2025 Fall Friends & Allies Summit

Thursday, October 16
9:30am to 6:30pm
McMenamins Kennedy School

The Portland Parks Foundation is bringing Portland’s parks communities together on October 16, 2025 for our annual Fall Friends & Allies Summit.

It’s that time of year again, to gather with fellow Friends & Allies of Portland’s parks and greenspaces in a day of learning at PPF’s Fall Summit. Join us for a re-envisioned day of learning, connection, and professional development. This year, we have integrated feedback from past summits to create more spaces for peer connection and learning, so that we are not only going home with more skills, deepened relationships and positive starts to new partnerships. Check out the program below!

Some details in development, please stay tuned.

Fall Summit Schedule

Morning Gathering

Please visit the check-in table by the Gymnasium for all location information.

9:30 - 10:30 AM
(Optional) Morning Mindfulness Moment

Prepare your mind and body for a day of connection and learning. Facilitated by Sunray Gmeiner-Perez, Yoga with Sunray.

10:00 AM
Doors Open: Gather and Ground

Get situated in the space, reconnect with colleagues and partners, get caffeinated.

10:30 - 11:00 AM
Program Opening

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Keynote Panel: Local Leaders in Community Impact

We’re mixing it up this year and bringing in an assortment of leaders from parks and community engagement organizations to talk to us about what community impact means right now in Portland. These speakers will give you an inside look at their work and approach, and you’ll get to follow them into our afternoon conversations and workshops to dig in deeper.

  • Details coming soon - stay tuned!

12:00 PM
Let’s Lunch! Nosh and Network

Afternoon Learning Circles

1:00 - 2:00 PM
Story & Strategy Circles

It’s time to learn from each other’s experience - we are the leaders we’ve been waiting for! Tune into a story from a local organization about their approach to the topic. Then discuss the issue with peers, problem solve, and dream up new approaches for your own work. Know a lot about this topic? Know a little? All experience levels are welcome so we can share in each other’s growth. Attendees will select one Story & Strategy Circle to attend during registration.

  • Community Engagement Tactics

  • Volunteer Programming & Support

  • Coalition Building & Co-Leadership Models

  • Collective Support Strategies (BIPOC Affinity Space)

2:15 - 4:15 PM
Skill-Building Circles

These two-hour workshops are focused on sharing and skill-building in a core area of practice identified by partners at previous summits, aimed at expanding your organization’s capacity and impact. Facilitators are local leaders with grounded experience and will work to provide a tool you can take directly into your work and advocacy. Attendees will select one Skill-Building Circle to attend during registration.

  • Accessibility vs Ability to Access (Useful Information)
    Facilitators: Georgena Moran, Sharon Mitchell, and Debbie Timmons from Access for All, LLC

  • Bridging Generations: Creating Meaningful Connections
    Between Youth and Elders
    Facilitator: Pamela Slaughter, Executive Director, People of Color Outdoors

  • Grantwriting for Community Impact
    Facilitator, Rebecca Burrell, Strategist and Community Organizer

Evening Close-Out & Connect

4:30 - 5:00 PM
Closing Reflections

Collective sharing on what we’ve learned from a day spent together.

5:00 - 6:30 PM
Happy Hour

Connect in person with your peers, debrief your learnings, and enjoy free food and beverages

A special thanks to our event sponsors:

FAQs

Community Health Policies: 

In accordance with McMenamins’ policies, Multnomah County, Oregon State, and CDC guidelines, people are not required to wear a mask at the Summit. However, in order to honor the variety of human experiences and to ensure that everyone feels safe and comfortable, we encourage mask wearing whenever requested, social distancing wherever appropriate and being respectful of boundaries around physical contact/touch. If you have symptoms of Covid or other communicable illness, please consult with your doctor before venturing out. For more information about The Kennedy School’s Covid policies, please go here.

Accessibility: 

The Kennedy School provides an ADA entrance from the parking lot and has 5 ADA parking spaces in front of that parking lot entrance. All of their public bathrooms include ADA stalls and all of the public spaces are wheel-chair accessible. Please see the attached map for additional information about the ADA entrance.

The Portland Parks Foundation provides ASL interpretation upon request.

Please contact Jason Brown to request ASL services or notify us of any other accessibility needs.

Transportation & Parking:

A parking lot at the Kennedy School (5736 NE 33rd Ave, Portland, OR 97211), located off of NE Jessup Street, is available for free on a first come first serve basis. Street parking is also available. Bike racks and four racks for the orange Biketown bikes are available in the front of the building. For public transportation take the 70 or 72 to the nearest stop.

Questions?

If you have questions or need assistance registering, please contact Jason Brown at jason.brown@portlandpf.org.