Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury today appointed Ebony Sloan Clarke as the Health Department Director, Tracey Massey as the Director of the Department of County Assets and Mohammad Bader as the Director of the Department of County Human Services.
The Board of County Commissioners consented to the appointments at their meeting, formalizing the leadership of three individuals who have been serving their respective departments in interim capacities.
All three took over managing large, complex departments right before, or during the pandemic, as the County responded to COVID, then civil unrest, toxic air, extreme cold, and then extreme heat.
“All three have proven to be exceedingly capable of leading with strength and compassion through a time of intense, unprecedented community need,’’ said Chair Kafoury. “And it’s those qualities that I believe make them the right people to lead their departments, and Multnomah County, into this next chapter of our organization’s work.”
Ebony Sloan Clarke
Ebony joined Multnomah County in 2010 and took the helm at the Multnomah County Mental Health and Addiction Services Division (now known as the Behavioral Health Division) in 2018. Last December, she assumed the role of interim director of the Health Department, where she has leveraged two decades of experience as a behavioral services clinician and manager.
Since taking over as the interim director, Ebony has worked to coordinate efforts among divisions within the County’s largest department, which serves as Oregon’s largest safety net primary care provider and supports the mental wellbeing of more than 800,000 residents — all during a relentless pandemic. She has overseen a timely and agile response to the demands of COVID-19, extreme weather and other emerging challenges. She’s also undertaken a quality improvement process in financial business management and continuous quality improvement across disaster response, behavioral health programs and workforce policies and procedures. Throughout, she has further operationalized the Workforce Equity Strategic Plan, leading with race and promoting racial equity.
Tracey Massey
After working in program development, management systems analysis and IT project management in the private sector, Tracey joined the County in 2007 where she was promoted six times in 15 years. Tracey stepped into the dual role of interim director of the Department of County Assets and the County’s Chief Information Officer in June 2020. She oversees Facilities and Property Management, Information Technology, Records Management and Archives, and Fleet and Distribution.
Tracey has steered DCA during a year when the County has relied heavily on the department’s services and expertise. During her time as interim director, nearly half of the organization’s workforce settled into a shift to telework and many buildings closed due to the pandemic, while some facilities were impacted by vandalism. She has overseen the hiring of a new Facilities director; taken the lead on multiple capital projects, including the Library Capital Bond program, the Behavioral Health Resource Center and the Southeast Health Center renovation; spearheaded the procurement of new technology for Preschool for All; and has played a critical supporting role in the ongoing transition of the Joint Office of Homeless Services into a permanent department. In her capacity as the deputy CIO, she sponsored the $32 million Multco Align Project, which replaced or upgraded elements of the County’s enterprise software systems for human resources, payroll, finance, facilities, budgeting and supply ordering.
Mohammad Bader
Prior to becoming the interim director of the Department of County Human Services in February 2020, Mohammad had served in several leadership roles at Multnomah County, including as the director of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Division, and then its interim deputy director. He has been a part of the organization since 1996.
Since the pandemic began a month after Mohammad took the reins as interim director, DCHS has worked tirelessly to serve community members who have been particularly vulnerable to the harms of COVID-19, including older adults, veterans, low-income families and people with disabilities. DCHS has distributed more than $10 million in direct rent assistance; disbursed over $3 million in direct financial assistance to more than 5,000 households, with a focus on Black, Indigenous and other communities of color living in historically underserved and overlooked areas of the county; and worked with community-based organizations to leverage more than $1 million in CARES Act funding for culturally specific senior meal services. The department’s Bienestar de la Familia program partnered with the Health Department to provide culturally responsive wraparound services for people isolating or quarantining due to COVID-19. Under Mohammad’s leadership, the DCHS has also begun building out the new Preschool and Early Learning Division in preparation for implementing universal preschool in Multnomah County.
Commissioners Lori Stegmann, Jessica Vega Pederson and Susheela Jayapal all lauded the appointments with strong praise. You can watch the Aug. 12 meeting and read their remarks here.
“I am proud to appoint these three exceptional leaders to lead our organization, and the people at its heart, into the changes and challenges that lie ahead.”
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