Speakers

Speaker	Date	Topic
Greg Alexander, Laguna High School & Academy of IA	Oct 09, 2026 12:15 PM	New Program by Greg Alexander, Principal of Laguna High School & Academy of Innovative Arts Greg Alexander is the Principal of Laguna High School and the Academy of Innovative Arts in West Sonoma County, where he leads two innovative alternative high school programs focused on creating meaningful pathways for students. His work centers on reimagining what school can look like through strong relationships, hands-on learning, internships, community partnerships, and experiences that connect learning to life beyond the classroom. Greg is passionate about building schools where students have a sense of belonging, purpose, and ownership over their education. He believes some of the most powerful learning happens when schools are willing to rethink the traditional model and create opportunities around who students are and who they want to become.
Eli Brown, A Novel Memory Palace	Oct 16, 2026 12:15 PM	A Novel Memory Palace by Author Eli Brown Eli Brown's culinary pirate novel, CINNAMON AND GUNPOWDER, was called "...Babette’s Feast meets Pirates of the Caribbean!” by Library Journal. It was a finalist for the California Book Award, a San Francisco Public Library One-City One-Book selection, and an NPR Book Review Staff Pick. His recent duology for middle-school readers, Oddity and Mooncussers, offers a gritty fantasy world of magical objects set in an alternate nineteenth century America. In addition to writing, Brown has worked as a groundskeeper, a massage therapist and, most recently, a stay-at-home dad. A Yaddo fellow and featured reader at Litquake, Brown earned his MFA from Mills college. He lives with his family in Sebastopol where the squirrels bury acorns in his garden and cats bury worse. Eli's website: https://www.eli-brown.com/
No meeting at the Church on Fri Oct 23	Oct 23, 2026	Dark-prepping for Lobster Bash on Sat Oct 24
Jennifer Bethke, museum curator - Running Fence	Oct 30, 2026 12:15 PM	“Looking back 50 years to Sonoma County’s Running Fence” by Jennifer Bethke What do you know about Sonoma County’s Running Fence, the controversial art installation project that traversed 26 miles of Sonoma and Marin county open lands in 1976? Maybe you were there, or maybe you were one of the hundreds of volunteers. But, more likely, you probably only know a few small parts of the fading history of the project, now 50 years in the past. At Sebastopol Rotary’s Oct. 30 meeting, Sonoma County Museum’s art curator, Jennifer Bethke will share the history of the Christo Running Fence, which is now the subject of a museum show that ends in early November. Bethke, has a PhD in art history from UC Berkeley and has worked on many art and history research projects in places as far apart as Alaska and Rome Italy. The Oct. 30 program promises to be one not to miss.
Veteran's Day Presentation by Captain Joshua Birch	Nov 06, 2026 12:15 PM	Veteran's Day Presentation: Color Guard and the "Mission of the Coast Guard" by Captain Joshua Birch Captain Joshua Burch, Commanding Officer, Training Center Petaluma, U.S. Coast Guard Captain Joshua Burch took command of the Training Center Petaluma in July 2025 after completing an assignment as the Coast Guard Liaison Officer to the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. In this role he managed maritime homeland defense policy, interagency response to global maritime threats to U.S. shipping, countering unmanned systems within the homeland, and coordinating efforst between the Department of Defense and the U.S. Coast Guard for maritime security events. Originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania Captain Burch is a 2002 graduate of the U. S. Coast Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine and Environmental Science. He later earned a Master of Science in Instructional Systems at The Pennsylvania State Univerity in 2011. (See attachment for complete details and picture.)
Jeff Kolin, District 5130 District Governor	Nov 13, 2026 12:15 PM	District 5130 District Governor - Jeff Kolin
David Gill, Sebastopol Area Time Bank	Nov 20, 2026 12:15 PM	Sebastopol Area Time Bank by David Gill David Gill has been the administrative coordinator of the Sebastopol Area Time Bank (www.sebastopoltimebank.org) for five years. He gets paid in time bank currency – hours! – and has accumulated more than he could spend in a few lifetimes! He has been a downtown Sebastopol homeowner for over 13 years and, in addition to the time bank, serves on the coordinating council of Sebastopol Village and in the leadership of the Sebastopol Area Nonprofit Collaborative. He has spent his professional career in healthcare administration and currently specializes in licensing the possession and use of radioactive materials in medicine. He promises not to make them part of his Rotary presentation. He is pleased to present the time bank to Sebastopol Rotary, another great local organization of neighbors helping their neighbors.