Martha Northam Schrader ( née Northam, born August 12, 1953) is an American politician and educator who has served as a member of the Board of Commissioners of Clackamas County, Oregon since 2012. Schrader previously served in the

Oregon Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

, representing the 20th Senate district in southeastern

Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...

, including the cities of Barlow,

Canby Canby may refer to: People * Canby (surname) Places

;In the United States * Canby, California * Canby, Iowa * Canby, Minnesota * Canby, Oregon * Canby Creek, a stream in Minnesota * Canby Mountains, Oregon {{disambiguation, geo ...

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

, Johnson City, Oregon City, and portions of Milwaukie.

Early life and education

Born Martha Northam, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the

Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences The New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University (CALS or Ag School) is a statutory college and one of the four New York State contract colleges on the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York. With enrollmen ...

, a Master’s degree in entomology from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

, and a Master’s degree in education from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decad ...

, where she has taken doctoral courses in public policy and administration. She also is a Fellow at the American Leadership Forum.

Career

In 1978, Martha and

Kurt Schrader Walter Kurt Schrader (born October 19, 1951) is an American politician and veterinarian serving as the U.S. representative for since 2009. His district covered most of Oregon's central coast, plus Salem, and many of Portland's southern suburb ...

moved to Oregon, where they owned and operated Three Rivers Farm in Canby, growing and selling local organic produce from 1982 until 2012. From 1986 to 1994, Martha worked as a teacher and library media specialist in the Oregon City School District. In 1996, Kurt Schrader was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, and Martha served as his chief legislative analyst until his election to the Oregon Senate in 2002. That same year, Martha won the Democratic nomination to succeed her husband for his seat in the House, but she lost in the general election to Republican

Alan Olsen Alan Randal Olsen (born March 24, 1948) is an American Republican politician who served in the Oregon State Senate from 2011 until 2021, representing Oregon's 20th Senate district in southeastern Clackamas County, including the cities of Barlow, ...

. In 2003, she was appointed to fill a vacancy on the

Board of Commissioners. In 2004, she was elected to a full term, defeating Republican

Tootie Smith Tootie Smith (born March 3, 1957) is an American politician and hazelnut farmer from the state of Oregon. A Republican, she served in the state legislature from 2001 until 2005, and on the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners from 2013 until 20 ...

. Schrader has served as chair of the commission in 2005 and 2007. Her peers voted her Vice Chair in January, 2020. In 2008, Kurt was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, and the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, on which Martha served, selected her to fill Kurt's vacated state Senate seat (though she recused herself from voting). Schrader was narrowly defeated in the 2010 election by Republican

. She was re-elected to the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners in 2012.

Personal life

While at Cornell, Martha met

, then an undergraduate government major. They were married in 1975 and have five children. In May 2011, the Schraders announced their divorce.

References

External links

*
Commissioner website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schrader, Martha 1953 births County commissioners in Oregon Living people Politicians from Lake Oswego, Oregon Democratic Party Oregon state senators Cornell University alumni University of Illinois alumni Portland State University alumni Women state legislators in Oregon 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians