Debbie Koreski, Partner

Debbie brings 20 years of leadership experience inside and outside the Oregon State Capitol. She most recently served as Senior Budget Director for Oregon Governor Kate Brown, where she oversaw creation of the 2019-21 and 2021-23 Governor’s Recommended Budgets and set the framework for significant investments in education, health care, housing, and child welfare. She has also served as the Governor’s policy advisor for higher education, housing, and human services.

Previously, Debbie served as Associate Vice President for Government Relations at Portland State University – Oregon’s largest and most diverse university – overseeing state, federal, and local government relations. Her proudest accomplishments there were the largest state reinvestment in Oregon’s public universities in over two decades and $122 million in state capital construction investments at PSU leading to campus revitalization.

Debbie served during five regular and two short legislative sessions as Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief of Staff to the House Majority Leader, Legislative Director, and Legislative Assistant. She earned a reputation for tackling tough issues and getting things done, including creation of Oregon’s Rainy Day Fund (2007), the Jobs and Transportation Act (2009), revenue packages (2009), and the budget rebalance agreement (2010).

She previously worked as a Congressional staffer, legislative campaign manager, and ballot measure campaign fundraiser, volunteer and data manager, and communications director.

Debbie is a passionate Oregonian, but brings the perspective (and accent) of her native Tennessee and Mississippi and a deep understanding of the power of education to help realize the American dream. She graduated from Mississippi State University.

She lives in Salem with her husband and two children. Debbie has served on the boards of Saxon Youth Baseball, Capitol Club of Oregon, Dorris Neuroscience Foundations, and Marion/Polk Family YMCA. She enjoys attending any and all sporting events and taking her dogs to the dog park on a sunny afternoon.