Theme: Br / dges

PDX. Stumptown. Rose City. Portland has many nicknames, but perhaps the most enduring is Bridgetown — a nod to our iconic bridges and the culture of acceptance that fuels our creativity. Portland’s famed bridges represent our progress and expose our challenges. From a past tarnished with racial inequality to a present that seeks to transcend that story. Year 8 is dedicated to building the future of Portland as an equitable, hopeful, and prosperous city for all. We will explore the duality with each speaker and their idea.

Keller Auditorium
222 SW Clay Street
Portland, Oregon, 97201
United States

Albert Chi

Albert is a trauma surgeon with a background in biomedical engineering. His clinical research is focused on improving the lives of individuals with traumatic injuries with an emphasis on motor control. Helping develop the world's most sophisticated prosthetic arm, Albert seeks to revolutionize the way individuals with lost limbs conduct their everyday lives. He is also commissioned as a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy Reserve.

Ann Curry

A world-renowned journalist and television personality, Ann graduated from the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism, started her career in Ashland (and then Portland!), then quickly rose to global prominence. Most recognized for her high-profile interviews, as well as in-depth coverage of natural disasters and human suffering in active war zones, Ann’s reporting is testament to the power of journalism and its ability to connect us all.

Christopher Nichols

Christopher is an Associate Professor of History at Oregon State University, Director of OSU’s Center for the Humanities, and founder of OSU’s Citizenship and Crisis Initiative. A 2016 Andrew Carnegie Fellow and best-selling author, he specializes in U.S. history, American isolationism, and our country’s relationship to the rest of the world.

Colleen Yeager

Colleen is a proud mother of two, a member of the Timbers Army, an IPA enthusiast, and a leader in Portland’s growing tech community. Colleen has joined forces with Basic Rights Oregon to fight for equality and protections for her transgender son, Eli, and others like him. She aims to deepen our understanding of humanity and inspire actions we can each take to ensure equality for all.

Danielle Outlaw

After 20 years of service for Oakland’s Police Department, Danielle was sworn in as Portland’s 48th Chief of Police in 2018. With a background in sociology and business, she’s a bridge-builder and thoughtful listener who believes in the idea of “when we know better, we do better.” Her goal as Chief: inspire transformation and positive progression in 21st century policing via enhanced strategies here, and everywhere.

Edna Vazquez

Edna is a fearless performer whose powerful voice and musical talent uplift audiences everywhere. With powerful vocals and spectacular guitar technique, her songs are deeply rooted in universal human emotion and blend folk, rock, pop, and R&B to spread her message of light, love and cultural healing.

Hunter Noack & Thomas Lauderdale

Hunter is an internationally acclaimed concert pianist who integrates literature, visual art, dance, theater, and design to transform the art of performance. His recent work “In a Landscape” connects classical music in the wild to communities all over our state. We invite you to step into Hunter’s world and explore for yourself a blend of the refined outdoors. After first moving to Portland in 1982, Thomas led an active life in politics before finding his true identity in music. With the formation of his “little orchestra” Pink Martini in 1994, Thomas embraced the global music community as inspiration for his work. His dazzling energy and selflessness are a reflection of this city and what we should all aspire to be — a connected community.

Kevin Cavenaugh

Kevin is a prolific local developer of small commercial and residential buildings whose work adheres to the mindset that quality is not defined by the depth of one’s pockets. His developments include the LEED Platinum rated Burnside Rocket, The Zipper, The Ocean, and the nation’s first ground-up crowdfunded project, the Fair-Haired Dumbbell. Today, he’s turning his attention toward creating a better version of subsidy-less affordable housing.

Kristine Napper

Kristine has navigated the world with a wheelchair all of her life, and believes that her disability greatly enhances her effectiveness as an educator. She has taught English Language Development to grades 6-8 in Beaverton, Oregon since 2007. Kristine is passionate about finding creative ways to meet individual needs, and making rigorous education accessible to all students.

Mira Kaddoura

Mira is a renowned creative in our Portland, OR. She is a conceptual interactive artist, as well as founder and executive creative director of the esteemed Red & Co. Born in Egypt, and raised between Lebanon and Canada, she credits her husband, family, yoga, and conceptual art projects for keeping her sane in the world of advertising.

Oregon Symphony

The Grammy-nominated Oregon Symphony ranks as one of America’s major orchestras. Led by Music Director Carlos Kalmar, it serves over 235,000 people annually through more than 90 concerts and award-winning education and community engagement programs. Now in its 121st season, the Oregon Symphony is the oldest orchestra west of the Mississippi. Open your ears, your minds, and your eyes to the wondrous sound and spectacle that is this true Oregon treasure.

Peter Cho

Peter’s restaurant, the Korean-inspired Han Oak, was Portland Monthly’s 2017 restaurant of the year. Inside its walls unfurls a world rooted in both tradition and fresh interpretations on authentic cuisines. Peter cut his teeth in New York for 13 years in the kitchen of Michelin star chef April Bloomfield before his desire to be closer to his family called him to the Rose City. In 2017, he was recognized by Food & Wine as best new chef and is currently nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Chef Northwest.

Rick Turoczy

Rick has been an active partner of startups within the Portland area for over 20 years, and produces content on his tech blog, Silicon Florist. Co-founder and GM of Wieden+Kennedy’s PIE (Portland Incubator Experiment), Rick advises engineers, makers, doers, bloggers, and geeks to create tech-fueled cultural disruptions around the world.

Ron Artis II

Ron thinks that music is meant to be lived, as life is to be lived. He grew up alongside his 10 brothers and sisters performing for tourists in his family’s home on the North Shore of O‘ahu, and today mixes the blues of Jimi Hendrix with the soul of Bill Withers to deliver fresh and original music with a pure and positive message.

Steven Eberlein

Steven Eberlein’s experience of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami left him grappling with this question: can a society adapt to a risk that it has never experienced before? Steve’s mission is to spark a preparedness movement in the Pacific Northwest that will save lives in the event of a Cascadia Subduction Zone 9M earthquake. In this Talk, Steve shows that a society’s willingness to change is thwarted by an invisible force called the “common-sense gap” which, once identified and challenged, can quickly morph into a life-saving cultural movement.

Tami Lynn Kent

Tami is a holistic women’s healthcare visionary, as well as a mother and writer. She is devoted to restoring the woman’s body by studying core patterns from the perspectives of modern medicine and traditional women’s wisdom. She is the author of books Wild Feminine, Mothering from Your Center, and Wild Creative, founder of Holistic Pelvic Care, and runs an international training program for practitioners. She approaches each day with wonder, awe, and appreciation for the creative energy infused within. Find out more at Wildfeminine.com Artistic Slide Credits in Tami’s Talk: Jenna Wiebe @ DuvetDays.org

The Gay Beards

Individually, their names are Brian Delaurenti and Johnathan Dahl. Together they’re known as The Gay Beards. Since age 8, humor has defined their relationship. Having experienced many of life’s triumphs and tragedies together, the duo creates lighthearted content utilizing one of Portland’s most notable styles: beards.

Tom Sachs

A sculptor by priority, but also a willing participant in filmmaking, bricolage, painting, space exploration, and tea ceremonies, Tom makes his own rules. Playing with the idea of a consumer culture, Tom utilizes iconic brands to create his own unique take on pop culture or historical events, often highlighting the love and labor it takes to build what we so commonly use daily.

Tyrone Poole

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Tyrone sought to be a firefighter and earned his credentials in 2005. A catastrophic fall during training swiftly ended his career and left him with medical debt and no place to live. Through his experience he invented OneAppOregon.com, a new platform to connect people in need with qualified housing. He is fundamentally changing the way cities will evolve and can meet the needs of their citizens.