"When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never ending shade?" - Amanda Gorman from her 2021 inauguration poem, "The Hill We Climb".

Join us on April 18 for a special, virtual Annual Meeting.

Though 2020 was a year like no other, protecting the Gorge did not stop. As a member of Friends, YOU are the most important tool for ensuring the Gorge remains protected.

Kevin Gorman, Friends executive director, will speak about both the challenges and adversity dealt with by Friends over the past year. He will highlight the opportunities ahead to protect, preserve, and steward the Columbia Gorge in a social, economic, and political landscape that has been strained by the pandemic, continued social injustice, and growing localized climate change impacts here in the Pacific Northwest.

Se-ah-dom Edmo, executive director of the MRG Foundation will join us as our keynote speaker. Se-ah-dom’s ancestors are from Celilo, a fishing village along the Columbia River and one of the oldest known settlements in the West. She brings deep experience in community organizing for racial and social justice work across the nation, and has led efforts in partnership with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to create the Chúush Fund as the Tribes work to restore their access and infrastructure for clean water. A hallmark of her career has been fostering relationships and collaborations between tribes and organizations that do social, racial, environmental, and economic justice work across the region.

We will miss gathering in person, but we’re working to make this the next-best thing!

Photo: A lone tree at Coyote Wall | Sharon Philpott

Se-ah-dom Edmo | Executive Director | MRG Foundation

Kevin Gorman | Executive Director | Friends of the Columbia Gorge