{"id":2228,"date":"2023-02-03T09:30:15","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T17:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=2228"},"modified":"2026-02-24T13:17:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T21:17:38","slug":"lacey-beaty-beaverton-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/lacey-beaty-beaverton-mayor\/","title":{"rendered":"First female and youngest-ever mayor of Beaverton, Oregon earned her OSU degree online"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Beaverton

Prior to being elected mayor of Beaverton, Lacey Beaty spent six years as a city councilor following a five-year stint in the U.S. Army. (Photo courtesy of the City of Beaverton)<\/p><\/div>\n

Lived experiences give Ecampus political science grad Lacey Beaty leadership ability that ‘sets the tone’ for her city and family<\/h2>\n
Editor’s note:<\/strong> This article was originally published in December 2022 by the OSU Foundation and also in the Oregon Stater alumni magazine<\/a>.<\/div>\n

Service to others has been a major through line in Lacey Beaty\u2019s path. These days, it\u2019s public service: Beaty, \u201912, is the first woman to serve as mayor and the youngest-ever elected official in Beaverton\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

She was elected in 2020 after acting as a city councilor for six years. Beaty also served as a U.S. Army combat medic in Iraq, having joined the military right out of high school, in the wake of 9\/11. The choice was both patriotic and pragmatic: she had been raised by a single mother and knew that paying for college would be up to her.<\/p>\n

After five years of active duty, the Montgomery GI Bill and a keen interest in the inner workings of democratic institutions led Beaty to a bachelor\u2019s degree in political science online<\/a> from Oregon State and a master\u2019s degree in management and organizational leadership.<\/p>\n

Beaty was named to Portland Business Journal\u2019s \u201c40 Under 40\u201d list of young leaders to watch for 2022. We talked to her about what led her to this point in her life.<\/p>\n

What did the experience of being a combat medic in the Iraq War teach you that still affects your perspective to this day?<\/h3>\n

It taught me how to care for people when they were vulnerable and sick and how to put their needs ahead of my own. I was there at a painful place in a person\u2019s life, and we knew we had to trust one another. It made me realize that I had to do more for the people I treated. I knew I had a higher calling.<\/p>\n

Talk about what brought you to OSU. What\u2019s something that stuck with you about your Ecampus experience?<\/h3>\n

After I came back from active duty, I wanted to continue on the path of political science. I had been attending college, taking a class or two, everywhere I had been stationed, and earned an associate\u2019s degree in history. When I looked at undergraduate programs through the lens of political science, Oregon State had one of the best programs.<\/p>\n

Being an Ecampus student allowed me to keep family and military service as my highest priorities. My husband is a major in the Army now and was an active-duty National Guard officer at the time, so getting my degree online gave me the opportunity to continue my education while supporting my husband\u2019s military career.<\/p>\n

What project are you most excited about working on right now as mayor?<\/h3>\n

We recently were awarded a $2 million grant for a project we\u2019re calling the Loop. We get to prioritize the pedestrian and biker safety and experience in downtown Beaverton and envision what new roads, sidewalks and bike lanes will look like. This is a project that will long outlive everyone on Beaverton City Council now. It\u2019s a chance to build a dream for\u00a0the future.<\/p>\n

What do you do to avoid burnout?<\/h3>\n

Taking care of ourselves physically really sets the tone for our family. We do a lot of obstacle course racing, Spartan Racing, spin; we have a gym in our garage. My daughter just completed her second Spartan Race this weekend \u2014 she\u2019s 5. She raced with the older kids because the younger course was so easy.<\/p>\n

Can you talk about what it meant for you to attend college on the GI Bill? What was it like attending college after serving in the military?<\/h3>\n

Going to the Army to pay for college meant sacrificing an awful lot. It also meant I went to college when I was older. Later, talking about the Iraq War in a political science class with young people and looking back at history when I had lived the invasion was a challenging position for me to be in. When you live through an aspect of history, it\u2019s not always as black and white as it seems.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your advice to other alumni interested in making a difference in their communities?<\/h3>\n

Local office has more impact on your life than the president\u2019s office will ever have. If we voted based on what impacted our lives the most, then our mayors, our school boards and our county judges would be at the top of the ballot.<\/p>\n

Decisions are made by those that show up. And after a decade of Oregon politics, what I\u2019ve noticed is that it\u2019s a lot of the same people that show up.<\/p>\n

Getting involved in a planning commission, board or school budget committee are ways that people can jump in and make their communities better. If every-one did a little bit, no one would have to do a lot.<\/p>\n

\n

Oregon State University is home to the largest military-connected community of any higher education institution in Oregon. To learn how you can support student veterans, visit bit.ly\/osuvets<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 4<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>Service to others has been a major through line in Lacey Beaty\u2019s path. These days, it\u2019s public service: Beaty is the first woman to serve as mayor and the youngest-ever elected official in Beaverton\u2019s history. She was elected in 2020 after acting as a city councilor for six years. Beaty also served as a U.S. Army combat medic in Iraq, having joined the military right out of high school. She later earned a political science degree online with Oregon State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":2229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6,16,677,8],"tags":[120,40],"class_list":["post-2228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-ecampus","category-military","category-students-and-alumni","category-students","tag-military","tag-military-students"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Lacey-Beaty-Speaking-2-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-zW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":109,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/mat-beaverton-school-district\/","url_meta":{"origin":2228,"position":0},"title":"Oregon State, Beaverton School District to deliver new hybrid teacher licensure program","author":"Heather Doherty","date":"April 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Master of Arts in Teaching with an option in Clinically Based Elementary program is a two-year, full-time master\u2019s degree program that immerses students in the classroom from day one, where they will co-teach and work side by side with experienced Beaverton School District educators.","rel":"","context":"In "Archives"","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A teacher works with four students in the Beaverton School District. 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Military veterans share their advice","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"June 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Hundreds of military service members and veterans have earned their degrees online from Oregon State Ecampus. They know what it takes to live the military lifestyle while pursuing a higher education. 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