Tripp Somerville
Senior Vice President
At Pyramid:
Tripp has spent a career helping organizations cut through the clutter of daily demands to define and do what it is they do best. He brings strong strategic focus, political savvy and a sense of humor to just about everything he does. At Pyramid, that means designing effective ways to engage the public in important issues, crafting political strategy for clients that need it, and creating programs and communications that deliver on their promises.
In an earlier incarnation Tripp was a Pyramid client. Now he helps lead our efforts in Portland, particularly on education, workforce, sustainability and children’s issues, including Portland Public Schools and Portland’s Sustainability Institute.
After Hours:
Raised in the South as a son of a preacher and teacher, Tripp sometimes feels the weight of history on his shoulders. He has found that hiking, backpacking, and trying his best to hang out with his teenage kids help ease that burden. Tripp is a board member of Open Meadow Alternative School and an advisor to Children First for Oregon.
Background:
Before Pyramid, Tripp served as senior director of policy and programs for the Portland Schools Foundation. Prior to that, he operated his own firm, was a pollster, a child advocate, and led multimillion-dollar public policy and community development programs for the Northwest Area Foundation. That said, his mother still doesn’t understand what he does for a living.
