Travis Nelson was appointed to the House of Representatives on January 27, 2022 representing House District 44. He was sworn in on the first day of the 2022 Legislative Session. In the 2022 general election, he was elected to his first full term as State Representative. He is proud to join the legislature as the first ever Black LGBTQIA+ member.
The grandson of Louisiana sharecroppers, his parents moved his family to the Pacific Northwest before he entered grade school. He put himself through community college and then Washington State University School of Nursing by working food service, landscaping, and janitorial positions. It is this strong work ethic that has carried him to where he is today.
Throughout his career as a Registered Nurse he saved lives by practicing constant attentiveness along with being a strong advocate. He specialized in Emergency Nursing, Critical Care Nursing, Medical-Surgical Nursing and Rehabilitation Nursing. Serving as a union representative honed his advocacy skills and allowed him to begin tackling the many problems inherent in our healthcare system. He is a member of the Sierra Club, American Nurses Association, Oregon Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the NAACP and a former Vice President of the Oregon Nurses Association. He knows healthcare is intersectional and is entwined with our environment, housing policy, racial justice, and so many other social determinants of health. It is this intersectionality that initially drove him to run for office.
