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A native of Oregon, Gail Shibley was educated at the University of Oregon, Harvard University, and the Lewis and Clark Law School, where she received her law degree in 2009. She served on the staff of U.S. Representative Jim Weaver of Oregon from 1980-1986, was the program manager of the city of Portland's Bureau of Traffic Management from 1990-1996, and was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1991, where she served until 1997 -- the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in the state Legislature. After an unsuccessful campaign for Portland City Council in 1996, she served as the development director of LINK CDC in Portland from 1997-1998, the director of external communications at the Federal Highway Administration from 1998-2000, was the senior advisor to the secretary of labor from 2000-2001, international liaison for the Saxony Parliament in Germany from 2001-2002, and was the political director of John Kulongoski's campaign for Oregon governor in 2001-2002. Shen then served as the administrator of Environmental Public Health for the state of Oregon, and in 2013 became chief of staff for Portland Mayor Charlie Hales. She returned to state government in 2015, serving as assistant director for business services at the Oregon Youth Authority, and retired in 2017.