aawcc_text_banner.jpg

AAWCC Oregon Chapter Summer Newsletter 2022

Our mission is to inspire, champion, and celebrate the talents within each of us.

teri.jpg

President's Message 

With these ongoing high temperatures, it is hard to believe that fall is coming up quickly. According to the calendar, it is just two weeks away! The sun is still shining and the trees are still full and green, but that will slowly begin to change. The days will get colder and cloudy; many trees and plants will lose their

color and prepare for winter. As people begin to spend more time indoors, it can also be used as a time for each of us to look inward and assess what we need and want in our lives. Where do you find your inspiration? How do we renew our sense of self and build toward wholeness?

Fall Conference will focus on getting back to basics. The sessions will provide ideas that can help us become a more-rounded individual and how that will naturally be reflected back to the people in our lives. As Donna Lewelling reminded us during her stint as a flight attendant in the “Being Courageous at Work” presentation in 2020…remember to care for yourself first, and then you can better help others.

Fall is also a time for….elections! AAWCC-Oregon will be holding annual elections during Fall Conference. Here is a list of the positions which will be up for election and you can get a position description from our website

  • VP of Summer Conference – 2023-24
  • VP of Fall Conference – 2023-24
  • VP of Finance – 2023-24
  • VP of Special Projects – 2023-24
  • VP of Communications – 2023-24

For those interested in running for a position, additional information will be coming out prior to the conference. 


I am very excited for the Fall Conference and to see everyone face-to-face again! 


-Teri Olsen

AAWCC Oregon President

Editor's Note: In some browsers, the newsletter may appear incomplete or cut off and you will need to click the "Message Clipped. View entire message." link at the bottom of the email to view the entire newsletter.

NEWS

Fall conference update

The AAWCC Oregon Fall Conference, “Back to Basics: The FUNdamentals of AAWCC” will be held Nov. 17-18 in Tigard at Embassy Suites with a mission to inspire, champion, and celebrate our talents.


Our Fall Conference Vice President Adrienne Ochs shared some details about what attendees can expect from this year’s conference. Conference registration will open by Sept. 15. Check our website for more information next week.  

Tell us more about the theme, Back to Basics: The FUNdamentals of AAWCC.

The theme is about getting back to basics. Our association has basic tenets we’re known for: – elevating women and their roles within community colleges. We’re going to show there’s more to it and we’ll explore timely topics. We’ll have sessions that will make us more well-rounded individuals, partners, friends, and coworkers. The conference is centered around professional and personal wellness, and wholeness and shows that improvement can be not only rewarding, it can also be fun. It’s important that we all make the time, not only to give but to receive. The conference provides space for attendees to do just that.


What do you hope attendees take away from the conference? 

I hope they leave with an expanded view of themselves and that they realize there is more to their lives than just their job, their family, or their community. Our speakers will be sharing from their hearts and have honest, practical discussions about what it means to be a woman in the community college system. 


Who are this year’s speakers? 

Our Day 1 keynote is Celia Núñez, HECC deputy director of Community Colleges and Workforce Development. She’ll speak about her career path and provide insights into what’s made her successful and highlight the basics that led to her professional path.


On Day 2, Ineda Adesanya, university chaplain and director of spiritual and religious life at Willamette University, will talk about self-care and what we can do in these changing times to ensure we’re taking care of ourselves, and how to develop caring relationships and find work/life balance. We planned this talk because we heard from previous conference attendees that they wanted to learn more about self-care, so we’ve asked Ineda to share timely principles about self-care and why and how self-care is not selfish care. 


What excites you about planning Fall Conference?

What I like is being able to create an experience where the members are changed as a result of it. It’s about adding value to other people's lives. I hope the women who attend leave better than when they came, through the connections they make and what they’ve learned from our keynote speakers, workshops and each other. 


How can members learn more and register? 

Look for more information later this month on our website and via email. Meanwhile, if anyone is interested in volunteering for Fall Conference or if they have an idea for a conference workshop, they can contact me at Adrienne.OCHS@state.or.us.

Ambassador Roundup

aawcc-logo-full.jpg

Campus ambassadors update 


At our Fall Conference, we honor community college colleagues for their contributions and dedication to community colleges with our Community College Excellence Awards and the Carolyn DesJardin Leadership Award. 

 

We encourage campus chapters to brainstorm with colleagues about nominations for both of these honors. Nomination forms are now on the website. While anyone may nominate a member for either award, nominations for the Community College Excellence Awards are submitted by campus ambassadors. Be sure to contact your ambassador with any nominations.


Looking ahead: The campus ambassadors' next meeting is at noon Oct. 12 via Zoom. Contact Lori Wamsley for the Zoom link. 


As chapters start planning for the new academic year, Linn-Benton's Marci Johnston offers an update about how their chapter is moving forward and shared that Kim Armstrong will now be the LBCC ambassador: The summer report from Linn-Benton Community College is light as we are mostly inactive over the summer. In May, we elected new officers. In July, a few of us attended the AAWCC Summer Conference at the Oregon Garden which was an amazing time. Then in August, we had a casual transition and brainstorming meeting where old and new board members get to know each other over an after-work potluck to exchange documents and "pass the torch" to the new team. We also started brainstorming ideas for scholarship fundraisers, events to offer, and possible topics for our general meetings for the next year. We are looking forward to doing more in-person activities, but also keeping some remote options as it helped some attend that hadn't been able to attend previously. Hope you all have a great year! 


More about campus ambassadorsEach campus chapter has an "ambassador" who serves as a liaison to the state board. This group meets with our President-Elect Lori Wamsley to strengthen connections across our chapters and create a network of support and engagement. If you would like to learn more about AAWCC ambassadors or would like to become the ambassador for your member institution, contact Lori Wamsley.

2022 Campus Ambassadors

  • Blue Mountain CC - Velda Arnaud
  • Central Oregon CC - Lisa Chitwood
  • Chemeketa CC - Lynn Irvin
  • Clackamas CC - Teresa Robertson
  • Clatsop CC - Stephanie Homer
  • Columbia CC - Courtney Judah
  • Community Colleges and Workforce Development - Kasena Dailey
  • Klamath CC - Shannon Childs
  • Lane CC - Amanda Blunt
  • Linn-Benton CC - Kim Armstrong
  • Mt. Hood CC- Felisha Brewer
  • Oregon Coast CC - Kathleen Andrews
  • OCCA - Katie Archambault
  • Portland CC- Cheri Maas-Anderson
  • Rogue CC - Donna Plummer
  • Southwestern Oregon CC - Anna Cole
  • Tillamook Bay CC - Britney Noel
  • Treasure Valley CC - Gina Roper
  • Umpqua CC - Joy Yori


THE REWIND

Summer conference recap

Special thanks to VP of Summer Conference Amber Fulz for her hard work in planning our "Finding Y(our) Groove" Summer Conference held July 14 at Oregon Garden Resort. Nearly 90 members and guests attended the event that featured inspiring speakers. The conference was our first opportunity since Fall Conference 2019 to engage together in-person as a statewide organization! Thank you to all who attended and helped us all find our groove! We're looking forward to Fall Conference in November!

Social butterflies learned the bachata compliments of Lynn Irvin, pictured right. Marci Johnston of Linn-Benton braved the stage to partner with Lynn. The social hour featured dancing, tasty snacks, fun music, games and rock painting.

Vice President of Summer Conference Amber Fultz of PCC (left) and President Teri Olsen of Clackamas (right) take a break from organizing the array of door prizes that attendees had the opportunity to win during the day. 

Campus ambassadors, Marci Johnston of Linn-Benton (left) and Joy Yuri of Umpqua (right) greet conference attendees with President-Elect Lori Wamsley of Mt. Hood. Special thanks to all of our campus ambassadors for their engagement and support at conference and throughout the year!


More than 80 members and guests attended the conference. 

Keynote speaker Moe Carrick's talk provided opportunities for reflection and small group discussions centered on our work, how connections impact our lives, and what matters to us in our work. Some of the reflective questions included: 

  • Why do you work? 
  • What creates joy for you at work today? 
  • What does your perfect day at work look like? 


Moe invited attendees to subscribe to her electronic newsletter and to check out to her new podcast, "Stop the Su*k. Let's Make Work Human." Learn more on her website.


Attendees also learned about ways to boost their retirement savings during a PERS workshop presented by Amy and Alex Crooks. They walked attendees through different savings scenarios to show how a little savings today can make a big impact upon retirement. 

The final discussion of. the day featured retired Oregon community college employees, Angela McMahon (far left), Dawn DeWolf (right), and Karin Magnuson (far right). Jessica Mole Heilman (left), executive director of Portland State's Center for Women's Leadership moderated the panel. "They were inspiring champions who paved the way. Their stories were engaging and humorous. It was great to see where we came from, especially when we have so far to go," shared Amber Fultz, VP of Summer Conference about the panel.

header-google-form.png

2022 Board of Directors

  • President - Teri Olsen
  • Past President - Donna Lewelling
  • President Elect - Lori Wamsley
  • VP Fall Conference - Adrienne Ochs
  • VP Summer Conference - Amber Fultz
  • VP Finance - Lisa Fletcher-Gordon
  • VP Records - Lauren Smith
  • VP Communications - Marsha Sills
  • VP OILD - Sydney Frost
  • VP Membership and Registration - Kristina Holton
  • VP Web Development - Lydia Rediske
  • VP Special Projects - Lynn Irvin
  • National AAWCC Representative - Cherie Maas-Anderson 
  • President Emerita - Karen Magnuson
  • Ex Oficio Members - Cam Preus, Mary Spilde


AAWCC Oregon Website

The AAWCC Oregon Chapter newsletter is an official communication from the Board of Directors in support of the chapter's mission. Contact Vice President of Communications, Marsha Sills (sillsm@lanecc.edu) for corrections. This edition was published on Sept. 9, 2022.

Facebook  Twitter  Instagram