BY JESSICA RIDGWAY
Doug Badger serves as managing partner of Quinn Thomas Public Affairs in Portland and executive director of the Pacific Northwest International Trade Association, an organization that develops policies to support the region’s international trade activity.
BY JESSICA RIDGWAY
Doug Badger was a “die-hard punk rock fan as a kid,” an English major at the University of Oregon and chief of staff for former Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn on Capitol Hill in 1998. Today Badger, 44, serves as managing partner of Quinn Thomas Public Affairs in Portland and executive director of the Pacific Northwest International Trade Association, an organization that develops policies to support the region’s international trade activity. He lives “right outside of Multnomah County” with his wife, Cindy, and their two children: Cassie, 10, and Mickey, 8.
RESTLESS SOUL
“I cannot stand sitting still, which affects my entire life in some way, shape or form. I’ve always enjoyed an edgier type of music. I love to ski in the winter — pretty much at the mountain almost every weekend, if I can be. I spend a lot of time on the Coast — we’ve got a place over in Manzanita, so we spend a lot of time there. Basically, I try to spend as much time outside as I can, and of course [I attend] Duck football games in the fall.”
POLITICAL ANIMAL
“I was in [Washington] D.C. for 10 years, and I was on ‘The Hill’ for most of that. I was serving as chief of staff to Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn at the time, and she was on the Ways & Means Committee and was an author of a portion of [the tax-reduction] bill, so we got to go to the East Room for the signing ceremony. Being in the East Room of the White House when President Bush signed the 2001 tax cuts — that was a real highlight.”
NATIVE SON
“Ten years from now I’ll still be in Oregon. I am a seventh-generation Oregonian; my dad’s side of the family landed in the Willamette Valley in the 1830s. Oregon is kind of DNA for both me and my wife. We always knew when we were in D.C. that we would move back eventually; it was just a matter of time. We wanted our kids to be raised as Oregonians — that’s just important to us.”
HARD DRIVER
“I’m probably more competitive than people think. I enjoy competing with myself. I ran a couple of half marathons last year, and that was motivation for me, just making it 13.1 miles and doing it at a time I set for myself. I enjoy competing in business and getting involved in opportunities to win clients. When I’m able to help clients achieve objectives, whether they’re small or large, it’s extremely rewarding, and that motivates me, no question.”
BRIGHT EYED
“Whether it’s professionally or personally, I really try to keep a very optimistic mind-set — I think it just infects everything you do. It allows you to have more productive relationships with your colleagues, with family. The people I really enjoy working with are people who, no matter how bad it gets, really maintain their center of gravity, are pretty even-keeled and stay very positive. Those are the people you need in really tough situations, and it’s the person I try to be.”
