This past 2007 program was by all means a great success. 34 women from diverse backgrounds from around the state attended and brought their passion for issues and action to the table.

Welcome to the Alumnae Network, Class of 2007!

Portland Art Museum, October 23, 2007

Success! Over 450 sponsors, alumnae, elected officials, business and nonprofit leaders, and community activists attended NLO’s first annual fundraising event to honor 4 Oregon Women Leaders (Senator Betsy Johnson, Teresa Alonso, Mary Wilcox, and Judy Peppler). The turn out exceeded original expectations and raised more than $40,000 in gross profits. Over 25 alumnae attended the event, and NLO Alumna Andrea Cooper (Class of 2006 and Program Director for 2007) emceed the event with outstanding poise. Sonja Henning, former WNBA star, litigator, and current Marketing Executive at Nike, was the keynote speaker for the event and discussed the importance of women’s involvement in politics and public service. All money raised in the event will go directly into NLO programs and to extend scholarships for 2008 participants.

Thank you to all the great NLO Alumnae volunteers who helped make this such a terrific event! Thank you also to our sponsors who supported NLO’s mission through their contributions: PSU’s College of Urban and Public Affairs, Gun Denhart, Chalkboard Project, Providence Health Plans, Regence Blue Cross, Stoel Rives, Emerson House, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management, Kama & Co. Keller Williams Realty, Nth Power, Oregon Education Association, Portland Business Alliance, Portland Community College (Rock Creek Campus and President’s Office), Portland Development Commission, Qwest, and Serena Davidson Photography.

October 7, 2007

Sarai Geary (2007) organized and hosted an NLO alumnae dinner on Sunday, October 7th in Portland. There are plans to keep this monthly get together going and upcoming event news will be posted to the NLO list serve. Great idea, Sarai!

Emily Ryan (2005) officially announced her candidacy for Portland City Council! The seat is hotly contested with more than 5 candidates and it looks to be an exciting race. She has developed a strategic issues platform, which she terms “Five Bridges to a Thriving Portland”:

1. Sustainability                                            
2. Homelessness
3. Citizen Involvement 
4. International Affairs
5. City as Services AND infrastructure

Emily is looking for campaign workers and volunteers to help her in this incredible journey- for more information, please check out her campaign website: emilysryan.com Good luck Emily!!!

Sarai Geary (2007) was a panelist for a Portland Community Cinema Event discussing the acclaimed film “Miss Navajo” held on October 31st. PORTLAND COMMUNITY CINEMA, a free monthly screening of social issue films followed by a panel discussion, is hosted by Global Sistergoods (started by fellow alumnae Kristi Jo Lewis (2004), ITVS and OPB the last Wednesday of each month at the St. John's Cinema and Pub at 8704 N. Lombard, at 8 pm. For information about each of the screenings, visit globalsistergoods.com/events or call 503-285-6780. Next month’s showing is November 28, 2007: An Unreasonable Man, a film about Ralph Nader, a person whom the filmmaker describes “at one of the most important and controversial political figures our time.” The panel will host Greg Kafoury (Nader’s 2004 Campaign Director), the filmmaker, and unconfirmed local political activists. The film deals with political process and has particular local relevance as Nader recently announced a lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee, including a specific allegation that the DNC sent Kerry supporters to crash a Nader petition drive in Portland, Ore., in June 2004,  preventing him from collecting enough signatures to get on the ballot.

Noted business leader and Oregon Qwest President, Judy Peppler, and US Bank, Oregon Senior Vice-President Michelle Weisenbach recently joined our esteemed Board of Advisors- Welcome! In addition, Judy and five other NLO Advisory Board members including Melody Rose, were recognized by the NW Women’s Business Journal as some of the 100 most powerful women in the northwest. Congratulations!

In the last few days of the Legislative session this summer, NLO was approved for and was allocated funds for a two-year position of Assistant Director. This is the first state funding received for NLO and there are many people to thank for helping pass it through- Debbie Murdock (PSU Government Relations), Niki Terzieff (Tresidder and Company Lobbyist), Laura Terrill-Patten (Legislative Aide to Rep. Bonamici), and Jesse Cornett (PSU Government Relations Assistant), to name just a few. The purpose of the funding is to expand NLO’s existing program and foster statewide ideas on women’s leadership.

And introducing the new NLO coordinator for 2008……
Sunny Petit is the new Assistant Director who will coordinate the 2008 NLO program and be NLO’s first full-time staff person. Since 2004, Sunny worked with NLO every summer while finishing her Master in Political Science and staying active in local politics. She recently resigned from a position as Associate Director for a counter human trafficking organization working in South Asia and is thrilled to be a part of developing NLO further. Please feel free to contact her if she can be of any assistance in speaking about NLO to groups, program ideas, or setting up events!

We regret to announce the passing of Debbie Murdock, Director of PSU Government Relations. Debbie was an outstanding strategist and supporter of NLO- having been a speaker and panelist at NLO in past years, and lobbying for NLO’s 2007 legislative funding. She was a well-respected mentor to many women in politics and the community in general. She was a dedicated advocate for higher education and will be greatly missed.

CJ Martin (2005) moved to Malibu, CA to start law school at Pepperdine University.

Liz Chiarello (2004) is currently a grad student in sociology at UC Irvine and is studying
the controversy over pharmacists' refusals to dispense birth control prescriptions from a social movements/organizations perspective. She is also very involved in campus activism around affordable housing

Molly Aleshire (2006) is attending the graduate program in criminology and criminal justice at Portland State University and volunteers with Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and the Multnomah County D.A.s office as a rape victim advocate.

Danielle Chiacco (2004) is presently a United Nations Association Fellow for 2007. She was also selected as an intern for the U.S. State Department with the Bureau of Western Hemispheric Affairs. This summer, she traveled to South Africa to work with post-apartheid issues, women's initiatives, human rights, and HIV/AIDS+ orphans. Immediately following, she was selected to travel with a medical team to Port-au-Prince, Haiti where she led educational seminars with locals on such issues as preventative healthcare, disease management, and post-war trauma among civilians. She is finishing a Master Degree in International Studies at American University in Washington DC.

Sarah Chang (2006) is currently working for Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare in Portland, an organization that provides mental health and addictions treatment services. She is also an intern for the Oregon Latino Health Coalition, an organization that addresses health disparities facing Latinos in Oregon through advocacy, education, and sharing of resources. Specific projects include advocating for prenatal care for all women in Oregon and organizing videoconferences to bring communities together across the state.

Linda Kiltz’s (2004) focus has been finishing her dissertation on homeland security policy and the evolution of the new terrorist threat since the early 1990s.  She continues to teach a class at Portland State on terrorism and homeland security. 410 Terrorism and Homeland Security will be offered on line at PSU for the Fall and Winter terms, 2007, for all interested!

Goali Saedi (2006) recently started a PhD program in Counseling Psychology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Qristy Smith (2006) is managing a fashion boutique in Bend, Oregon called Plenty whose mission is revolutionary in the way they educate and meet the needs of women as well as in dealing with the environment and business practices. They seek to redefine the definition of beauty while stocking stylish yet socially responsible products and practicing open book finance.

Debra Porta (2007) joined the Multnomah GLBT Democratic Caucus and put her hat in the ring to be a Democratic Precinct Committee Person for her district. She is also an intern for Campus Compact at Portland Community College.

Katrina Beloof (2005) graduated from Whitman College last year and recently moved to Chicago to get a master's degree in the social sciences from the University of Chicago.

Summer Goodwin (2006) recently received a Presidential Fellowship to work for the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington D.C. for the next two years. She will be working in public administration.

Andrea Cooper (2006) graduated from the University of Portland and was recently hired as the Democratic Party of Oregon’s Constituency Director. She holds one of the few constituency positions in the country and is part of Howard Dean’s 50 state strategy.

Blair Larkins (2004) is an assistant to Oregon Congressman Greg Walden (R) in his DC office and is currently working on a Master Degree in Political Management at George Washington University.

An NLO mini is currently being planned for early 2008 and will be posted on the listserve as soon as possible. Have some of your own ideas for an NLO mini, want to let others know what you’re up to, or want to spread the word about an event? Send us an email at nlormail@pdx.edu.