The Regional Livability Summit is a dynamic one-day conference of 300-400 leaders and community members working across a range of equity issues throughout the four-county Portland metro region. Participants include community based organizations, students, government staff, and elected officials. The Summit brings together advocates and decision-makers, creating opportunities to strengthen networks and share insights for integrated strategies to connect communities and eliminate disparities at the policy, planning, and investment levels.
Breakout Sessions
*Summit 2014 Morning Sessions: 11:15am - 12:30pm
Ending the New Jim Crow Laws in Oregon
- Rev. Kate Lore, Albina Ministerial Alliance
- Jo Ann Hardesty, Consult Hardesty
Enhancing Equity for an Aging Region
- Alan DeLaTorre, Portland State University - Institute on Aging
- Lee Girard, Multnomah County Aging and Disability Services
- Bobby Weinstock, Northwest Pilot Project
- Dick Lycan, Professor Emeritus, Portland State University
How to Address Economic Justice through Faith-Based Institutions
- Dr. Howard Kenyon, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
- Jan Elfers, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
- Reverend Arthur B. Carter, Jr., Bethel AME Church
- Wajdi Said, Muslim Educational Trust
- Rev. Adam Phillips, Christ Church & Oregon Center for Christian Voices (OCCV)
- Rev. Amy Piatt, First Christian Church
Food is Hope, Food is Health: Translating the Science of the Developmental Origins of Health & Disease into Action
- Monica Cuneo, Portland State University - Institute for Sustainable Solutions
- Liana Haywood, OHSU - Moore Institute for Nutrition and Wellness
A Club for Change: Using a School Garden to build Cultural Awareness,
Social Equality and Food Sustainability at Molalla High School
- Kelly A. Douglas, Molalla High School
- Rick Sherman, Oregon Department of Education
*Summit 2014 Afternoon Sessions: 2:30pm - 3:45pm
How Corporate Greed and Crippling Debt are Keeping Workers From Succeeding
- Angela Martin, Economic Fairness Oregon
- Barbara Dudley, Portland State University & Working Families Party
The State of Affordable Housing – Influences and Tools for the Future of our Region
- Justin Buri, Community Alliance of Tenants
- Omar Carrillo Tinajero, Neighborhood Partnerships
- Cameron Whitten, Community Activist
Transportation Funding Working for the People
- Kari Schlosshauer, Safe Routes to School National Partnership
- Elaine Friesen-Strang, Elders In Action & AARP
- Andy Cotugno, Metro
- Duncan Hwang, Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon
- Gabe Graff, Portland Bureau of Transportation
The Geography of Poverty: Adapting to Support a Changing Landscape
- Brendon Haggerty, Oregon Health Authority
- Martha McLennan, Northwest Housing Alternatives
- Margi Bradway, Portland Bureau of Transportation
- Rachel Post, Central City Concern
- Joe Cortright, Impresa & City Observatory
The American Dream: Evaluating the Urban Growth Boundary
- Sam Diaz, 1000 Friends of Oregon
- Diana Pei Wu, Five Elements Consulting
- Pam Phan, 1000 Friends of Oregon
2014 Keynote Speaker
Dr. Antwi Akom
Antwi Akom, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Environmental Sociology, Public Health, and STEM Education at San Francisco State, is co-founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable Economic, Educational, and Environmental Design (I-SEEED). A social change activist within low-income and communities of color for over 20 years, he is world renowned as an educational, environmental and economic justice leader.
Dr. Akom’s research focuses on the links between race, environmental health, and educational equity in cities and schools; the role of the green economy in facilitating pathways out of poverty for vulnerable populations; and the role of local knowledge in the production of environmental health and educational equity.
Professor Akom is a 2010 recipient of a RIMI Investigator Award in Health Disparities Research from the National Center on Minority and Health Disparities.
Photos from the 2014 Summit
Want to see more photos from the event? Check the entire album at our Facebook Page.
Past Summits
11th Annual Regional Livability Summit, October 11, 2013
- The 11th Annual Regional Livability Summit "Equity in Action: Map to a Healthy Future", helped to create new partnerships and sparked many conversations around how we can create a healthier, more equitable region for everyone.
- Keynote speaker: Dr Adewale Troutman is a physician, a professor, and the president of the American Public Health Association. He was featured in the nationally televised PBS series, "Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?"
10th Annual Regional Livability Summit, October 12, 2012
- The 10th Annual Regional Livability Summit brought together partners to discuss many topics under the theme "The State of Equity: Process, Progress & Promise in the Portland-Vancouver Region."
- Keynote speaker: Angela Glover Blackwell of PolicyLink presented an amazing keynote address on the state of equity from the national perspective.
- Read the 2012 Summit Proceedings.
| Keynote Address | Lunch Panel | Summit Reflections | |||
| Angela Glover Blackwell of PolicyLink | Speakers: Midge Purcell, Urban League of Portland; Lisa Bates, PSU College of Urban Studies; Desiree Williams-Rajee, City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability; and Kalima Rose, PolicyLink. Moderateor: Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons. |
9th Annual Regional Livability Summit, September 14, 2011
- Our ninth Summit focused on climate equity, including the importance of responding forcefully to the changing climate and addressing poverty and environmental health in climate action strategies.
- Keynote speaker: Angela Park, author of Everybody's Movement and founder and executive director of Diversity Matters.
- Read the 2011 Summit Proceedings.
8th Annual Regional Livability Summit, April 17 - May 13, 2010
- The 2010 Summit included a month of activities and events that engaged nearly 1,000 people! Events focused around the theme of "Building Alliances to Get Results."
- Keynote speaker: Alan Jenkins of The Opportunity Agenda.
- Read the 2010 Proceedings.
7th Annual Regional Livability Summit, May 20th & May 30th, 2009
- The 2009 program, "From Hope to Change: Mobilizing for Equity" focused on tapping the palpable sense of hope and possibility emerging from communities across the metro region, despite being in the midst of unprecedented crises. New to '09 Summit were the Days of Equity Action, a series of done-in-a-day service projects and actions.
- Keynote speaker: Dr. Julian Agyeman, professor at Tufts University who has written extensively on environment and inclusion.
- Read the 2009 Summit Proceedings.
6th Annual Regional Livability Summit, May 28, 2008
- The 2008 Summit, "Planning for Opportunity: An Inclusive Agenda for Sustainability," focused on discussing the ideas gathered from the community in response to the first Regional Equity Atlas research and considering how to create an agenda for change–one that harnesses our desire for positive change, recognizes our interconnectedness, aspires toward equality and inclusion, and lives up to the promise of our people and our place.
- Keynote speaker: Maya Wiley, founder and executive director at the Center for Social Inclusion.
- Read the 2008 Summit Proceedings.
5th Annual Regional Livability Summit, April 19, 2007
- "Leading Sustainable and Equitable Development in the 21st Century: Creating Collaborations for Action"
- Keynote Speaker: Denis Hayes, national environmental leader and president of the Bullitt Foundation.
- Read the 2007 Summit Proceedings.
4th Annual Regional Livability Summit, April 11, 2006
- Keynote Speaker: Journalist, Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.
3rd Annual Regional Livability Summit, March 4, 2005
- "Connecting People, Policy and Practice"
- Keynote Speaker: Sheila Martin, Director of the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies at Portland State University.
- Read the 2005 Summit Proceedings.
2nd Annual Regional Livability Summit, April 3, 2004
- "Regional Equity: Who Benefits? Who Doesn't?"
- Keynote Speaker: Dr. Manuel Pastor, Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies and Director of the Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Regional Livability Summit, March 7-8. 2003
- Keynote Speaker: Angela Glover Blackwell, founder of PolicyLink.
- Read the 2003 Summit Proceedings.
Photo credit: Tom Miller