A little about Jordan

Hello, friends! I am Jordan Wolfe, a fifth-generation resident of Tillamook and, by some estimates, possibly related to a third of the town. It made dating tough. Anyway, I was raised by a hard-working, hilarious single mother who taught me to stand up to bullies and when you commit to a task – whether that was an extracurricular, a sport, or a summer job – to see it through to the end and to the best of my ability. That’s why, when I suddenly found myself with a baby brother ten years younger than me, I committed myself to help raising this young person in the absence of our father.

And that’s where my lifelong passion for youth development and empowerment was born.

Throughout my time at Tillamook High School, I had the good fortune of building a tribe of misfits and artists to see those four perilous years with. I roped several of these people to volunteer with me my junior year at Tillamook County Outdoor School as a camp counselor where I was tasked with being a role model and guide for a cabin of four sixth grade boys from East Elementary learning about nature, teamwork, and empathy.

Another spark was lit.

Every September (and sometimes October), I would spend weeks preparing and volunteering with Tillamook County Outdoor School in a wide range of roles, but always in a position to empower the youth of our community. Through college – where I attended Tillamook Bay Community College, Oregon State University, and Portland State University – I would return to my hometown to train the high school counselors, teach sixth graders during field studies, and put on a show every night during campfire singing and participating in off-the-wall skits. I am a beloved, longtime member of this program and helped rescue it from an uncertain fate when former director Dean “Moses” Bones retired in 2013 and have volunteered with the non-profit from 2006-2018 and again from 2022-2023.

When I returned home from college, I was re-befriended by a certain classmate named Katie Peterson – the 50thTillamook County Dairy Princess and fellow ODS counselor. After a considerable time crawling myself out of the friend zone, the two of us fell in love and were wed in December, 2014. She is a world-traveler and has whisked me away on incredible adventures, such as a three-month backpacking trip through East and Southeast Asia (which included teaching English in a remote mountain village in Thailand), a two-month train adventure across Europe where we reunited with many previous exchange students with Tillamook High, and most recently a 10,000-mile cross-continental road trip to Nova Scotia and down the east coast to Florida and back to Oregon. We have met and befriended people from across the cultural and religious spectrum and have a profound respect for each and every one of them.

Before my time as editor of the Headlight-Herald, many people knew me as the goofy guy working the counter at Main Street Pizza through college or as one of the specialists connecting local people desperately in need of health insurance – or who qualified for Oregon Health Plan and didn’t know it – to help get them services they need. I became known in the community, however, with my three years as editor of the Headlight-Herald where I worked to tell stories of those doing good in the community. I wrote a weekly column where I attempted to discuss systemic issues in the county or, more lightly, would share something positive I saw or experienced that week. I was a hero some weeks and a villain others, but that column “Wolfe’s Den” won me the First Place Award for Best Local Column at the Oregon Better Newspaper contest in 2018. So, I must have been doing something right.

Since leaving the Headlight-Herald in December 2018, I have been writing and developing my own projects, started a pair of podcasts, was hired by Nickelodeon, and became a caregiver for my wife’s dear grandparents Dr. Roy and Claire Peterson. From 2019 to their deaths in 2021 and 2022, we assisted two people instrumental in my wife’s life and shared many meals, laughs, and British comedies. Since their passing, Katie and I have been relearning how to live our own lives again and to participate in our community in a way that works for us. We returned to Outdoor School. I made a futile attempt at working at the library, but the job wasn’t as described. And I had the amazing opportunity to join a small group of senior counselors helping to run and oversee a camp for high school students statewide – Oregon Association of Student Councils summer leadership camp. From 2023 to the present, I have been an adult leader for a group of a dozen-or-so high school students who are either leaders in their community or who are trying to develop that skill and I have relished the opportunity to be a kind, safe adult who listens and acts as a mentor, soundboard, source of humor, and role model for the rest of their lives. Last summer, I was tasked to create and deliver the keynote presentation to the entire camp of more than 100 students.

The experiences that have led to my seeking a seat on Tillamook School Board, however, came in the first half of 2024. I answered a call for help from a friend and teacher who said the district was in desperate need of substitutes. Between January and June of 2024, I had the privilege of serving as a substitute teacher in every single school in the district – from Pre-K to high school, with the only exception being Trask River High School. I got to see first-hand many of the current successes and challenges facing the district while building relationships with many, many wonderful students and staff in our schools.

Even though I experienced many rough patches outside my control while I was a child, I have had the good fortune of finding an amazing partner in my wife Katie who has gifted me a life full of rich experiences and carry with me skills that will benefit not only the School Board, but the entire local education system. I want to represent and serve every single student and staff person so that all voices are heard and considered and will lead with wisdom, good humor, and empathy. I am excited to take all of this life experience and translate it to a school district facing some big questions to reinvigorate a community that could really use some positive headlines.

Thank you for your time and support.

Cheers,

Jordan Wolfe