Kaarin Knudson is a licensed architect, educator, and leader with more than 20 years’ experience advancing sustainable design and community-led solutions. In 2017, she founded the housing advocacy organization Better Housing Together (BHT), to increase housing affordability, diversity and supply in Lane County, and was awarded the City of Eugene’s “Community Award” in 2018. Knudson advised on the implementation of Oregon’s landmark middle housing laws and advocated for the creation of Eugene’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. She is a longtime member of the City Club of Eugene, and she served as its president in 2022-2023. She teaches a graduate urban design workshop at the University of Oregon and is coauthor of a new textbook, The Sustainable Urban Design Handbook (Routledge, April 2024).

Dr. Christine Carmichael is the award-winning Founder and Principal Consultant of Fair Forests Consulting. She holds a Ph.D. in Forestry with a Specialization in Gender, Justice, and Environmental Change and a Graduate Certificate in Community Engagement from Michigan State University. Dr. Carmichael has published high-impact research and consulted with numerous non-profit environmental groups and government agencies on ways to enhance multicultural partnerships, particularly in urban forestry, parks, and greenspace management. Dr. Carmichael is also a skilled facilitator with expertise in strategic planning and ensuring productive dialogue among diverse groups who have a stake in environmental programs.

Colley is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Native American Studies program at Southern Oregon University. Her research focuses on federal Indian law, Oregon Tribes, intertribal relations, and community healing. She authored Power in the Telling (2019), which was a finalist for the Frances Fuller Victor Award. Colley earned her Ph.D. in Native American Studies from the University of California, Davis in 2014. She leads an intertribal Indigenous collaboration on first-food access in Southern Oregon. She is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee with heritage from the Wasco, Warm Springs and Cherokee peoples.

There is an imperative for urban forestry and arboriculture professionals to collaborate with Tribal communities in tree and forest management, planning, and decision-making processes. In 2023, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) Urban and Community Forestry Program received $10 million to develop a grant program that supports the nine Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon (one of the only programs of its kind across the entire country). In this presentation, ODF staff members Brittany Oxford and Hilary Olivos-Rood will share their experiences building relationships with Tribal communities including successes, limitations, and opportunities for growth.

Based in the small town of Talent, OUR Community Forestry has rapidly grown out of the ashes of the Almeda wildfire. Originally a grassroots effort, OURCF is now the leading force in urban forestry equity for Southern Oregon along with our collaboration with Terra Vitalis, a social enterprise arboriculture and urban forestry company, Plant Oregon, Canopy, Casey P Roland, and others. This session will explore the founding story of OUR Community Forestry, the strategies behind our rapid sustainable growth, and our programs making an impact, such as Rogue Treesilience and Trees for All Oregonians Initiative.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation recently completed Phase 1 of their Trees in the Curb Zone pilot project, in partnership with Urban Forestry. Phase 1 reallocates underutilized on-street parking to create space for street trees. The presentation will explore the analysis for identifying corridors for the pilot, the design, construction, and lessons learned, to help other jurisdictions who are interested in innovative tree planting solutions. The presentation will also highlight the collaboration and coordination between transportation and forestry, along with other bureaus and interests. https://www.portland.gov/transportation/planning/trees-curb-zone

This presentation will explore how Portland Parks & Recreation’s Urban Forestry Division leverages COBID-certified contractors to expand the city’s tree canopy in low-income, low-canopy neighborhoods. Using the Free Street Tree Program as a case study, we will share insights into building equitable partnerships with diverse contractors to plant and establish 60 trees in the Overlook neighborhood, with a $150,000 contract scope that includes planting, three years of establishment care, and tree warranties. Attendees will learn about the collaborative approach, training provided to contractors, and the importance of collaboration between urban forestry teams and local businesses to amplify canopy expansion while fostering inclusive economic opportunities.

This session invites urban forestry professionals to engage with care and design as intentional practices for shifting power, relationships, and systemic structures. We will explore frameworks that guide this work, including equitable evaluation, relational design, and emergent strategy, as well as how care-based approaches like liberatory harm reduction and rest as resistance can shape our ability to engage in meaningful transformation. Through a past, present, and futures framework, I will share insights from my work in systems and data, demonstrating how care can be woven into processes that often feel rigid or extractive.

With the ultimate common desire of creating well-designed urban forests, the need to unite the forces of landscape architects, contractors, maintenance crews and arborists becomes all the more important. There is an opportunity for us to work more closley together and learn from each other. This presentation shows how we can fix common mistakes and explore better ways to create a successful and vibrant urban forest.

“A Story About Fire Adapted Communities" highlights the critical role of community engagement in wildfire risk management within urban and community forestry settings. This presentation explores how fostering resilience, building trust, and encouraging collaboration can shape success. It will also show how the stories we share may influence outcomes more than we realize.

Hear about the experiences of young workforce professionals from the current cohort at Friends of Tryon Creek, a non-profit which connects people with Tryon Creek State Natural Area in Portland. As a diverse group of community forest stewards, these individuals have powerful insight into the value and role of workforce programs in community and urban forestry.

Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District will share the experience of their partnership with Centro Cultural’s Climate Justice Leadership program . That program provides an opportunity for Latino high school students to learn about land stewardship and conservation efforts in our region. Find out about the most recent cohort’s project creating EAB management plans and key lessons learned.

The Willamalane Park and Recreation District in Lane County partnered with the Northwest Youth Corps to build their Tree Inventory in 2024, funded by the USDA’s Urban and Community Forestry Program. This presentation will explore the project execution and results, the impact of the youth-led data collection, and key lessons in a cross-organizational partnership approach for modernizing tree inventories.