June 6, 2026

Talking About Values Across Political Divides

“How can I be me without making it difficult for you to be you?” This question gets at the fundamental challenge of being in society together. We live in a contentious political world, and it’s difficult to talk about our deepest values and beliefs in safe, civil, and respectful ways. In 2021, the Pew Research Center found that nearly six in ten Americans felt that political conversations with those you disagree with are generally stressful and frustrating, as opposed to being interesting and informative. If we avoid such conversations, we lose opportunities to form a community with others that reflects our best selves. How can we learn to share our values in ways that bring us together rather than push us further apart?

Facilitator Lowell Greathouse is a retired United Methodist minister who served congregations in rural, suburban, and urban settings in Oregon, Idaho, and England from 1986 to 2019. In addition, he worked with community-based programs at Catholic Social Services in San Francisco, Community Action in Washington County, and United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. Lowell was born in Oregon and has family roots in the state that date back to the 1890s. He has been engaged in a variety of cross-cultural settings, including at the Cuernavaca Center for Intercultural Dialogue on Development (CCIDD) in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and is the author of the book Rediscovering the Spirit: From Political Brokenness to Spiritual Wholeness (Wipf and Stock, 2020).

1:00 p.m., Jacksonville Branch Library, Jacksonville

June 13, 2026

To What Do We Pledge?

While the opening of the Declaration of Independence gets the fanfare and the fireworks—“When in the course of human events” and all that—the closing clause contains a quiet promise: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” When we talk about the founding, we often think of it as a severing from a distant power and a proclamation of individual rights. And yet, buried in that big individualistic origin story, there is a pledge of support, solidarity, and mutual aid. Today, as we witness political violence, hostility, and polarization, this conversation invites us to explore what it means for us to be bound to one another and to ask ourselves: Is there any idea, any value, any dream for the future that we care about enough to tie ourselves to one another to protect or pursue it? What would it mean to “mutually pledge” ourselves to one another today? What would it look like? Feel like? Is it even possible?

Facilitator Wendy Willis is the founding director of Oregon's Kitchen Table, a statewide community engagement program housed at Portland State University. She is also a poet, an essayist, a stitcher, and a self-proclaimed democracy geek. Wendy was raised in Springfield, but now lives with her family in Portland.

10:15 a.m., Salem Public Library, Salem

June 13, 2026

What Does Freedom Depend on?

The United States is often referred to as “the land of the free.” Our freedoms are rooted in the Bill of Rights and later amendments to the Constitution. What do these freedoms depend on? How does my freedom intersect with the freedoms of others? This conversation will take us through an exploration of these questions and more as we consider our freedoms and if and when they might be changed.

Facilitator Jennifer Alkezweeny has been Oregon Humanities' program director since 2020. She supports the team of folks making Oregon Humanities programs happen, provides leadership for the organization's vision, and connects with organizations and communities to explore new initiatives. She is focused on connecting people to their communities and pursuing their goals while centering social justice. She has created learning spaces around the country and globe and loves that moment when the people in a room begin to harmonize. Jennifer is a deep believer in experiential learning, harnessing the knowledge in a room, finding your learning edge, and the power of silence. She's a longtime volunteer facilitator with the Dougy Center for Grieving Children and Families. In her free time she can be found experimenting in the kitchen, looking at the world from behind a macro lens, or floating around in her kayak.

1:00 p.m., Siuslaw Public Library, Florence

June 14, 2026

Civicus: What Does It Mean to Be a Citizen?

In the United States, most people would say they believe in democracy. But do we all understand the word in the same way? Where does the concept of democracy come from, and what makes “the rule of the people” work? This conversation will dig into the history, philosophy, and practical workings of democracy. We’ll look at the words of important political thinkers from the past, the US Constitution, and research on challenges to democracy in the present day. We’ll leave with a better sense of what we mean when we say democracy and how to participate in the democratic process locally and nationally.

Facilitator Prakash Chenjeri is a professor and chair of the philosophy program at Southern Oregon University. He was educated both in India and the US. His research and teaching focus on understanding the concept of citizenship, the role of scientific literacy in modern democracy, and debates over science and religion. He co-directs the Democracy Project, a comprehensive examination of democracy around the world in the twenty-first century. He has lived in Oregon for more than three decades.

2:00 p.m., Beaverton City Library, Beaverton

June 15, 2026

Who Are “We the People?”

Our stories about who we are—as a nation or as a community—often don’t match the reality of who is actually part of our community. When the Declaration of Independence was written, people living in what would become the United States didn’t all have the same rights. What does that mean for us 250 years later? This conversation is a chance to reflect on what the Declaration of Independence means today, what it means to be American, and what it takes to work together for the benefit of all.

Facilitator Eliot Feenstra is a community organizer, artist, gardener and facilitator. He currently works with Oregon's Kitchen Table, a statewide community engagement program that creates ways for Oregonians to participate in public decision-making. Prior to joining OKT, he worked on rural queer community organizing in southern Oregon, collaborative performance projects, and connecting people with place. He has worked with Oregon Humanities since 2015, leading trainings, facilitating conversations about power and place, and even once appearing on The Detour. After living in Josephine County for many years, he now lives in Portland and continues to work in solidarity with and advocate for rural communities.

6:00 p.m., Wilsonville Public Library, Wilsonville

June 17, 2026

What Does Freedom Depend on?

The United States is often referred to as “the land of the free.” Our freedoms are rooted in the Bill of Rights and later amendments to the Constitution. What do these freedoms depend on? How does my freedom intersect with the freedoms of others? This conversation will take us through an exploration of these questions and more as we consider our freedoms and if and when they might be changed.

Facilitator Jennifer Alkezweeny has been Oregon Humanities' program director since 2020. She supports the team of folks making Oregon Humanities programs happen, provides leadership for the organization's vision, and connects with organizations and communities to explore new initiatives. She is focused on connecting people to their communities and pursuing their goals while centering social justice. She has created learning spaces around the country and globe and loves that moment when the people in a room begin to harmonize. Jennifer is a deep believer in experiential learning, harnessing the knowledge in a room, finding your learning edge, and the power of silence. She's a longtime volunteer facilitator with the Dougy Center for Grieving Children and Families. In her free time she can be found experimenting in the kitchen, looking at the world from behind a macro lens, or floating around in her kayak.

6:00 p.m., Virtual Event, statewide

June 18, 2026

Consider This with Naomi Shihab Nye

A conversation with the extraordinary poet and novelist Naomi Shihab Nye about nations and communities. What makes this nation, the United States, what it is? How do nations change over time, and what moves those changes? How do communities become what we hope them to be? How should we strive to live together in community?

7:00 p.m., Alberta Rose Theatre, Portland

October 8, 2026

Reflective Conversation Training (in-person)

During this in-person facilitation training, participants will:

• learn about facilitation and reflective conversation
• have an opportunity to practice new skills and techniques
• reflect on and share your own beliefs and assumptions and listen to beliefs, backgrounds, and experiences different than your own
• design and participate in reflective conversations and debriefs that analyze facilitation tools and choices.

This training will take place in the Oregon Humanities office in Portland (610 SW Alder St., Suite 1111) over the following days:

• Day 1: Thursday, October 8, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Day 2: Friday, October 9, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

To register for the October in-person training, click here.

In-person trainings are limited to the first twelve to sixteen people to sign up. Over the course of two days, we’ll spend our time together talking in large and small groups, in small to mid-sized rooms. We’ll provide coffee and tea and a light lunch on both days.

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Oregon Humanities, Portland

October 8, 2026

What Does It Mean to Be American?

This conversation will explore when and how we define ourselves as an “American.” Does knowing the Constitution make us American? Does living on land controlled by the United States of America make us American? Through conversation and nonverbal exploration, we will share what “American” means to us individually and within the communities we belong to or came from, and what perspectives shaped our understanding of American identity and who is included in “We the People.”

Facilitator Chisao Hata is a performing artist, educator, and arts integration specialist. She has been called a “community weaver” through facilitation, community engagement and creating artistic collaborations. She has been a protector of imagination and personal discovery and a champion for individual expression. Creating engaged learning is her life’s work. She has had the honor of serving hundreds of Portland’s children, youth, and adults across many communities. Chisao believes we are all inextricably linked, and the power of gathering is a conduit to build and heal our understandings between our communities.

6:30 p.m., Oregon Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association Grand Hall, Portland