Julie Vigeland

Julie Vigeland is the former chair of the Oregon Arts Commission, having served from 2010-2017. She is a former high school English teacher who has spent the last 40+ years as a civic volunteer in the Portland community. A passionate advocate for the arts, Vigeland brought extensive volunteer experience with arts nonprofits to the Arts Commission. She also provided leadership that helped diversify Arts Commission appointments and successfully advocated for the reinstatement of the Governor’s Arts Awards. Her leadership in the Portland area for arts related organizations includes the former Portland Civic Theater, Regional Arts & Culture Council, Oregon Symphony Foundation, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Friends of the Portland Center for Performing Arts, and Oregon College of Art & Craft. She also has served in various capacities with NASAA, including on the Nominating Committee, the Governance Committee and as cochair of the Chair and Council Member Peer Group in 2016 and 2017. In 1995 Vigeland joined the board of Portland Center Stage, serving as chair for five years and subsequently leading the Capital Campaign for the Gerding Theater at the Armory, which opened in 2006. She now serves as board member emeritus. Vigeland has served as one of three trustees of the Jackson Foundation for the past 29 years. She is past president and current emeritus member of the Multnomah Athletic Foundation and past president of Grantmakers of Oregon and SW Washington. Additionally, she is a past chair of the Portland Parks Board and the Portland Parks Foundation; she now serves as an emeritus member of the Foundation. Vigeland has received many honors, including the Women of Distinction Award for the Arts, the Oregon College of Art and Craft Jo Groves Award, the White Rose Women of Achievement Award, and the Model of Success Award. Vigeland is an American Leadership Forum Fellow. In November 2017, she received the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals of Oregon and SW Washington. Vigeland received her bachelor of arts degree in English from Portland State College (now University). (Board term: 2018-2023)