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. Meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month at 8am at the Epicenter, off of Piner Road, west of Coffey Lane in Santa Rosa.

Scroll below for information about upcoming 2023 speakers.
For biographies of past speakers, by year, click here.

Upcoming Speakers

December 7, 2023

Nichole Warwick, Blue Zones Project Petaluma

Nichole Warwick

In May of this year, Health Petaluma and the City of Petaluma announced the launch of a city-wide Blue Zones Project to help residents live better, longer lives.  Blue Zones Project is a first-of-its-kind population health initiative based on research and principles developed by Dan Buettner, Blue Zones founder and National Geographic Fellow and Explorer who identified the cultures of the world—or blue zones—with the healthiest, longest-living populations. Through workshops and engagement with schools, local businesses, food vendors and other avenues, as well as the establishment of targeted policies and wellness programs, Blue Zones seeks to help residents attain the lifestyle habits that most increase likelihood of living longer. “We are working, collectively, to make the healthy choices the easy choices,” said Nichole Warwick, executive director of the Blue Zones Petaluma initiative. Come and listen as Nichole Warwick explains the Blue Zones Petaluma Project and how it is impacting the lives of those who live in Sonoma County.

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January 4, 2024

Marakeshia Smith, City Manager, City of Santa Rosa 

Marakeshia Smith

Maraskeshia Smith, City Manager for the City of Santa Rosa since January 2022, will discuss the issues and challenges that face Sonoma County’s largest city.   Smith came to Santa Rosa from Stockton where she served as Deputy City Manager. She holds an MBA from Eastern Kentucky University and a Bachelor’s from the University of Kentucky, has also served as assistant city manager for the city of Oakland, and spent 10 years in Cincinnati where she led the Public Services and Public Works Departments.  Please join us to learn what lies ahead for the City of Santa Rosa.

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2023 Program Schedule

	Speaker
Jan. 5	​(rescheduled due to inclement weather)
Jan. 19	Duskie Estes, Farm to Pantry
Feb. 2	Jennielynn Holmes, Caritas Village
Feb. 16	Dr. Steve Charbonneau, Superintendent, Piner Olivet Union School District, "School District Consolidation"
March 2	Janae Franicevic, General Manager/Owner, Sunce Winery
March 16	Laura Lorman, "Inexpensive Travel Options and How to Travel Safely"
April 6	Brittany Mundarain, General Manager, Montgomery Village "Vision for Montgomery Village"
April 20	Margaret Press, CEO, Co-Founder of the DNA Doe Project
May 4	Alethea Larson, Deputy Director, The Living Room
May 18	Leilani Clark, LandPaths
June 1	Ethan Brown, Sonoma County Economic Development Board
June 15	John Cregan, Chief of Police, City of Santa Rosa
July 6	Jane Engdahl, Sonoma County Fair
July 20	Cal Fire: Hardening Your Property to Reduce Wildfire Risk
Aug  3	Natasha Stocker, Inspired Spaces Foundation
Aug 17	Cathryn Couch, Director, Ceres Community Project
Sep  7	Laurie and Adam Goldberg, Stargazer Spirits Ranch: Growing Agave in Sonoma County
Sep 21	Mike Morrison and Chris Nellie, World Affairs Council
Oct  5	Sonoma County Library: Vision for the Future/Technology​
Oct 19	Andrea Rodriguez-Jereb, Sonoma Water Agency
Nov  2	Claudia Vecchio, President/CEO, Sonoma County Tourism ​
Nov 16	Kerry Benefield, Press Democrat reporter and columnist
Dec  7	Nichole Warwick, Executive Director, Blue Zones Petaluma
Dec 21	Holiday meeting (for members only)
Jan. 4, 2024	Marakeshia Smith, City Manager, City of Santa Rosa ​
Jan. 18, 2024	Dr. Angélica Garcia, Superintendent/President, Santa Rosa Junior College