8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Registration

9:00 – 10:15 a.m.
Concurrent sessions

• Wealth Creation Basics: A New Lens for the Work You Already Do
  Wealth creation offers a fresh lens for the work EDDs already do—from CEDS development to measurement to strategy design. This session introduces the core concepts and shows how they can help regions align assets, partners, and priorities to build lasting local value. You’ll also hear a real-world example of how one region translated its CEDS goals into action by launching an outdoor recreation loan fund that keeps opportunity rooted locally.

  Speakers:

  • Ryan Richardson, Superior California Economic Development
  • Carrie Kissel, NADO
  • Melissa Levy, NADO
    
    
• Rooted Prosperity: Structures That Keep Wealth in the Region
  Local ownership structures, like cooperatives, collaborations, and employee-owned enterprises, play a powerful role in keeping wealth anchored in the region. This session explores how these models create shared value, strengthen community control of key assets, and build long-term regional resilience. Hear from leaders using these approaches to root prosperity locally and chart a more durable economic future.

  Speakers:

• • Brenda Smith, High Desert Partnership
  • Nelda Murri, Wallowa Beekeepers Cooperative
  • Jason Schneider, Civic Possible

10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
Concurrent sessions

• Paths and Partners: Mapping Value Chains and Mobilizing Assets to Solve Problems
  This session focuses on how regions can align assets, partners, and activities to move deliberately toward shared goals and measurable outcomes. Value chain mapping will be introduced as one practical tool for revealing connections, gaps, and leverage points that make coordinated action possible. Participants will leave with strategies to mobilize partners, clarify roles, and turn regional priorities into progress.

  Speakers:

  • Melissa Levy NADO
  • Carrie Kissel, NADO
    
    
• Grounded Economies: How Natural Asset Stewardship Shapes Regional Futures
  Natural resource economies, like forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and mariculture, shape the identity and long term resilience of many rural regions. This session explores how thoughtful stewardship of these assets can create lasting value, support local ownership, and strengthen regional futures. Participants will learn practical strategies for balancing economic opportunity with ecological health to keep wealth rooted in place.

  Speakers:

  • Nils Christoffersen, Wallowa Resources
  • Claire Everson, Western Reign Creative
  • Amy Hause, Rural Development Initiatives
  • Robert Venables, Southeast Conference & NADO Second Vice President

12:00 – 12: 45 p.m.
Lunch with Oregon’s EDDs

1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Mobile and onsite workshops – with RDI Regards to Rural. Participants will choose one workshop for the afternoon. Click here to sign up for a mobile workshop.

• Workshop 1: Entrepreneurship and Business Incubation in Warm Springs
  1:00-5:00 p.m.
  Join the Warm Springs Community Action Team (WSCAT) for a visit to Warm Springs in Central Oregon, home to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (Warm Springs, Wasco, and Paiute peoples). Participants will learn about the 128-year-old Commissary, a former Bureau of Indian Affairs storehouse relocated along Highway 26 and now being reimagined as a community business campus. The Commissary is under construction and the revitalized space will include retail and food storefronts, a pop-up arts and culture shop, and a small business incubator and coworking space to support tribal entrepreneurs. View the exterior of the building and learn how this investment in local enterprise is strengthening economic opportunity and long-term resilience on tribal land.
• Workshop 2: From Timber to Tech: A Rural Community in Transition
  1:00-4:45 p.m
  Join Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) for a visit to Prineville, the oldest city in Central Oregon and a rural community navigating major economic change. Once rooted in agriculture, ranching, and timber, Prineville has become home to large-scale technology investment. Participants will travel by bus past the Meta and Apple data center campuses before visiting City Hall to hear from the city manager and local leaders. Learn how the community has managed rapid growth, balanced trade-offs, and worked to maintain its identity during the shift from timber to tech.
• Workshop 3: Simpson Property Tour & Community Land Trust Overview
  1:00-4:30 p.m.
  RootedHomes will lead a guided tour of the Simpson property, offering a behind-the-scenes look at one of Central Oregon’s largest permanently affordable homeownership development. Participants will learn how the Community Land Trust (CLT) model creates long-term housing stability by separating the cost of land from the cost of the home, ensuring affordability for generations. The session will also highlight RootedHomes’ approach to net-zero energy construction, resident-driven design, and the role this development plays in supporting workforce housing and community resilience.
• Workshop 4: Cultivating Resilience: Agritourism & Rural Economic Development
  1:00-4:30 p.m.
  Join the High Desert Food and Farm Alliance (HDFFA) for a field trip to two innovative farms in Sisters to explore how agricultural enterprises in the rural Central Oregon high desert are building economic resilience through diversification, agritourism, and creative community partnerships. Participants will learn how these farms are developing sustainable business models, expanding revenue streams, and strengthening local food systems while navigating the unique challenges of farming in a high-desert climate.
• Workshop 5: Civic Innovation for Trust
  1:30-3:30 p.m.
  In a time of growing division, how can rural communities foster connection, trust, and collaboration? Josh Burgess, alongside regional community organizers, will lead a deep dive into Civic Assemblies—a promising model for inclusive dialogue, collaborative decision-making, and renewed civic trust. Participants will learn how these assemblies are being used to improve governance, build community capacity, and mend the social fabric in meaningful, lasting ways; and even get to try it out firsthand!

5:30 p.m.
Reception