Mary Rowe’s decision to go to grad school didn’t result in the degree that she originally sought. But it put her on a career path that she now knows was the right one for her.
“I had spent four years working in the private sector when I decided to go to graduate school for an M.B.A.,” says Rowe. “While there [at the University of Oregon], I discovered industrial and labor relations, and started taking classes in that program. I felt like I had found my people and my calling.”
Rowe ultimately earned a master’s in industrial and labor relations from the school. She knew before she even walked across the stage to receive her degree that she wanted to pursue public service.
“I decided I wanted to work in the non-profit sector, where I would have more impact and find more personal fulfillment than in the work that I had done in the private sector,” says Rowe, who also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Reed College.
“During my time in graduate school, I realized that working in the public sector was a way to have an impact on the community that I was part of. By the time I graduated, I was laser-focused on having a career in public sector human resources.”
Rowe has gone on to a 30-plus year career in public sector HR. She spent the last 10 years as human resources director with Oregon Metro, the regional government for the Portland metropolitan area. She then failed at retirement and started a successful consulting practice, Workplace Results LLC.
With a resume that also includes stints as human resources director with Oregon Metro and the City of Milwaukie, Ore., Rowe has never regretted the decision to dedicate her professional life to the public sector.
“The more I got into the work, the more I enjoyed it.”
Rowe wasn’t especially familiar with PSHRA when her then-supervisor at the City of Gresham in the mid-1990s asked her to help start a local chapter. She was instrumental in standing up the Oregon chapter and later was introduced to the regional and national arms of the organization. She has since served as a chapter and national PSHRA president.
Rowe has also earned a PSHRA Honorary Life Membership, which recognizes and honors those who have rendered distinguished service in advancing or upholding the purposes of the Association.
“I’ve stayed with PSHRA, volunteering in a variety of roles,” she says, “because the more I put into it, the more I got back.”
Looking ahead, Rowe hopes to continue helping others in the field to grow their knowledge and understanding of public sector HR, including her peers throughout the PSHRA network.
“As I got more involved with PSHRA at the regional and national level, my network grew. PSHRA has provided many opportunities to serve as local chapter and national president, teach classes internationally and locally, learn from others, exchange ideas and grow as an HR professional. Our profession is filled with many amazing and talented individuals.”
12 August 2026
Category
Stories of Impact
