January 19, 2023

State of Washington

Lam

Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Trang Lam, the director of the Camas Parks and Recreation Department, to the state Recreation and Conservation Funding Board. Lam is believed to be the first Vietnamese woman to serve on the board in its nearly 60-year history. The Recreation and Conservation Funding Board awards about $200 million in grants every two years to local governments, tribes, nonprofits and state and federal agencies to create outdoor recreation opportunities, such as parks and trails. The board also awards grants to conserve the state's natural resource heritage by protecting working farms and forests and wildlife habitat, including places inhabited by plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. Lam has more than 15 years of experience in the public sector. In 2006, Lam began working for the Portland Development Commission, mostly focusing on neighborhood redevelopment, engaging historically underserved populations and businesses owned by people of color and managing high-profile real estate transactions, economic development initiatives and public-private partnership programs. In 2016, Lam went to work for the city of Portland, where she served as both the property and business development manager and then the Parks and Recreation Bureau deputy director. In 2019 she moved to the University of Portland as associate vice president for land use and planning. She became the Camas parks director in 2021. Lam's term will run through Dec. 31, 2025.