The Fig Tree 2026 Spring Benefit Speakers

Laurel Fish uplifts value of persisting

 

Laurel Fish, senior organizer with the Spokane Alliance, said:

My formation as an organizer comes from a few different places: from being the granddaughter of Jewish refugees, working in solidarity with communities in El Salvador and organizing alongside immigrant workers in the labor movement.

The Spokane Alliance is a broad-based coalition of 38 institutions—faith congregations, labor unions and nonprofits. We've been organizing for the common good in Spokane for over 23 years. But a lot of people don't know about our work because it's not always flashy.

Developing everyday people as leaders in our democracy, bringing institutions together to live out their values and figuring out what people want to do about pressures in our community—that is not headline-grabbing work.

It's about persisting together. The Fig Tree is geared to share such stories.

For example, housing is a major pressure. Our Housing Team has spent more than a year researching solutions, meeting with developers, studying policy, talking with businesses and wrestling together with how to create publicly financed housing.

In our work with immigrant communities, you might have read about the event at First Presbyterian in February, where over 450 people turned out to hear testimony from the Haitian community. That public moment was preceded by months and years of relationship building with leaders like Pastor Emily Kuenker, Pastor Luc Jasmin, Pastor John Sowers and others.

That moment itself didn't solve anything. The real work is the persistence that comes afterwards, meeting the next day, the next week and the next month.

That's why I appreciate the work of The Fig Tree. They don't just cover the flashy stories. They write about people and the institutions we're part of.

During the 20th century, organizations stood up for reforms like child labor laws, a living wage, and workers compensation. People were concerned about the everyday miracles of sheltering, nourishing and humanizing each other.

My own family has weathered some storms recently and it has taken both strong public policies and strong communities to keep us intact. It has taken paid family medical leave, union health coverage, childcare subsidies and grandparents helping raise our kids, friends picking them up from school and colleagues reminding me to eat.

Institutions and families are how we shelter, nourish and humanize each other.

Relationships begin with knowing each other's stories.

That's what The Fig Tree does. Its stories are like a "resource guide" for the gifts and talents in this community. They are a starting point for stirring our curiosity about each other, which inspires us to act together.

To watch the 2026 Benefit Videos click here.