On Friday, October 21, 2022, a panel of community members shared their experiences as change agents. 

Learning Outcomes:

• learn about the work of community engagement through each panelist’s stories

• leave with a broader understanding of potential pathways of public service and civic engagement

Key terms from The Student Companion to Community-Engaged Learning: What You  Need to Know for Transformative Learning and Real Social Change:

• Change Agent - People living and working in the community to make the world more just and equitable.

• Community Engagement - Full and active engagement with the people, problems, and promises of the community where you live. "Combining intention and action in a move towards more just relationships" (Cruz, 1994).

Student Leader Moderators:

Adrianna Pineyro, Daniel Dankanich, and Yuvraj Verma

Panelists:

• cameron whitten
  Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Healing Officer | Brown Hope
  At the age of eighteen, cameron whitten (he/him – any and all pronouns are extremely welcomed!) worked themself out of youth homelessness in Portland and has spent the past decade giving back to the same community that was here when they needed it most. cameron has been a leader in several movements for social change, served as the Executive Director of Q Center, and is currently the CEO of racial justice nonprofit Brown Hope and Co-Founder of the Black Resilience Fund. They serve on the board of REACH CDC and Pioneer Courthouse Square.

• Elizabeth Martinez
  Deputy Ombudsman | City of Portland Ombudsman Office
  Elizabeth Martinez (she/her) joined the City of Portland Ombudsman’s Office in 2021 with a background in applied research and policy evaluation. Prior to joining the Ombudsman’s Office, she worked for the State of Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission where she helped manage agency research and reporting. Born and raised in Oregon, Elizabeth received her undergraduate degree from Seattle Pacific University and her master’s and PhD in sociology from Indiana University. Her academic scholarship focused on how implicit biases yield disparate outcomes across race/ethnicity and gender.

• Fatmah Worfeley
  Interim Executive Director | Momentum Alliance
  Fatmah (fa-ti-ma) Worfeley, she / her. Fatmah is a third culture kid to parents who are asylum seekers, of Libya and Palestine. She graduated from Portland State with a BA in political science, and has been working with grassroot organizations and communities of color since 2014. Fatmah is a facilitator, educator and organizer who works with youth of color and Muslim communities in the greater Portland-Metro area. She currently holds the Interim Executive Director position at Momentum Alliance. 

• Heifara Wheeler
  Food Sovereignty Advocate | Pacific Climate Warriors
  Heifara is a Ta’ata Maohi(Tahitian) food sovereignty advocate, Pacific Climate Warrior climate activist, and student at PCC. Over the past year, he has also been the food box coordinator for Pacific Climate Warriors PDX monthly food box program, which provides Pacific Islander families across the Portland Metro Area with traditional, culturally specific foods.