Lisa Reynolds is an American physician and politician, currently serving as a member of the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the State legislature (United States), statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Ther ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents the 17th district, which includes most of

Downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the central business district of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildi ...

and the communities of Cedar Mill and

Bethany Bethany (,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac language, Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā''), locally called in Palestinian Arabic, Arabic Al-Eizariya or al-Aizariya (, "Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba,

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

of Lazarus (name), L ...

. She previously served as a member of the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

from 2021 to 2024.

Early life and education

Reynolds was born and raised in

suburban Chicago The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities ...

. Her father Charlie Reynolds was a

roofer A roofer, roof mechanic, or roofing contractor is a tradesman who specializes in roof construction. Roofers replace, repair, and install the roofs of buildings, using a variety of materials, including shingles, single-ply, bitumen, and met ...

and her mother Phyllis was an activist. Her mother instilled the importance of education and graduated from college at the age of 40. She has one sister and two brothers. One of her brothers, Pat, suffers from

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

. Reynolds earned an undergraduate degree from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and a medical degree from the

UCLA School of Medicine The UCLA School of Medicine (also known as the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA) is the accredited medical school of the University of California, Los Angeles. Founded in 1951, it is the second medical school in the University of Califor ...

Career

Reynolds was a pediatric resident at

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (also commonly referred to as UCLA Medical Center, RRMC or Ronald Reagan) is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United S ...

from 1991–94 and was chief resident in pediatrics at Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital from 1994-95. She is currently a pediatrician in Washington County. She is also the co-founder of a political organization, Indivisible Oregon.

Oregon House of Representatives

In December 2019,

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Jennifer Williamson resigned to run for

Oregon Secretary of State The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in the line of succession to the List of Governors of Oregon, governor. The duties of the offi ...

. The

Multnomah County Commission Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The state's smallest and most populous county, its ...

selected Portland Planning & Sustainability Commission member Akasha Lawrence-Spence to replace her in a placeholder capacity, until the next election. Lisa Reynolds announced her candidacy for the seat and defeated three other candidates in a competitive primary. She went on to defeat Republican small business owner James A. Ball in the general election. For the 2021 session, Reynolds was appointed vice-chair of the Early Childhood Committee, and also served on the Behavioral Health and Water Committees. For the 2023 session, she was appointed Chair of the Early Childhood Committee, and also served on the Judiciary Committee.

Oregon State Senate

Upon Senator Elizabeth Steiner's resignation to become

Oregon State Treasurer The Oregon state treasurer is a constitutional officer within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, elected by statewide vote to serve a four-year term. As chief financial officer for the state, the office holder head ...

, the Multnomah County Commission appointed Reynolds to replace her in the

. Reynolds, having already won re-election to the house just two weeks prior, was replaced in the house by

Mari Watanabe Mari Watanabe is an American Democratic politician currently serving in the Oregon House of Representatives. She represents the 34th district, which contains portions of Multnomah and Washington counties and includes the communities of Bethan ...

, who became the first

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...

to ever serve in either branch of the

Oregon Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower chamber: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the H ...

. For the 2025 session, Reynolds was appointed chair of the Early Childhood and Behavioral Health Committee, and was also appointed to the Human Services and Health Care Committees. In 2025, Reynolds co-sponsored Senate Bill 28, which would require commercial insurers to reimburse independent primary care clinics at similar rates to hospital-owned clinics. Reynolds, a doctor, faced criticisms of a conflict of interest. The Legislative Counsel found that Reynolds qualifies for a "class exemption," a rule which allows public officials to take official action that would equally impact all members of a group.

Personal life

Reynolds has one sister and two brothers, one of whom, Pat, suffers from

. She resides in North Bethany.

Electoral history

References

External links

Oregon Votes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Lisa Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly Women state legislators in Oregon Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Chicago alumni David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA alumni 21st-century American women politicians Politicians from Chicago