Bend Equity and Inclusion Director Andrés Portela III will be resigning in less than a month.

At Portela’s final city council meeting Wednesday night, Bend City Manager Eric King announced his departure and thanked him for his service while acknowledging “his accomplishments over the past two years, which are long.”

“This was not an easy decision,” Portela wrote in a Sept. 12 email addressed to members of the city’s human rights and equity commission.

His resignation comes after the Trump administration ended federal contracts and grants that include language around equity and inclusion. In Oregon, Deschutes County and the city of Estacada dissolved their diversity, equity and inclusion committees in response to the executive orders. This summer, Washington County adopted a new policy meant to comply with the mandates, without rescinding its previous commitments to DEI in county programs and policies.

Portela told OPB that people have directed racial slurs toward him while walking downtown and spat at him. He also said that he experienced people barking at him once as he walked from his city office to his car.

Portela said working in equity during his time in Bend has been extremely difficult. He described experiencing discrimination and hostile environments in Bend, but ultimately, he decided it was time to leave after he felt forced into key decisions about his department, including a restructure.

His departure comes even as the city has stated it has a desire to support equity efforts. In February, Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler reaffirmed the city’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion during a City Council meeting.

In addition to the equity director role, Portela acted as the staff liaison to the human rights and equity commission, which is among several committees that advise the city councilors. In his letter to HREC members, Portela encouraged them to continue with their efforts and congratulated them on the work they’ve already done.

“Although I am stepping away from my role, I have no doubt that you will continue to build momentum, deepen community trust, and shape policy in ways that matter,” Portela wrote.

In an interview during his final weeks in Central Oregon, Portela said he wanted to highlight the work his department accomplished.

“We were able to draft and publish the city’s first equity statement,” he said, adding that the city’s first equity indicator report will be completed before he leaves his position. He also worked on Bend’s plan to make government communications available in languages other than English, in addition to other projects.

“Andrés has made us a better organization and will be missed,” Stephanie Betteridge, Bend’s chief innovation officer and Portela’s boss, said in an email to OPB.

Equity commission chairperson Agatha Ventura called Portela’s resignation a big disappointment. “He is such an integral part to the life of DEI here in the city, and I was very surprised,” she said.

Ventura expressed concern that the city’s equity and inclusion department might cease to exist and wanted the commission to be a part of the process to find a new director.

City Councilor Gina Franzosa also raised an alarm at Wednesday’s meeting.

“I’m really concerned that Andrés’s departure, on top of a re-org of the equity department, is not leaving us well positioned to meet council’s goals on equity.”

Portela is the remaining member of the equity and inclusion department, according to Betteridge. She confirmed by email that his staff of three were re-assigned to other managers earlier this year. According to staff organizational charts provided by the city, the department Portela oversaw once contained four employees, but had been reduced to just him by the time he resigned.

Accessibility and Equity Manager Cassandra Kehoe now reports directly to Betteridge, and Equity Management Analyst Lindsay Wengloski reports to an employee experience manager. Lisa Larsen, an administrative support specialist whom Portela previously managed, now reports to Kehoe. Their work and titles remained the same after the department was restructured.

Betteridge said by email that the city is “committed to maintaining a dedicated equity and inclusion leadership position along with the positions that Lindsay, Cassandra, and Lisa hold,” adding that she expects “this structure will remain in place for the foreseeable future.”

At the end of Wednesday’s meeting, councilors took turns wishing Portela luck and appreciating his work. In turn, he taught them a somatic practice to notice how their bodies felt in their chairs, one he said he shares with HREC and DEIA committee members.

“Hopefully,” he said, “you feel equity throughout all your body.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/18/bend-oregon-diversity-equity-inclusion-dei-andres-portella-iii-resigning/