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

March 2

Catherine Devriese and Una Glass, Sebastopol Center for the Arts

Una Glass, Chief Financial Officer

Catherine Devriese is Creative Director of the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Educated in Antwerp, Utrecht and London, and fluent in several languages, Catherine draws on her rich cultural background to bring a multicultural, global perspective to SCA’s Visual Arts program and is passionate about making art accessible to everyone. Catherine also enjoys theater, film, poetry, opera and spending special moments with friends.

Una Glass is the organization’s Chief Financial Officer. Una has extensive leadership and technical experience in a variety of fields. She was the Executive Director of a statewide nonprofit for 10 years, CFO of a regional media station for seven years, and principal in an accounting software development company for twenty plus years. She has served on many Sonoma County non-profit boards and commissions and currently holds elected office. She enjoys hiking, reading, cooking, great conversations and events at SCA.

Catherine Devriese, Creative Director

March 16

Vivien Straus, founder, The California Cheese Trail

Vivien Straus

Vivien Straus, a longtime organic food and sustainable farming advocate, developed the Cheese Trail idea in 2010. The map is now in its eighth printing (over 460,000 distributed), has increased the visibility, sales and appreciation of local cheesemakers throughout the country.

A woman with a slight addiction to cows, Vivien grew up on her family’s dairy in Marshall. She ran away to Hollywood to become an actress until the cows wooed her back. She helped build her brother’s company Straus Family Creamery, serving as VP of Marketing. Later, she served as Public Relations Coordinator and led creamery tours for Cowgirl Creamery. Currently she manages the Straus Home Ranch as well as its vacation rental. Recently she completed a run of her one-woman show (writer and actress), E-i-E-i-OY! In Bed with the Farmer’s Daughter, is a MOTH StorySLAM winner, and is currently working on a new performance piece.

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2021 Program Schedule

DATE	Speaker
Jan 5	Julie Tabsharani, Program Coordinator for the Juvenile Justice Center ( Zoom presentation)
Jan 19	Phyllis Rosenfield, Exec. Director/President, Listening for a Change ( Zoom presentation)
Feb 2	Caren McNamara, Conscious Container (Zoom presentation)
Feb 16	"The Maker Movement: Fostering a Creative Culture for Open Innovation," Dale Dougherty, President of Make:Community. (Zoom Presentation)
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
Apr 20	Iris Jamahl Dunkle, author/poet (poet laureate of Sonoma County 2017-18)
May 4	TBA
May 18	TBA
Jun 1	TBA
Jun 15	TBA
July 6	TBA
July 20	TBA
Aug 3	TBA
Aug 17	TBA
Sep 7	TBA
Sep 21	TBA
Oct 5	TBA
Oct 19	TBA
Nov 2	TBA
Nov 16	TBA
Dec 7	TBA
Dec 21	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.