Women's Health Network Presents... The History of Oregon Women in Politics

Friday, February 10th

8:30 am - 11:30 am

McMenamin's Kennedy School, Mina Parson's Room

The Women's Health Network's mission is to form a coalition open to all who share the goal to achieve optimum health and healing for women in Oregon through advocacy, education and networking.

In pursuit of this mission, the Women’s Health Network provides a forum to discuss issues related to women’s health, presents educational sessions and promotes networking and mutual support among members.

This year's speaker series is titled, "Politics and Women's Health: Is it Personal?".  Presentations are held quarterly, beginning on February 10th, at McMenamin's Kennedy School.  February's presentation will focus on the History of Women in Politics in Oregon.  The event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 8:00 am.  The presentation begins at 8:35 and the event ends at 11:30 am.  A light continental breakfast will be available. For more information email valerie.a.stratton@state.or.us.

Presenters:

Sunny Petit will present:  "Women making History:  Oregon Politics and Policy".  Sunny is the Associate Director for the Center for Women, Politics, and Policy which promotes the education and empowerment of women and girls through civic leadership programs and research. She is also 1 of 3 Oregon delegates to Vision 2020 Equality in Sight, a national initiative through Drexel University, to increase equality for women nationally by 2020, and chairs the Oregon Commission for Women. Prior to joining the Center, she was Regional Director for a counter-human trafficking organization in South Asia and ran programs in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. She is a recipient of the Tokyo Foundation's International Trade and Development Fellowship for research on women's political development in Turkey. She lives in North Portland with her husband Peter, and children, Hendrik and Daphne.

Marge Easley will present "The League's Role in Oregon Politics".  Marge has been a member of the League of Women Voters for 20 years and last May completed a four year term as state president.  She has been a member of the League’s state action team for many years, and she wants to share with you what the League is and does and what role it has played in Oregon’s political process over the last 20 years.

Marge grew up in Pennsylvania, but has lived in Rhode Island, Delaware, Switzerland, and South Carolina before moving with her husband and daughter to Wilsonville sixteen years ago. She’s a retired teacher and first joined the League in South Carolina when her daughter, now a sophomore in college, was just a toddler.  She joined because she wanted to make a difference in a small town where the racial inequities and lack of opportunities for black youths deeply troubled her.  After moving to Oregon, she has followed a wide range of issues for the League, spends a lot of time at the Capitol when the Legislature is in session (the short February session is now underway), and is currently helping to write a history of the League of Women Voters of Oregon, in honor of the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in Oregon, which is being celebrated this year.

For further information, visit our website at:  http://public.health.oregon.gov/HealthyPeopleFamilies/Women/Pages/whn.aspx

Or call Valerie Stratton at:  (971)673-2306