Ebony Clarke, Oregon Health Authority’s behavioral health director, brings more than 25 years of experience as an administrator, manager and clinician. In both the public sector and non-profit behavioral health arena, Ebony has influenced policy, centering the "work" with an equity and consumer lens.
Prior to this role she served in multiple leadership roles during her 12 years at Multnomah County, most recently as Health Department Director overseeing public health, behavioral health, corrections health, and the federally qualified health centers. Before that, Ebony served as the county’s Behavioral Health Director. Before joining the county, Ebony worked as a Service Director of Child and Family Services at Lifeworks NW. In that role, she oversaw child and family outpatient mental health, prevention, and culturally specific adult mental health and addiction services.
Under her forward-looking leadership, Ebony led the Multnomah County Health Department during the pandemic, with a staff of 1,900 and a budget of over $400 million. The county was a regional leader in the COVID-19 response, standing up vaccination clinics for low-income and underserved communities. She was instrumental in establishing the Behavioral Health Resource Center, which serves more than 1,000 people a week in downtown Portland.
Ebony’s mission is to build and sustain a behavioral health continuum of care that is consumer-focused, equity-focused, and effective in meeting the unique and complex needs of every person in Oregon to promote healing and well-being for individuals, families, and communities.
A Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Ebony holds a Master of Social Work from Portland State University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oregon.