 began her career with Multnomah County at their innovative program to provide health insurance for the working poor: Project Health. Over the next two decades her career alternated between the private and public sectors working directly for elected local government officials (Multnomah County Commission Chairman, Donald E. Clark and Metro Executive Officer, Rena Cusma); as the Manager of Community Relations and Public Information for Tri-Met’s Banfield Light Rail Project (MAX);as the Director of Strategic Planning at NERCO, Inc.; the Manager of Strategic Planning Systems for Pacific Power; Executive Director of Public Affairs and Marketing for American Medical Response; and founder and Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest’s chapter of Business for Responsibility.

Most recently Betsy also worked as an Assistant Recruitment Specialist for Mercy Corps in Portland, as part of their Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness team. Currently Betsy is vice president at Northwest Strategies, Inc., a public affairs consulting firm owned by her husband Len Bergstein.

Board and community service include: Board membership with Planned Parenthood of the Columbia Willamette, The Morrison Center for Families and Children, The Northwest Academy, The American Jewish Committee, and The Portland Parks Foundation, of which she was a founding director.

Family includes three children: Danelle Romain, Mikhael Romain, and David Bergstein, and her husband, Len Bergstein.

Written by Betsy Bergstein