A longtime leader and policymaker, a storied local leader and urban planner, and Housing Division Manager are the winners of three 2025 awards for public service presented by the UO School of Planning, Public Policy and Management and the PPPM Advisory Council. The awards ceremony will take place May 29 at the Ford Alumni Center on the University of Oregon campus. 

Earl Blumenauer, a storied and passionate community builder and government official, will be presented with the Outstanding Service to Oregon award. Denyse McGriff, a local government leader with extensive urban planning experience, is being honored as the Outstanding Alumni, and Ethan Stuckmayer, a longtime housing advocate leading the implementation of Oregon Statewide Planning Goal 10 , is being recognized as the Outstanding Recent Alumni. This year's Outstanding Community Partner Award will be given to Lane County. 

This annual event will begin at 3 pm with an Open House and a vibrant showcase of student work. The awards ceremony starts promptly at 4 pm with a reception to follow.

For more than 50 years, Earl Blumenauer has dedicated his career to building livable communities: places where people are safe, healthy, and economically secure. A lifelong Oregonian, Earl was raised in SE Portland and attended Centennial High School. While a student at Lewis and Clark College, he led the fight to lower the voting age in Oregon. His advocacy helped fuel the passage of the 26th Amendment to the Constitution. In 1972, Earl was elected to the Oregon House as one of the youngest legislators in the state’s history during a groundbreaking legislative session for school funding, ethics reform, and Oregon’s land use laws. In 1978, he left the legislature to serve his hometown more directly, first as a County Commissioner, then on the Portland City Council as Commissioner of Public Works. There, his advocacy for public transportation, land use planning and environmental protection earned him an international reputation as a leader in livability. In 1996, Earl was elected to the US House of Representatives. During his 28 years in Congress, he developed a reputation for approaching controversial issues in a way that breaks through gridlock and brings people together around common-sense solutions. 

Earl chose not to run for reelection for another term in Congress in 2024, but instead to concentrate his efforts directly on so many of the issues he cares passionately about. One of the ways that he will be engaged is as a Senior Fellow and Special Advisor to the Portland State University President and as a Presidential Fellow of the Institute for Metropolitan Studies. Earl looks forward to speaking, writing, and collaborating with the many stakeholders that share our passion. Portland State University is an ideal place to build on and strengthen those relationships.

Denyse McGriff has extensive experience in urban planning and public service, currently serving as the Mayor of Oregon City since April 2020. Prior to this role, Denyse volunteered as a City Commissioner for the Portland Development Commission from October 1996 to October 2013 and was a Project Manager involved in various urban development projects. Denyse previously held the position of Senior Project Manager, overseeing multiple urban renewal districts and various key development projects. Denyse also served as Principal Planner for the City of Oregon City from 1988 to October 1996, managing a wide range of planning activities and serving various city committees. Denyse holds a Master of Science and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California. Along with her robust on-the-job experience, Denyse has been steadfast in her multi-decade commitment and passion for local government, shown by her love of community, volunteerism for 20+ local organizations, and her authentic desire to co-create a better future.

Ethan Stuckmayer is the Housing Division Manager at Oregon’s Department of Land Conservation and Development. In his role, Ethan leads the implementation of Oregon Statewide Planning Goal 10 - Housing including the Oregon Housing Needs Analysis, middle housing, Housing Production Strategies, and Housing Capacity Analyses. His work is centered around a commitment to affirmatively further fair housing and to facilitate increased housing production, affordability, and choice throughout Oregon. Ethan’s background working as both a current and long-range land use planner in Oregon allows him to bring a unique perspective to this housing work at the state level. Prior to joining DLCD, Ethan worked in affordable housing policy at Oregon Housing and Community Services and as a project planner at an architecture and engineering firm in Portland. Ethan graduated from University of Oregon's PPPM program in 2017 with a Master’s in Community and Regional Planning. 

This year, we honor the government of Lane County as our Outstanding Community Partner Award winner. In 2018, a collaborative initiative between Lane County and the University of Oregon, known as the Policy Lab, was started to leverage the expertise of students and faculty in PPPM to address local government policy challenges. The Policy Lab provides invaluable hands-on experience and enhances academic learning by involving students and faculty in real-world policy research. Students gain practical skills and insights into public administration, while faculty members can apply their research to tangible community issues, fostering a dynamic and mutually beneficial relationship. 

The time and effort that Lane County employees have put into the Policy Lab and, consequently, PPPM students, is tremendous. It has helped to help PPPM students be more prepared, better connected, and more grounded as they graduate from our programs. Lane County’s employees’ dedication to fostering the ongoing growth of the PPPM is highly valuable and consequently honored through this award. 

More information on the projects the Policy Lab has worked on since 2018 can be found here on the county’s Policy Lab website.

Previous Award Winners 

For a list of previous award winners, visit /events/pppm-awards.