As a young Eagle Scout, Brad Avakian learned that hard work and commitment could lead to positive changes in the lives of others, principles that have guided Brad throughout his life. These principles have led Brad to stand up for worker’s rights as a civil rights attorney and to advocate for our children and our environment as a state legislator.

Raised in Washington County, Brad is a product of Oregon’s public schools. He graduated from Oregon State University in 1984 with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and Lewis and Clark Law School in 1990 with a Juris Doctor. Brad worked his way through law school by helping create the YMCA’s Juvenile Restitution Program, which mentored troubled youth and put them to work to repay the victims of their crimes.

For the next seventeen years, Brad dedicated his life to representing working families. As a civil rights attorney, Brad fought for fair wages, good working conditions and the right to organize and bargain. He also co-founded the Oregon League of Conservation Voters’ Washington County Chapter and was appointed by Governor Barbara Roberts to lead the State Board of Psychologist Examiners. Dedicated to a diverse work force, Brad serves as Honorary Chair of the Oregon Business Leadership Network - a coalition of employers committed to hiring the disabled.

During his time in the Oregon Legislature, Brad continued making working families his top priority. The Oregon AFL-CIO named him a "Working Families Champion" and gave him a Gold Medal for Leadership. SEIU Local 503 honored Brad for his work to ensure families have access to quality health care.

As Chair of the Senate Environment and Natural resources Committee, Brad established himself as one of the state’s top environmental advocates. In 2007, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters named Brad the legislature’s "Consensus Builder of the Year," in part due to his passage of Oregon’s Bottle Bill expansion and the Oregon Renewable Energy Act. In 2008, Brad led a diverse coalition of cities, industry, tribes, environmental groups and farmers to design and pass the Agricultural and Community Water Act. This effort will initiate water supply projects statewide to bring desperately needed water to Oregon’s farms and rural communities.

In March of 2008, when former Labor Commissioner Dan Gardner resigned the post, Governor Kulongoski announced Avakian as his choice for the appointment. In his acceptance speech the Commissioner said he is excited about the opportunity to "Take the fight for working families to the next level by focusing on apprenticeship training and workforce development. This will allow the Bureau to support both industry’s efforts to create more well paying local jobs and our school system’s ability to teach Oregonians the skills needed to fill those jobs."

Born in Fresno, California in 1961, Brad is the son of Larry and Catherine Avakian who now reside in Thousand Oaks, California. He is very proud of his Armenian ancestry. His grandfather was Avak Avakian, who came to America from Muş in 1898. His grandmother Sirpoohi Antoyan came from Bitlis in 1900.

Brad and his wife Debbie, an administrator at Providence Medical Center, reside in Washington County with their two teenage children, Nathan and Claire, and their Bernese Mountain Dogs, Rosie and Jazzy.