Those of you who know me know that I love the challenge of creating a large event and raising the bar on the quality of the production. You also know I love being of service. So for more than a year I’ve dedicated my volunteer time to leading the bi-annual National Cohousing Conference which was held May 30-June 2, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. By the end it was like a full-time job and I could not have done it without Spencer by my side filling in the gaps, especially helping with data management and tech support to attendees on the phone and in person at the conference. By all standards it was a fabulous event that definitely raised the bar on nearly all fronts. Here’s a souvenir photo booklet of the conference. And here are a few summary factoids:
- Registration: 560 Attendees including 89 Speakers
- Bus Tours: 251 took tours of 10 unique communities, including 1 full-day and 4 half-day tours
- Free public talk: Co-sponsored by AARP-Oregon. Oregon State Director Ruby Haughton-Pitts introduced Grace Kim from Schemata Workshop, Seattle, to a full-house of 250 attendees.
- Sessions: 114 weekend sessions Including 21 pre-conference Intensive Workshops you can still view the sessions and speakers.
- Keynote Speaker: Courtney E. Martin (see 30 minute video below)
- Volunteers: 2 fabulous coordinators managed 70+ yellow-shirt clad volunteers totaling 600+ hours of volunteering
- CohoNextGen: With an intention to attract more youth and a generous gift to kick-start the effort, we are happy to share that the NextGen initiative successfully attracted more young adults and will continue via the CohoUS website.