October 21-22, Reedsport, OR
The Oregon Coast Visitors Association is thrilled to announce the next in our lineup of keynote speakers for the annual People’s Coast Summit, taking place from October 21-22 in Reedsport, OR.
Learn more and Register here!
Breakfast Keynote: Gathering with Purpose: A New Wave of Coastal Events
What kinds of tourism events make a real impact? This keynote explores how innovation, sustainability, and tribal partnership can transform the tourism landscape through events that spark joy, deepen connection, and reflect local values
Join Kim Cooper Findling for a behind-the-scenes look at Lincoln City’s Fourth of July drone show, which took an innovative and sustainable approach to a classic coastal event. Alanna Kieffer will share the vision behind the Winter Waters event series—an inspiring model for off-season culinary food series rooted in local collaboration and coastal identity.
We’ll also hear from Lisa Norton and Leslie Palotas about how partnerships like Take Action Lincoln County can help us move beyond land acknowledgments and into meaningful tribal engagement with events like the Nesika Illahee Pow-Wow, an annual celebration of Siletz culture and community.
Together, these stories will offer inspiration for how place-based, purpose-driven events can elevate the coast for residents and visitors alike.
Meet the Speakers
Lisa Norton is the Chief Administrative Officer for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and an enrolled Tribal member. In her role, she oversees a broad portfolio of projects, from supervising enrollment and area offices to leading special projects in infrastructure, broadband expansion, and public safety. With over 20 years of service to the Tribe, Lisa’s career has spanned social services, program development, and statewide training to improve agency responses to sexual and domestic violence. She is a proud longtime resident of Lincoln County with generational ties to the region, Lisa brings both deep local knowledge and a fierce dedication to her community. When she’s not managing critical Tribal operations or mentoring staff, Lisa enjoys listening to audiobooks, spending time with her family, and making leather from fish skins.
Leslie Palotas is the Community Connector at the Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County (EDALC), where she brings people and organizations together to collaborate on community-centered solutions. A Lincoln County resident since 2014, Leslie began contributing to local Rural Community Building (RCB) efforts in 2018. This work continues to be inspired and supported by The Ford Family Foundation. Lessons learned from years of regional and statewide RCB efforts and networks led to the creation of her Community Connector role at EDALC in 2022.
With decades of previous experience in outdoor recreation, tourism, hospitality, and experiential education, Leslie approaches collaboration through what she calls an “expedition lens”—centering shared human needs, listening for what’s missing, and working toward solutions that benefit the whole. In wilderness expeditions and rural communities, when people struggle to meet their basic needs in healthy ways, the whole group feels it. When people from a variety of backgrounds productively work together to solve their community’s challenges, the resulting relationships and understanding lead to resilient, solution-based networks. Leslie brings this approach to multi-sector collaborations, building trust and supporting solutions that grow, adapt, and endure.
Kim Cooper Findling is a fifth generation Oregonian who built a career as a travel writer, magazine editor, author and tourism professional around her home state. After growing up on the Oregon Coast, she earned degrees from University of Oregon and Oregon State University, the latter a M.S. in environmental education. She spent twenty years in media and journalism and authored eight books, including Day Trips to the Oregon Coast: Getaway Ideas for the Local Traveler and The Sixth Storm, co-authored with her daughter, Libby Findling. After a stint as the Creative Director for the Oregon Coast Visitors Association, she brought her deep knowledge and love of Oregon’s irreplaceable natural spaces to leadership at Explore Lincoln City.
Alanna Kieffer is a marine biologist, educator, and coastal forager with a deep-rooted passion for the ocean and its wild abundance. As the heart behind Shifting Tides, she guides shellfish and seaweed foraging experiences and educates others on sustainable seafood, helping people form meaningful connections to coastal places through wild foods.
She has spent the past decade working in intertidal environments, focusing on coastal education, marine research, seaweed farming. Alanna is especially passionate about seaweed — both as a nutritious culinary ingredient and as a critical habitat in coastal ecosystems. Through her work, she’s developed a deep appreciation for the Pacific Northwest’s natural resources, and she’s committed to sharing that knowledge and enthusiasm with others. Whether guiding a foraging trip or hosting a seafood culinary event, Alanna’s goal is to connect people to the coast in meaningful and sustainable ways.
The People’s Coast Summit is a campus style event taking place across multiple venues in Reedsport. This year’s full agenda (coming soon) will feature a line up of speakers and workshops that will offer big-picture thinking and topics valuable to tourism stakeholders from all over the coast. Attendees can expect to takeaway valuable knowledge and resources around destination marketing, technology, sustainability, and more!
Get ready for the Oregon Coastal tourism event of the year.
Register here!
Sponsorship
Thank you to Cardwell Creative, Oregon Coast Today, Media America, Pelican Brewing, and Explore Lincoln City for their sponsorship of the 2025 People’s Coast Summit.
For partners who want to get even more involved, we are offering various sponsorship levels to suit your goals and budget, including exclusive benefits such as logo placement on event materials, complimentary summit registrations, and opportunities for direct engagement with attendees.
Sponsorship offers a great opportunity for you to gain brand visibility, engage in networking opportunities, be seen as an industry leader, and make a community impact.
View our sponsorship opportunities here, and contact Deputy Director Arica Sears for more information about becoming a sponsor of the 2025 People’s Coast Summit.
The Oregon Coast Visitors Association organizes this event to keep coastal businesses, leaders and nonprofits up to date on new trends, studies and topics for the tourism industry while providing plenty of casual networking and fun entertainment. Stay tuned for details on workshops, speakers, and more for this year’s Summit.