Reflections on Keynoting the “Rooted in Community and Connection” Conference

 What happens when 120+ educators, artists, and activists gather to explore what it means to be rooted in community, to flow with creativity, and to face resistance with open hearts? Jennifer Johnson and I were honored to keynote the E3 Washington Conference this year with a three-day collaborative offering. Together, through mural-painting, collaborative poetry, movement, and deep reflection, we created a living experience—rooted in art, grown by community, and shaped by nature herself.

This winter, I had the honor of collaborating with the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team (DERT) to support Community Envisioned Deschutes Estuary (CEDE)—a six-part public workshop series inviting our community to imagine a restored estuary in downtown Olympia.

Throughout the series, I took live graphic notes, visually capturing the conversations, values, and dreams that emerged. These weren’t just meetings. They were moments of co-creation—where people reflected on their relationships to the land, to each other, and to the generations who came before and will come after.

Last night, I consciously stepped away from the digital clamor of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, participating in the “Lights out on Meta” boycott. As I awoke this morning, a wave of panic swept through me. How disconnected have I become from the world, from my own community? I felt a deep unease as I considered how tightly our digital communications are held in the hands of a few powerful men.

Yet, this act of disconnecting is unexpectedly liberating.