Happy Graduation to Classes 43 & 44
ALF Oregon celebrated our graduating classes on May 18th at the Matt Dishman Community Center in Portland, OR. A big thank you to all of the speakers who came foward to uplift Classes 43 and 44: Elizabeth Edwards (Class 44), Vicki Nakashima (Class 13), Joel Iboa (Class 43), Joy Fowler (Class 44), and Terralyn Escamila (Class 44).
This past year our classes visited a host of vibrant and varied communities across the state of Oregon: Woodburn, Klamath Falls, Grand Ronde, Hood River, Newport, Medford, Prineville, La Grande, and Portland.
Here are the newly graduated Senior Fellows of Class 43 and Class 44 below:
Pictured above from left to right: Toni Tabora-Roberts (faculty), Felicita Monteblanc, Briece Edwards, Michelle DePass, Joel Iboa, Jennifer Boehmer, Mary Rose Navarro, Sammantha Hoisington, Lisa Naas Cook, Phoebe Thums, Alan Evans, Tamara Kennedy, Matthew Claudel, and Jessica Larson. Not pictured: Eddie Melendrez.
Pictured above, back row from left to right: Terralyn Escamilla, Amy Miller, Heather Ohta, Patrick Priest, Skyler Brocker-Knapp, Ivy Major McDowall, Alisa Pyszka, Jason Holland, Ricky Bustamante, Antionette Payne, Joy Fowler, and Tony Daguanno
Front row left to right: Carol Gabrielli, Elizabeth Edwards, Jennifer Bagshaw, Ciara Pressler, Karina Guzman Ortiz, and Marc Jolin. Not pictured: Jordan Rooklyn and Rosa Gilbert.
Here are some snapshots of our year together:
ABOVE: Members of Class 43 at Chachalu Cultural Center while visiting the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.
ABOVE: Members of Class 44 visiting a home in the Klamath Basin to learn more about the environmental causes of and emergency response to the dry domestic well crisis.
ABOVE: Members of Class 43 visiting the Grand Ronde Overlook Wildflower Institute in Service of Ecological Restoration in La Grande, OR.
ABOVE: Attending a Tequio (work party) at Anahuac Farm alongside Community Organizer Josefina Cruz Bautista and Cultural Arts Coordinator Yanely Rivas.
ABOVE: Members of Class 44 in Medford at Rogue Retreat Crossings, a low barrier shelter and urban campground created in partnership between Rogue Retreat and City of Medford. It serves homeless individuals and couples with innovative Pallet Shelters, Rigid Tents, and organized tent sites.
ABOVE: Members of Class 43 and 44 on a tour of Port of Portland's Marine Terminal 6 with Tamara Kennedy (Class 43), the Director of Economic Development for the Port of Portland Trade and Equitable Development Division. Tamara and her colleagues Heather Chao (incoming Class 46), Keith Leavitt and Randy Fischer hosted ALF Oregon for a tour and converstaion about the collaborative work and changing future of Marine Terminal 6.