MEET Vadim Mozyrsky

Vadim’s story is an all-American story.

Born in Kiev, Ukraine, his family fled persecution in the Soviet Union, arriving as refugees in the USA in 1979, when Vadim was seven years old.  In those first few years, Vadim’s family bounced around America, living in Cleveland, Ohio, and Erie, Pennsylvania – eventually settling in Beaumont and Houston, Texas where he attended middle and high school.

Along the way, he met many families – including many that didn’t look or sound anything like his own – that experienced America the same way his family did: as immigrants and refugees, starting with nothing, struggling to understand the culture and the language, and working hard to build a better life.

Vadim was fortunate enough to earn a scholarship to attend the University of Texas for college – and then, law school.  He clerked for judges in state and federal courts.  After two years of uninspiring work as a corporate lawyer, he worked as a senior policy advisor in the federal government helping to implement Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.  Since 2012, he has worked as an administrative law judge for the Social Security Administration, ensuring that disabled Americans get the benefits they’ve earned and deserve to lead a fulfilling life.

Ten years ago, Vadim was visiting downtown Portland when he came across a live music performance at Pioneer Courthouse Square. It was right then that he knew he’d finally found his forever home – the Rose City.

Today, Vadim is an active community volunteer.  He is on the board of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), welcoming new refugees to Oregon, including those fleeing the war in Ukraine. 

He is the president of the Goose Hollow neighborhood association and the Neighbors West-Northwest coalition of neighborhoods.  He supports the arts, serving on the board of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and as past director of hospitality for the Portland Film Festival. He is the vice-chair of the NAACP PAC.   He is a regional leader in his union, IFPTE (AFL-CIO) Judicial Council.

Vadim was appointed by the city council to serve on the history-making Portland Charter Commission and the Portland Commission on Disability.  And he’s served on both the Portland Committee on Community-Engaged Policing and the Citizen Review Committee overseeing the Portland Police Bureau.  

As the next county commissioner for Multnomah County District 1, Vadim Mozyrsky will fight to ensure that everyone is heard and no one slips through the cracks, no matter where they come from, who they are, or how tough their struggle.  Every person matters.

Vadim Mozyrsky and his wife, Karina, live with their baby daughter, Emilia, in the Goose Hollow neighborhood.  When he’s not at a community meeting, you can find Vadim and his family hiking the hundreds of miles of trails in and around Multnomah County.