REAL Oregon Class 9 Continues in Roseburg
Session 2 | December 16–18, 2025
REAL Oregon Class 9 gathered in Roseburg for their second session, diving deep into communication, forestry, community building, and collaboration across Oregon’s working forest landscape. Over three days, participants explored how leadership shows up in public speaking, policy, community engagement, and conflict—while experiencing firsthand the people and operations that sustain rural communities.
Day 1 | Finding Your Voice & Building Community
The session began Tuesday morning at the Holiday Inn Express in Roseburg with a focus on effective communication.
Participants kicked off with “Pitch Perfect: Public Speaking for Leaders” led by Ty Sohlman, Associate Director of Graduate Admissions at George Fox University. Through a fun, low-pressure exercise—arguing coffee versus tea, then switching sides—participants practiced crafting concise, persuasive messages and adapting to new perspectives. Along the way, Ty shared practical tools for confident delivery, eye contact, and storytelling that resonated across professions.
Following lunch from Smokin’ Friday BBQ, the class turned its attention to Oregon’s forests. Julie Woodward, Director of Forestry at the Oregon Forest Resources Institute and REAL Oregon Class 6 alumna, delivered an engaging overview of Oregon’s forest landscape. Her presentation covered forest ownership diversity, wildfire, forest policy, wood products, careers, and the recently adopted Oregon Forest Practices Act. Participants explored how forest growth exceeds harvest, how mass timber contributes to carbon storage, and why forestry remains one of Oregon’s most significant economic sectors—supporting more than 62,000 jobs statewide.
The afternoon closed with Community Building 101, led by Michelle Martin of the Ford Family Foundation. Using the Foundation’s Rural Community Building principles—go where the people are, build on what you have, be profoundly inclusive, and keep community at the center—participants worked through real-world scenarios to design inclusive, community-driven strategies they can apply back home.
The evening wrapped up with a REAL Oregon favorite: Poster Biography Presentations. Over pizza from Abby’s Legendary Pizza, Class 9 participants shared personal stories through posters they created about themselves—an exercise rooted in vulnerability, reflection, and connection that continues to be a highlight across all nine classes.
Day 2 | Forestry Policy, Working Forests & Industry
Wednesday morning opened with a powerful session on Oregon’s O&C Lands, led by Travis Joseph, President of the American Forest Resource Council. Travis shared the history of O&C lands and the promise of sustained timber harvest to fund rural schools, roads, and public services. He walked the class through decades of policy shifts, litigation, and political challenges that have left many counties without the revenues they were promised.
He also outlined current strategies to restore active forest management, promote sustained yield, and strengthen wildfire resilience—while acknowledging the national political forces that heavily influence forest policy in Oregon.
Tour day followed, made possible through the leadership and generosity of Lone Rock Resources, a longtime REAL Oregon sponsor and supporter. Program alumni and Lone Rock employees transported participants into the woods near Myrtle Creek, turning travel time into opportunities for informal discussion and relationship-building.
In the field:
- Half the group toured an active logging operation using a yarder system, observing tethering, steep-slope harvesting, and modern equipment up close.
- The other half focused on silviculture, discussing forest management, replanting requirements, and long-term stewardship—then rotated groups.
The day continued with a tour of Nordic Veneer, a fourth-generation, family-owned veneer mill. Participants followed Douglas-fir logs from arrival through peeling and processing, seeing how nearly every part of the log is utilized—from veneer to cogeneration fuel and paper pulp. The scale, efficiency, and technology highlighted the direct connection between working forests, manufacturing, and rural jobs.
Day 3 | Conflict, Collaboration & Indigenous Forest Management
Thursday morning began with a new presentation this year: Reframing Conflict to Navigate Collaboration, led by Katie Pearmine, Senior Project Manager with Oregon Consensus at the National Policy Consensus Center.
Participants explored how conflict triggers physical responses, identified their personal conflict styles, and discussed how those styles shift depending on environment and stakes. The session reframed conflict as an opportunity for understanding, creativity, and innovation—introducing frameworks for collaborative governance and leadership rooted in curiosity and trust.
The session concluded with Indigenous Forest Management in a Modern Time, led by Jennifer Bryant and Jake Gibbs of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe. Participants learned about Cow Creek history, sovereignty, governance, and forest management guided by Tribal values.
The Tribe shared its vision for working forests that provide revenue, protect water and wildlife, support cultural practices, and benefit future generations. Discussion included Tribal authority under ITARA, adaptive management, fisheries, fuels reduction, and the reminder that “If you’ve met one tribe, you’ve met one tribe.”
The session closed with group reflection. Themes included:
- Gratitude for access to people and places rarely experienced together
- Recognition that forestry—like agriculture—faces consolidation and federal policy challenges
- Deeper understanding of how policy decisions ripple through rural communities
- Appreciation for hearing directly from industry, Tribal, and community leaders
- Recognition that forestry policy is often national in scale, while impacts are deeply local
Looking Ahead
REAL Oregon Class 9 will reconvene for Session 3 in Newport, shifting focus to coastal communities, fisheries, and ocean policy.
Thank you to our presenters, hosts, sponsors, alumni drivers, and partners—especially Lone Rock Resources—for another meaningful REAL Oregon session rooted in learning, dialogue, and connection.
Learn More & Stay Engaged
Several of the topics explored during the Roseburg session offer opportunities for continued learning and engagement. We encourage alumni, sponsors, and stakeholders to explore the following resources:
- American Forest Resource Council
Learn more about O&C lands, public forest management, and sustained-yield forestry advocacy: https://amforest.org/ - Ford Family Foundation – Rural Community Building Tools
Explore practical tools and principles to support inclusive, community-centered leadership in rural Oregon: https://www.tfff.org/rural-community-building/ - Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI)
Access educational resources, data, and programs about Oregon’s forests, forest management, and careers: https://oregonforests.org/ - Nordic Veneer Mill Tour (Video)
Take a behind-the-scenes look at veneer manufacturing and see how logs are transformed into finished products: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiKa-fse-sA
These organizations and resources reflect the people, partnerships, and working lands that REAL Oregon participants engaged with during Session 2—and offer meaningful ways to stay connected to the issues shaping Oregon’s forest communities.