Program: Elisa Law, “The First World Flight: Seattle’s Best Kept Aviation Secret,” April 4, 2024

Join the University Sunrise Rotary Club for a program featuring Elisa Law speaking about The First World Flight.

The program will be presented on Zoom only on Thursday morning with the line opening at 7:00 a.m. The formal meeting including the program runs from 7:30-8:30 a.m. No registration is required, and the program is free.

Click here to join the meeting Thursday morning. The Zoom line will open shortly after 7:00 a.m.

Whether you’re an aviation enthusiast, Seattle history buff, or simply intrigued by tales of human perseverance and innovation, this presentation promises an inspiring and educational experience that will leave you with a newfound appreciation of the golden age of flight and our local aviation heritage. This year commemorates the 100th anniversary of man’s first around the world flight, a race against nations that began and ended for America here at Sand Point Field (now Magnuson Park and NOAA). Our speaker will guide you through the daring exploits of these Army Air Service aviators who embarked on this 175-day journey, defying the limits of early 20th-century technology and pushing the boundaries of human endurance. Through a blend of vivid storytelling and captivating visuals, we will revisit the challenges and triumphs faced by those intrepid individuals who dared to dream of circumnavigating the globe by air.

Our speaker is Elisa Law (MA Museology, University of Washington) is a Seattle-born and raised museologist and public historian. Before she was brought on board as Executive Director and Centennial Coordinator at Friends of Magnuson Park, she built an impressive resume, traveling Indian Country filming documentaries with Project 562, running development projects and becoming an honorary chief on a remote Samoan Island in the Peace Corps and studying the emergence of Buddhist temple museums in Japan. In addition to her current work with Friends, she manages book projects for HistoryLink, a museum renovation for Vashon Heritage Museum and writes grants for the historic Tokeland Hotel. And she is also the mother of a 1-year old.

The connective thread of her background in cultural heritage, education, and project management is a passion for storytelling. Don’t miss her thrilling rendition of the 1924 First World Flight!

Program: Mike Pellicciotti, “State Finances and Long-Term Policy,” March 28, 2024

Join the University Sunrise Rotary Club for a program featuring Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti.

The program will be presented on Zoom on Thursday morning with the Zoom line opening at 7 a.m. The formal meeting including the program runs from 7:30-8:30 a.m. No registration is required, and the program is free.

The meeting will be available via Zoom. Click here to join the meeting Thursday morning. The Zoom line will open shortly after 7 a.m.

Mike Pellicciotti (Pelleh-chee-otti) was elected the 24th Treasurer of Washington in 2020. As Washington’s chief financial officer, Mike is dedicated to increasing government transparency, protecting Washington’s financial health, and leading policies that best serve our state’s working families and retirees.

Before being elected State Treasurer, Mike was an assistant attorney general and served North Pierce and South King Counties in the Washington House of Representatives. There he led efforts to increase penalties for corporate crime and get “dark money” out of politics.

As State Treasurer, Mike is leading good government reforms and policy proposals to reduce financial barriers for all Washingtonians. Last year he was selected as a Rodel Fellow, the bipartisan recognition of America’s 24 most promising elected leaders.

He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and received his Master’s in Rural Development as a United States Fulbright Scholar. His law degree is from Gonzaga University. Mike is a lifelong fan of Gonzaga Basketball.

Program: Bruce Balick, “Our Favorite Places for Great Photography Close to Home,” March 21, 2024

Bruce Balick will lead a discussion of club members as we share our favorite places to photograph inside and within 100 miles of Seattle.

The program will be presented in person and on Zoom on Thursday morning with the Zoom line opening at 7:00 a.m. The formal meeting including the program runs from 7:30-8:30 a.m. No registration is required, and the program is free.

The in-person meeting will be at the Wedgwood Community Church at 8201 30th Ave NE, Seattle. Doors open at 7:00 a.m. and the program begins at 7:30 a.m.

The meeting will be available via Zoom. Click here to join the meeting Thursday morning. The Zoom line will open shortly after 7:00 a.m.

Bruce Balick is a is a tremendous photographer. Professionally, Dr. Bruce Balick is Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington in Astronomy. He joined the UW Astronomy Department in 1975. Subsequently he served as its chair, became active in faculty governance, and participated in the design of new instrumentation for Hubble. Since his retirement in 2014, Balick continues to publish research papers using data from the Hubble Space Telescope and to supervise astronomy undergraduates in research and public outreach. He is a coauthor on a research paper based on one of the newly released images from the James Webb telescope.

Program: Tim Nagel and Griffin Armour, “Outdoors for All: Mission, Programs, and the Future,” March 14, 2024

Join the University Sunrise Rotary Club for a program featuring Outdoor for All.

The meeting will be available via Zoom. Click here to join the meeting Thursday morning. The Zoom line will open shortly after 7 a.m.

The Outdoors for All Foundation transforms lives through outdoor recreation. Founded in 1979 in the Pacific Northwest, Outdoors for All is a national leader in delivering adaptive and therapeutic recreation for children and adults with disabilities. Each year more than 3,000 individuals exercise their abilities thanks to the training and support of more than 850 volunteers. Outdoors for All enriches the lives of individuals with disabilities and families and helps them to get out and enjoy the great outdoors. Outdoors for All’s programs include snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross country and downhill skiing, cycling, mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, youth and adult day camps, yoga, military programs, weekend excursions and custom events.

Tim Nagel is fueled by a deep passion for expanding the realm of outdoor recreation and sports for individuals with disabilities. Living with a physical disability has served as a catalyst for Tim to explore numerous opportunities. His journey began on the wheelchair basketball courts of Dallas, Texas, where he honed his skills and passion for adaptive sports. Tim earned a B.S. and M.S. in Sport Management at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and contributed as an Assistant Coach for the wheelchair basketball program. Post-college, he embarked on a career in adaptive recreation, dedicating himself to impacting the outdoor recreation landscape for youth, adults, and veterans with disabilities. Tim has resided in the Pacific Northwest since 2019. In his free time he likes to ski, mountain bike, paddleboard, camp, and travel. Tim is enthusiastic about continuing to make a meaningful impact in the local PNW community.

Griffin Armour was born and raised in the Seattle area but has spent several years living in South America. He is the Development Manager at Outdoors for All and focuses his time on growing individual and grant contributions to the organization. Some random things he loves include skiing, the Talking Heads, chess, Mount Rainier National Park, and the films of Ingmar Bergman. Griffin takes great pride in contributing to an organization that makes a profound difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities.

Program: “Travel Photography with Robert Stahl,” February 29, 2024

Join award-winning photographer Robert Stahl as he discusses ways to make travel photographs more creative and compelling. His emphasis will be on cultivating the ‘Art of Seeing’ by the use of composition and design along with utilizing dramatic light when available.

Robert currently teaches continuing ed photo classes (both beginning and intermediate) for North Seattle College as well as offering an annual photo workshop for the Pacific Northwest Art School in Coupeville on Whidbey Island. He also teaches poetry classes for CRI (Creative Retirement Institute) sponsored by Edmonds College. His work has appeared in National Geographic publications and he has led photo trips to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Kenya, Iceland, France’s Provence, Peru’s Machu Picchu, Antarctica, Patagonia, India, and throughout North America. Robert has BA degrees in Philosophy and History from the University of Washington and a Master’s degree in Art History from Louisiana State University.

Program: Andrea Suarez, We Heart Seattle, “Cleaning Up Seattle,” February 8, 2024

Our member, Andrea Suarez, is the Founder of We Heart Seattle. She has lived in King County for twenty-four years and in the downtown area since 2009. In September of 2020, she started ‘We Heart Seattle’ out of love for the city–wanting it clean and safe for all to enjoy.

We Heart Seattle is an action-based, boots-on-the-ground movement that organizes trash cleanups in our public spaces and offers a helping hand to those in need.  Through direct civic engagement, We Heart Seattle leads the way to a more compassionate and healthy community.

They recently reached significant milestones–more than 1,000,000 pounds of trash removed from the city’s parks and public spaces and more than 200 individuals helped off the streets. That includes more than 25,000 needles removed.

Here is a story about the Club working with WeHeartSeattle.

Program: Debbie Moore and Rebecca Jansson, “Won’t YOU Be Our Partner at Work?” February 1, 2024

Join the University Sunrise Rotary Club for a program featuring Debbie Moore and Rebecca Jansson of “Partners for Work.”

The in-person meeting will be at the Wedgwood Community Church at 8201 30th Ave NE, Seattle. Doors open at 7:00 a.m. and the program begins at 7:30 a.m.

The meeting will be available via Zoom. Click here to join the meeting Thursday morning. The Zoom line will open shortly after 7:00 a.m.

Rotarians can open doors! Partners for Work (PFW) has been a Rotary District 5030 project since 2008. Rotarians from our district have made connections with businesses that have led to over 140 jobs for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

Our Coordinator, Debbie Moore, connects with Rotarians, clubs, school districts and employment support agencies to identify job opportunities and qualified candidates.

People with disabilities are skilled and capable of working in a variety of jobs in our community yet experience a high rate of unemployment. This is due to their challenge in identifying opportunities and other initial barriers to employment.

Rotarians are often the top people in their companies and play a key networking and leadership role in helping open the door towards paid employment.

Rotarians can play a key networking and leadership role in helping open the door towards employment. This is often as simple as contacting Debbie with an introduction to their own company or that of a colleague.

PFW has a featured seat as a District-level priority and is officially involved in over half of the Rotary clubs in the District.

The Partners For Work program enlists Rotary members to engage their contacts to help get people with disabilities find employment. PFW works to connect job seekers with resources and support to secure employment.

Debbie Moore was hired as the District 5030 Partners for Work Coordinator in November, 2010. She has been an Issaquah Rotarian for 13 years. She worked for 13 years with the Issaquah School District as the Career Specialist where she assisted young adults with developmental disabilities in their vocational goals. As the Coordinator of our District Project, she enjoys the complexities of working with families, support agencies, school districts and Rotarians while building more inclusive communities. She was raised in Bellevue, graduated from Interlake High School and Washington State University with a Business Degree. She enjoys vacations to sunny locations, hiking, country music, going to the movies and time spent with family and friends.

In her 26^th year at Seattle Central, Club Member Rebecca Jansson is Executive Director at Mainstay/SAILS. She finds joy in helping people with disabilities contribute to their community of choice, build relationships, have a sense of competence and feel included. Mainstay assists individuals who often are unable to access the competitive workplace through a pathway of education through college. Rebecca enjoys on fundraising, accreditation process and policy. As part of the Community Employment Alliance, Rebecca works to make a bigger impact in our supported employment systems through advocacy and legislative involvement throughout Washington State. Rebecca started her career focused on assisting individuals who are Deaf and Hard and Hearing navigate employment as a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor. She has served other non-profits such as Abused Deaf Women Advocacy Service and Hearing Speech and Deafness Center. Rebecca lives with her husband Roger, two children Elliott and Dahlia, and her Chocolate Lab, Nutella. She is officially the holder of jackets and supplies every weekend for the family at soccer games or skiing weekends.

Program: Jordan Van Hoozer, “Teen Feed: The Work We Do & the Business of Trust,” January 25, 2024

Join the University Sunrise Rotary Club for a program featuring Jordan Van Hooser of Teen Feed.

The meeting will be available via Zoom. Click here to join the meeting Thursday morning. The Zoom line will open shortly after 7 a.m.

Teen Feed works with the community to offer support to meet basic needs, build strong relationships, and ally with houseless youth as they meet their future off the streets. Jordan Van Hoozer (she/they) has been the Volunteer Services Manager at Teen Feed for 2.5 years. She came to Teen Feed with experience in volunteer management, youth education, and food access. Teen Feed’s dedicated volunteers (such as Sunrise Rotary’s meal team!) and kind, resilient guests continue to inspire her every day, and she is honored to share Teen Feed’s mission and work.

Program: Dr. Matthew George, Coastal Shellfish Manager, WA Fish and Wildlife, “Using Adaptive Management to Balance Commercial Harvest, Recreational Opportunity, and Sustainability within WA Coastal Shellfisheries,” January 11, 2024

Join the University Sunrise Rotary Club for a program featuring the Coastal Shellfish Manager for Washington Fish and Wildlife, Dr. Matthew George.

The program will be presented on Zoom on Thursday morning with the Zoom line opening at 7:00 a.m. The formal meeting including the program runs from 7:30-8:30 a.m. No registration is required, and the program is free.

The meeting will be available via Zoom. Click here to join the meeting Thursday morning. The Zoom line will open shortly after 7:00 a.m.

Dr. Matthew George Will discuss the status of shellfisheries on the Washington coast.

He is the Coastal Shellfish Manager for the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. He received his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Washington in 2018. He received his undergraduate degree in Biology from Gonzaga. He regularly serves as a reviewer for prestigious journals such as Aquaculture, Scientific Reports, Environmental Science & Technology, BMC Genomics, and Global Change Biology.

Program: David Bobanick, Executive Director, Harvest Against Hunger, “Building Healthy Food Systems Across our Community,” Dec. 14, 2023

David Bobanick, Executive Director of Harvest Against Hunger (HAH), has nearly three decades of experience in non-profit executive management. Since David joined in 2001, the organization has significantly expanded its impact at the local, national and international levels, resulting in the delivery of nearly half a billion healthy servings of produce for those in need.

David has led the creation and development of the national Harvest VISTA program, as well as innovative and award-winning programs focusing on shortening the connections from Farm to Community. In addition, David and the HAH team continue to build and scale nationally-recognized programs with partners like the Corporation for National and Community Service, AmeriCorps, USDA, WSDA, Washington State University, the University of Washington and other partners to enhance food systems in communities across the United States.

David has a degree in communications from Penn State University and has studied at the Non-Profit Executive Leadership Institute at the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, as well as the Non-Profit Management Institute at Stanford University. David was also recently named a “Food Waste Innovator” by ReFED, and currently serves as a board officer for four local, statewide, and regional non-profit organizations.