March

Sharon Oberst is Professor Emerita of Dance at Western Oregon University where she taught ballet technique, pedagogy, dance history, dance production, dance and gender in musical theatre courses for 32 years. She attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston and studied at the Houston Ballet Academy. She has performed with the Houston Ballet, Eugene Ballet, Allegro Ballet of Houston, Beaumont Ballet Theatre and Theatre Under the Stars. Oberst earned her bachelor's degree in dance and theatre from Lamar University and master's degree in dance from the University of Oregon. Her research has focused on dance administration, pedagogy, the history of dance in musical theatre and film and historical dance forms for the theatre. In addition to choreographing for numerous dance concerts, Oberst regularly choreographs theatrical productions such as Romeo and Juliet, BobRauschenbergAmerica, The Inspector General, and Pride and Prejudice. Oberst has directed and choreographed numerous productions including Kiss Me Kate, Victor/Victoria, West Side Story, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and 42nd Street. She has served on the Board of Directors, as Treasurer and Secretary for CORPS de Ballet International, a professional organization dedicated to the development, exploration, and advancement of ballet in higher education. She was honored with the organization's Award for Outstanding Service in 2007 and 2018. Professor Oberst is the 2006 recipient of the Western Oregon University Mario and Alma Pastega Excellence in Teaching Award.

Professor of Politics, Policy, Law and Ethics (PPLE). She also belongs to the Women's and Gender Studies Program. Director, "Transformative Justice Initiative.

Grant Hagestadt will present Vivaldi
Sheila Sund: "Dancing Through Life" with Stephen Schwartz
Sally Schriver: Connie Francis
Marjorie Wallace: "My Daddy Played Banjo"

Grant Hagestadt has been a member of ICL since 1995;
Sheila Sund joined ICL in September 2021;
Sally Schriver has been a member of ICL since 2003;
Marjorie Wallace joined in 2019

Melissa is a visiting research scholar in the Department of Anthropology at Portland State University, and is principal investigator and sole proprietor of the cultural research management firm Lower Columbia Research & Archaeology LLC. Darby has worked for over forty years as an archaeologist and historian in the Northwest and is a noted authority on the ethnohistory, ethnobotany, and vernacular architecture of the Native people of western Oregon and Washington. Darby has been the on-call specialist for Klickitat County Public Works Department since 2010.

Rick Watkins received his BA in physics from Cornell University and his Phd in physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has been a member of the Willamette Physics Department since 1999. His research interests are in Cosmology and he primarily studies the flow of galaxies through the Universe. Basically, galaxies are pulled by gravity into regions where matter is concentrated and out of regions that are relatively empty. By studying these motions one can learn how much matter the Universe contains, how it is distributed, and how this distribution is changing in time. This information can, in turn, be used to test models of how the Universe has evolved, thus illuminating such issues as dark matter and dark energy. Albert Ramon and Alexandra Walker are senior physics major who are carrying out senior theses projects with Dr. Watkins.

Project Lead - Angelina Wang (She/Her). Angelina is a third-year student at Willamette University, majoring in Environmental Science, with a double minor in Biology and Chinese. She is currently an intern for the Willamette Valley Native Plant Society of Oregon, where she will conduct research in indigenous uses of native wildflowers located in Bush Pasture Park. With a passion for plants and ecosystem conservation/restoration, she created this project to promote tree planting and acknowledge the acts of violence against the BIPOC community.

Project Lead - Grace Shiffrin (She/Her). Grace is a third-year student at Willamette University, double majoring in Biology and Environmental Science. She is currently the president of Zena Farm club, where she co-leads the Beekeeping Circle and the Native plant Circle. With an interest in ecological systems and the interactions between plants and animals, she is excited to work with the community to create a new generation of Oregon Oaks.

Faculty Advisor - David Craig (He/Him). Since Fall 2001 David has been privileged to teach at Willamette University. The germination of this project in one of his classes is among the most wonderful intersections of his devotion to combating the oppression of people and the natural world. David is grateful to the grant writers and reviewers who inspired hope in the midst of the 2020-2021 academic year - a year wrought by a global pandemic, national violence against the BIPOC community, and historically devastating local wildfires and ice storms.