The SSMO Foundation Speaker Series is our gift back to the community that supports our campus. These free, informative discussions complement the SSMO Bethany Center Speaker Series and provide our community with timely educational information from trusted sources.
Thank you for your interest in our Speaker Series. We appreciate your interest in our presentations this year.
If you would like to receive notices of Speaker Series events, contact Caroline Fogarty at [email protected] or 503-718-6486.
Upcoming Events
UNCONSCIOUS BIAS: HOW UNCONSCIOUS ASSOCIATIONS AFFECT OUR EVERYDAY LIVES
Monday, November 18 | 6:30 p.m. | Valley Catholic Elementary School Cafeteria
Presenters: Jenny Lee Berry ’95, Program Manager
Octaviano Merecias-Cuevas, Diversity Trainer
OHSU/Center for Diversity and Inclusion
Recent developments in neuroscience have shown that we form biases throughout life through societal and parental conditioning. They are held at the subconscious level and although we believe ourselves to be open-minded and not prejudiced, these biases still play an active role in our everyday decision making processes. Our speakers will help us to gain an understanding and present some tools that can help us mitigate the impact of these biases.
Jenny is a native Oregonian and an alumna of VCS, class of ’95. She graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in Business Administration with minors in Cultural Anthropology and Ethnic Studies. She has had a career in public service advancing equity, inclusion, diversity recruitment and employee engagement. She currently works at OHSU’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion and is the Regional Director of the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium. Jenny stays involved with the local Asian Pacific Islander community and supports social justice, human rights, and civic engagement. She and her husband are busy parents to four children. Volunteering at their school and attending their sporting activities keep her busy away from the office.
Octaviano Merecias is a transformational speaker, trilingual writer, and seasoned educator who works with a socially-engaged and social-emotional brain-targeted practices, facilitating workshops, talks, discussion, forums, and conferences with groups in the US and abroad. Octaviano holds a Master’s Degree from the School of Language, Culture & Society at Oregon State University and Higher Education Teaching Certificate issued by the Derek Bok Center at Harvard University. Currently, he is a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University in the Mind, Brain and Teaching Program and is a Lead Diversity Trainer at OHSU.
Past Events
These Valiant Women: The Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon – Their Past, Present and Future
Monday, October 14 | 6:30 p.m. | SSMO Motherhouse
Presenter: Sister Charlene Herinckx
Superior General, Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon
Join the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon Foundation for the kickoff of the 2019-20 Speaker Series season. Sr. Charlene Herinckx, SSMO Superior General, will host “These Valiant Women: The Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon – Their Past, Present and Future.” Learn how the Sisters settled in Beaverton, built the iconic Motherhouse and their campus ministries over the last 130 years.
