On Tuesday, March 3, our lunch speaker will be Oregon Poet Laureate, Ellen Waterston.

In 2024, Waterston was named to a two-year term as Poet Laureate of Oregon. Having so far visited twenty-two out of thirty-six counties, she’ll reflect on her first term and the initiative she has underway statewide. Her presentation will also include readings of her work and others, including poems by students she has met during her travels. For decades Ellen has dedicated herself to writing and advocating for the literary arts in the high desert region of Oregon, all the while writing poetry and nonfiction works that have evolved into essential reading about Oregon and the West. The award-winning high desert author and poet has published five poetry and four literary nonfiction titles.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

On Tuesday, February 17, our lunch speaker will be Russell Skelton, Digital Forensics Detective from the Bend Police Department. He’ll be talking about preventing identity theft and how to avoid scams. Russ works on investigating these problems at Bend PD. Russell serves in the Bend Police Department as a Digital Forensics Detective, and has been in that role for over 5 years. Prior to that, Russell was a Major Crimes Team Detective, and a patrol officer. Before coming to Bend, he was a Deputy Sheriff with the County of Santa Cruz, CA.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

On Tuesday, February 10, our lunch speaker will be Mike Bonetto, President and Founder of Nexus Health Strategies.

Mike will be speaking to us about state and national healthcare changes. Mike has a unique portfolio of over 25 years of health care strategic planning and policy experience. Mike was a co-founder and partner of Tenfold Health consulting and previously served as the Chief of Staff and Senior Health Policy Advisor in the Oregon Governor’s Office – where he helped lead the transformation of the state’s Medicaid program.

Prior to that he served as Vice President of Business and Community Development at St Charles Health System in Bend, OR; Senior Vice President at ZoomCare in Portland, OR; Senior Vice President of Planning & Development for Clear Choice Health Plans in Bend, OR; Director of the Oregon Health Policy Commission; Senior Policy Advisor to the Oregon Senate Republican Caucus; and Policy Analyst for the Oregon Insurance Pool Governing Board.

Mike received a Ph.D. in health policy and MPH from Oregon State University, an MS from California State University, Fullerton, and a BA from Occidental College. He has served on numerous state and regional health boards, as well as a federally qualified health center, volunteer medical clinic and regional homeless shelter. He is currently a board member of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

On Tuesday, February 3, our lunch speaker will be Pete Lumley, Communications Director, Mazama Energy.

He’ll be talking about the Newberry geothermal energy project. Mazama Energy Inc.’s recent tests at the site have proven successful, and temperatures of 629 degrees Fahrenheit (331 degrees Celsius) have been recorded. The recorded temperatures are all-time highs for this technology.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

On Tuesday, January 20, our lunch speaker will be our own Steve Ross, with a presentation on The Hidden World of Deep-Sea Corals. Steve is an Adjunct Research Professor (partly retired) at University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Dr. Ross was the Chief Scientist for the 2022 Titanic Survey Expedition.

Shallow water, tropical coral reefs have been well known for centuries and are frequent destinations for recreation as well as being used by fisheries. In contrast, deep-sea or cold-cold water corals were regarded as small scale anomalies and until the last 25 years were very poorly studied.

Recent research has revealed that cold-water corals occur world-wide in most depths below 200 m and they can form enormous reef structures. We now know that cold-water corals include more species and cover more area than shallow coral reefs. This talk will review deep coral research of the Ross team off the southeastern US and Gulf of Mexico.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

On Tuesday, January 13, our lunch program will be Brian Dunning, Executive Director of Skeptoid Media, talking about What makes us Believe in Conspiracy Theories. Skeptoid Media is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit that promotes media literacy, curiosity, and critical thinking through engaging and educational multimedia content. By instilling the principles of scientific reasoning and skepticism, they encourage people to discern fact from fiction and science from the sensational, building and fostering skills that last a lifetime.

Brian also runs a trivia night at Worthy Brewing called Nerd Night – next Nerd Night is January 20th at 6PM. Learn more here.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

On Tuesday, December 16, our lunch speaker will be Dr. Greg Pereira, who’s the new president of COCC. Dr. Greg Pereira is the seventh president in Central Oregon Community College’s 75-year history. His tenure began in July of 2025. Prior to joining COCC, Pereira served as vice president for student affairs at Rio Salado College, a college of 40,000 learners based in Arizona. At Rio Salado College, he also served as interim vice president for academic affairs, dean of academic affairs and community development, associate dean of instruction and community development, and director of community partnership programs.

Pereira’s background also includes community-focused nonprofit leadership work. He served as director of programs for Central Arizona Shelter Services and was also the programs manager for the Salvation Army’s Los Angeles location.

He was inspired in his own educational journey by his parents — both of whom received community college educations as adult learners. He received both a Bachelor of Arts in communication studies and a Master of Arts in organizational leadership from Azusa Pacific University and also holds a doctorate in education from Arizona State University.

Awards and recognitions include the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging Award from Rio Salado College (2023), Phi Theta Kappa Distinguished College Administrator (2023) and Innovation of the Year from Maricopa Community College District (2021).

Originally from Clackamas, Pereira and his family enjoy hiking, kayaking and exploring Central Oregon.

We’ll be at the Riverhouse, Deschutes South.

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.

On Tuesday, December 9, our lunch speaker will be Dr. Steve Gordon – CEO St. Charles Health System. Steve was named President and CEO of St. Charles Health System in February 2023, after serving in the role on an interim basis for eight months. He joined the Board of Directors of St. Charles in 2014, has served on various policy and governance committees for the American Hospital Association, and in 2023 was re-elected to the Board of Directors for the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems after previous service earlier in his career.

Steve has more than three decades of diverse experience as a physician, educator, executive and board member. He has served in progressive leadership roles with medical groups, hospitals, integrated delivery systems, payers, and the public sector, complementing an earlier career in clinical medicine and post-graduate education. Most recently, Steve has worked nationally as a senior management and strategy consultant, including interim executive roles.

Outside of health care, Steve was a trustee and board chair for the Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon. He has three sons and enjoys cycling, skiing and cooking.

We’ll be at 10 Barrel East, upstairs.

Address: 62950 NE 18th St, Bend, OR 97701

Signup for lunch here.

This meeting will both in-person and virtual. We will record the presentation for others who aren’t able to attend at noon.

Join the Zoom Meeting here: RCGB Zoom Link

You can also call in to the meeting at (669) 900-9128 and enter meeting ID: 692 491 9146. If you’re asked, the passcode is 5110.