With economic turmoil spreading from financial markets to local communities, it’s a tough season for raising funds to start or support good causes. Join us for this free event on December 10th to explore diverse ideas and new models for “financing the good.”

Panelists representing banking, angel investing, micro-philanthropy, and grant funding will discuss innovative approaches for funding social change that reflect shifts in the way their organizations do business. Specifically, they will highlight opportunities for "average" Portlanders to obtain funding for their social change projects and visions.

During the workshop segment, learn tips and tricks for obtaining one of Portland's community building or environmental grants, discover how community currency can fund social change, talk with a lawyer about how to apply for a 501(c)(3), learn how a social stock market generates seed funding for launching good ideas and how to implement "sustaining strategies."

Panelists: Mark Moffenbier, Shorebank Pacific Mark Holloway, Social Venture Partners Portland Amy Pearl, ChangeXchange Social Stock Market Joy Hunt, Vision into Action Grants

Workshops Angela Southwick, Neighbors West-Northwest Neighborhood Grants Emily Rice, Community Watershed Stewardship Program Environmental Grants Janelle Geddes, Metro Grants John Brown, Rooms for Peace Alan Rosenblith, Community Prosper, community currency Nancy Murray, Community Development Legal Clinic

The forum is sponsored by Portland-based nonprofit, Springboard Innovation. Springboard's mission is to launch community-led community change. The purpose of the forum is to empower "average" Portlanders with the resources and tools needed to take action to solve problems our society is facing.

June's Forum focuses on sustainability. How do you implement innovation in a way that creates lasting change? How do you preserve and maintain the change you've worked for? This month's forum will guide you through both of these considerations, the two sides of real sustainability. Join us to share your ideas and discuss emerging local and national concepts and projects and how they are sustaining the good! The Springboard Social Innovation Forum offers a monthly event designed to support those interested in creating a better future. Our focus is to help practitioners or potential practitioners of social projects push beyond discussion and debate into action. Each Forum will inspire and teach with ideas, powerful role models, and stories. Speakers, content experts, panels, and workshops will help you improve your strategies for planning and launching effective social ventures. The Forum will create a context to connect, learn, and take action around ideas that lead to tangible change—all in a venue designed for building community. Cost is $5.00 at the door.

Our July Forum will offer an exciting shift in format. We get to participate in the launch of Family Forward, a new nonprofit focused on inspiring workplaces, communities, and policies that value families.

Did you know that motherhood is the single biggest predictor of poverty in old age? What does this say about our community’s priorities and values? Join us for an evening of thought-provoking discussion about the economics of family-raising, the crisis of care, and what we can do to set a new course in Oregon. We will hear from experienced leaders who are working for family forward change on a number of fronts: employment, parent activism, women’s leadership, state policy, and more. We will work together to develop a new vision for a Family Forward Oregon. Please join us! Date: Wednesday, July 8th Doors open at 5:30pm Forum 6-9pm Cost: $5 Location: Urban Grind East 2214 NE Oregon St.

Raking Leaves in a Hurricane (Day in the LIfe of a Community Manager)

What does a technical community manager for a global tech company do?

If you've wondered what it's like, (and whether it's really as glamorous as it sounds), here's your chance to get the straight scoop from a community-building boss!

Bring your lunch and meet your fellow Portland community managers as we learn from Allison Krug, Technical Community Manager at AppNexus (https://www.appnexus.com/en), Headquartered in New York, AppNexus has 23 offices in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Speaker: Allison Krug

Hosted By: Clarissa Cooper, Lead Organizer

I'm a Pacific Northwest native and entrepreneur. I recently launched a community-based company to help women find clothes that fit and have more fun doing it (WeFitMe). I'm honored to get the CMX Series going in Portland and can't wait to meet professional community builders here!.

Twitter: @ryzhy (http://twitter.com/ryzhy) Susan Silver, Co-Lead Organizer @Susan_Silver (https://twitter.com/Susan_Silver)

Partner: NedSpace

15,000 square feet of great office space in the heart of downtown Portland for co-working, startups, entrepreneurs, freelancers, designers, and remote workers

What is CMX?

Advancing the community industry and helping community professionals thrive.

Building a successful Community program is a wonderful experience at the core of Community Management. What happens, however, when programs inevitably decline? This talk is about the equally important steps of eliminating outdated initiatives, deconstructing your favorite successes, and rebuilding from their foundations. Kara Sowles will take us through some concrete examples from her 5 years at a single company, including: * a user group program growing from 5 groups to 70 worldwide (and what it looks like to scale back after all that growth), * abandoning a series of 30/year one-day conferences, * remaking an online triage event into an online hack day, and more. We'll discuss the importance of having larger frameworks that you can plug programs into (and out) of, and the experience of destroying your favorite programs to stay nimble.

Kara Sowles is the Manager of Community and Evangelism at the software company Puppet, where she's spent the past 5 years leading strategic planning and implementation of the company's global community programs.

Come learn how tech company Puppet grew their evangelism initiatives from a small committee to a robust, thriving program. Meg Hartley will share the journey Puppet took, beginning with a few employees working to have a presence at some key events to address a limited number of topics, to today, when it's a fully fledged, stand-alone program.

This is a placeholder for the Community Leadership Summit - more details coming soon!

A proposed agenda:

9:30am - 12:30pm formal presentations / keynote

12:30pm - lunch

2pm - 5pm break out sessions / unconference style

A new group of folks are taking on leadership of this event this year.

Here is a link to the Call for Papers: https://forms.gle/stL7v7dkGjWsSTsA6

Portland Design Thinkers is excited to invite you to our first 2023 in-person event of the year. Join us in person on May 18th, 5:30-7:00p and meet your fellow PDTers! Light nibbles and drinks will be provided.

Space is limited, so please register early!

EVENT FAQ

Q: What is the in-person event capacity? A: 50

Q: Is the space ADA accessible? A: Yes

Q: Will there be food and drink at this event? A: Yes.

Q: What is the parking situation? A: The building has a large, free parking lot.

Q: Is there any special information that might help me find the entrance? A: The main entrance is clearly visible from the outside near the building address, the doors are secured but will remain open until 6p for event arrival. Event time 5:30-7p, 2nd floor.

Q: Is there secured bike parking? A: There is a bike rack by the picnic table.

Q: Should I consider using public transportation? A: The building is on the 56 bus route.

Q: Can I bring my dog? A: Sadly, no.

Portland Design Thinkers are thrilled to announce another Rooftop Happy Hour! Join us for lively conversation, networking, and real, live, face-to-face time with your fellow Design Thinkers!

Food and beverage provided. Please RSVP and also let us know if your plans change, so we can plan accordingly.

Accessibility: Elevator that includes roof access and the bathrooms are ADA accessible

Parking: Free two-hour parking is located around the building on Stark St, 9th Ave, Sandy Blvd, etc.

Please be advised that photographs will be taken at the event for use on the website, our social media, and PDT-related publications. By entering this event, you consent to the PDT photographing and using your image and likeness.

PDT is a volunteer-run organization, and as you can imagine, organizing events can be expensive. We rely on sponsors and donations to help us offset these costs.

If you're able to contribute, we will be collecting cash donations at the event. We suggest a $10 cash donation, but we're grateful for any amount that you're willing to donate.

If you have any questions or would like to join the PDT Slack you can do so at this link: https://bit.ly/2JuQ2V6

Portland Design Thinkers is thrilled to announce our next event with Damon Gaumont: Turning Empathy into Action – This Is How Digital Products Attain True Success

Turning empathy into action in digital product experiences is crucial for creating products that resonate with users, provide value, and foster positive relationships between users and businesses. It not only leads to better user satisfaction but also contributes to the success and reputation of the product and the company behind it. In this talk, Damon will cover why it is so important, various methods to achieve it, how to measure it, and how to ensure it is continually improved.

About our speaker: Damon currently guides brands accountably through the creation of digital experiences by tapping his extensive background and expertise in brand building, creative strategy, and experience design. His belief that all brand extensions start best with a clearly articulated vision is the first step in an accountable process that culminates with beautifully usable and inherently humanized branded digital experiences.

If you have any questions or would like to join the PDT Slack you can do so at this link: https://bit.ly/2JuQ2V6

PDT is a volunteer-run organization, and as you can imagine, organizing events can be expensive. We rely on sponsors and donations to help us offset these costs. If you would like to help, we accept donations through Venmo @PortlandDesignThinkers.

Join us for an insightful panel discussion at the next Portland Design Thinkers event, exploring Surprises and Speed bumps When Practicing Design Thinking.

As a design-thinker, you might often find yourself collaborating with individuals who may not fully understand the value of your approach. How do you effectively advocate for design thinking and demonstrate its impact on your projects and organization? Learn from seasoned experts on how to thrive (or survive) in a dynamic, multi-function workplace. Whether you're an experienced pro or just starting out, bring your questions and gain valuable strategies to adapt, innovate, and lead.

Meet the panel:

Shashi Jain: Shashi Jain is a Technologist, Entrepreneur, and Teacher who believes in the power of deep-tech literacy and youth entrepreneurship. He began his journey at Intel incubating frontier technology into new business models, with partners. Over the course of 24 years, he’s delivered concepts in AI, the Internet of Things, Mixed Reality, Space, Healthcare, Additive Manufacturing, and Blockchain. He’s been mentor to deep tech startups (orbital observation, silicon photonics) and has sponsored translational research in AI for Space applications with NASA Frontier Development Lab. He currently serves as Principal at the Portland Seed Fund, advising and evaluating deep tech startups. When he’s not dreaming about quantum computers and neuroscience (in space), you’ll find him teaching innovation and entrepreneurship to high school students through TiE Young Entrepreneurs and serving on the Board of Directors at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. Shashi is also the author of “Creating Unstoppable Innovation” (coming in 2024)

Jamie Sherman: Jamie Sherman, PhD is a cultural anthropologist and user experience researcher. She has been working in the technology and UX space since 2012 when she was fortunate to join Intel, working on a range of existing and emerging technologies from virtual reality to gaming, content creation, and AI. Today she is Principal UX Researcher at ESRI focusing the UX of data and analytics in Geographic Information Systems.

Mike Premi: Mike Premi is an accomplished professional with a track record of success in sales and business development leadership, healthcare product management, and product marketing. With extensive experience in managing clinical trials of new technology solutions and driving global service innovation, Mike has cultivated strategic partnerships with prominent organizations such as the VA, American Medical Association, and American Pharmacists Association. His contributions extend beyond corporate realms, with multiple patents issued in healthcare software. As a co-founder of a healthcare startup business at Intel, Mike led partnerships with the AMA and APhA, resulting in the acquisition by a market segment leader. Transitioning to his third career, following roles as a US Naval Officer and Intel Business Development Leader, Mike's passion lies in leveraging computer technology to improve lives. He is currently dedicated to enhancing the lives of US Military Veterans through his work with SoldierStrong.org.

Paul Sorenson: With over 40 years of Human Factors Engineering/UX Research experience and a background that includes roles at Facebook, IBM, Lockheed, Hewlett Packard, and Intel, Paul Sorenson is an expert in user experience research. Specializing in user-centered, mixed-methods research, Paul's recent focus has been hand-held, wearable, and augmented/mixed reality technology and products. His expertise in experimental design, sensory perception, cognition, and human factors engineering has significantly influenced multi-sensory experience research and design.

Portland Design Thinkers is thrilled to host our next speaker Nandini Nayak: Herding the Cats with Service Blueprinting.

In any human experience-centered program, bringing vision to optimized execution requires continuous cross-functional alignment and collaboration, which often falls apart! Nan will discuss how she has used Service Blueprinting as a key framework to drive alignment in complex organizations. You will learn how UX and Service Design are complementary, the difference between journey mapping and service blueprinting, and why it is important to take a systems view to be a successful design professional.

About our speaker: Nan is an experienced Digital Strategy and Transformation leader with a Human-Centered mindset. She has spent a career at Hewlett Packard and Accenture driving strategic design programs and practices serving audiences across industry segments. Nan holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology

PDT is thrilled to bring our community together for a special in-person event! Connect with fellow Design Thinkers for an evening of networking, engaging ideation activities, and the opportunity to share ideas in real-time, face-to-face.

We’re especially excited to host this event at the Architectural Heritage Center. Located in the heart of Portland, the AHC is a key part of preserving the city’s architectural heritage, offering a setting that reflects the creativity and history of our community. It’s the perfect spot to connect, share ideas, and meet your fellow Portland Design Thinkers.

Enjoy delicious food and beverages as we dive into creative conversations and build connections.

Please RSVP and let us know if your plans change, so we can plan accordingly.

Suggested Donation: $15 at the door to help cover food and beverage costs. If you're facing financial constraints, feel free to contribute whatever you can. Every little bit helps and we would love to see you there!

If you have any questions or would like to connect with other members of PDT, join our Slack community.

PDT is a volunteer-run Oregon nonprofit organization, and as you can imagine, organizing events can be expensive. We rely on sponsors and donations to help us offset these costs. If you would like to help, we accept donations through Venmo @PortlandDesignThinkers.

Portland Design Thinkers is excited to announce our next event with Danielle Green: Where to Start with Strategic Product Research

Strategic Product Research is in high demand, but Product and UX professionals are often set up to fail. What exactly does strategic research entail? And how does it differ from discovery research? Learn why showing conceptual designs to users doesn’t work and explore better ways to evaluate whether you are building the right product or feature. Geared toward product managers, designers, product leaders, and entrepreneurs, this framework is designed to empower UX and Product professionals to make strategic decisions confidently.