Randall Edwards has served as Oregon State Treasurer since January 2001. He is Oregon's chief financial officer, directing an agency that invests over $70 billion and processes more than $120 billion in transactions. As one of Oregon's principal financial leaders, he is leading efforts to improve the State's credit and to provide stable and adequate funding for public schools.

State Treasurer Edwards is distinguishing himself as a leader in budget finance, economic development, school funding, corporate governance, and environmental management. Edwards has:

• Worked closely with the legislature to develop innovative financial programs to help the State save millions during economic downturns.
• Stimulated job growth in construction and biomedical research by providing funding for road and bridge improvements and facility expansion at Oregon Health Sciences University.
• Sponsored legislation granting the State the authority to help public schools pay for capital construction and maintenance, and supported legislation to give local communities the option to raise revenues for local schools. He also fought for the establishment of the Education Stabilization Fund, and expanded the School Bond Guaranty Program.
• Strengthened the State pension fund's role in governing the corporations in which the fund invests to counter potential corporate malfeasance, and instituted Investment Protection Principles to eliminate the potential for conflicts-of-interest and corporate misconduct within underwriting firms that do business with the State.
• Led the effort to forge a land-use compromise between people who own land along Oregon rivers and people who use the rivers for recreation.

One of his proudest achievements is authoring and implementing the Oregon College Savings Plan, now known as the Oregon 529 College Savings Network. The plan allows Oregonians to save $4,000 a year tax free for college. Since its inception in January 2001, more than 150,000 accounts have been opened. The value of their combined assets is $900 million, making it one of the fastest-growing plans in the country.

Edwards was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1996. In the legislature he was a financial leader - improving school funding, saving taxpayers money through the creation of the Oregon School Bond Guaranty Act, and pushing into law an innovative financing plan to rebuild State parks.

Before his election, Edwards was a manager and senior advisor at the Oregon State Treasury from 1992-1996. His professional experience also includes serving as a managing partner for EDJE Consulting and as an international trade analyst for the U.S. Department of Commerce. He now serves as co-chairman of the Oregon League of Minority Voters.

Edwards was born in Eugene in 1961 and raised in Walla Walla, Washington, where he spent his summers working the wheat and pea harvests. Edwards earned a B.A. degree in economics from Colorado College in 1983 and an MBA degree from George Washington University in 1990. He also recently received an honorary doctorate from Colorado College. He and his wife, Julia, live in Portland with their three young children.