Education

Our LULI cohort will return to the greater Portland region in winter 2024!

About LULI

We know that the integrity of the land use system is best supported by active civic involvement of residents in their own communities. That’s why we’ve always worked with local residents to ensure that land use decisions are informed and sound. To enhance that work, we started the Land Use Leadership Initiative (LULI) in 2012 to educate and activate local leaders and passionate community members on land use issues. 

Initially, LULI was a statewide program, but over the years we’ve recognized that the program was best tailored to regional areas with a focus on issues that are relevant to participants. 

All elected officials in Oregon should be required to take a course like this. I learned more in a few weeks than I did in four years as a Medford City Council member.

-John Statler, LULI graduate

Land Use Leadership Initiative participants (also known as LULIs) connect through interactive training, site visits, and workshops. The program showcases Oregon’s innovative land use planning system, highlights the most-pressing land development issues and creates a forum for LULIs to further hone leadership skills to help create and advance solutions to issues that matter to them.

In 2018 we expanded the LULI program and held our first out-of-Metro cohort in Southern Oregon to empower current and emerging land use leaders across Oregon. After a third LULI program in Southern Oregon in 2022 we held the first Central Oregon LULI starting in the fall 2022.

We have now run ten cohorts, graduating over 200 LULIs! Our plan is to expand into more areas of the state and to continue to offer two cohorts a year.

Who should apply to LULI

• Do you have a passion for making a difference in your community? 

• Do you want to expand your advocacy tools and have a greater impact? 

• Do you love Oregon and want to protect our farms and forests, conserve natural areas, and enhance quality of life in urban and rural communities? 

• Do you want your local government to take the challenges addressing climate change and social and racial equity seriously? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then LULI might be the right fit for you! 

“I was given an amazing opportunity that reminded me why I advocate for affordable housing. This program gave me resources to use and go to when working on land use issues with others.” – Princess F. | LULI Southern Oregon Graduate 2018

About us

1000 Friends of Oregon was founded in 1974 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit public interest watchdog for government agencies tasked with managing land use issues.  For almost half a century, we’ve operated independently of partisan politics, holding local governments and state agencies accountable to ensure that the innovative system Oregon adopted with Senate Bill 100 (most commonly known through urban growth boundaries and farmland protection) is carried out true to the spirit of sustainable land use. 

What does the LULI program look like?

Only about 24 people are selected to participate in each cohort, and applying is often very competitive. We encourage any interested person to apply, and we work hard to create diverse cohorts consisting of people from all racial, gender, socio-economic, and political backgrounds.

Get notified when LULI applications open

Over the course of nine sessions, LULIs participate in interactive workshops, site visits, and trainings that cover the fundamentals of land use policy. LULIs also have the opportunity to develop and hone leadership skills such as advocacy, public speaking, research, and public engagement. The LULI program features:

• An orientation where LULI participants connect and network, learn about the creation of Oregon’s land use planning system and establish goals for the program.
• Interactive training sessions with community leaders, agency staff, elected officials, and data specialists.
• Skill-building opportunities, where LULIs work with each other and with seasoned activists and decision-makers to become more effective champions of their own issues.
• Reviews, where LULIs can interact with session speakers and LULI graduates to reflect on lessons from throughout the LULI program. 
• Support for ongoing connection with past and future LULI fellows and 1000 Friends of Oregon policy staff.
• Assistance with transportation, childcare, and other program expenses.
• Access to an online portal with session materials, speaker contact information, and interactive forum to connect with the LULI network.

“LULI was important to me personally, along with my career efforts. Because of LULI, I realized more clearly that I wanted to pursue a career in planning, and I am now set to begin PSU’s MURP program this fall! I also know that I have a solid network of LULIs that I can reach out to for questions or information – priceless!” —Stuart C., LULI 2014-15

For any general questions about the LULI program, use this form to contact us.