October 20, 2020 | Voter Power: Oregon’s Top 2020 Healthcare Ballot Measures

September 29, 2020October 26, 2020 Oregon Health Forum

From the decriminalization of drugs to new taxes to fund health services, Oregon’s current ballot initiatives hold the power to significantly reshape health care policy and finance. Get your questions answered about state healthcare measures 108, 109 and 110 , and get the information you need to vote wisely.

Moderator:

Kay D. Toran is the President and CEO of Volunteers of America Oregon (VOA Oregon.) For twenty years, Ms. Toran has been at the helm of this 124-year-old non-profit agency – a broad-based, human services organization providing programs designed to improve the lives of children, families, and seniors. After graduating from the University of Portland with a BA in Sociology/Psychology, Ms. Toran earned her MSW from the School of Social Work – Portland State University and was later hired as an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Portland State University. She served in several management positions in the State of Oregon during her ascent up the career ladder including 6 ½ years as the Director of Oregon’s Child Welfare agency and 7 ½ years as the Director of Oregon’s Affirmative Action Office under Governor Vic Atiyeh. Ms. Toran was raised in Portland’s predominantly African American community, one of four children of Ben and Mary Rose Dean—successful entrepreneurs who located to the NW during the Great Migration. The Deans, as they are affectionately referred to even today, founded a small business, Dean’s Beauty Salon and Barber Shop, which is still operated and owned by a member of the family and today is the oldest African American owned business in the State of Oregon. Ms. Toran currently serves on the Oregon Community Ministry Board – Providence Health and Services; the Board of Regents – University of Portland and the Board of Directors – HereTogether.

Kay Toran can be reached at Ktoran@voaor.org.

Panelists:

Tom and Sheri Eckert, Residing in Portland, Oregon, Tom and Sheri Eckert are founders of the Oregon Psilocybin Society and originators and Chief Petitioners of Oregon’s Measure 109, a ballot measure campaign which aims to create access to psilocybin assisted therapy statewide. Tom and Sheri are also Directors of Innerwork Counseling and Programs. Their groundbreaking “Better Man” program serves the Portland area and is tackling the problem of intimate partner and family violence.

Tom and Sheri Eckert can be reached at Sheri@innerworkpdx.com.

Haven Wheelock, Haven was the first in her family to earn a college degree and has been working in harm reduction for more than 14 years. She coordinates the syringe exchange program at Outside In, which operates a syringe exchange program that was one of the nation’s first and the first to be publicly funded. During her 10 years with the organization, in addition to a variety of efforts to expand access to harm reduction programs, Haven spearheaded the effort to establish and expand the use of naloxone to prevent opiate overdose deaths. Following the successful effort to advocate for a change in the law regarding naloxone prescriptions, Haven began training clients in the use of naloxone and distributing naloxone to people she had trained. Her efforts were instrumental to achieving a 40 percent drop in the heroin overdose death rate in Portland over the next year.

Haven Wheelock can be reached at haven.wheelock@gmail.com.

Christina Swartz Bodamer, is a ten-year veteran in healthcare non-profit government affairs, Christina is the Oregon Government Relations Director for the American Heart Association. Christina endeavors to be a catalyst for positive change in the lives of all Oregonians. Advocating for research-based policy changes at both the state and local level, the American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Previous organizations include the Oregon Dental Association and the American Lung Association.