Travis Nelson is a Democratic representative for House District 44 in North and Northeast Portland, Oregon. Appointed on January 27, 2022, to fill the vacancy left by former House Speaker Tina Kotek, he was sworn in at the start of the 2022 session and elected to a full term in the November 2022 general election. He is the first Black LGBTQIA+ member of the Oregon Legislature. Born to teenage parents in rural North Louisiana as the grandson of sharecroppers, his family moved to the Pacific Northwest before he started grade school.

Notable achievements include securing historic funding for homelessness and addiction services; collaborating on hundreds of affordable housing units in Lower Albina; obtaining $15 million for a North Portland Aquatic Center, $1 million for the Native American Youth & Family Center, and funds for the Oregon Food Bank and George Park improvements; protecting constitutional rights to abortion and gender-affirming care; recognizing racism as a public health crisis; ensuring proper hospital staffing; and passing worker protections from climate crises and bad contractors.

Education and Political Experience

• Education: Earned a nursing degree from community college, followed by a degree in Nursing from Washington State University.
• Professional Background: Registered Nurse specializing in Emergency Nursing, Critical Care Nursing, Medical-Surgical Nursing, Rehabilitation Nursing, and Case Management. Worked as a union labor representative for nine years, former Vice President of the Oregon Nurses Association, and founding member of the Alliance of Black Nurses of Oregon. Early jobs included food service, landscaping, janitorial work, and coaching to fund his education.
• Political Experience: State Representative for District 44 since 2022. Delegate to the Democratic National Committee. Member of organizations including Sierra Club, American Nurses Association, Oregon Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, NAACP, Teamsters, American Federation of Teachers, Urban League, Democratic Socialists of America, and Oregon Health Equity Task Force. Endorsed by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle, and major labor unions.