Darin Foster
Meet Darin Foster:
Darin has his BS in Psychology from Washington State University and Masters in Public Administration from Eastern Washington University. Darin has worked in health care/public health and aspires to apply his project administration and leadership skills to working in local government. He also collects board games (though won’t be mad if you beat him, as long everyone has fun).
Community and Organization:
Hermiston, the largest city in Umatilla County and in Eastern Oregon, sits seven miles south of the Columbia River. Its centralized location in the Pacific Northwest and proximity to I-84 and I-82 allows driving access to Portland (3hrs), Spokane (3hrs) Bend (4hrs) Seattle (4hrs), or Boise (4hrs). Riverfront Park, Hermiston Butte, and opportunities to eat and shop attract people to the City from afar. With almost 40,000 people living within 10 miles of the downtown, the City of Hermiston acts as a major commercial, social, and cultural hub for Umatilla and Morrow Counties.
Project:
Working with the City of Hermiston, this project will build on recent momentum in revitalizing the city’s historic downtown core. Darin Foster will work directly with downtown business owners, city staff, and interested volunteers to implement and bring to life a number of long-term goals for the community. Downtown revitalization enjoys a high level of support from the community, and will benefit greatly from major progress made in recent years. This progress includes the opening of a new hotel in the heart of downtown, a recently re-booted Farmer’s Market, growing participation from the downtown merchants, and more than $5 million in public investment in downtown community gathering spaces since 2016.