2026 Hall of Achievement Inductee
At a Glance
Degree
Journalism ’99
Field
Government
Inducted
2026
Known for
A career in public service, including stints as a diplomat and working with refugees
Jason Lewis-Berry earned a journalism degree from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication in 1999. He has spent his career in public service, serving as a diplomat, advising politicians, and working to protect democracy. He was inducted into the SOJC’s Hall of Achievement in 2026.
Biography
Jason Lewis-Berry earned his bachelor's degree in journalism and communication from the UO School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) and set out to build a career in media. After a few years as a journalist and filmmaker, the 9/11 attacks redirected him toward public service, and for a decade he specialized in preventing and responding to conflict in some of the world's most vulnerable places. As a U.S. diplomat until 2017, Lewis-Berry worked in a dozen countries, including two tours in Afghanistan embedded with the U.S. military. He became the first U.S. Representative for Countering the Lord's Resistance Army—the rebel group notorious for abducting children and forcing them into combat—forging an alliance among governments, civil society, and the United Nations to protect civilians across four central African countries. President Obama later appointed him director of overseas operations for the State Department's Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations.
Lewis-Berry then turned his attention to strengthening democracy and prosperity at home. From 2017 to 2019, he served as economic and community development advisor to Oregon Governor Kate Brown. In 2020, he helped lead voter protection efforts for the Biden campaign in Georgia, mobilizing thousands of volunteers. He went on to co-found Power the Vote, which funds year-round voter protection organizers in swing states. From 2021 to 2025, he helped lead the U.S. refugee program at the Office of Refugee Resettlement, directing a task force that managed the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Afghans, Ukrainians, and others – helping them integrate into communities nationwide.
Lewis-Berry, who speaks fluent French and is working on his Spanish, remains convinced that robust journalism and healthy democracy are intertwined. He lives in Denver with his wife and their young son.