2021 Programs

Sonoma County Forum offers an exciting array of speakers including leaders in business, education, health care, the arts, and local government. Our speakers provide an excellent way to gain knowledge of the community and learn about its vast resources.

Due to the current coronavirus pandemic, we have suspended our public meetings. Speakers will be presented via Zoom, until it is safe to resume public programs. The zoom sessions are recorded and can be viewed or downloaded from the 2021 program schedule (scroll down or click) for 3 months following the date of presentation.

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Upcoming Speakers

August 5

Sandy Frary, archivist, Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery

Sandy Frary

Sandy Frary is a local historian, author, and archivist for the Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery, Santa Rosa’s 17-acre pioneer cemetery. For more than 13 years, she has painstakingly researched historical documents and interviewed scores of descendants in order to create an accurate historical listing of the 5,515 people buried in the Rural Cemetery. She is known for documenting her research through colorful stories that make learning about Santa Rosa’s early pioneers a delight. Her recently published book, Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery, records the stories of those buried in Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery.

Note: Zoom presentations (where applicable) will be available to view or download for 3 months following the presentation.

NOTE: As of July 1, the Forum is moving its meetings to the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month.

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2021 Program Schedule

Note: a synopsis of each past 2021 presentation may be viewed here.

DATE	Speaker
Jan 5	Julie Tabsharani, Program Coordinator for the Juvenile Justice Center
Jan 19	Phyllis Rosenfield, Exec. Director/President, Listening for a Change
Feb 2	Caren McNamara, Conscious Container
Feb 16	"The Maker Movement: Fostering a Creative Culture for Open Innovation," Dale Dougherty, President of Make:Community.
Mar 2	Catherine Devriese and Una Glass, Sebastopol Center for the Arts
Mar 16	Vivien Straus, founder of the California Cheese Trail
Apr 6	Meghan Ashley, curator, Hallberg Butterfly Gardens (Zoom presentation)
Apr 20	Iris Jamahl Dunkle, author/poet (poet laureate of Sonoma County 2017-18) (Zoom presentation)
May 4	J Mullineaux, Exec. Director, SRJC Foundation (Zoom presentation) (Link to Power Point Presentation)
May 18	Molly Curley O'Brien, Rebuild NorthBay Foundation (Zoom presentation) (Link to Power Point Presentation)
Jun 1	Cheryl Costantini, co-founder, Nichibei Potters (Zoom presentation)
Jun 15	Ky J. Boyd, Director, Rialto Cinemas (Zoom presentation)
Thurs. July 1	Members only meeting
Thurs. July 15	Andrew Kilsheimer, Asst. General Manager of the Epicenter in Santa Rosa
Thurs. Aug 5	Sandy Frary, archivist, Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery
Thurs. Aug 19	Kathy Goodacre and Robin Bartholow, North Bay Construction Corps and Career Technical Education Foundation
Thurs. Sep 2	Xinci Tan, Zero Waste Sonoma
Thurs. Sep 16	Meagan Major, Happy Dahlia Farm
Thurs. Oct 7	Christine Fontaine and Anne Markill, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation
Thurs. Oct 21	Dick Ogg, Challenges for Commercial Fishermen in Sonoma County
Thurs. Nov 4	Alegria De La Cruz, Sonoma County Office of Equity
Thurs. Nov 18	TBA
Thurs. Dec 2	TBA
Thurs. Dec 16	TBA

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Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month from 7:30-8:45 AM at Legends at the Bennett Valley Golf Course, 3328 Yulupa Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA.
Program Meetings are open to the public.