Robin McArthur has more than 30 years of land use, transportation, and community development experience working at the local, regional, state, and federal levels of government. She earned a Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. where she wrote her thesis on Oregon's land use program. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan.
Robin began her career at the city of Portland where she was fortunate to gain experience in all aspects of the planning and development review process including housing policy, transportation planning, code writing, processing conditional use and zone code applications, and helping applicants successfully attain site review approval. She moved on to become planning manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation, the land use and transportation advisor to former Governor Kitzhaber, and the Planning and Development Director for Metro.
Throughout her career, Robin has been dedicated to improving the way in which planners communicate and listen to decision makers, stakeholders, and the public. She has continued this quest as a commissioner and was honored that her LCDC colleagues appointed her to be vice chair in fall 2017.
Robin has a passion for traveling to the great cities and natural wonders of the world. She has lectured in Helsinki, Finland and Bangalore, India on the benefits of designing communities with sidewalks, gathering places, and access to nature. Closer to home, she spends all her free time hiking, biking, skiing, and camping with family and friends throughout the Pacific Northwest.