Meet Phil Brady,
Community Advocate
Educator
Father
Born the day after Christmas in Wasco County, 1955, the same year that Albert Einstein died.
I was the third child in my family and grew up with two older sisters. One became a doctor and the other a pharmacist. I credit them and their example for teaching me to respect women and use them as examples when encouraging women in my classes to pursue professional careers.
Phil & his siblings
1965
My father owned Brady’s Market on Third street. I learned from watching him that managing the store means treating people fairly, working until the job is done, and giving back to the community.
1978
The Dalles was a great place to be a kid because there was always something to do. Skiing in the winter, baseball in the summer, working in the orchards and wheat fields and then exploring the trails in the Gorge with friends. I attended Gonzaga in Spokane before it became known for basketball and studied physics because I couldn't decide what specific kind of science is the most interesting. Just as physics is the most fundamental of the sciences, I am a generalist interested in most anything that comes my way.
1984
I was raised Catholic and still take religion seriously. After college, I entered the Jesuit order but left before becoming ordained a priest.
1987
Several years later, I married my wife, Mary Jo Commerford and after starting a family of two girls, we went overseas as Catholic missioners.
1994-2003
My friends in Venezuela ask me to not talk about their poverty but instead focus on what they accomplished in spite of their poverty. In our community, I witnessed them build a school, a library, and take care of those most in need.
My biggest adventure was starting a local ecology group and our biggest accomplishment was successfully protecting springs of irrigation water for a farming community from a man who was illegally going to start a silica mine.
2007
Most of my career has been in education and the biggest chunk of my placement has been nine years teaching incarcerated youths at NORCOR. My students and I got along well because I respected that they are carrying burdens that I fear would crush me.
My father and I loved to go fly fishing together, and our favorite spot was the meadow on the Deschutes downstream from Maupin. I still go there to feel close to my dad.
I attended meetings of The Dalles Watershed Council and became co-chair with Bruce Lumper. With help from the Watershed Council, I organized a stream ecology class that monitored water quality and wildlife on Chenoweth Creek.
2014
After attending meetings of the PUD for several years as a guest, I ran for a board position but lost the election. A couple months later, I received a call from the CEO of MCMC asking me to talk to him. It seemed strange that the hospital would call me, and the worried thought that ran through my head was “I’m feeling okay. Does the hospital know something about me that I don’t know? ” Turns out, MCMC wanted to ask me to become a trustee. I served for eight years and have recently resigned from the Board of Trustees in order to be a candidate for County Commissioner
2018
There is a difference between ambition and drive. Ambition is about promoting oneself and drive is the desire to make a difference for others in the community. And for that reason, I worked with a dedicated team to try to build a new high school even though I knew I would not teach in it.
Resume of Education and Employment
Education
St. Marys Academy, The Dalles
The Dalles High School
Gonzaga University, Spokane, BS Physics
Loyola University, New Orleans, Philosophy
Lewis and Clark College, MA Teaching
Employment
The Dalles Cherry Growers, 3 years as fieldman
Society of Jesus (Jesuits), 7 years in formation
Maryknoll Lay Missioners, 9 years missioned in Venezuela
Teaching placements
Jesuit High School, Portland, 3 years
Central Catholic High School, Portland, 4 years
Beaverton High School, 2 years
Lewis and Clark College, 1 year
NORCOR Juvenile, 9 years
The Dalles Junior High and High Schools 8 years
Volunteering and Boards
The Dalles Watershed Council, 4 years
St. Marys School Board, 4 years
Strong Community Schools, 2 years
MCMC Board of Trustees, 8 years
