Founder

• Sep 2021 - Present

True Vocations provides 1:1 professional coaching and small-group course instruction that uniquely focuses on personal and professional fulfillment for Elders.I created True Vocations specifically to serve Elders who ask themselves “What’s next?” or “Where do I go from here?” or “How do I empower my life’s work?”I draw topics and expertise from decades researching, teaching and managing environments of human performance, motivation and achievement with adults of all ages.As Elders we occupy a unique position in western culture. Deemed irrelevant, we are free from expectations and capable of unleashing our best selves in service to our communities.True Vocations Mission: To work with individuals as partners to articulate and shape a lifetime of experience into their own unique approach to professional and personal fulfillment.The most prevalent and powerful cultural messaging, even from senior advocacy groups, is obsessed with “senior care” and senescence.Let’s shift the narrative to Elder empowerment and development. To live richer, more fulfilling lives for our entire life, making creative and compassionate justice real for everyone.I work with individuals 1-on-1 through video conferencing, email, phone chats and any other accessible channel of communication to completely engage in the task at hand, fit the pieces together, and achieve your objective.I work with small groups to build communities of mutual support, collaboration and achievement.Planning for in-person conferences and facilitated interactive workshops is in progress.When you become a client I make a personal commitment to providing value and substance to our time together.email: elderpower@truevocations.comhttps://truevocations.com

Board Of Directors | Director of Technology

• Jul 2012 - Present

I count myself truly blessed to have the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors of Tualatin Valley Artists dba Influence Music Hall, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Music has been a major formative element in my life. I love to perform music and to watch the outstanding performances of others. Influence Music Hall is committed to helping the greater regional community. I support programs that provide opportunities for members of our community to perform without inhibition or fear of failure, with productive critique, on their own unique path to creative fulfillment. I collaborate with team members to raise awareness of the value of creative endeavor in the lives of people, especially for young people who are just finding their authentic voice in the world. “Tualatin Valley Artists is an organization of creative people dedicated to improving our community’s quality of life by enhancing it’s art and culture. With our strong focus on building and presenting a regional sense of art & culture, we provide education, quality gallery display, poetry and musical performance – all in an atmosphere of encouragement and opportunity.”I stand behind this outstanding mission.

President

• Jan 2021 - Oct 2021

Founder | Owner

• Sep 2018 - Jan 2021

Director

• Jan 2006 - Jul 2018

As a key manager at the Art Institute I provided accountability and guidance for an outstanding staff of professionals who focused resiliently on mission no matter what challenges or changes they might encounter. My roles were diverse and demanding. I oversaw staff on-boarding and orientation, coached individuals one-on-one, facilitated professional development and retention efforts, developed and implemented training curricula and instruction, directed operations and scheduling, coordinated institutional effectiveness and continuous improvement initiatives, collaborated on compliance and governance mandates, and guided outreach to community partners. I directed multiple organizational units: ● Sustainable Design● Web Design & Interactive Media● Visual & Game Programming● Computer Science, Natural Science and the Humanities. I worked daily with individuals to help them find their creative voice, guided their professional achievement and fulfillment. Together, we made work meaningful. I learned that teaching, learning and leadership are tightly bound together. That leadership is founded in an open mind and heart with a deep understanding of the value of tolerance, forgiveness and gratitude. And that equity and inclusion are compelling, profoundly human dispositions for success. I became an evangelist for the power of teaching, learning and leadership to bring people together with shared vision, to provide opportunities for individuals to discover their authentic, creative voice in the world, and to nourish great leaders dedicated to service.

Research Fellow

• Aug 2002 - Dec 2005

How people learn has always been a fascinating question to me. It is, of course, an incredibly complex question that only lends itself to more questions. Learning can be approached from many perspectives and at different scales. Here, the research drilled down to some specifics. How do people interact in different small group learning situations? But more importantly I was able to define and assemble more elements of the "kindness practice" that was to characterize my work for years to come. Research: Small Group Learning in the Biological Sciences: Group-to-Individual Transfer of Subject Content & Meaningful Learning.

Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant

• Aug 1996 - Dec 2002

I learned professional research and analysis skills at the bench mentored by internationally known microbiologist Dr. Stephen Giovannoni, where we studied the microbial ecology of the world’s oceans. Two oceanographic research cruises later I was committed to a career standing on solid ground. As it turns out, the real formative experience I took away from these years had more to do with teaching than research. Previously I had been very interested in teaching and learning. During this time the mental shift happened. People, performance, learning and leadership occupied my thoughts more often than rRNA hybridization protocols (not that they aren't very cool as well). I learned something about cooperative learning methods, which lead me closer to my interest in collaborative leadership and the value of asking great questions. • Research: High resolution digital imaging of bacterial cells • Publication: Trempy, J.E., M. M. Skinner and W.A. Siebold. 2002. Learning Microbiology Through Cooperation: Designing Cooperative Learning Activities that Promote Interdependence, Interaction and Accountability. Journal of Microbiology Education 3, No. I :26-36• Publication: Morris, R. M., Rappe, M. S., Connon, S. A., Vergin, K. L., Siebold, W. A., Carlson, C. A., and Giovannoni, S. J. 2002. SAR11 clade dominates ocean surface bacterioplankton communities. Nature 420:806-810.• Instructor Microbiology

Managing Director & Owner

• Jan 1987 - Jan 1995

These are difficult years to think back on. My love of animals was never more evident. I was interested in cooperative business ventures. How could I build a cooperative that would integrate the interests and benefits of veterinarians, wildlife conservationists, parrot and other exotic bird owners and the public? I managed to build something of a community around sharing information and services that truly benefited the birds. The important lesson I learned was the profound impact of genuine respect on gaining trust and building partnerships. But in the end I left too much of myself in the hands of others and not enough in my own home. Still, lots of learning. I still have my male Macaw (Dweezil) and two Amazons (George and Eyebrows) with me. They are well over 30 years old now. We've been together a long time. They live in an indoor / outdoor aviary with lots of green plants and fresh air.

Client Training and Relationship Manager

• Oct 1985 - Jan 1987

This was during a "high-tech" phase of my life. I entered into the knowledge base of high-end ultra high-resolution digital and optical imaging instrumentation and I was in heaven. I traveled on average twenty-seven days per month developing research and analysis protocols with clients from government, biomedical, semi-conductor and educational organizations throughout the Rocky Mountains. I observed an incredible variety of work environments, management ideologies, leadership characteristics and noted the organizational outcomes. In every instance of a high-functioning and successful unit I found kindness and respect infused throughout. I loved the technology, the researchers, and most of the people. But I wanted a home and found it challenging to establish a real home with all the traveling. To this day "home" is the most important part of my life.

Corporate Learning and Development

• Jan 1982 - Oct 1985

This was a great opportunity to meet people from almost every continent on the planet. I planned and facilitated several month-long field training expeditions every year for exploration geologists. We examined classic case studies of paleoenvironmental reconstruction at select locations throughout the western US. These were moments of self-discovery. And the beginning of this idea that was forming in my mind: the benefits of communication, transparency, kindness and respect in the workplace. Not necessarily because it was the dominant characteristic. Instead, because where I saw it I saw high-functioning people finding meaning in their work.

Client Services: Data Analysis

• Jan 1980 - Jan 1982

Using technologies that were state-of-the-art then but laughably archaic now I took delight in wrestling with job control language, remote mainframes tied by phone lines, dot matrix printer outputs and command-line syntactically confounding algorithms to take raw seismic data from analog tape through digital seismic profile presentation for my exploration geologist clients. Using technologies that were state-of-the-art then but laughably archaic now I took delight in wrestling with job control language, remote mainframes tied by phone lines, dot matrix printer outputs and command-line syntactically confounding algorithms to take raw seismic data from analog tape through digital seismic profile presentation for my exploration geologist clients.

Field Geologist

• Jan 1979 - Jan 1980

Hiking the land was outstanding, providing experiences I would never otherwise have had and which stay with me today. As a field geologist I was involved in prospect evaluation and development, reconnaissance exploration for precious metal deposits in western U.S. (Nevada, Utah, California, Idaho & Oregon).My heart never got into the details of prospecting. But the chemistry and physics of the theory was (and still is) captivating. Hiking the land was outstanding, providing experiences I would never otherwise have had and which stay with me today. As a field geologist I was involved in prospect evaluation and development, reconnaissance exploration for precious metal deposits in western U.S. (Nevada, Utah, California, Idaho & Oregon).My heart never got into the details of prospecting. But the chemistry and physics of the theory was (and still is) captivating.

Field Geologist

• Jan 1977 - Jan 1978

My first professional position, beyond the usual young adult stuff of landscaping, a few bartending gigs, bagging groceries. I still do not have words for the kind of positive transformative experience it was. I was a field geologist working mostly on a gold/silver property in Seven Troughs mountains, Nevada. I knew right out of the gate I was going to need more. But I still hold in my mind's eye images of hiking the high-desert of the basin and range province. My first professional position, beyond the usual young adult stuff of landscaping, a few bartending gigs, bagging groceries. I still do not have words for the kind of positive transformative experience it was. I was a field geologist working mostly on a gold/silver property in Seven Troughs mountains, Nevada. I knew right out of the gate I was going to need more. But I still hold in my mind's eye images of hiking the high-desert of the basin and range province.