about us

Elected offices and appointed boards and commissions have an incredible impact on people's ability to thrive; it's why we believe that those leaders should come from all communities — not just communities with privilege and wealth. We believe that it’s the local issues that have the greatest impact on our communities.

We approach civic engagement and leadership development from recognition that decision makers have power to change the structures that hold back our communities in Oregon.

OFL is BIPOC-led and leverages the lived experiences of our entire board, staff and partners to drive our vision, mission and programs. Our staff and board are community leaders and former elected officials, just like the leaders we serve. This model allows us to hold each other accountable in a safe way and keeps us rooted in the unique histories and perspectives each of us bring to the work, as well as the multitude of experiences our communities face across intersectional identities. We engage in deliberate work to ensure that our stories are told by our local BIPOC community leaders.

We are fighting for policies and processes that are equitable, democratic and effective. We believe to improve on our policies and processes everyone should be able to participate in the responsibility of shared governance. We know that BIPOC leaders are transformative, effective and authentic.

We recruit better leaders, build consensus and create policy solutions. We know that we can't just be innovative — we have to be disruptive in challenging the many forms of oppression.

We partner with community-based organizations to support BIPOC leaders running for office to build local networks of leaders ready to leverage radical change at the regional and statewide level. 

We believe that by supporting and retaining BIPOC leaders who are rooted in their community, we can disrupt the current leadership structures and advance collective liberation.