With gratitude · Neighborhood Partnerships

Two days together.
Connections that last.

To our attendees, presenters, sponsors, supporters, community partners, volunteers, and staff: thank you for being part of RE:Conference 2026.

We appreciate the stories you shared, the questions you asked, the new relationships you made, and the generosity you brought to every conversation. Whether we met in a session, over lunch, or in a quick chat between activities, your presence and perspectives made this gathering meaningful.

Below, we recognize the voices and organizations featured in the conference program and invite you to learn more about their work. We hope the connections formed this week continue far beyond these two days.

The conference may be over, but the work continues.

With appreciation,
The Neighborhood Partnerships Team

Opening moments and collective learning

Moments that brought us together.

From envisioning the future of housing to examining policy and financial opportunity, thank you to everyone who helped open important conversations.

Tuesday keynote

Imagine the Future of Our Community

Aisha Shillingford · Intelligent Mischief

Thank you, Aisha, for leading us in imagining an Oregon where housing is a right and communities can shape their own futures. Your keynote invited us to think beyond today’s limitations.

Explore Intelligent Mischief

Tuesday opening

Music and Community

McKay High School Mariachi Band

Thank you to the student musicians whose performance was part of the opening program. Their music brought energy and celebration to the gathering.

McKay High School

Tuesday lunch

Social Housing and Community Solutions

Helmi Hisserich · Councilor Candace Avalos · Trell Anderson

Thank you to Helmi, Councilor Avalos, and Trell for joining our social housing lunch conversation. Your perspectives helped us think about how Oregon can expand housing opportunities and build communities where more people can find a stable place to call home.

ROSE Community Development Councilor Avalos Northwest Housing Alternatives Oregon Housing Alliance

Wednesday morning

Children’s Savings Accounts and Tax Reform

Barry Ford (video introduction) · Kaliko Castille (moderator) · Daniel Hauser · Annie Naranjo-Rivera · Representative Mark Gamba · Delina Biniam

Thank you to Barry Ford and the Oregon State Treasury for introducing the child savings accounts video, and to Kaliko, Daniel, Annie, Representative Gamba, and Delina for sharing their perspectives during our tax reform conversation. We appreciated the chance to hear different voices discuss Oregon’s future.

Oregon State Treasury Oregon Center for Public Policy Oregon Working Families Party Representative Gamba For All Families Oregon

Tuesday, October 27

Learning together.

Sessions dedicated to connecting people, sharing tools, and strengthening the work of housing and economic justice.

Communications · Morning

Strategic Communications: Part 1

Diane Goodwin · Megen Ickler

Thank you for offering practical tools for understanding audiences, framing stories, and communicating shared values in advocacy and organizing.

Movement Communications Academy

Fair housing

Fostering Inclusive Communities: Combatting the Myths of NIMBYism

Shyle Ruder

Thank you for helping participants examine discriminatory housing patterns, barriers to housing development, and strategies for more welcoming neighborhoods.

Fair Housing Council of Oregon

Affordable homeownership

Becoming a Homeowner

Roserria Roberts · Martin Cornejo Torres · Zaneqwah Shaw

Thank you to the Proud Ground team for explaining pathways toward homeownership and the importance of community land trusts and ongoing support.

Proud Ground

Community finance

Connecting with Community Throughout the IDA Initiative

Amy Stuczynski · IDA Advisory Council

Thank you to Amy and the IDA Advisory Council for bringing your experiences and ideas to the conversation. Your input helps make IDA programs more accessible, responsive, and rooted in the communities they serve.

Oregon IDA Initiative Neighborhood Partnerships

Communications · Afternoon

Strategic Communications: Part 2

Diane Goodwin · Megen Ickler

Thank you for deepening the conversation with tools for media relations, interviews, strategic messaging, and narrative change.

Movement Communications Academy

Resident-led leadership

Centering Lived Experience: A Collaborative Approach to Resident-Led Leadership and Advocacy

Annette Pronk · Tina Knapp · Kenya Luvert · Ellen · Leina’ala Slaughter

Thank you for sharing resident-designed leadership models and the importance of building real decision-making power with people most affected by housing injustice.

Habitat Portland Region Habitat for Humanity of Oregon

Community reciprocity

Reclaiming Reciprocity Through the Offers and Needs Market

Celinés Garcia · Araceli Jimenez

Thank you for guiding a lively process of recognizing what we each have to offer, naming what we need, and building relationships rooted in mutual support.

Coalición Fortaleza

Homeownership innovation

Where Innovation Meets Opportunity: Expanding Pathways to Homeownership in Oregon

Rolando Velazquez · Olympia Church · Kristina Kluever

Thank you to Rolando, Olympia, and Kristina for sharing how lending innovation, homebuyer education, and public resources can work together to open more pathways to homeownership. We appreciated the collaboration between Community LendingWorks, DevNW, and OHCS.

DevNW Community LendingWorks OHCS

Wednesday, October 28

Turning ideas into action.

Perspectives on public policy, financial justice, housing stability, and resident-led organizing.

Supportive housing policy

Making Existing Public Policy Better

Molly Hogan · Mikah Rae · Lauren Armony · Amon Rutherford-Green

Thank you to Molly, Mikah, Lauren, and Amon for taking us through the work of improving supportive housing policy. Your session showed how listening to residents, service providers, and community partners can help shape meaningful solutions.

Welcome Home Coalition

Housing stability

The Future of Homelessness and Housing Stability Services at OHCS

Marc Jolin · Holly McGuire

Thank you for examining Oregon’s housing stability systems and the choices facing communities and agencies as needs and resources change.

Oregon Housing and Community Services

Consumer justice

Thinking Differently About Debt: Changing the Story in Oregon

Megan Quintrell · Grace Hashiguchi · Michelle Luedtke · Oregon Consumer Justice team

Thank you for helping participants question common assumptions about debt and consider how consumer protections and public policy shape economic opportunity.

Oregon Consumer Justice

Financial empowerment

Two Lenses, One Story: How Statewide Structures Sustain Local Collaboration in Washington

Jennifer Quiroz · Ginny Heller

Thank you for sharing lessons on financial empowerment networks, collaboration, and relationships that support long-term financial thriving.

Financial Empowerment Network Kitsap Credit Union

Resident organizing

Residents Organizing for Change: Tenant Organizing

Michelle Thurston

Thank you for introducing practical organizing strategies and showing how residents can draw on lived experience to advocate for themselves and their communities.

Neighborhood Partnerships

RE:ception · Community, creativity, and opportunity

Stories that continue beyond the screen.

Our RE:ception program featured Oregon filmmakers and the stories of IDA savers and entrepreneurs. We are grateful for the creative work and contributions highlighted in the program.