I am thrilled to announce that Chris Lu, former Deputy Secretary of Labor under President Barack Obama, will participate in a featured breakfast plenary at #PNW17 on Thursday morning, Oct. 5. Lu is a senior fellow at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia and is a senior advisor to FiscalNote, a government relationship management (GRM) technology company that helps organizations manage issues and interactions at all levels of government. Prior to serving as Deputy Secretary, Lu was the White House cabinet secretary and assistant to President Obama and executive director of the Obama-Biden Transition Project and prior to that served as deputy chief counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He’ll be joined on the panel by conference co-chair Nichole June Maher, President and CEO of Northwest Health Foundation and moderated by Kiran Ahuja, our new CEO.

As David Callahan wrote in the New York Times recently: “Philanthropy will increasingly slide into the driver’s seat of public life, with private funders tackling problems that government can’t or won’t.” Government budgets are shrinking. As the role of government changes, more is being asked of philanthropy. Many funders are eager to engage more fully in the public sector, bringing ideas, money and expertise to help tackle entrenched social, economic and environmental issues facing our society. Nonprofit grantees and the general public increasingly look to philanthropic leaders and social innovators to weigh in on some of the most profound debates affecting basic democratic institutions. As we're asked to speak out, forcefully, on issues from Charlottesville to major cuts in state and federal budgets, Lu and Maher will share their perspectives and expertise as a former White House appointee and the leader of a major regional health foundation.

The full conference agenda is now available and among the many conference sessions I'm excited to announce are:

• $0.27 For Every $100: Foundations, Investments and LGBTQ Communities in the Northwest
• Arts and Social Change: New Frameworks for Assessing Community Impact
• Democratic Reform in the West: Inspiring Past to a Promising Future
• Employee Engagement - Connecting Community and Company for Collective Impact
• Generation Impact: How Next Gen Donors are Revolutionizing Giving
• Impact Investing in Native and Rural Communities
• Real Talk, Real Change: Practical Tools for Advancing Racial Equity at Your Foundation
• Rethinking CSR Strategy to Maximize Signature Initiatives and Strategic Local Giving
• Standing with Immigrant Families
• The Time is Now - The Funder Role in Supporting Advocacy
• Why Long-Term 501(c)(3) Candidate Work Matters for Democracy

With sessions and speakers of this caliber, it's no wonder that our conference hotel room block has already sold out! Not to worry. There are still rooms available at the Red Lion Janzen Beach, the overflow hotel. Fifty percent of our nearly 200 registrants are board members or CEOs. Register today and join peers from:

More information is being released daily. Please check our website for exciting announcements and updates. See you in Vancouver!