VANtalks 2024 Connections: Movers and Shakers Take the Big Stage

This month, six local movers and shakers will take the stage at Kiggins Theatre to open minds and present fresh perspectives, all live in front of an audience at the seventh annual VANtalks. The event, styled after TED Talks, was conceived by Kevin Hiebert, owner of Resonate Coaching and Leadership Development in Vancouver. “VANtalks was birthed out of the desire to create an event that highlighted our local ideas and changemakers,” Hiebert told me last fall, as he was preparing to put on VANtalks’ first sister event, IDEAfest. “Vancouver, being so close to Portland, had [historically] had a tough time creating our individual identity. The desire to have a night where we could be inspired by our own community members was the impetus to start VANtalks.” The first event happened in 2016, and was so popular that it has continued, with a two-year pause due to COVID. This year’s event will happen May 23, 2024 at 6:30 pm, again at Kiggins Theatre in Downtown Vancouver. Tickets are $22, available online at VANtalks.org.

The VANtalks theme for 2024 is “Connections,” and I recently connected with all six speakers to learn more about their work in the Clark County community and what inspired them to share their stories. Read on for a sneak peek into what audiences can expect.

Jeff Angelo – VANtalks 2024 Speaker

Jeff Angelo assured me on the phone that he was “the last person you would want to feature in Vancouver Family Magazine” and that he’s the “type of guy who would pose naked for a calendar,” so naturally I had to start with him. He shared with me that he grew up “on the hard streets of Hazel Dell,” graduated from Columbia River High School, then went on to Washington State University where he earned a degree in psychology. “Have I used it? Yes. How have I used it? Yes.”

Angelo currently works as executive director for the Arc of Southwest Washington, a nonprofit organization that supports adults with developmental disabilities. “We help with everything from making meals in-home to getting out into an inclusive environment and meeting new people that you can spend time with,” Angelo described. Though the work has been rewarding, he shared with me that this year will likely be his last with the Arc. “I am a realtor, a restaurant owner and have an event called Tacos in the Park [happening in September] that are in my pocket too. Lots of juggling.”

Angelo has never attended VANtalks as an audience member, but he and VANtalks founder Hiebert “have been in a blood feud for many years over the proper pronunciation of ‘caramel.’ Unfortunately, he was wrong. He apologized this past year for it by ceremoniously handing me a Caramello bar on neutral ground overseen by Brad Richardson at the Clark County Historical Museum.” Will he give us a sneak peek of what to expect from his talk this month? “I am absolutely going to do my best to inspire one single person in that room to try the new Final Fantasy 7 remake,” he joked. “If I do that, I can learn to live again.”

Angelo lives in Vancouver with his 20-year-old son, whom he lovingly refers to as “Demon Spawn.”

Diana Avalos-Leos – VANtalks 2024 Speaker

Diana Avalos-Leos grew up in Southern California, the child of two dual-citizenship immigrants. While she went on to earn a bachelor’s degree, she told me that even more than her formal education, she values being “a lifelong learner with a mindset and a commitment to personal growth, continuous improvement, lifelong curiosity, open to new experiences while actively seeking opportunities to expand knowledge, skills and perspectives.”

Avalos-Leos eventually made her way to Washington state for “the quality of living, a sense of community and great schools for my kids.” In 2011, she founded Latino Leadership NW (formerly named Clark County Latino Youth Leadership) “as a response to the academic and social inequities Latinx students, and their families face within current education and healthcare systems,” Avalos-Leos told me. “The process of starting a nonprofit was not easy, it came with a set of challenges and great opportunities in terms of learning experiences while building a network of community and agency partnerships.” The organization’s mission, Avalos-Leos said, is to “create opportunities for Latinx youth to raise their full potential for growth, to encourage education, to support their families and to advocate for their community and each other in the areas of education, health, equity and social justice.” Opening career pathways, hosting an annual youth leadership conference and providing monthly information sessions in both English and Spanish to help inform parents and more are all part of fulfilling that mission.

Diana Avalos-Leos has not attended VANtalks before as an audience member, but has been invited to participate as a speaker in the past—an invitation she declined until now. “I . . . felt this year was the right year to elevate . . . Latino Leadership NW’s presence.”

Her talk this month, she told me, will center on how the cycle of the hummingbird parallels effective leadership qualities, and how “Latino Leadership NW has been instrumental in nurturing these qualities among youth and their families.”

Nikki Chen – VANtalks 2024 Speaker

Nikki Chen was raised in California and attended San Jose State University, originally majoring in math and later transferring to Mission College where she earned a pharmacy technician license. She later returned to school to earn a vocational nursing degree, and eventually landed in Vancouver, working full time for the Clark County YWCA as a project manager. She now lives in Battle Ground with her husband and three children, and works for the City of Vancouver as business partner for the Office of Equity and Inclusion, as well as consulting for corporate equity initiatives. The years she spent working in healthcare inspired her shift to work in the field of equity and inclusion. “My current profession was inspired by what I witnessed during my years of working in healthcare and the blatant need for equity and inclusion amongst staff and patients,” she told me. “My long-standing motivation for this work is my children. Creating an equitable and inclusive community for them to thrive in is my deepest desire.”

Her typical work week might include facilitating workshops on microaggression in the workplace, meetings with organizations to support their engagement with marginalized communities and sometimes a ride-along with a Vancouver Police Department officer. The latter, she said, “allows me to get a firsthand understanding of how I can support our officers and our community in creating equitable and inclusive interactions for everyone involved.”

She shared that in her field of work, the use of the word “diversity” has changed. “As stated by my director,” she said, “’If the work is equitable and inclusive then the diversity will naturally follow suit,’ which is why our department is Office of Equity and Inclusion, and not the Office of DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion]. A diverse outcome is an absolute indicator that the impact is matching the intent.”

Chen said she is grateful for the opportunity to speak at VANtalks, especially for the message it will send to her own children. “I acknowledge the weight of my voice being heard by Vancouver and its residents is an honor which I am truly grateful for,” she said. “I am also inspired by my motivation to lead by example for my children. As an ancestor that they can look up to, I am setting the foundation they can use for their success.”

What will Chen be speaking about when she takes the stage? “There are 2.7% Black people in the city of Vancouver. Assuming half of that number are men, I am speaking about how I show up as a member of 1.35% of this city [and] how important it is that I am allowed the grace and the space to be my authentic self. I am one of one and created with a purpose.”

Jenny Thompson – VANtalks 2024 Speaker

Jenny Thompson grew up in Anacortes, Washington—gateway to the San Juan Islands—with her mother and sister. “Growing up in a single parent household makes you close,” she told me, “and my mom’s tenacity, grit and love definitely influenced me going into a people-helping profession.” Thompson received her undergraduate degree in Christian Education from Concordia University and her MBA in nonprofit management at the University of Portland before AmeriCorps brought her to Vancouver. “I applied for a job at the Boys & Girls Clubs of SW Washington (BGCSW) after my year of service supporting foster youth emancipating out of the system in Denver,” she said. “I was hoping to land a job in Portland, which was home for me at the time, but that didn’t happen and honestly I’m glad it didn’t. I fell in love with Vancouver, moving over the river just a year into my work at BGCSW.”

In 2015, Thompson landed the job of executive director at Police Activities League (PAL) of Southwest Washington, serving for seven years, and later shifting to her current role with Foundation for Vancouver Public Schools (VPS), also as executive director. “Every day I come to the office with the intent to do what I can to support the students of VPS. I am in this for the kids and that’s what makes me excited to go to work each day. It also helps that I have an outstanding team to work with and an incredible board of directors!”

She said a lot has changed in the nonprofit sector in recent years, especially with fundraising. “In the fundraising realm the last couple years has seen one of the biggest shifts we’ve seen in a long time. I think we are getting back to our grassroots-based endeavors and perhaps that’s a good thing. On the education side, things have changed there too, but even as things have evolved, Vancouver is a great community to be in because the community cares about its people and continually invests in itself. It’s what makes me proud to call Vancouver home.”

Thompson’s journey to the VANtalks stage started behind the scenes. “For the last several years I have been the stage manager for VANtalks,” she shared. “I was a theatre techie in high school and college. [VANtalks founder Kevin Hiebert] has been trying to get me to speak for a while now [and] the stars just aligned this time. And I still intend on retaining my role of stage manager for this year’s event.”

For her talk this month, Thompson told me she will speak about love and faith and family. “It’s a personal story and many of my friends and colleagues in the community may not know it.”

Josh Townsley – VANtalks 2024 Speaker

Josh Townsley doesn’t actually live in Clark County, but he spends a majority of his time here, working as CEO of Evergreen Habitat for Humanity since 2011. His work in this field of service might be in his blood. “I grew up as a pastor’s kid,” he told me. “My father was a Presbyterian pastor for almost 30 years. For much of my childhood I thought I’d grow up to be a pastor as well. That wasn’t my calling in the end, but I do consider Habitat to be my ministry of sorts.”

In a way, that “ministry” started back in his teens, when he participated in a cross-country bicycle trip across the U.S. with four other teenagers and two adults. “We were all 15 or 16 and still figuring out life. We chose to fundraise for Habitat for Humanity as part of the trip and ended up speaking . . .  at different churches, schools, etc. about Habitat’s mission and our trip. I grew to love the vision of Habitat and the importance of housing.” Years later, in a full circle moment, he learned Evergreen Habitat was looking to hire an executive director and seized the opportunity, taking the organization from just three staff positions to 25 staff, “and a big vision for the future of our work moving forward.”

Every day on the job is different, but Townsley said he loves the fast-paced nature of the work and the opportunity to make a big impact on affordable homeownership in Clark County. He also said he loves the challenge of the work, and there are many challenges. “The cost of land and building materials has skyrocketed over the years,” he said, “but incomes for families in the area have mostly remained stagnant. Twelve years ago, we used to be able to buy a piece of land and build a home for less than $140,000. These days we’re lucky if we can keep our costs per home below $350K.” Even that price is simply not affordable for many hard-working families in Southwest Washington, he said. “So, we work with our partners, local and state grant opportunities, and find other sources to make those homes affordable and sustainable. Everyone deserves to have a decent place to live and be able to afford it. “

Townsley told me he considers himself an introvert, but “the pastor’s kid part of me comes out when onstage and I could share for hours.” He will come out of his shell this month to speak about one particular life-changing trip to the Middle East in 2018. “Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to end up in Iraq on a pilgrimage with 20 million people. I was asked to go by a friend who unfortunately passed away during COVID. John was a Presbyterian pastor, and the two of us traveled to Iraq to walk 50 miles to the Shrine of Imam Husayn and film a documentary. It was an incredible experience and I can’t wait to share more!”

Curtis Miller – VANtalks 2024 Speaker

Curtis Miller is aware that the word “belonging” is the buzzword du jour. But he’s also aware that individuals, families and communities desperately seek it, and that we all thrive when we experience it. “During the pandemic, due to the intersection of political polarization and our COVID-19 social bubbles, the U.S. became significantly more collectivist than it has been for decades,” Miller told me. “We are teetering on the brink of either greater or greatly reduced belonging. The evidence shows it is the most fundamental human need. Now if we can just figure out how to experience it together.”

To this end, Miller pivoted his career from construction to social change work in 2008. “My kids were teenagers at the time,” he said, “and their fresh perspective of the world opened my eyes and heart to the need and potential for change.” He now works as a consultant in the fields of youth suicide prevention and human trafficking prevention, having co-founded a Battle Ground coalition called Connect BG and a consulting company called Connect Ed. The former aims to reduce youth suicides by “increasing the community experience of belonging,” and the latter helps other organizations implement better human connections “so that participants are healthier, communicate better and achieve their goals more efficiently” within a healthy organizational culture.

Miller said he can often be found meeting with people in pubs, coffee shops, garages, back porches, offices and classrooms or cafeterias as they work together to “turn idealistic dreams into achievable, measurable strategies.” He also works specifically with men all over the country to encourage them to invest in their own health, hope and belonging. 

What inspired him to speak at VANtalks 2024? Simply put, he wants to make a difference, and he believes change is possible. “I want to help people connect in simple, durable ways that will make individuals, families, friendships, organizations and the Vancouver community healthy and generative. I truly believe we can see measurable change spread through our social fabric quite rapidly if we are intentional about it.” Onstage, he will share what he has discovered about building belonging together “in a transformative and lasting way.”

Read the full May 2024 issue here:

Go here to read about a past VANtalks speaker who now encourages and helps others to tell their story of grief on camera.