Closing Keynote

Chris Estes Announced as Closing Keynote
Saturday, Oct. 19 at 9:15 a.m.

The LOC is pleased to announce that Chris Estes will deliver the Closing Keynote address for the upcoming 99th LOC Annual  Conference, scheduled for October 17-19 in Bend.

Mr. Estes is a national rural development leader focused on equitable, sustainable, and holistic approaches to strengthening rural communities. Since joining the Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group in 2021 and becoming its Co-Executive Director in 2022, he has worked to integrate the Thrive Rural Framework as a tool for supporting, connecting, and growing the field of equitable rural prosperity. This includes working in coalition and partnership with national organizations to shift thinking on how federal programs measure success in rural areas as well as increasing funding for regional capacity building.

Mr. Estes has strong policy expertise and practice experience at the community, state, and federal levels on poverty, housing, and community development. His previous work includes rural capacity building with the Housing Assistance Council, serving as Interim Executive Director of the Raleigh/Wake (NC) Partnership to End Homelessness, and as a senior advisor at a national network providing home repair to low-income homeowners and disaster recovery. Mr. Estes was also the President/CEO of the National Housing Conference in Washington, DC, serving as a national thought leader on affordable housing and community development issues, including the intersection of housing with transportation, education, and health. He originally came to DC from North Carolina, where he led the North Carolina Housing Coalition as well as worked on early childhood issues and programs serving children and families.

For more information on the 2024 LOC Annual Conference, including the full agenda and registration information, visit the conference webpage.

Contact: Brie Ligammari, Conference Coordinator - bligammari@orcities.org

Last Updated 9/20/24