Headliners
We're so happy to have these community leaders at our event! Learn more about them and what they do.
Wendy Shih
Wendy Shih 施文莉 (she/her/她) is a Mom and a volunteer Little Free Library steward who is dedicated to expanding access to, and awareness of, diverse and inclusive books. She created OUR Little Free Diverse Library, which began as a book sharing box in her front yard, then she expanded it to a small collection of justice and community centered book sharing shelves and spaces around the Portland metro area, where anyone can "Take a book. Share a book".
Wendy is an active participant in the Little Free Library's Read in Color program. She received a Todd H. Bol award for outstanding achievement and was also included in Willamette Week as one of the "Best of Portland 2024".
Wendy uses her library work to connect with various groups and to help build inter and intra community solidarity. She believes in the power of diverse and inclusive books to not only open hearts and minds, but also save lives. Her mission is to connect as many people to these books as possible as a path towards collective liberation.
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Find her on social media:
Instagram: @RockCreek_DiverseLibrary
Facebook: @RockCreekLFDL
Bluesky: @OurLFDL.bsky.social
Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell is a disabled creative who’s lived many lives. Her work challenges, blends genres, explores haunted bodies, and delves into the human psyche. She’s an activist, a gamer with potato aim, and an avid reader. As a woman with several invisible illnesses, she enjoys living a semi-horizontal life with her husband and spoiled furbutts in the PNW. You can find her writing under Elle and Buffy Mitchell.
Renee Mitchell
Dr. Mitchell is well-known in Portland for her years as a metro columnist for The Oregonian, where she was nominated twice for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize and named No. 1 newspaper columnist in five western states by the Society of Professional Journalists regional chapter.
Today, she is best described as a Creative Revolutionist™, which includes being a keynote speaker, trainer, novelist, educator, playwright, spoken word poet, lyricist, curriculum designer, and multi-media heARTivist. Her authentic effervescence will remind you of a unique combination of Oprah Winfrey and poet Maya Angelou.
Dr. Mitchell is also the visionary behind I Am M.O.R.E. (Making Ourselves Resilient Everyday), a heART-focused youth development program. She developed I Am M.O.R.E.'s theory of change, called Empowered Resilience™ , as a doctoral candidate at the University of Oregon (2021). Renee has created an award-winning, evidence-based example of how to empower and build hope and resiliency in Black youth with profound love, culturally relevant SEL skill building, and youth voice-centered programming.
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Website: https://www.reneemitchellspeaks.com