Oral history interview with Jill Eiland, 1988 January 21
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Interviewee
- Eiland, Jill W. (Jill Wissler), 1951-
- Title
- Oral history interview with Jill Eiland
- Dates
- 1988 January 211988-01-211988-01-21
- Quantity
- .1 cubic feet, (1 audiocassette (1 hr., 23 sec.) + transcript (26 pages))
- Collection Number
- SR 2817
- Summary
- Oral history interview with Jill Eiland conducted by Judy Hartman on January 21, 1988, as part of the Portland General Electric Centennial Oral History Series. Eiland served as director of federal affairs at PGE from 1982 to 1990, and as director of public affairs from 1990 to 1994.
- Repository
-
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Biographical Note
Jill Wissler Eiland, nee Jill A. Wissler, was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1951. In 1973, she earned a bachelor's degree in business from Oregon State University. She pursued a career in politics and worked on the staff of Senator Bob Packwood in Washington, D.C. In 1981, she earned a master's degree in business administration from George Washington University. In 1982, she joined Portland General Electric as director of federal affairs, and continued to work in Washington, D.C., lobbying Congress for PGE. She returned to Oregon in 1985, and in 1990, she became director of public affairs for PGE. From 1994 to 1997, she served as vice president and managing partner for The Rockey Company. From 1997 to 2006, she was senior director of government relations for Kindercare Learning Centers. In 2004, she joined the Knowledge Learning Corporation as vice president of corporate communications. In 2006, she became public affairs director for the Intel Corporation in the Northwest Region. In 2017, she joined Gallatin Public Affairs as a managing partner and became senior counsel in 2020.
Other Descriptive Information
Forms part of the Portland General Electric Centennial Oral History Series.
Content Description
This oral history interview with Jill Eiland was conducted by Judy Hartman on January 21, 1988. The interview was conducted as part of the Portland General Electric Centennial Oral History Series, which marked PGE's 100th anniversary and was used in the writing of the book "Electrifying Eden."
In this interview, Eiland discusses her work as director of federal affairs at Portland General Electric. She describes her job duties, including lobbying the U.S. Congress; talks about the people who had previously held her position; and discusses how the job has changed. She talks about some of the legislation PGE lobbied for and against. She also discusses PGE's relationship with Native American communities. She then talks about her decision to leave Washington, D.C., in 1985 to return to Oregon, and discusses how her job duties changed. She closes the interview by talking about philanthropic work and volunteering in the Portland community by PGE employees; about public opinion of PGE; and about how the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant sets PGE apart from other electric utilities.
Use of the Collection
Alternative Forms Available
Audio and transcript available online in OHS Digital Collections.
Preferred Citation
Oral history interview with Jill Eiland, by Judy Hartman, SR 2817, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
Restrictions on Use
Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Gift of Craig Wollner, 1989 (Lib. Acc. 28418).
Related Materials
The Oregon Historical Society Research Library also holds photographs and documents relating to PGE in Coll 415, the Portland General Electric collection, and Org. Lot 151, the Portland General Electric photographs.
Bibliography
This oral history interview was used in the writing of Electrifying Eden: Portland General Electric, 1889-1965, written by Craig Wollner and published in 1990 by the Oregon Historical Society Press.
Detailed Description of the Collection
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Description: Oral history interview with Jill EilandDates: 1988 January 21Container: Cassette 1
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Description: Transcript of oral history interview with Jill EilandDates: 1988 January 21Container: Folder SR2817
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Electric utilities--Law and legislation--Oregon
- Electric utilities--Oregon
- Lobbyists--Oregon
- Public relations
Personal Names
- Eiland, Jill W. (Jill Wissler), 1951-
Corporate Names
- Portland General Electric Company
Form or Genre Terms
- interviews
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Hartman, Judy (interviewer)
