November 16 | 2 – 3:30pm
Join us for the launch of Stephen Forrester’s new book, Richard Neuberger: Oregon Politics and the Making of a US Senator. Richard L. Neuberger is a consequential but often forgotten figure in Oregon history, largely due to his early death at forty-seven, near the end of his only term in the United States Senate. But his life and legacy as a Jewish Senator continue to inspire Oregonians and influence politicians.
Prior to entering politics, Neuberger was best known as a journalist. In 1933, at the age of twenty-one, he visited Germany and published an article in The Nation that described the Nazi persecution of Jews and the preparation for war. From 1939 to 1954 he was the New York Times’ Northwest correspondent.
In this definitive biography—more than forty years in the making—Stephen Forrester documents Neuberger’s extraordinary life and career, highlighting a legacy that includes shaping Oregon’s renowned conservation policies and developing the state’s modern Democratic party.
Forrester will be joined in conversation by Judy Margles, director emerita of OJMCHE, curator, and historian of Oregon Jewish life.
Panelists
Stephen Forrester saw the inside of the U.S. Senate in the fall of 1963 as a page. He was one of the five principals who founded Willamette Week. Following ten years as a Washington correspondent, he became editor and publisher of The Daily Astorian. In retirement from daily journalism, he returned to his research on Richard Neuberger and pursued publishing Eminent Oregonians. He is president and CEO of his family’s company, EO Media Group. Forrester’s next work, Richard Neuberger: Oregon Politics and the Making of a US Senator, will be published in September 2025.
Judy Margles is the director emerita of the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE). During her 24-year tenure, she guided the museum’s remarkable evolution—from a “museum without walls” to a series of rented spaces—culminating in the 2014 merger with the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center and the 2017 opening of a permanent home. Before her retirement in 2023, Margles oversaw a significant expansion that added a new gallery dedicated to human rights. Before leading OJMCHE, Margles served for a decade as Curator at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Margles is a former chair of the Council of American Jewish Museums and has served on the board of the American Alliance of Museums. She currently sits on the board of the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon, Vanport Mosaic Project and consults on museum projects across the United States.