Events are free and held on the third Friday of each month except December. In-person events are located at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 700 Callahan Drive in Bremerton. Sign-in begins at 6:00, with introductions at 6:30. Zoom link now has its own page on our website with multiple options for signing in. Zoom doors open at 6:30.
June 19, 2026 – Stephanie Mikulasek, USAID: The Third D of Foreign Policy; Who We Are, What We Do, How We Move Forward. Stephanie Mikulasek is Managing Director and Founder of the ServantEDGE, a company that designs and facilitates game-changing international immersion experiences, executive coaching, and experiential leadership development. Drawing from decades of global leadership, academic scholarship, and immersive transformation work, Stephanie blends wisdom, wit, and depth to inspire leaders and teams to challenge the illusion of certainty, disrupt ineffective patterns, invite radical belonging, and rediscover what matters most. (More information at “Upcoming Speakers.”)
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July 17, 2026 – Dr. Jessica Salvador, Belonging by Design: Building a Community Where Everyone Can Thrive. Join Dr. Jessica E. Salvador, Executive Director of the Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center (KIAC), for a conversation about what it means to build belonging by design. Drawing from her lived experience as the child of immigrants and her work, Dr. Salvador will explore how communities can move beyond simply welcoming newcomers to intentionally creating systems, relationships, and opportunities that allow everyone to thrive. Through stories, insights, and examples from KIAC’s work, this presentation will examine how belonging strengthens communities, why it matters for all residents, and what we can do together to build a more connected and resilient Kitsaps. (More information at “Upcoming Speakers.”)
August 21, 2026 – Sarah van Gelder, YES! Magazine founding editor, What Does It Mean to Be a Good Neighbor in Kitsap County? Ms. Gelder will look at current questions affecting us here in Kitsap County, like what it means to show up for immigrant neighbors, coworkers, and local business owners facing an ICE crackdown? To build respectful relationships with the Native peoples who have called this place home for thousands of years? To honestly reckon with the divides that have long disadvantaged Kitsap’s African American community? She’ll draw on her work as a local organizer and as a researcher and writer to explore what it means to be a good neighbor — honest about the past, and focused on what’s possible now. She’ll offer a way forward rooted in mutual respect, a shared understanding of history, and the kind of community that makes all of us more resilient. (More information at “Upcoming Speakers.”)
