National Governors Association

Mary Oberst, First Lady of Oregon, was born and raised in Kentucky, and also lived in Michigan and New Jersey. She earned a juris doctor from the University of Oregon in 1984, and enjoyed a 20-year career as a legal editor for the Oregon State Bar.

As Oregon’s first lady, Ms. Oberst continues to support the Campaign for Equal Justice, an Oregon lawyers’ group that works to fund legal services for the poor, and the Oregon Minority Lawyers’ Association. She has chaired the selection committee for Oregon’s poet laureate; the fundraising committee for the Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum, a National Historic Landmark in John Day; and the Oregon 150 Board, which designed and directed Oregon’s 150th birthday in 2009.

Ms. Oberst and her husband, Governor Ted Kulongoski, have three grown children and two grandchildren. The first lady and Governor Kulongoski have traveled, often on foot as hikers and backpackers, throughout Oregon.