Thursday, October 30 | 5:30 — 6:30pm
Join us for a free closing program on Zoom in celebration of Outliers & Outlaws! This roundtable dialogue will bring together four generations of Jewish women activists to discuss their individual advocacy and how their Jewish feminist identities have informed their dedication to activism. In keeping with the history uplifted in Outliers & Outlaws, this roundtable discussion is inspired by the 1992 Family Freedom Seder held in Eugene by a group of Jewish feminist lesbians to raise awareness and confront modern-day oppression of minority groups. Log in to be part of the conversation for a unique opportunity to listen to current day activists, learn about the overlapping struggles and progress from generation to generation, and leave inspired to make a change in your community.
This program is presented as part of Outliers & Outlaws: The Eugene Lesbian History Project and generously supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s Women’s Giving Circle.
About the Panelists
- Annelise Heinz (she/her) is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Oregon, where she teaches courses on women’s history, gender and sexuality, ethnicity and immigration, and consumerism. She is currently working on a book project tentatively titled Collective: How Lesbian Feminists Reimagined Society, about lesbian feminist community-building and alternative economies in the late twentieth century—from rural communes to urban bookstores and beyond. At the same time, she co-leads related collaborative digital public history projects to map thousands of lesbian-identified people, businesses, events, and more to analyze the economic, personal, and political networks established in the 1970s-1990s. Her work has been featured by National Public Radio, The Wall Street Journal, South China Morning Post, Time.com, and National Geographic, as well as published articles about gender, ethnicity, and leisure in The American Historical Review and Frontiers. She has lived in Oregon since 2018, after three years as a faculty member at the University of Texas at Dallas. Heinz earned her doctorate at Stanford University in 2015.
- Miko Vergun (she/her) was born on Majuro in the Marshall Islands, a low-lying Pacific island nation on the frontlines of climate change. Inspired by the culture and resilience of her people, Miko fights for a future where their land can stay above sea level. As she says, “ever since the islands have been colonized, the culture has been stripped away from them and now that climate change has come into the picture, the land is slowly being taken away from them as well.” Miko has been involved with climate activism since 7th grade, when she joined Plant for the Planet. Since then, she has been speaking at rallies, testimonies, city council meetings, fundraising events, and other climate actions. Her hometown is Beaverton, Oregon.
- Nat Glitsch (she/her) is an organizer in Portland, OR. For the past few years, she has focused primarily on labor union organizing, specifically with fellow childcare workers and early childhood educators. Nat is passionate about holding Jewish community close and bolstering the projects of other Jewish community organizers whenever possible.
- Shaina Pomerantz (she/her) is a bi-racially Black Jewish California native with deep familial roots in Portland. She followed her parents, both alumni of Pacific University, into the field of education where she taught violence prevention and conflict mediation, reading, writing, and humanities. Her students have ranged from K-12, college, graduate, and seniors. Shaina considers herself a lifelong learner, and worked as an educator for over twenty years, serving in both traditional schools and community based organizations focused on servicing poor and historically marginalized communities of color. In 2022, Shaina stepped into her mother’s big shoes as Executive Director of RACE TALKS, expanding her responsibilities as Chief Operations Officer and Lead Facilitator. Shaina has also worked in the Texas, Louisiana, and Oregon State Legislatures. Her civic engagement and volunteerism includes the City of Portland’s Office of Equity and Human Rights Bureau Advisory Committee, Co-chair of the Portland Police Equity Advisory Committee, and Vice-Chair of the Citizens Review Committee.
- tova stabin (she/her) is a Jewish lesbian from a working-class background. She is a life-long activist in the Jewish lesbian, feminist, and progressive communities. She recently retired from being the Communications Manager for Equity and Inclusion at the University of Oregon. She writes, presents talks, trainings and d’vrei torah, and does some photography. Watch her elitalk on (socio-economic) class and Jews at elitalks.org/tova. She is currently on the board of Eugene’s Temple Beth Israel and the co-chair of the Racial Justice Committee. She lives in Eugene with her partner/spouse of 38+ years.