Oregon TRIO Association

Oregon TRIO Association seeks to:

1. Provide our TRIO Students with the resources and tools necessary to successfully navigate through high school and college.

2. Support Oregon TRIO programs by encouraging best practices and providing student events, professional development opportunities, and grant support to maximize the effectiveness of each program.

3. Work to identify potential new areas of need and pursue federal TRIO funding to support more students in need of TRIO program services.

4. Build coalitions of allied community partners, and utilize local and statewide resources that enhance program operations.

1. Collaborate with each of the 47 TRIO programs across Oregon to ensure that TRIO students have the resources and support necessary to successfully pursue higher education. We will create collaborative meetings and events to connect the programs in order to share best practices and overcome any challenges they are facing.

2. Identify areas of need to pursue TRIO funding and support active TRIO programs in developing quality plans of operation to maximize their effectiveness in reducing inequalities.

3. Provide career exposure and professional development opportunities to students. Provide opportunities for students to study abroad.

4. Advocate for TRIO Programs and Students with US Congressional Stakeholders to maintain and increase support for funding each year.

Our 47 Oregon TRIO programs are the backbone of our organization. These programs staff over 200 TRIO professionals who work with the 11,350+ TRIO students in communities throughout the state. These professionals constitute our membership and support us in achieving our mission. Their ability to identify students' needs allows us to provide the resources and opportunities necessary for student academic success. Supporting and sustaining the TRIO programs and its members are our primary function.

Our Executive Director is responsible for executing the mission, vision, and goals of the organization. The ED facilitates the day-to-day work, responsibilities, and tasks associated with the organization and organizes stakeholders to make decisions about OTA’s future. The ED primarily manages board organization, finances, OTA’s website and communications, and executes the events/activities that OTA offers. Secondarily, the ED fosters relationships with current TRIO programs to provide support and services to both staff and students to meet program objectives. Lastly, the ED works with outside entities to cultivate future opportunities and funding to promote our mission and vision and pursue new TRIO grant opportunities for communities in need. The ED is a non-voting board member of the Northwest Association of Educational Opportunity Programs (NAEOP) and the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE).

OTA’s Board of Directors represent eleven individuals from a majority of TRIO programs throughout Oregon. Their objectives are to:
(1) Provide governance, programmatic, and organizational advice.
(2) Monitor the work of the ED to ensure that OTA is making progress towards meeting its goals and executing its strategies.
(3) Play a critical role in centralizing the work of OTA on the student experience and ensure services and programs provided are in line with OTA’s mission.
(4) Serve on committees to assist with the distribution of funding for scholarships, international education, and the selection of student participants in our various programs.
(5) Board members play a critical role as volunteers for the conferences OTA facilitates each year.
(6) Participate in the strategic planning process to craft a forward-thinking vision that aligns with the needs of TRIO programs and students throughout the state.
(7) Serve as stewards for the organization.

OTA currently hosts two AmeriCorps VISTA members who are assisting in day-to-day operations, building capacity, and developing long-term strategies/goals for organizational and financial sustainability.

OTA currently hosts two AmeriCorps VISTA members who are assisting in day-to-day operations, building capacity, and developing long-term strategies/goals for organizational and financial sustainability.

Oregon TRIO Association was founded in 2000 when a group of TRIO program leaders agreed to organize and create a singular entity to advocate on behalf of TRIO students to US federal legislators. They also held annual meetings to provide programmatic support, community, a platform to share best practices, and would later organize an annual professional development conference to provide structure and accessibility to TRIO professionals in Oregon.

In 2011, OTA officially registered as a 501(c)(3) organization and its board structure was designed to provide three primary initiatives:
(1) Provide an annual professional development conference for TRIO professionals,
(2) Provide an annual student leadership conference for TRIO students, and
(3) Provide a framework to ensure that Oregon sends advocates annually to Washington D.C. to advocate on behalf of TRIO programs nationwide to ensure their continued funding and support from the US Congress.

Since then, OTA has expanded via enhanced TRIO Alumni benefits to our students through: board positions, a fellowship program, increased student scholarship funding, consistent networking opportunities, and a continued push to legitimize the organization. In July of 2021, OTA received a $1 million grant from the State of Oregon to support college access for traditionally marginalized students. This funding has been used to create a full-time Executive Director position and has led to substantial changes in the organization. OTA is currently working to build organizational capacity as we can now provide advanced support to our programs and create new opportunities for TRIO students. Our primary goal is to increase the number of students served in Oregon by applying for new TRIO grants throughout the state. These funds are utilized to create scholarships to support college students who are no longer eligible for financial aid and are close to graduation, and for low-income students to pursue international education opportunities. We are constantly pursuing new projects and funding support to expand services and opportunities for TRIO students throughout Oregon.

The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed OTA to shine in new ways. We became a beacon for Oregon communities as we helped to provide best practices and resources to entities who were struggling to serve students. For example, OTA provided virtual programming for students throughout the state to get college and career exposure through virtual conferences and will now be providing tech resources to select students. Additionally, with the shift to virtual work, our structure and abilities were perfectly aligned to provide academic assistance, organization, community, and hope.