Speakers

DRC Sponsor: Don Holmertz

Decorah native Christopher Edman will share lessons learned over four years working at a nonprofit hospital in equatorial Africa (Gabon). He will focus on features of global humanitarian aid work that has proven effective, as contrasted with features of efforts likely to fail or, potentially, to do even more harm than good.

Christopher holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Wheaton College and a Master of Science in Human Factors Psychology from Wright State University. He has held diverse professional roles across academic, military, and medical contexts, including a term as a Consortium Research Fellow with the Human Effectiveness Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory. His cross-cultural experience includes formal cross-cultural training and four months in China, eighteen months in France, and four years in Gabon.

Throughout his work, Christopher is passionate about facilitating understanding of complex domains by representing them in clear, accessible ways. He has become known for his blend of empathy and robust analytical thought in planning and problem-solving, and for his advocacy of strategically focused, mission-driven work.

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Don Holmertz

John "JR" Ogden is the former sports editor for The Gazette in Cedar Rapids. He will be visiting our club to speak about state of print journalism in a digital world from the perspective of his long career in the business.

John served for 48 years on the sports staff at The Gazette. In 1977, at the age of 17, he began serving as a part-time "sports reporter" and worked his way up the ladder to full-time "sports writer," to Assistant Sports Editor and ultimately the leadership position of Sports Editor in 1999. He was able to continue working through his two years at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) and his subsequent time at the University of Iowa. Among his many memorable moments he particularly recalls Dan Gable's final NCAA wrestling tournament inside the UNI-Dome, where the line of autograph-seeking well-wishers lasted late into the evening.

John departed The Gazette this past December, one of several casualties associated with The Gazette being purchased by Minneapolis-based Adams Multimedia, a move that ended employee ownership of the paper dating back to 1883. He is currently working as a freelance columnist for the Corridor Business Journal, writing three columns a month on the "business of sports." He also is enjoying time with his wife, Lisa, his three children - April, Jack and Ben - and his six grandchildren.

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Shannon Duncan

Kristen Underwood will be offering her reflections on her experience directing walks at Decorah’s Phelps Cemetery in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2018, where local children and adults acted the parts of past Decorah residents while stationing themselves next to the associated gravesites. She will highlight selected histories of past residents whose names may be familiar to Decorah Rotarians.

Kristen developed scenes and monologues based on obituaries, newspaper articles, cemetery plot maps and other archived materials, and directed players to perform these in costume at the appropriate plots as groups were led from place to place through Phelps Cemetery. Last October she participated in the Porter House Museum’s After Dark lecture series where she provided a popular and theatrically inspired recapitulation of her cemetery walks.

In addition to her cemetery walks, Kristen produced walks at Luther College and along the Upper Iowa River. Her collaboration with Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum resulted in 10 original theatre pieces inspired by museum exhibits. She also produced children’s theater adaptations of works by Carroll, Kipling, Dickens, Molière and Shakespeare, as well as solo performances including Lessons from Cancer College, Women and Fiction: Virginia Woolf Speaks and Natural Shocks.

Kristen has recently retired from Luther College after serving as Director of Campus Programming, and teaching in the theatre department intermittently for over 30 years.  Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she worked as an actor in regional theatre for several years before settling in Lanesboro, MN where she co-managed the Commonweal Theatre. Upon moving to Decorah, Kristen founded Upstart Crow Theatreworks and co-founded ArtHaus with Lea Lovelace. Kristen continues to mentor speech and drama students and co-direct the fall production at Decorah High School.

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email.