CSTI 2003

2002	I am so rejuvenated, reinvigorated and for the first time, clear on my personal long-term goals in the movement! Thank you!	Western States Center's Community Strategic Training Initiative (CSTI) is unique among training events for community-based leaders working throughout the West. CSTI offers three days of intensive training in community organizing, leadership skills, electoral organizing and non-profit management. The event is for leaders, staff and volunteers of community organizations and constituency-based groups who are working to address civil rights, environmental justice, gender, education, labor and other critical struggles facing our communities. Above all, the participants are diverse with respect to race, geography, gender, age and experience level. Last year, more than 400 individuals representing hundreds of organizations from 25 states came together for training, networking, community building, discussion and strategizing. CSTI differs from the typical conference format in that participants attend ONE workshop per day. Full-day workshops are designed to give participants intensive training as well as nuts-and-bolts skills, not just an overview. A variety of educational formats are utilized and workshops are diverse with respect to identity, gender, geography and strategic approach.. CSTI runs Friday, August 1st through Sunday, August 3rd, 2003 in Portland, Oregon at Reed College. Books by CSTI Trainers We have put up a list of books by current and former presenters, trainers or their organizations which you can purchase online. Photo Gallery from 2001 and 2002 Participants took many photos which have been uploaded to online photo albums. See how much fun CSTI participants have had in the past. 2001 Photo Gallery — 2002 Photo Gallery
2001	I left recharged, refocused and ready for action.
2000	Western States Center rocks! I wanted to say thank you for making this training happen and for all the amazing workshops available over the course of the four days. Thanks also for the scholarship you provided me! I am positive the knowledge I gained will help strengthen my organization. Thank you!
1999	Thank you for providing this much-needed resource for activists! It is crucial for leaders who are out on the front lines to have a place like CSTI to feel supported and reenergized. I am grateful to the Western States Center for your work to create supportive community for progressive activists.
1998	All the seminars I attended were top notch and interactive, with fabulous presenters.
1997	It was a wonderful chance to network with other organizations and come up with strategies to work from.
1996	Yahoo! CSTI has once again done a terrific job bringing together skill-building, inspiration and hope.
1995	The keynote speaker from beginning to end circulated so much electricity through all my veins and saturated through to my very soul.
1994	Usable tools taught well from theory to hands-on use. The positive and communal energy created a feeling of empowerment, unity and strength. Great work! Keep it up!
1993	CSTI succeeds in bringing an increasingly diverse group of people together year to year to learn and connect with each other.
1992	Western States Center’s CSTI is my radical sabbatical!
1991	I was so impressed with the quality of training and the immediate applicability. Can’t thank you enough for the opportunity — to learn, network, involve new people, and inspire those of us on the edge of burnout/frustration.