Erin Hoover Barnett

Erin Hoover Barnett is a nationally recognized journalist and veteran public sector communications leader.

During 17 years with The Oregonian newspaper in Portland, her work was twice nominated for a Pulitzer, the second time selected as a Pulitzer Finalist with co-author Steve Suo. Erin served with Jodi Rave Spotted Bear as a Nieman Journalism Fellow at Harvard University in 2003-04. A class trip led by Jodi to the Navajo and Hopi Reservations that spring kindled Erin’s desire to learn more.

From 2008 – 2025, she served as a communications leader, first at the state’s largest school district, Portland Public Schools, and then at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), the state’s academic medical center. Contributions included helping share out the launch and growth of the OHSU Northwest Native American Center of Excellence. Founded by Dr. Erik Brodt (Ojibwe), the Center has recruited the largest cohort of American Indian and Alaska Native students in a non-Native medical school in the country.

Born in Wisconsin, Erin traces her roots to North Dakota and Michigan. She graduated from Carleton College in Minnesota with a bachelor’s in political science. She joined Buffalo’s Fire in August 2025.