Description: Join your NAO network colleagues from around the state as we talk about the impact that we have had in 2023 and outline the vision for NAO’s work to support you in 2024. You’ll meet NAO’s 2024 Board of Directors who provide leadership and guidance as well as NAO’s staff, who together are committed to serving all of YOU and Oregon’s nonprofit sector as a whole.

Presenters: Jim White, Executive Director, and Kirsten Saladow, Director of Membership, Communications, and Advancement, NAO

State of DEIB Progress: Where Do We Grow Next?

Description: The movement towards diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) is a long and mindful journey; in the nonprofit sector, progress looks different but shares common obstacles. In this session, we’ll discuss qualitative and quantitative data gathered through common threads we’ve heard from local nonprofits and share key findings and results based on a 2023 survey designed to provide a snapshot of the work and its impact.

Join the conversation on where we’ve been, what we’ve done, and what we hope to accomplish to continue progress related to DEIB in the nonprofit workplace.

Presenter: Erica Briggs, Nonprofit Education Specialist, NAO

Erica Briggs is a facilitator of learning, DEI consultant, community caretaker, creative artist and author. In each capacity she is a storyteller, sharing stories related to developing a more transparent and fluid identity, embracing culture, and aligning with nature to better heal, grow and sustain mental health and well-being.

A native Oregonian, Briggs has lived and worked across the country and overseas. Currently, she serves as a Nonprofit Education Specialist at NAO; Facilitator of Learning for the Anti-Defamation League; and is the founder and CEO of a small arts and nature nonprofit based in Troutdale.

As a single mother, she earned a BA in Communications at Mills College in Oakland, CA and a Master’s in Africana Studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY where she studied the social construction of race in America.

For over 25 years, she has served various roles in asset-based community nonprofits, and both traditional and alternative learning environments from elementary through college. When she is at play you will likely find her wandering in her garden, making a mess in her art studio, or hiking with her children to the nearest body of water.

Policy Leadership in 2024 and beyond! An overview of a consequential year for nonprofit advocacy

Description: 2024 will be a pivotal year for nonprofits. The Oregon Legislative Task Force on Modernizing Grant Funding and Contracting will recommend improving nonprofit grants and contracting to simplify and better resource those mechanisms. These recommendations are to be made by September 2024. Additionally, we know that parallel efforts to raise wages for nonprofit workers must continue and build momentum.

How can the nonprofit sector influence these efforts? What impacts might you expect on your nonprofit and you as a nonprofit worker? How can you be part of the solution? Find out how NAO will help nonprofits shape the recommendations by creating a nonprofit policy leadership council. This session will include an overview of the task force, a preview of the state legislative session, and how nonprofits can become a member of the policy leadership council.

Presenter: Phillip Kennedy-Wong, Director of Public Policy, NAO

Phillip Kennedy-Wong is a public policy professional with over 20 years of experience lobbying at the state, local, and federal levels. He has worked for several nonprofit organizations throughout his career and served on nonprofit boards. He brings a strong foundation and understanding of the nonprofit sector including operations, board management, fundraising, programming, and tax law.

Phillip served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves while earning a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Lewis and Clark College. Upon graduating, he went to work right away as a field organizer on a political campaign during the 1992 presidential election. Getting the political bug, he proceeded to earn a Master of Science in public policy from Rutgers University and has never looked back in his public service career. Phillip lives in Portland with his wife, two daughters, and two cats.

Unveiling NAO’s New Website and Exciting New Features for Members!

Description: We heard, and we listened. As part of NAO’s completely redesigned website, we are excited to showcase the new and improved members-only area, now known as the Member Dashboard. Join us for a brief 30-minute presentation as we introduce and highlight some of the exciting new features we built into the new dashboard that will enhance user experience and productivity on our new website!

Presenters: Kirsten Saladow, Director of Membership, Communications, and Advancement, and Lauren Fairshter, Membership Manager, NAO

Strategic Readiness: Building Cohesive Leadership Teams for Successful Planning 

Description: Strategic planning is essential for any nonprofit—but what if something critical is missing before you start planning? Organizations can struggle with planning when a leadership team, whether staff or board, is not fully supported to have hard conversations and make decisions—in effect, to lead. In this session with Chris Wallace Caldwell of Catalysis, LLC, you’ll learn why supporting your leadership team is one of the most important things you must do to achieve your mission effectively and powerfully. With over a decade of experience helping nonprofits create impactful strategic plans, Chris knows the value of working with leadership teams to build their collective strength.

This session is designed to help you uncover the obstacles your leadership teams face and start thinking about building the capacity to succeed. We will begin by considering the role of various leadership teams in organizations. We will then identify the internal factors (personal dynamics and dysfunctions) and external factors (structures and social context) that can get in the way of developing a cohesive team. We will discuss the importance of naming these factors as a strategy for moving forward. Participants will leave with some actionable next steps for their leadership teams.

When your leadership team shares a common vision for how they will work together, you can lean into the more challenging parts of your mission with purpose.

Presenter: Chris Wallace Caldwell, MA, Founder and Principal Consultant, Catalysis, LLC 

Chris has an extensive background in nonprofit leadership, strategic planning, group facilitation, program development, and corporate social responsibility. She offers a particular skill in grasping the common elements of group work and the ability to synthesize a unified vision and focused path forward. Bringing calm, compassion, and honesty to her work, she helps individuals and teams meet their most urgent challenges. Since founding Catalysis in 2011, Chris has worked throughout Oregon, the U.S., and internationally. Chris and Catalysis provide customized support to organizational leaders, management teams, nonprofit boards, and foundations. With years of experience in informal science education and communication, Catalysis specializes in meeting the needs of science, health, environment, and research institutions. Her team’s broad experience allows them to understand a breadth of organizational visions and styles.

Chris is focused on building equity as a practice with study in equitable facilitation, intersectionality, and anti-racism work. Chris is in the founding cohort for the Institute for Equity-Centered Coaching and Leadership®. She is a past commissioner on the Portland Human Rights Commission and currently serves as a volunteer facilitator for Portland’s chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice. Catalysis, LLC is a certified women-owned emerging small business (OMWESB) based in Portland, Oregon.