Dr. Ernest Hartzog is a life-long learner who had advocated for students of all ages for over sixty years. His career in education included his position as an Assistant Superintendent in Portland Public Schools.

Along with eleven other African Americans Administrators across the country, he helped to charter the National Alliance of Black School Educators in 1973. He served as national president from 1979-1981. He also established a local affiliate of NABSE in Oregon, now known as Oregon Alliance of Black School Educators (ORABSE, formerly OABSE).