Trevor Downen, a first year math teacher and father of two, has been working here at Ida B. Wells for only a month. He comes to education after 16 years as an engineer. One if his jobs was in the Air Force. “I’ve worked on projects all around the world” said Downen explaining how one of his past projects included building and designing temporary housing for Japan’s residents after the Fukushima Daiichi accident. After many exciting adventures, he and his family settled in Portland where he left his old career and pursued teaching at Fowler Middle School. Downen eventually met the staff and students of Ida B. Wells and made the switch after his first year at Fowler. When not working, you can find Mr. Downen watching Star Wars, hiking, camping and swimming with his wife and two daughters out in the Pacific Northwest.

Written by Aidan Gupta, Intro to Communications, Fall 2023