Contact: Shawn Uhlman, Prosper Portland, 503-823-7994
Prosper Portland has named Alison R. Kean as General Counsel, replacing Eric Iverson, who is retiring after nine years with the agency. Kean will join the agency on Monday, August 6, and will manage a team of attorneys and professional staff within the legal department. The general counsel provides expert legal and strategic advice to Prosper Portland’s board of commissioners and staff to enhance the agency’s ability to be an agent of positive change as an equitable, innovative, and financially sustainable agency.
Kean most recently served as general counsel for Metro, where over the past 22 years she also served as deputy general counsel and senior/assistant attorney. She was the lead attorney responsible for negotiating and closing the Oregon Convention Center Hotel development project, a complex and highly publicized $200 million public-private partnership.
Kean has also advised Metro’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion department on agency policies implementing related strategic goals, experience that made her a strong candidate for the Prosper Portland position, given its commitment to building an equitable economy for Portland.
Prosper Portland Executive Director Kimberly Branam said, “Alison’s extensive experience working with both the private and public sectors across the region, coupled with her demonstrated commitment to innovative partnerships and inclusion, will be a strong foundation for her leadership role in guiding our continued efforts to advance economic growth and equitable opportunities throughout Portland.”
Kean said, “I am honored to join Prosper Portland’s leadership team and help the agency deliver on its mission. I look forward to working with staff as well as Prosper Portland’s many public and private partners to achieve sustained and equitable economic prosperity for Portland.”
Kean has also worked as an attorney in private practice. She is current chair of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission and vice-chair of the Multnomah Bar Association Judicial Selection Committee. She is a cum laude graduate of University of Michigan Law School and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Case Western Reserve University.
