By Josh Friesen
For Ignite Magazine
Ralph and Bunny Schlesinger established the Schlesinger Family Foundation in 1981 with the goal to help strengthen Portland, a city their family had called home for generations.
Today, the Schlesingers’ mission to support the Rose City continues with their pledge to support the first named space in the upcoming inpatient addition hospital expansion on Marquam Hill at OHSU. The Schlesinger Family Foundation’s gift to the expansion project is the latest in its legacy of impact that began over four decades ago.
“We all want to make a positive impact in our community, to create a legacy that transcends generations, that goes beyond yourself,” said Josh Schlesinger, president and CEO of Schlesinger Companies, board member of the Schlesinger Family Foundation and member of the OHSU Foundation board of trustees. “Our family specifically values the pursuit of knowledge, the care and well-being of our neighbors and the environment. OHSU checks all those boxes.”
“OHSU does amazing things. There will be someone in this building in the not-too-distant future whose life will be changed, be saved, by the great work of the people that work for OHSU.”
Mark Schlesinger
Pieces of the Schlesinger legacy are scattered not just across Portland, but throughout the Pacific Northwest and Southern California. The Schlesinger Family Foundation supports endowed scholarships at 12 universities, including OHSU, Portland State University, the University of Portland, Portland Community College, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University and the University of Puget Sound Masters in Teaching program. The foundation also supported a named patient room at Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel and was a longtime sponsor of the Virtuoso Evening event, which raised over $2 million for local nonprofits dedicated to diabetes research, treatment and education.
Together, the Schlesinger Family Foundation’s philanthropic investments in health care, higher education and environmental sustainability create a mosaic of impact that has helped shape the region’s landscape.
“How does one help and give back to a community that has been good to us?” asked Mark Schlesinger, president of the Schlesinger Family Foundation and partner and senior property manager at Schlesinger Companies. “I live here. I’ve raised my children here. My children are raising my grandchildren here. This is another opportunity to give back to this community so that we — the collective we, all of us — pay it forward.”
The heart of the OHSU Hospital Expansion Project — slated for completion in spring of 2026 — is a new, 513,000-square-foot building nestled between OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and the OHSU Casey Eye Institute. In response to the region’s growing need for increased hospital capacity, the inpatient addition will increase OHSU’s bed count by nearly one-third and will be dedicated primarily to providing advanced cancer treatments and complex surgical care. As these services settle into the new building, it will open space to expand and enhance OHSU’s capacity to provide inpatient cardiovascular and neurological care.
Josh Schlesinger learned more about the expansion project as he acclimated to his new role on the OHSU Foundation board of trustees, and he became convinced it was the best way to invest not only in OHSU, but in Portland as well.
“OHSU and the people who work there are such significant parts of the community,” he said. “There are so many stories that come out of OHSU every day about people’s lives that have been impacted in a positive way. For our family foundation to be a part of that, to be a part of the inpatient addition, it was an easy yes.”
“OHSU does amazing things,” added Mark Schlesinger. “There will be someone in this building in the not-too-distant future whose life will be changed, be saved, by the great work of the people that work for OHSU.”
The Schlesingers’ long-lasting legacy of care and compassion is a testament to the pride they hold for their city and their belief in their neighbors.
“Portland is part of the ethos of our family,” Josh Schlesinger said. “This is where we live. This is the community we’re a part of. We want Portland to be successful. We want people in Portland to be successful. Having access to high-quality health care is a critical ingredient to that.”
