State Legislative Briefing (1)

Phillip Kennedy-Wong, Public Policy Director, Nonprofit Association of Oregon

Phillip Kennedy-Wong is a public policy professional with over 20 years of experience lobbying at the state, local, and federal levels. He has worked for several nonprofit organizations throughout his career and served on nonprofit boards. He brings a strong foundation and understanding of the nonprofit sector including operations, board management, fundraising, programing, and tax law.

Phillip brings a perspective that is not shared by many public policy professionals in Oregon: lived experience as a person of color and a child of immigrants that informs his work in this profession. His parents had no formal education, spoke very little English, raised his autistic brother, worked hard in low-skilled, low-wage jobs all their lives so their children could pursue a better life. As the result of their sacrifices, he was blessed to be the first in his family to go to college, pursue enriching life experiences including military service and graduate school; build a career as a successful, senior level professional public policy advocate and give back to his community.

Phillip served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves while earning a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Lewis and Clark College. Upon graduating, he went to work right away as a field organizer on a political campaign during the 1992 presidential election. Getting the political bug, he proceeded to earn a Master of Science in public policy from Rutgers University and has never looked back in his public service career. Phillip lives in Portland with his wife, two daughters, and two cats.