Clark College students who plan to transfer to Washington State University Vancouver will find a smoother, more intentional path, thanks to a new transfer agreement.
Clark and WSU Vancouver launched a new transfer agreement on January 22. The two institutions partnered to create a seamless guaranteed transfer pathway for students who are completing an associate degree at Clark and plan to transfer to WSU Vancouver to complete a bachelor’s degree.
The impetus for the agreement:
To make pursuing a bachelor’s degree more accessible and equitable.
To reduce barriers to a smooth transition to WSU Vancouver and eventually, to earning a bachelor’s degree
Specifically targeted to reach underrepresented, underserved, and students of color.
Long term: To increase the number of students who earn bachelor’s degrees in Southwest Washington.
The Guaranteed Admission program enables Clark College students to transfer seamlessly to WSU Vancouver and to reduce the time required to earn a bachelor’s degree. The reverse transfer agreement will make it easier for Clark College students to attain an associate degree if enrolled at WSU Vancouver prior to completing their program at Clark College.
“This agreement will create a clear path for Clark students transferring to WSU Vancouver,” said Clark College President Dr. Karin Edwards. “By removing barriers, more first-generation students and students of color can earn a bachelor’s degree and help close the equity gap.”
Clark’s Director of Advising and Career Services Emily Meoz explained that the previous system required students interested in transferring to make the first move by contacting either a Clark advisor or the admissions office at WSU Vancouver.
“This program takes the guesswork out of the transfer process for our students,” Meoz said. “Now, instead of waiting for students to come to us, we go to them. We will create intentional outreach to students to get them on the transfer pathway early.”
Washington State University Vancouver/Pat Connelly
Q & A about Guaranteed Admission Program
Q: How does this transfer agreement benefit Clark students?
A: Here are the benefits to Clark students:
Direct pathway to WSU Vancouver to pursue a bachelor’s degree
Intentional, additional support and guidance with transfer process
Guaranteed transfer advising at Clark at least twice per year
Early connection and long-term plan review by WSU Vancouver at least twice per year
Special events to guide and support transfer process
Automatic reverse transfer opt-in to earn a Clark College credential even if the student transfers prior to completing Clark’s program
Q: How does a Clark student become eligible for this transfer agreement?
A: Any student who plans to transfer to WSU Vancouver must:
Pursue a direct transfer degree at Clark College
Complete a declaration of intent form
Meet with Clark academic advisor at least twice per year
Apply to WSU Vancouver
Complete minimum 60 credits of college-level units towards an associate degree and earn a 2.0 minimum grade point average from 100-level and higher coursework, as calculated by WSU Vancouver. Some majors at WSU Vancouver require a higher GPA.
Q: What is the essence of this transfer program?
A: It provides intentional support and guidance for students so the credits they take at the outset will transfer to WSU Vancouver. That results in students saving money, reducing student debt and increasing graduation rates of transfer students.
Q: Wasn’t there already a transfer agreement between Clark and WSU Vancouver? How is this different from the previous transfer agreement with WSU Vancouver?
A: Yes. Clark graduates with a minimum 2.0 GPA already are guaranteed admission to WSU Vancouver, but it is not widely known or marketed directly to students. The previous system required students interested in transferring to make the first move by contacting either a Clark advisor or the admissions office at WSU Vancouver. Under the new transfer agreement, Clark will create intentional outreach to students to get them on the transfer path early.
Q: How was the transfer agreement developed?
A: This transfer program was developed by Advising leaders from both Clark College and WSU Vancouver who participated in a year-long Aspen Institute project focused on increasing transfer success and reducing inequitable graduation rates among underrepresented students. Learn about The Aspen-AASCU Transfer Student Success and Equity Intensive here.
Q: Does Washington State University have similar guaranteed admission agreements with other community colleges in the state?
A: Yes. WSU has similar agreements with three other community colleges:
WSU Pullman with Spokane Falls Community College
WSU Tri-Cities with Columbia Basin College
WSU Everett with Everett Community College
Children’s Dental Health Clinic
Photograph from the 2017 Children’s Dental Health Day at Clark College. Clark College students have been participating in this event since 2007.
Can you pass this quiz?
True or false:
Cavities (tooth decay) are the most common chronic disease of childhood, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Tooth decay is preventable.
February is National Dental Health Month.
Clark College’s Dental Hygiene program holds a free dental care day for children in our community every February.
If you answered “true” to all the above questions, you are right.
Were you shocked that question #1 was true? Untreated cavities can cause pain and infections that could lead to problems with eating, speaking, playing, and learning. Research shows that children who have poor oral health often miss more school and receive lower grades than children who don’t.
Please help spread the word about Clark’s free dental health clinic for children.
What: Free children’s dental health clinic Who: Children ages 4 to 17 Presented by: Clark’s Dental Hygiene department When: Saturday, Feb. 3 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Where: Firstenburg Dental Hygiene Education and Care Center, Health Sciences Building Cost: Free! Make an appointment: Call the dental hygiene business office: 360-992-2158. Address to navigate to Health Sciences building: 2232 E. Reserve Street, Vancouver Closest parking: Brown Lot 1
The college’s dental hygiene students will provide free care under the direct supervision of licensed dental hygienists and dentists. Services will include cleanings, sealants, x-rays, doctor’s exams, fluoride, and select emergency treatments for children ages 4 to 17, regardless of insurance.
Kristi Taylor, program director of Clark’s dental hygiene department, said, “We are excited to offer our annual free children’s dental health day for children in our community between the ages of 4 to 17. If you have or know any children who would benefit from a free cleaning and exam, this would be a great opportunity for them. Call and schedule an appointment before the slots fill up.”
About Clark College’s Dental Hygiene program and clinic
The Clark College dental hygiene program is nationally recognized for excellence and highly regarded by dental professionals in the region. The Firstenburg Dental Hygiene Education and Care Center, located on the college’s main campus, offers affordable dental care for more than 2,000 patients annually. The center features modern technology and equipment to ensure quality care for patients. Patients in the Vancouver/Portland area receive high-quality, low-cost care from Clark College dental hygiene students under the direct supervision of licensed dental hygienists and dentists. Available time for patient treatment varies from term to term. Clinic days are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Learn more about the clinic.
Photo: Clark College/Nick Bremmer
Winter Welcome Week 2024
Welcome Week kicked off on Monday, January 8 with the first day of winter term and for the first back-to-school day of 2024. A popular feature of Welcome Week is the staffing of information tables set inside buildings all around campus with helpful volunteer staff answering students’ questions, helping them find their classes, and offering campus maps. The tabling to assist students would not be possible without so many staff and faculty volunteering their time to help Clark students.
Just as in fall term, parking lots were crowded as thousands of students returned to classrooms and labs across the main campus, at the Clark College Building at Washington State University Vancouver, and Clark’s Columbia Tech Center after winter break.
Unlike the beginning of fall term, when the weather invited students outside, students gathered indoors to greet friends and catch up before dashing off to their next class.
Student Involvement Fair
Later in the first week, Gaiser Hall’s Student Center bustled with activity as students, staff, and faculty gathered for Clark’s Winter Beach Party Involvement & Financial Wellness Fair in the Gaiser Hall Student Center on January 11. Students stopped at the tables that filled the hall to ask questions and to learn more about the college’s support services, student clubs, and programs.
Clark College wants to ensure students know about and can access wrap-around services, including Penguin Pantry, Disability Support Services, Counseling and Health Center, and more. The Student Involvement Fair, which is held during the first week of every quarter, is an excellent way for students—particularly new students—to learn more about these programs, services, and opportunities.
Students had the opportunity to learn more about the college’s student clubs, programs, on-campus jobs, and college and community resources. Students also connected with peers with shared interests—from learning Spanish to building a rocket to drawing comics, and more.
To promote a fun atmosphere, students lined up for free fruit smoothies and snow cones.
At Clark’s ASCC student government table, student leaders answered students’ questions and shared information about getting involved with student government. Read about ASCC here.
Students stopped by the Activities Programming Board table to learn about upcoming opportunities to connect with fellow students—including Bingo, movies, trivia games, free pizza, and more. Read about APB here.
At the Spanish Club table, students learned about opportunities to participate in field trips to learn more about the Spanish language as well as immersing themselves in Hispanic culture.
At the Model United Nations Club table, students learned about the opportunities to participate in mock UN representations and delegations.
At the Columbia Writers Series table, students learned about the literary series and an upcoming opportunity to meet Anis Mojgani, the poet laureate of Oregon, on February 13. Learn more about CWS here.
Students and graduates who have had their work published in The Iceberg, the art department’s annual student comics anthology, offered copies of the 2023 Iceberg as well as several past issues. They encouraged artists and writers to submit their work for the 2024 Iceberg. The deadline is May 1 for the 2023 Iceberg comics anthology that will be distributed in October.
At the Korean Culture Club table, students saw traditional clothing and learned what the club offers: K-Pop, K-Dramas, Korean food, history, and more. The club kicked off the year with a dance event. Next, club members are organizing a Lunar New Year celebration in February.
Several students crowded around the Clark Aerospace Club table to chat with aerospace club students to learn more about opportunities to help build a rocket. Behind them, their “Little Penguin” rocket they designed and built last academic year reached toward the sky. Over the summer, some of the students competed in the world’s largest intercollegiate rocket competition in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
An increasing number of students have been requesting food assistance from the Penguin Pantry. But many students are not aware of a plethora of other food pantries offering food assistance. Students stopped by the Clark County Food Bank table to talk with volunteers who provided a comprehensive list of free food pantries available throughout Clark County.
A student thanked the food bank volunteer, accepted the printed list of food resources, and tucked it into his backpack.
Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish
60th Clark College Jazz Festival
Mountain View High School jazz band won the Beacock Sweepstakes prize in 2023.
If you’re a fan of jazz, you’re in for a treat, thanks in large part to the dedication of Dr. Doug Harris and the intrepid Shelly Williams, who bring the Clark College Jazz Festival to our campus every year.
Clark College will host the 60th Annual Clark College Jazz Festival in three full days of exhilarating big band jazz on Thursday through Saturday, January 25-27 in the Gaiser Student Center at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way.
Middle and high school jazz ensembles from Washington and Oregon are scheduled to perform in addition to a new attraction, a ticketed fundraising concert by the Grammy-nominated The One O’Clock Lab Band® from the University of North Texas on Wednesday, January 24. The Clark College Jazz Band will kick off the fundraiser event at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $22 if purchased online through Jan 22 and $25 (cash only) at the door. All proceeds from the festival will go directly to student scholarships. View ticket info.
University of North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band® directed by Alan Baylock. Photo by Ahna Hubnik.
“We are so excited to present this year’s Clark College Jazz Festival, now celebrating our 60th anniversary. We are adding new attractions to this year’s festival,” said Clark’s Director of Bands and Festival Director Dr. Doug Harris. “We are thrilled to present the University of North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band® directed by Alan Baylock. This band is recognized as the preeminent collegiate big band in the world—and has held that distinction for decades. It will be a performance no jazz lover will want to miss.”
The Clark College Jazz Band.
Special festival performances by the Clark College Jazz Band under the direction of Dr. Harris:
8:15 p.m. on Thursday, January 25
7:45 p.m. on Friday, January 26 with guest soloist Yamaha trumpet artist Allen Vizzutti
12:15 p.m. on Saturday, January 27
Another new event is that legendary trumpet player Allen Vizzuttiwill appear with the Clark College Jazz Band on Friday night. Harris said, “I first heard Allen when I was a freshman at the University of Florida and was amazed, as I’m sure our audience will be.”
The three-day event will culminate with last year’s Beacock Award-winning band, Mountain View High School Jazz I, directed by Sam Ormson performing on Saturday night.
Competition Highlights
During this year’s competition, 56 middle and high school jazz ensembles from Washington and Oregon are scheduled to perform in this year’s competition with trophies presented to the top three jazz ensembles for middle schools and division A through division AAAA high schools.
Individual outstanding musician awards will be presented at the end of each division’s preliminary competitions. On Saturday evening, the Dale Beacock Memorial Sweepstakes Award will be presented to one outstanding band selected from the entire festival.
Dr. Harris said the event is not just a competition, but also a learning opportunity for the young musicians to participate in “valuable clinics from an outstanding group of jazz educators.”
The clinicians are Dr. Nate Jorgensen, Director of Jazz Studies at the University of New Hampshire on Thursday, and Seattle-based Yamaha artist Allen Vizzutti on Friday.
Special!Wednesday, January 24: The festival will kick off with a 7:30 p.m. ticketed fundraising concert by The One O’Clock Lab Band from the University of North Texas
Thursday, January 25: Middle school bands and Division A high school bands
Friday, January 26: Division AA high school bands
Saturday, January 27: Division AAA high school bands and Division AAAA high school bands
Admission is $10 per day. Clark College students and children under 12 accompanied by an adult will be admitted free of charge.
About Guest Artists
Yamaha Artist Allen Vizzutti has performed in 70 countries and every U.S. state with notable artists and ensembles including Chick Corea, Doc Severinsen, NBC Tonight Show Band, Army Symphony Orchestra, Chuck Mangione, Woody Herman, New Tokyo Philharmonic, Budapest Radio Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Leipzig Wind Symphony, and Slovenian National Orchestra. The Seattle-based musician is also a composer and recording artist.
Nominated for seven Grammy Awards, The One O’Clock Lab Band®from the University of North Texas jazz studies program is noted for its exceptional individual musicianship and tight ensemble performance. The band has performed throughout the U.S. and in 18 countries. The band also has performed at major jazz festivals, including Monterey, and at major jazz venues, including Birdland in New York City.
About Clark College Jazz Festival
Dr. Doug Harris has been director of bands at Clark College since Fall 2018. Previously, he was assistant director of bands at Western Kentucky University, director of bands at Santa Clara University and Southern Utah University and a high school band director in Florida. Harris received his Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Florida and his Master of Arts and Doctor of Arts degrees from the University of Northern Colorado. As a freelance trumpet player, Dr. Harris has performed with the Madison Scouts, Sacramento Mandarins, Teal Sound and Suncoast Sound Drum and Bugle Corps. He is an active clinician, adjudicator, composer, arranger, and transcriber.
History of the Clark College Jazz Festival
1962: The beginning: Hudson’s Bay High School band director, Don Cammack, organized a one-day high school stage band invitational, the Southwest Washington Jazz Festival, for schools from Clark and Skamania counties.
1962-1969: The festival was organized by Vancouver and Evergreen public schools. Fort Vancouver High School and Evergreen High School took turns hosting. In the early days, trophies were made by middle school band director Jack Ager, who constructed musician figures from miscellaneous hardware and car parts.
1965: The festival grew to include bands from 8 high schools and 3 junior high schools. The program, called Jazz at the Fort, was directed by music educator Dale Beacock.
1970: Dale Beacock, then band director at both Clark College and Fort Vancouver High School, held the invitational Clark Stage Band Contest for the first time at Clark College. This inaugural event hosted 17 high school jazz bands with preliminary competitions held in the Gaiser Hall dining area, with finals in the gymnasium. Beacock’s vision of a competitive jazz showcase for schools throughout Washington and greater Portland promoted the growth of the festival.
1971: The festival grew to 32 bands held over two days.
1976: The number of participating bands grew to 52, welcoming bands from Oregon and Idaho.
1985: Chuck Ramsey became festival coordinator, a position he held for 22 years. He brought consistency to festival operations, increased student involvement, set the groundwork for the educational enhancement, leadership, teamwork, and a sense of ownership by Clark student volunteers.
2008: Richard Inouye became festival director. His professional and educational experience brought a new dynamic by encouraging a focus on jazz education and using technology to promote community awareness, public support, and streamline festival operations.
2012:Clark College Jazz Festival celebrated it’s 50th anniversary. Highlights included the Clark College Alumni Band directed by Chuck Ramsey featuring Clark band alumni from three generations of Clark band directors. Beacock and Ramsey were presented Legacy Sweepstakes Awards for their historic contributions to the festival.
2013: The festival went international, welcoming two bands from Tsawwassen, B.C.
2021-2022: The festival was on hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2024: The 60th Annual Clark College Jazz Festival welcomes 56 middle and high school jazz ensembles, more than 1,200 student musicians and more than 3,000 people during the three-day event.
For Jazz Festival details, contact Shelly Williams, 360-992-2662 or sjwilliams@clark.edu
View the schedule for all Clark College Music Department 2024 concerts.
Photos (unless noted): Clark College/Jenny Shadley
Faculty Professional Development
Nine Clark College faculty members have completed a new professional development certification for online teaching. The certification was designed by the college to address U.S. Department of Education requirements for regular and substantive interaction (RSI) in online courses. This certification was created, implemented, and awarded by Clark College, not the U.S. Department of Education.
Congratulations to the following faculty who completed the Clark eLearning Active Delivery Certification as of November 21, 2023:
Patricia Atkinson, Economics
Kimbree Brown, Psychology
Adam Coleman, Computer Technology
Kate Cook, Mathematics
Harold (Chris) Kernion, Communication Studies
Mackenzie Loyet, Biology
Richa Sharma, Communication Studies
Charlie Sheese, Communication Studies
Jennifer Stone Hill, English
In addition to the above faculty, 20 more Clark faculty have completed one or more of the workshops and are on the path to earn the certification during 2024.
Clark’s eLearning Active Delivery Certification launched Fall 2022 in its current iteration. The certification takes about 15 months to complete and consists of five online workshops:
eL301-Introduction to Active Delivery
eL302-Equity-minded and Culturally Responsive Teaching for Student Motivation and Success
eL303-Presence in the Phases of a Course
eL304-Active Delivery Strategies
eL305-Active Delivery and Scaffolding
“It’s a badge of pride to earn this certification,” said Kathy Chatfield, eLearning Instruction and Design at Clark College. “What these instructors have achieved is a big deal. This RSI is the Department of Education’s way of regulating what is expected when teaching online courses.”
Chatfield added, “This professional development certification is a critical aspect for Clark College accreditation. We’ve been very successful with our professional development, incrementally adding more advanced andragogy and skills for teaching more effectively with instructional technology.”
The learning objectives for Active Delivery Certification are:
Assess determinants of presence and related instructor roles
Plan and develop formative feedback focused on student achievement of learning objectives
Evaluate and apply universally designed, equity-minded, and culturally responsive active delivery strategies
Originally, Clark began offering the certification during summer 2017, but it was in one lengthy institute that was offered just once per year. When COVID hit and forced all instruction to go online in spring 2020, the college redesigned the certification to divide the content into more manageable pieces and offer it as part of the regular eLearning workshops.
Chatfield said, “We quickly realized it was too much for an individual to accomplish in a condensed format. So, we took the material and created five workshops, each taking two weeks of participation and a third week of submitting deliverables. We also designed the modular workshops so they don’t have to be taken in order.”
Faculty do not pay to take the workshops or to earn the certification. In fact, faculty who complete the certification are provided a $500 stipend from the college. Additionally, those who recently earned the certification received another $500 stipend provided by the Faculty Excellence Committee via Clark College Foundation. Chatfield said the extra $500 provided by the Foundation likely will not be available after June 2024.
Faculty register for professional development via Eventbrite. These 300-level workshops use the asynchronous online modality. All are facilitated by eLearning instructional designers. The workshops have had waiting lists.
Chatfield said, “We’re not offering this professional development certification to follow the rules. We’re doing it because it’s just good teaching and learning. The research has been overwhelming that these are the best practices. Rather than just meeting the rules, Clark has always gone above and beyond to ensure our students are receiving the best teaching and learning experience possible.”
Q & A about Active Delivery Certification
Q: When did Clark College begin providing professional development for faculty who teach in eLearning modalities?
KC: Clark College launched distance learning in 2005. We’ve been providing professional development since 2006. With every continuing year, we provide more advanced certification. We’ve been very successful with our professional development.”
Q: Who are the people designing the components for this certification?
KC: All instructional designers for the certification are adjunct faculty at Clark who currently teach at Clark. All have long-term connections with Clark.
Q: Why create this certification?
KC: The effort is designed to address Department of Education requirements for RSI (Regular and Substantive Interaction) in online courses. The underlying reason for more faculty to earn the certification is that we want Clark College to be the leader in quality online education. Clark College is currently offering about 13 degrees that students can earn fully online. We want Clark College to have a reputation for doing online learning well.
Q: How can Clark College faculty register for Active Delivery Certification and Clark’s othereLearning professional development?
Professor Katherine Goforth, who teaches voice lessons at Clark College, has been named the inaugural recipient of The Washington National Opera’s True Voice Award for transgender and nonbinary singers. Goforth will perform at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington, D.C. in May 2024.
A talented, celebrated opera singer, Goforth has performed in several countries and in several languages. For years, Goforth had been singing tenor in male roles, but it was a struggle to identify with the male characters.
While an undergraduate at St. Olaf College, a private Lutheran college in Minnesota, Goforth reached self-realization that she was queer and that this included her gender identity.
However, Goforth was unsure how to move forward in an authentic way. From where she stood at the time, transgender and other gender-diverse people did not get to participate in the world of classical music or opera. She had so many questions: How could she continue pursuing her dream of singing classical music and opera? Would she ever be offered roles again if she presented as a woman?
Eventually, Goforth told a small number of people she trusted. But she continued presenting male, using her birth name, and singing male roles, even though it did not feel authentic.
A decade passed before Goforth started to live her life authentically. She came out publicly as a woman January 2020, shortly before the pandemic lockdown.
Her Beginning
Goforth grew up in Vancouver in a home where “music wasn’t art—it was a part of everyday life. Part of my family’s life,” she said.
Encouraged by her parents, especially her musician father, Goforth began singing before she could remember and she first performed at 3 years old. She loved singing and she enjoyed performing, whether hymns at church or in a variety of choirs.
She explained: “I got serious about singing because I liked the positive attention I received from adults, especially from people outside of my family. Participating in music was how I navigated social situations, how I made friends, how I felt like I was worth something.”
At 14, when Goforth was a student at Vancouver School of Arts and Academics (VSAA), she started taking private voice lessons at her choir teacher’s recommendation.
“VSAA gave me the space to develop my own creative voice,” Goforth said. “We did tons of concerts and performances, but the projects that we designed ourselves are what most sticks with me, and the teachers who taught me to think critically and creatively.”
She said, “As I work to make spaces where we can deconstruct white supremacy and patriarchal domination, where all artists can show up authentically, I’ve found myself using those creative skills – creating opportunities where I can thrive, where others can thrive.”
At VSAA, she participated in vocal music, theater, and she played the clarinet. She also co-created a mural and wrote an opera for her senior capstone project. She graduated from VSAA and went to college to focus on singing. She received her bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College, Minn., and her master’s degree from The Julliard School, N.Y.
Since then, Goforth has performed around the U.S. and in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. She has performed in French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Russian, and Polish.
Goforth has excelled at thriving—despite the barriers.
Her Accomplishments
In the Pacific Northwest, Goforth has performed with Portland Opera, Bozeman Symphony, Walla Walla Symphony, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Opera Bend, Harmonia Seattle, Opera Theater Oregon, Sound Salon, Artists Repertory Theatre, Fuse Theatre Ensemble, Pink Martini and more.
She was a member of the International Opera Studio of Opera Köln. She attended the Franz Schubert Institut in Austria, Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme in England, Heidelberger Frühling Liedakademie in Germany, Georg Solti Accademia in Italy, and the Boston Wagner Institute in the U.S.
Goforth received the Career Advancement Award and was a featured speaker and performer at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s fourth Women in Classical Music Symposium, 2022.
Outside of opera, she played the role of Rebbetzin Tzurris in a reading of Dan Kitrosser’s “Why This Night?” for Artists Repertory Theatre Mercury Festival and played Emily Webb in Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” for Fuse Theatre Ensemble, both in Portland.
Most recently, she appeared in Philip Venables and Ted Huffman’s The F****ts and Their Friends Between Revolutions that premiered Summer 2023 at Manchester International Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and Bregenzer Festspiele, some of the biggest arts and opera festivals in the world.
Goforth advocates for the self-determination of trans and nontrans people. A member of the Trans Opera Alliance, she has lectured for Renegade Opera, published an essay in Opera Canada Magazine, was quoted in Opera America Magazine, and been a guest speaker for Boston Conservatory and the League of American Orchestras, among others.
In the years since Goforth the undergraduate student realized her authentic self, she says there are more transgender opera singers now.
“More people had the courage to come out during/after the pandemic lockdown, but they aren’t necessarily working in the industry yet,” Goforth said. “Now I’m working on coalition building. We aren’t organized enough to change the industry yet.”
photo courtesy of Katherine Goforth
We met up with Professor Goforth during Fall term finals week. She made time in her schedule to sit down with us in Penguin Union Building to talk about her journey, her passion for singing opera, and her values she shares with her students.
Q & A with Katherine Goforth
Q: What was it about opera drew you in and made you say, “Yes, I will sing opera!”
KG: Because I was good at it. I wish that my answer was more about how much I loved it. I was definitely obsessed, especially at first, but I got a lot of privileges when I started winning singing competitions. I didn’t learn to love classical music until much later, when I was in my early twenties.
Q: In your biggest and bravest dreams, did you ever imagine you’d be singing at the Kennedy Center?
KG: Always. Not necessarily the Kennedy Center, but I always imagined that I’d be on the biggest stages. That was what made singing feel valuable to me. That’s also what made it hard to come out. What if I lost access to these big stages, the reason I’d been pursuing music in the first place? Who am I without the privileges that music has given me? Those were really important questions for me to ask myself and working (continuing to work) on my answers to them has finally helped me grow.
Q: What was your reaction to receiving this award—and being the first recipient?
KG: It’s very difficult to be the first person to do something. There are opportunities, but there are also limitations. It’s felt important to push for the True Voice Award to be as expansive as possible, so that the next winner doesn’t have to be anything like me, so that they can push on the award to make space for them. It’s felt like a huge opportunity, because representation can be validating, but it can also be a way of limiting, of saying, this is the one acceptable way to be this kind of marginalized person. Especially as a white trans person, it’s important to me to push back on that. To say, I’m not the definition of what it means to be trans, I’m one of many.” Q: How long will you be at Kennedy Center? What are your criteria/thought process for choosing the pieces you will perform at The Kennedy Center?
I’ll be in residence at the Kennedy Center for a week, and I want my performance to lay a foundation that is going to be broadening instead of narrowing. We have a narrative in the opera field that when trans women participate, they sing male parts and present as male onstage. I want people to know that there’s no such thing as one kind of trans woman, and we’re not all okay with playing male roles, so I want to present a variety of other images. Definitely female roles, but maybe a male role in female presentation. Some songs that don’t require the singer to have any particular gender identity.”
When I was at Juilliard, Melissa Harris-Perry came to give a talk for Martin Luther King Day. She talked about the “I Have a Dream” speech and told us that one reason King spoke at the Lincoln Memorial was because of Marian Anderson’s performance at the same place in 1939. Anderson sang at the Lincoln Memorial because the Daughters of the American Revolution would only allow white artists to perform at D.C.’s Constitution Hall, where Howard University wanted to host her concert. I will never forget the way Professor Harris-Perry described Marian Anderson as “preparing the Lincoln Memorial as a site of resistance.” I may only be able to resist in tiny ways, but my dream for my performance at the Kennedy Center is that it might prepare the True Voice Award as a place of resistance against all that is imperialist, white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal in our lives.
Q: In the last year, you decided you will no longer perform male roles. You said you came to this conclusion after having the opportunity to play female roles, including Emily Webb in “Our Town.” How did you come to this decision? How did playing female roles resonate with you?
KG: When I came out, I expected to keep playing male roles. That was the space that existed for trans women in opera. But when I had my first chance to play a male role with a major company after coming out, it was a painful experience. And then I had my first chance to play a female role, and it was so easy. I could relate to the character, I could react intuitively to my scene partners and my emotions, and for once, no one told me that I looked or sounded wrong. And in 2022, it became increasingly clear to me that I couldn’t continue to have parts of myself stuck in the pre-coming out and parts in the post-coming out. I would need to step forward with every part of myself, and I would have to leave behind the things that were holding me back, or I was never going to be able to move forward.
Q: What is your essential message—as an opera singer and as a voice teacher?
KG: First, the question: When we have a stage, what do we do with it? And when I say that, it comes with the understanding that every action, every conversation is a platform as much as any concert program. That we can act consciously or unconsciously just like we can choose the song we want to sing both consciously and unconsciously. That our choices in music and in life can be made in or out of alignment with our values.
And also, that we always have the power to think for ourselves. It’s like when bell hooks discusses the book, Powers of the Weak in Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center: we have the power to disbelieve what others tell us about ourselves, and to believe our own stories. We have the power to think critically, and to develop our critical thinking skills. We have the power to listen to our bodies and to act on that information.
Q: What are the values behind your career and your teaching?
KG: I’m always reading Black feminist and liberation theory and try to choose actions that are in alignment with what I’ve learned. For me, there’s no point in living if your life isn’t yours, and I found that my life wasn’t mine when I didn’t come out, when I don’t tell my truth. I think about when Audre Lorde’s daughter said, “Tell them about you’re never really a whole person if you remain silent,” and Lorde wrote, “the machine will try to grind you into dust anyway, whether or not we speak. We can sit in our corners mute forever while our sisters and ourselves are wasted, while our children are distorted and destroyed, while our earth is poisoned; we can sit in our safe corners mute as bottles, and we will still be no less afraid.” I think about this quote because that has been my experience. That reminds me of what it felt like to be closeted.
So, I’m always hoping that I can connect my teaching to my real life, and to my students’ real lives. Maybe they don’t realize it now, but they’ll realize it in ten years. I’ve had that experience, where I only realized what I learned in retrospect. And maybe they’ll never realize that I had a positive impact on their
thinking, and that’s good too, because what’s important is that the impact happens, and they think for themselves, and live a life that they feel is worth living. And even if I have a negative impact on an individual, maybe they learn what they don’t want, and how to be in a better situation in the future, or they learn to walk away from a situation that doesn’t work for them. Because my negative experiences can be important to my learning as well, and I have struggled to walk away from detrimental situations, and helping a student learn to do that might be the most important thing they learn at all.
Q: How do you instill the love of singing in your students? Is this different from how you were taught?
KG: This is a very complex question. To begin, I don’t think I was taught to love in any facet of my life. I hope that wouldn’t be hard for anyone who has been part of my life to hear, and I’m sorry if it is, but I don’t think love was part of the majority of my life.
To talk about love, we have to start by defining what we’re talking about. I find that, over and over, when I talk about love with another person, it means something different to each of us. bell hooks had two main definitions of love: that it is “a combination of six things: care, commitment, knowledge, responsibility, respect and trust,” and, quoting M. Scott Peck, that it is “the will to nurture our own and another’s spiritual growth.” When we look at love like this, it might not apply as directly to singing.
In addition, we have to talk about what we mean by the word “singing.” If you had asked me at 18 whether I loved singing, I would have said yes. But what I would have meant was that I was addicted to how good it felt to be onstage, to be applauded, to feel superior to others, to feel a sense of self-worth through my accomplishments.
So, I would say that I hope I’m teaching my students not to get addicted to adulation, and instead to develop a personal relationship with singing. To me, singing isn’t something that we do on a stage. It’s something that’s done in private, alone, day in and day out, when it’s easy, when it’s not. It’s connected to forming a relationship with one’s own body: how do I feel today, how does my voice feel, can I understand why I’m feeling those things, what do I like, what do I not like, what do I want to change, what changes can be immediate and what changes will take time? It’s not only how I feel in this moment, but it’s connecting what I experienced today to what I experienced a week ago, next week, etc.
Q: What’s next for you (not including Kennedy Center)?
KG: I’m going to Boston in March to give a recital for the Boston Wagner Society, returning to Opera Bend to do a production of La traviata where we’ll adapt a tenor role into some kind of female and/or trans presentation, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Vancouver Symphony in June, and work on creative projects. And hopefully some other projects that I can’t announce quite yet!
Did you know that Clark College collaborates with universities in our region to host interns to assist our students while gaining valuable real-world experience? Dean of Student Engagement Cath Busha organized the internship program five years ago and has been supervising interns ever since.
This academic year, Clark is hosting three social work interns with Busha providing their social work supervision. The interns fulfill their university practicum requirement by completing 12 hours per week at Clark. Their internships are nine months and span the academic year.
Busha works with Portland State University’s School of Social Work and other local universities to build internship opportunities with students working toward either a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree in social work or working toward a graduate certificate in Student Affairs in Higher Education.
Busha said the result is a win-win for everyone: “The students earn credits and gain real-world experience. Clark benefits from what the interns bring to the table.”
Busha added, “The interns are in school, so they bring us cutting-edge learning and ensure best practices. They build connections with our students and external partners. We learn as much from the interns as they learn from us. Clark is a great place for the social work students to immerse themselves in their field of study.”
During the 2022-23 academic year, Busha supervised two PSU interns. Alexis Washram focused on the Penguin Pantry. Cassandra Walsh worked in the office of Student Care and Conduct and worked as part of the CARE team. Both interns were graduate students in Portland State University’s School of Social Work.
Christi Williams, Associate Director of Student Care, Conduct and Complaints at Clark College, works closely with Busha and the interns. Her connections with Clark are many. First, she graduated from Clark. Second, when she was earning her master’s degree in social work at PSU, she was a Clark intern during the 2021-22 academic year and worked with Busha. After she graduated, she was hired in her current permanent position.
Williams said her internship at Clark provided a “safe environment to learn and make mistakes. I was encouraged to ask questions and learned about how not only my department runs, but how Student Affairs collaborates to ensure student success. I learned about code of conduct, community standards, and supporting the needs of our students. During my internship, I improved my skills in communication and active listening.”
Williams has come full circle. This academic year, she is providing task supervision to interns Kepler Smith and Maria George.
Meet Clark’s 2023 Social Work Interns
This academic year Busha is supervising three social work students who are completing their internships at Clark College.
Maria George (she/her) is studying social work and psychology at the University of Portland. She is completing her practicum at Clark as an intern in the Department of Care, Conduct, and Complaints.
When a faculty member refers a student for a code of conduct violation, George and her supervisor reach out to the student and ask them to schedule a meeting to discuss their options. During the 2022-23 academic year, their office mitigated 108 alleged violations. The most common were cheating and plagiarism.
George said, “In my internship at Clark, I get to take the theories and framework I’m learning in class at University of Portland and then apply that knowledge in real situations. We’re trying to understand where students are coming from and help them be successful.”
Kepler Smith (they/them) is a fulltime student at Portland State University who is pursuing a master’s degree in social work and has a passion for service. They completed their Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology at the University of Oregon in 2021.
Busha said, “With an interest in serving queer and disabled communities, Kepler hopes that their combined personal and professional experience will make them an effective and approachable partner for a wide range of people.”
In their internship, Smith reaches out to students who may be struggling and helps connect them with resources. In short, it’s about recognizing a student’s needs and finding resources through Clark or the service district to meet that need. For example, a professor notices a student has stopped coming to class or a student tells a faculty member they are at risk of living in their car.
Smith said, “Sometimes Clark doesn’t have the tools to meet these needs. However, Clark is well connected with Vancouver, and it’s all about community.”
Smith and Williams recently met with local resources including Lifeline Connections and the Recovery Navigator program via Recovery Café to learn about available resources.
Smith said, “There’s crossover between houselessness and recovery. It’s an encouraging feeling to connect people with what they need.”
Jill Forgash (she/her) has worked at Clark as a student success coach since January 2022. She also is in her second year of a master’s in social work program at PSU pursuing a goal of becoming a licensed clinical social worker/therapist. Forgash was able to stay in her success coach role and work with Busha to complete her employed social work internship at Clark as part of her PSU program.
Forgash explained how her work at Clark complements her classes at PSU: “My role as a success coach includes elements of macro and micro social work. I connect students to resources and help them develop tools to be successful in college.”
She works full time at Clark and is taking 8 credits at PSU. In her classes she has been learning the names of the skills she already has been doing in her work as a success coach.
“In class, we’ve been practicing skills like reflective listening and motivational interviewing—things I’m already doing as a success coach,” Forgash said. “It’s a good feeling to have a confluence of your work and what you’re learning.”
Q & A with former intern Gabriela “Ella” Santoyo Gutierrez
Gabriela “Ella” Santoyo Gutierrez was earning a master’s degree in social work at PSU when she was a social work intern at Clark working in the Student CARE, Conduct and Complaints for the Office of Vice President of Student Affairs. During her internship she helped coordinate, plan, and manage student conduct and care cases concerning students’ mental health and well-being, behavioral intervention, and academic dishonesty. She also attended and participated in national and local DEI training.
Q: How did your internship at Clark prepare you for your career in social work?
GSG: My internship at Clark helped me learn what it means to center trauma-informed practices in intervention, prevention, and wellness meetings while holding direct conversations with students. Attending DEI conferences and training were also so helpful in expanding my equity acumen and learning to tailor training to reach different audiences.
Q: After you completed your Clark internship, what other work did you do while you were still a student at PSU?
GSG: Last academic year I worked part time as an equity and civil rights coordinator for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).
Q: When did you graduate from PSU? Where are you working now?
GSG: After graduating from PSU spring term 2023, I was hired in a full-time role as an equity and inclusion coordinator for the City of Milwaukie, Oregon.
Q: What would you consider your dream job? What are your career goals?
GSG: This new position in Milwaukie is my dream job. I hope to gain more experience in working on community engagement and workforce development to hopefully become a director of DEI at a nonprofit or state level.
Q: What is your advice to students considering an internship opportunity at Clark College?
GSG: Be clear about what skills they want to work on, their communication styles and feedback preferences. I also highly recommend getting involved at Clark and community events whenever possible. Specifically, Clark’s office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) offers monthly B.U.I.L.D. and PPI training, but there are also opportunities to join committees (curriculum, budget, Caring Campus, etc.). Build as many networks at Clark as you can—and enjoy the bakery!
Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish
Free Holiday Market
Two children sat on the floor of Gaiser Student Center and examined their treasures: a box of various toys and stuffed animals, a Star Wars coloring book, and a bag of clothing including pink pajamas with animals dancing across the fabric.
All around the room, 51 large tables were laden with new or gently used gift items available for Clark students and their families to choose as holiday gifts—at no cost. All items were graciously donated by Clark faculty and staff. Before the students arrived, everyone excitedly arranged their gift articles, trying to make room for new items on their assigned tables as more donated items arrived.
Clark College hosted its first-ever Free Holiday Market for students and their families on December 6 from 3 to 5 p.m. in Gaiser Student Center. Hosted by faculty and staff, the event provided an opportunity for students and up to four family members to “shop” from new and gently used items at no cost to them.
Organizers Fay Shorten, Stephanie Hall, Lucy Winslow, and Alison Dolder.Photo courtesy of Kathy Chennault.
The event was sparked by Chef Alison Dolder, head of the Professional Baking & Pastry Arts program, who first had the idea to host a free student holiday market. The pandemic lockdown had dragged on for so long. As classes began meeting on campus again, she thought it would be fun to do something for the students.
With inflation, skyrocketing prices for food, housing and other essentials, how would students have money left over to buy holiday gifts for their families, and maybe even buy a little something for themselves?
Dolder explained, “I thought it would be great to get the students together on campus after so long away. But we couldn’t find any organization or group on campus that had the bandwidth to take on the event.”
Later, Dolder shared her idea with her colleagues in Culinary: Fay Shorten, Lucy Winslow, and Stephanie Hall. They decided to get the event going themselves. When other departments heard about the event, they eagerly joined in.
A gift for everyone
A few minutes before the doors opened, the line of students and their families reached down the hall past the culinary kitchen and café. Clearly, people were excited about this opportunity to choose holiday gifts for their families—and even for themselves.
The faculty and staff stood at their tables, ready to assist shoppers. Dolder stood behind a table. So did Dr. Edwards. They were joined by Tina Barsotti and Carol Hsu from STEM—and dozens of other faculty and staff at their own tables.
Clark College President, Dr. Karin Edwards with SOFA Dean, Tina Redd set up tables at the event. Photo courtesy of Kathy Chennault.
The tables were piled high with classic board games: Scrabble, Jenga, Clue, Operation, Pictionary, and Mastermind. Other tables were stacked with jigsaw puzzles—from kid-sized to 2,000-piece puzzles that a family might spend several days putting together.
Clothing racks displayed all types of clothing and coats, including shoes still in the shoeboxes.
Other tables had kitchenware, household items, books, toys, holiday décor, and even propagated live plants and rosemary boughs. Some Clark employees shared their handiwork from their hobbies including sewing, knitting, crocheting, photography, and woodworking.
Penguin Pantry was ready with 600 meals to distribute.
The doors opened, and students and their families flooded in, ready to shop. In all, 195 student shoppers brought 198 guest shoppers, with almost 400 people shopping.
Dolder added, “The students and families were so happy to be there.”
Lucy Winslow, one of the event organizers, said, “It was so great to see our campus come together in support of students. It made me proud to be a penguin!”
A student spied a pair of leather cowboy boots on a table and asked, “How much for the boots? And what size are they?”
The answer: “One ticket. Size 8. Just polished with black shoe polish to bring out the shine.”
She smiled. “I’ll take them. My sister will love these!”
That kind of happy transaction happened again and again during the two-hour event. No money was exchanged. Only red tickets, which shoppers received at no charge when they entered the room.
Before the event started, Dolder worried if the event would be successful. Would students come? Would they bring their families?
“Looking around at everything on the tables, there was a moment of panic that these volunteers would have to take everything back if no students came,” Dolder said.
She added. “At the end, there was nothing left! I think we need to have it again next year. It will be bigger and better. We had 51 tables—and could have used more! It far exceeded our expectations.”
Donated clothing has been a long-running tradition at Clark College through the Career Clothing Closet, many of the donated items from this event will be available during the career fair in the spring.
WES Giving Tree: Donate new hats, gloves, scarves, hand warmers, socks, and throws for students and their families through January 5 in GHL 215.
Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish
Engineering Design Competition
Clark College students Max DuCom, Kohen Mahler, Zachary Zamora, and Elizabeth Zamora stood in front of their Engineering professors, peers, and a team of judges on December 5 in the Collaboratorium in the STEM Building. This was the team’s moment they had worked toward throughout Fall term. They had spent weeks designing and building their prototype. Now it was time to present their project to the group, answer questions posed by the judges, and test their prototypes.
Every term, Engineering professors Tina Barsotti and Carol Hsu pose a real-world problem to their students and instruct them to design and build an object that solves the problem. Teams of four students work together. At the end of each term, teams present their prototype to the group.
This Fall term’s design objective was to design and build a rocket payload prototype that includes scientific experiments and/or technology demonstrations for the Clark College rocket that will compete in the 2024 Spaceport America Cup competition in June in New Mexico.
A payload is cargo that the rocket is carrying. A payload can be a satellite, cameras, scientific instruments, food supplies, fuel or even people.
“The engineering department offers real-world challenges to our students,” said Engineering Professor Carol Hsu. “Then our students work together in teams to solve the problem using the engineering method — by defining the problem, brainstorming ideas, designing prototypes, testing and modifying to improve solutions.”
Trial and error
At the front of the room, Max, Kohen, Zachary, and Elizabeth were ready to begin. One student attached their project posterboard to the presentation wall. Another set their prototype on the table in front of them. Another introduced their project. Each chimed in, telling what specific tasks they worked on.
Their bill of materials included:
Double-walled water bottle: $12.88
Wooden top: $2.94
Arduino UNO: $23.67 (An Arduino is a prototyping micro controller that can be programmed to do multiple tasks, such as turning on lights or motors to sensing temperature or movement.)
Load cell: $5.99
Battery pack: $2.99
Total cost of project: $48.47
One student mentioned that their initial idea was to use a double-walled water bottle as their vessel, but they soon realized it was not the best choice. Instead, they settled on a plastic two-liter soda bottle. They cut the top off the bottle and started again.
A judge paused a question: “May we see the prototype?”
Students walked the prototype to the judges’ table. The judges examined it carefully, passing it from one to the next so all could see it up close.
Then more questions were posed, followed by a discussion about how to improve the prototype. When the judges were satisfied, Max, Kohen, Zachary, and Elizabeth gathered up the pieces of their project and made room for the next team to present their project.
All teams tested their payload prototypes via a drop test. To simulate a 25 feet-per-second impact speed, each team secured their payload in a fiberglass rocket tube and dropped it from a height of 10 feet. Most teams’ payload survived the drop test. A few teams needed minor repairs.
Professor Tina Barsotti added, “Our students are applying engineering principles to address real-life challenges, and this hands-on, practical experience contributes significantly to the strength of Clark’s Engineering program. This mirrors the authentic situations they will likely face in their professional careers.”
About Spaceport America Cup
The Clark Aerospace team launched its rocket, Little Penguin, at Spaceport America Cup competition in Las Cruces, New Mexico in June 2023. Spaceport is the world’s largest IREC (Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition) for student rocketry teams. It is held annually by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association at Spaceport America.
Rocket teams are evaluated based on the build of their rockets, payload systems, and the flight of the rocket.
Clark College rocket team at Spaceport 2023:
Nearly 6,000 rocketeers on 158 teams hailing from 24 countries competed in 2023.
Clark College was the only community college that competed.
Clark’s rocket team built a rocket that was 12 feet tall and weighed 54 pounds.
Clark competed in the 10,000-foot apogee with COTS (commercial-of-the-shell) solid rocket propulsion system category
Clark’s rocket payload system measured temperature, humidity, and radiation in the inner space of the rocket during its ascendant.
Clark’s rocket soared to about 9,000 feet. It was recovered successfully after the launch.
Looking ahead: 2024 Spaceport Cup
Clark’s rocket team plans to launch a rocket with a 4 kg payload (about 8.81 pounds) to 10,000 feet on a non-commercial propellant formulation.
The rocket team has invited Clark engineering teams to be part of the Spaceport competition by contributing to the design by prototyping a payload system.
Photos: Clark College/Susan Parrish
Indigenous artists featured
Archer Gallery Director Kendra Larson chats with curators Tammy Jo Wilson and Owen Premore. Photo: Clark College/Susan Parrish
Archer Gallery opened The Stone Path, an exhibit featuring work by eight indigenous artists on November 15. The exhibit is presented by Art in Oregon. Viewing hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, except December 23 – January 1, and by appointment January 2-7. The exhibit is open through January 24, 2024.
Previously, the exhibit was displayed at Gretchen Schuette Art Gallery at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon and Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg, Oregon.
“This exhibit is a unique opportunity to see the top-notch work of eight stellar regional artists and attend a variety of accompanying talks,” said Archer Gallery Director Kendra Larson. “My hope is that this exhibition is a powerful visual testimony to the strength of art in the Pacific Northwest, sheds light on a variety of topics that currently impact us all and will give voice to artists historically underrepresented.”
Larson added, “This exhibit also represents a collaboration between Clark College, Art in Oregon, and Crows Shadow, which I hope turns into future friendships between the three institutions. I’m so pleased that the Clark College and Vancouver community can enjoy this show.”
Exhibition statement
The Stone Path is a traveling exhibition showcasing the work of Natalie Ball, Demian DinéYazhi’, Vanessa Enos, Ka’ila Farrell-Smith, Lillian Pitt, Wendy Red Star, Jeremy Red Star Wolf, and Marie Watt. Through their common connections as former artists in residence at Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts in Pendleton, Oregon and Oregon-based artists with Native American tribal heritage, this exhibition presents select permanent collection fine art prints from the artists’ residencies alongside artworks representing their studio practice. Curated by Art in Oregon’s Selena Jones, Owen Premore, and Tammy Jo Wilson.
The Stone Path celebrates eight remarkable indigenous artists whose artistry expands our understanding of Oregon’s communities, cultures, and histories. The exhibition title references the flat stones used in lithography, a fine art printmaking process ingeniously represented in Crow’s Shadow Permanent Art Collection. During their residencies, artists work closely with CSIA’s master printmaker towards realizing limited-edition prints that strive to capture the artist’s unique vision through innovative augmentation and invention. CSIA residency prints are highly regarded and collected throughout the world. The exhibition will showcase additional art pieces from participating artists in complement and juxtaposition to their fine art prints.
Artist Talks
Archer Gallery offered thoughtful, insightful artist’s talks with Ka’ila Farrell Smith and Demian DinéYazhi’ on November 20 and 21 via Zoom.
On the closing day of the show, join curators Selena Jones, Owen Premore, and Tammy Jo Wilson for The Stone Path exhibition curators’ walk-through at 1 p.m. on January 24 in Archer Gallery.
Meet the Artists
Natalie Ball (Klamath/Modoc, based in Chiloquin, Oregon)
Lillian Pitt(Warm Springs Reservation; descendant of Warm Springs, Wasco [Watalas] and Yakama [Wishxam] people, based in Portland, Oregon)
Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke/Crow, based in Portland, Oregon)
Jeremy Red Star Wolf(Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; vice chair, CTUIR board of trustees; lives on the Umatilla Indian Reservation)
Marie Watt (Onödowá’ga/Seneca Nation of Indians, based in Portland, Oregon)
About Art in Oregon
Art in Oregon is a Black-led, statewide visual arts focused 501(c)(3) non-profit working to build bridges between artists and communities. The mission of Art in Oregon is to foster culturally rich regional communities through partnerships, advocacy, and investment in artists, businesses, educational spaces, and community spaces. Our goal is to build and sustain art patronage through pride in Oregon artists and pride in art ownership. We work to establish collaborative relationships with the common goal of increased visibility and access to art for all people. Learn more here.
About Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts
Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization formed in 1992 by local artists James Lavadour (Walla Walla) and Phillip Cash Cash (Cayuse and Nez Perce). CSIA’s mission is to provide a creative conduit for educational, social, and economic opportunities for Native Americans through artistic development. Crow’s Shadow has evolved into a world-class studio focused on contemporary fine art printmaking.
Crow’s Shadow is located in the historic schoolhouse at Saint Andrew’s Mission on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation about 10 miles from downtown Pendleton, Oregon. Learn more here.
About the Archer Gallery and Clark Art Talks
Archer Gallery serves the students and community of Clark College by exhibiting contemporary art in a not-for-profit educational setting. The gallery exhibits work by nationally and internationally renowned artists and connects the Clark College community with accessible, diverse perspectives from the contemporary art world. Learn more here.
Clark Art Talks serves the students and community of Clark College by hosting a monthly art lecture series. Distinguished artists and art scholars share their experiences related to their art practices and provide unique insights into their varied career paths and artistic techniques.
