About Eli Arnold

Eli is the son of an electrician and a teacher. His father taught him the value of quiet hard work. His mother taught him that nothing in life matters more than human relationships.

Eli arrived in Portland in 2001 where he met his wife Nichole. They had their first child and realized they couldn’t afford to live in the city so Eli joined the Army to access health insurance and education opportunities. He served in numerous job fields, from electronics repair, to intelligence analyst, and eventually became a Blackhawk helicopter pilot.

Two years, away from family, surveying the destruction of civil society in Afghanistan made him want to refocus on healthy communities. The first step was running a community garden program at his duty station in Georgia. Next was leaving the military and returning to Portland, where they were finally able to buy a home.

In the aftermath of Ferguson, Eli decided to become a Police Officer, which he describes as being a Community Dad at Large. He found the job highly rewarding, but also frustrating. Eli became a member of the Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team and a Field Training Officer. He was able to respond to people’s needs in their moments of crisis, but unable to address underlying problems at their root. It became clear to him that the social fabric of the city was fraying and no one was stepping in to repair the damage.

At the core of Eli’s approach is a belief that you must know a problem to solve it. He believes that his hands-on experience with homelessness, crime, policing, and livability issues is a needed perspective. He wants to help repair the damage and be an agent of change to restore the Portland we all know and love.