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.

On Tuesday, November 18, our lunch program will be on food insecurity in Central Oregon. Jon Baker of Bethlehem Inn and Kristin Swan of The Giving Plate will be presenting.

Central Oregon is filled with countless abundant resources. Access to Nature, clean air, powdery snow, and a smiling neighbor are just a few of the many reasons that Central Oregon is desirable. But what about food abundance in Central Oregon? Breaking down the numbers on needs, resources, and challenges may give a better picture of food insecurity in this community we love.

Jon Baker is the Development Director for Bethlehem Inn, a nonprofit homeless shelter providing safe space, meals, and case management support for families and individuals. Jon has been in Central Oregon for nearly 20 years and has been a member of the Rotary Club of Greater Bend for the past two years. Jon hails from the midwest alongside his lovely wife. They are both alumni of a little known school called The Ohio State University where his 11 and 9 year old children are sure to attend.

Kristin Swan is the Program Manager for The Giving Plate, a nonprofit providing food and resources to families and individuals in need. Their mission is Feeding The Hungry Today with Compassion and Hospitality.

We’ll be in our usual room 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, November 11, our lunch speaker will be John Tapogna, President Emeritus at ECOnorthwest and a consultant to the Oregon Business Council.

John Tapogna is President Emeritus at ECOnorthwest, an economic consulting firm, and a consultant to the Oregon Business Council. In 1997, he founded ECO’s social policy practice, which has advised on education, welfare, disability, and pension policies for governments and foundations across the United States. John served as ECO’s president from 2009-2021 and oversaw a strategy that successfully transitioned the company into a second generation of ownership and expanded its presence along the West Coast and into the Intermountain West.

In addition to his consulting work, John serves as Board Chair of Oregon Public Broadcasting and Treasurer of the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation. Prior to joining ECO, John was an analyst at the U.S. Congressional Budget Office and a Peace Corps volunteer in Chile. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

We’ll be in our usual room 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, November 4, our lunch speakers will be Ashley Johnson and Bre Barrett from the Anti Trafficking Alliance of Central Oregon.

at:project Program Director – Bre Barrett

Breanne Barrett, B.S. in Human Development and Family Science from Oregon State University, joined J Bar J Youth Services in 2018 and has dedicated her career to supporting survivors of human trafficking. With a strong background in trauma-informed case management, community collaboration, and systems coordination, Breanne became Program Manager of the at:project in 2020 and was promoted to Program Director in 2023. She leads staff, programs, and budgets while advancing survivor-centered, sustainable anti-trafficking services across Central Oregon. Breanne also serves on the Anti-Trafficking Alliance of Central Oregon advisory committee and multiple statewide task force subcommittees focused on improving identification, response, and prevention efforts.

at:project Regional Task Force Coordinator – Ashley Johnson

Ashley Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal justice and is nearing completion of an MBA program. She has nearly four years of experience in the anti-trafficking field and currently serves as the Coordinator of the Anti-Trafficking Alliance of Central Oregon (ATACO), a tri-county multidisciplinary task force certified by the Oregon Department of Justice. In this role, Ashley leads cross-sector collaboration to strengthen the identification of and response to human trafficking, and to enhance support services for survivors. Her work is part of the at:project (Anti-Trafficking Project), a program that has provided direct services to victims and survivors of trafficking since 2018.

We’ll be in our usual room 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, October 21, our lunch speaker will be FBI Special Agent Chad Lapp.

Mr. Lapp was born in Cleveland, OH. He received a B.S. in Physics from the United States Naval Academy in 2007. Prior to working for the FBI, Mr. Lapp was an Operations Manager for U.S. Steel, and a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy. Mr. Lapp entered on duty as a Special Agent of the FBI in 2014. His first assignment was the Portland Field Office, Bend Resident Agency where he worked a variety of criminal and national security matters to include violent crime, white collar crime, and counterterrorism investigations. In April 2024, Mr. Lapp was selected as the Supervisory Senior Resident Agent of the Portland Field Office’s Bend and Pendleton Resident Agencies where he is responsible for all FBI programs in Central and Eastern Oregon. Intelligence Analyst Mike Jones will be joining him for the presentation.

We’ll be in our usual room 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, October 14, our lunch speaker will be Bill Kowalik, Board Chair from DarkSky Oregon. Bill is a founding board member of DarkSky Oregon (2019). Originally from Pennsylvania, Bill has lived in Virginia, Colorado, California, Western Australia and now resides in Bend. Bill’s lifelong activities include community advocacy, movie-making, woodworking, bicycling and cross-country skiing. Bill has three degrees in the earth sciences and 35 years of industry experience in remote sensing, exploration and technology development.

DarkSky Oregon’s mission is to preserve Oregon’s magnificent dark skies and to diminish light pollution for the health, safety, and well-being of all life.

Every day needs a night. Life on Earth evolved under a regular cycle of dark nights and bright days—a rhythm encoded in the DNA of all living things. We need light at night for human activity, but poorly designed artificial light at night is a wasteful pollutant and has serious impacts on natural ecosystems and on human health.

We’ll be in our usual room 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, October 7, our lunch speaker will be fellow club member Cort Vaughn. Cort will be giving an update on the state of Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio worldwide. Cort Vaughan is a Polio survivor. He and his wife Tonya have two sons and two grandsons. Cort joined the Rotary Club of Greater Bend to help eradicate Polio. He founded the Pints for Polio fundraiser in 2012 to raise money for global Polio eradication and to increase local awareness regarding the need to vaccinate all children according to CDC guidelines. Pints for Polio has raised over $300,000 for the PolioPlus Fund including matching funds from the Gates Foundation.

Cort is Past District 5110 PolioPlus Chair and past Zone 27 End Polio Now Coordinator, covering 10 Districts and nearly 800 Rotary Clubs. Zone 27 includes most of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Northern California, and British Columbia.

Cort Vaughan contracted Polio in 1954 during a global pandemic that crippled over 35,000 people each year in the United States, mostly children under the age of 5. Polio paralyzed Cort’s right leg.

Cort and Tonya spent 3 weeks in India in January 2020 on a NID to vaccinate children against polio. They also met with WHO and UNICEF, visited a polio rehabilitation clinic and toured several Rotary projects. Join us in hearing Cort’s inspiring story of growing up with Polio, learning about polio eradication in India, and the Plus in PolioPlus.

We’ll be in our usual room 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, September 23, our lunch speaker will be Josh Burgess, who will be speaking about the Central Oregon Civic Action Project that brings together people from across demographics and political divides to solve problems. Josh Burgess is founder of the Central Oregon Civic Action Project, a public private partnership creating vibrant communities through deliberative democracy. A social impact entrepreneur, board director, and executive coach to startups, governments, and nonprofits, Josh retired as a Colonel from the U.S. Air Force after a career as a special operations advisor, rescue pilot, and international affairs strategist.

He’s Board President for REACT DC, a refugee resettlement nonprofit. He’s also Senior Advisor for U.S. Programs with Democracy Next, Entrepreneur in Residence at Columbia University’s Technology Ventures, and a partner with The Zone, a global leadership advisory firm.

We’ll be in our usual room 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, September 16, our lunch speaker will be Rachael Scdoris-Salerno, who’ll be giving a talk about Mushing in Central Oregon – Running the Iditarod. Rachael Scdoris-Salerno is a four-time competitor in Alaska’s famed 1,000-mile Iditarod dog sled race and a legally blind Paralympic tandem cyclist.

In 2006, she wrote the book No End in Sight: My Life as a Blind Iditarod Racer.

She and her husband, Nick Salerno, own the Oregon Trail of Dreams sled dog tour business on Mt. Bachelor.

We’ll be in our usual room 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.