Rey Ramsey is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 social justice

Social justice

Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...

 entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

, author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, and the former CEO of the One Economy Corporation

One Economy Corporation

One Economy Corporation is a Washington, D.C. based, global, nonprofit organization that uses the power of technology to connect underserved, low-income communities around the world to vital online information and resources....

, a nonprofit he co-founded in 2000. In November 2009, he was named CEO of TechNet

TechNet (lobbying organization)

TechNet is a United States political lobbying organization which represents public policy interests for technology issues. TechNet operates through a network of CEOs and Senior Executives to promote the growth of technology and the innovation economy...

, at which he started full-time in early 2010.

Ramsey received a BA

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in Political Science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 from Rutgers University

Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

, where he was a member of Cap and Skull

Cap and Skull

Cap and Skull is a senior-year coeducational honors society at Rutgers University, founded on January 18, 1900.Admission to Cap and Skull is dependent upon excellence in academics, athletics, the arts, and public service. Leadership as well as character are also considered crucial factors for...

, and ZBT

Zeta Beta Tau

Zeta Beta Tau was founded in 1898 as the nation's first Jewish fraternity, although it is no longer sectarian. Today the merged Zeta Beta Tau Brotherhood is one of the largest, numbering over 140,000 initiated Brothers, and over 90 chapter locations.-Founding:The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was...

 fraternity, and a law degree

Law degree

A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...

 from the University of Virginia School of Law

University of Virginia School of Law

The University of Virginia School of Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program...

.

After graduating from law school, Ramsey went to work for the Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 law-firm Stoel Rives

Stoel Rives

Stoel Rives LLP is a U.S. business law firm with 11 office locations in seven U.S. states. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon in the Standard Insurance Center, it is the 134th largest law firm in the United States, making it the largest law firm in the state of Oregon, and one of the largest in the...

. He soon left his job at the firm to pursue a career with the Oregon State Economic Development Department, where he was director of the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department

Oregon Housing and Community Services Department

The Oregon Housing and Community Services Department is the housing finance agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. It administers programs providing financing assistance for single family homes, new construction or rehabilitation of multi-family affordable housing developments, and...

 under governors Neil Goldschmidt

Neil Goldschmidt

Neil Edward Goldschmidt is an American businessman and former Democratic politician from Oregon who held local, state, and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the governor of Oregon, Goldschmidt is widely considered the most influential figure in the state's politics, both as an...

 and Barbara Roberts

Barbara Roberts

Barbara Kay Roberts is an American politician from the state of Oregon. A native of the state, she served as the 34th Governor of Oregon from 1991 to 1995. She is the first and, to date, only woman to be elected to that office. A Democrat, Roberts was also the first woman to serve as majority...

. Ramsey then worked for the Enterprise Community Partners

Enterprise Community Partners

Enterprise Community Partners, formerly The Enterprise Foundation, is a Columbia, Maryland-based nonprofit organization with offices nationwide. Founded in 1982 by developer/philanthropist James W...

, first as senior vice president and later became president.

Ramsey served two terms on the Habitat for Humanity International

Habitat for Humanity International

Habitat For Humanity International , generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or simply Habitat, is an international, non-governmental, non-profit organization devoted to building "simple, decent, and affordable" housing, a self-described "Christian housing ministry." The international...

 board of directors, elected as vice-chairman in 2001 and then as chairman in 2003. During his chairmanship, the board fired Habitat founder Millard Fuller

Millard Fuller

Millard Dean Fuller was the founder and former president of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit organization known globally for building houses for those in need, and the founder and former president of The Fuller Center for Housing...

. Ramsey is currently on the board of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the Washington Jesuit Academy.

Ramsey has been a proponent of the Portland citywide wireless initiative.

External links

• One Economy Corporation - Rey Ramsey Bio