How a crisis moment (and some very passionate organizers) spawned an enduring rural movement for human dignity in rural and small town Oregon. In this audio slideshow, Rural Organizing Project (ROP) founder and Executive Director (1993-2011) Marcy Westerling, tells the story of how ROP came to be.
Archives: Marcy Westerling
Marcy Westerling – ROP victories
Marcy Westerling – A key strength of ROP
Marcy Westerling – The first Living Room Conversations
When anti-gay hysteria explodes in Marcy Westerling’s hometown of Scappoose, OR, she calls in long-time social justice activists Suzanne Pharr and Scot Nakagawa to help organize her neighbors in Columbia County.
Roots & Wings speech by Marcy Westerling
ROP founder, Marcy Westerling, shares the story of her own journey to grassroots organizing at ROP’s 2010 Roots and Wings Celebration.
The Democracy Grid: An essay by Marcy Westerling
ROP founder Marcy Westerling describes the origins, magic and limitations of the Democracy Grid, one of ROP’s key organizing tools for values-based issue analysis.
Letter to local leaders in Tillamook County
Following a July 1993 visit to meet with a group of local human dignity activists in Tillamook County, ROP Director, Marcy Westerling, wrote this letter to several of the group’s key leaders, offering advice and support as they considered next steps in building their group.