Matt Morton Leaves NAYA for Meyer Memorial Trust

Morton, who declined to run for a second term on the school board in May, joins the trust in January as its director of equitable education, a new position.

Matt Morton, a former Portland School Board member, is leaving his post as executive director of the Native American Youth and Family Center for a gig at the Meyer Memorial Trust.

Morton, who declined to run for a second term on the board in May, joins the trust in January as its director of equitable education, a new position.

While Morton served as member of the school board, Portland Public Schools partnered with NAYA to develop an early-learning center and inter-generational housing at the site of the former Foster Elementary School in the Lents neighborhood.

Morton recused himself from votes on the project, which remains unfinished, but the potential conflict of interest still raised eyebrows.

"Meyer Memorial Trust has a long history of supporting community-driven solutions intended to address our state's most persistent issues," Morton says in a statement. "It's an honor to join the Meyer team."

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