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Senator Martha Schrader
D-Canby
District 20

Biography

Martha Schrader was appointed to the Oregon State Senate as the Senator for District 20 in 2009. Prior to her appointment, Senator Schrader served as a Clackamas County Commissioner from 2003 to 2009, serving as Board Chair in 2004 and 2007.

As Commissioner, Schrader was instrumental in revitalizing the County’s economic development program. Through her efforts, the County championed business retention and expansion, creating living wage jobs. Working with the Oregon National Guard and Clackamas Community College, Schrader has remained active in creating job placement and family support systems for those returning from military service with a model that is being replicated nationally.

As State Senator, Schrader serves on the Ways and Means Subcommittee On General Government and the Senate Committee on Business and Transportation. Her legislative priorities include land use, vocational and technical education, higher education, and veterans’ affairs.

Schrader has a Bachelor’s of Science from Cornell University, a Master’s degree in Entomology from the University of Illinois and an additional Master’s degree in Education from Portland State University. She has also completed coursework toward a PhD. in Public Administration and Policy from Portland State University’s Hatfield School of Government. Senator Schrader is a graduate of New York University’s County Leadership Institute, Portland State University’s Executive Leadership Institute, and is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum.

As a community builder, Schrader has served on the Workforce Investment Council of Clackamas County, the board of Clackamas Heritage Partners, the Clackamas County Business Alliance, The Columbia River Girl Scout Council, and is currently a board member of the Oregon Trail Chapter of the American Red Cross. She was Clackamas County’s designated land use expert on the METRO’s Metropolitan Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC), and one of four voting members on Metro’s Regional Reserves Steering Committee.

She worked as a Chief Legislative Analyst for Kurt Schrader during his 7 years as a state representative and owns a farm in unincorporated Clackamas County. She has been a farmer, a school librarian, and a community grant writer.

Schrader lives on Three Rivers Farm, a historic landmark outside of Canby, with her husband of 33 years, Congressman Kurt Schrader. In her leisure time she enjoys going to the gym, gourmet cooking, entertaining, and visiting with her five adult children who live in various places across the country.