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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2023)
Page 6 January 11, 2023 Statewide Oregon Alliance of Black School Educators Two Years Strong ORABSE Celebrates Statewide Membership & Major Accomplishments Oregon Alliance of Black School Edu- cators (ORABSE) is the Oregon affiliate of the National Alliance of Black School Educators, an organization with over 100 affiliates in the United States, Jamaica, and Canada. The Oregon affiliate was founded by Dr. Ernest Hartzog as a volunteer mem- bership organization of educators in- volved in the education of all students in Oregon in 1975. Composed of both new and long experienced educators, this deep well of wisdom and expertise is a think tank whose membership originally extended only to the Portland metropol- itan tri-counties, Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington. With the election of a new Executive Board in November 2020, ORABSE extended its outreach and be- came a true statewide program with a new mission: To celebrate, support, and inspire all Black educators to provide the best ed- ucational experiences and outcomes for All students, while leading the way on ORABSE Presidents, past and present. Front - LeRoy Patton, Michael Grice, Dr. Ernest Hartzog, Founder and First President, Kenneth Berry, Kevin Bacon, Current President. Back - Liz Casson Taylor, Wynona Lowe, Keylah Boyer, Lurlene Shamsud-Din, Nichole Watson, President-Elect best practices for Black students. We in- creased our membership from 20 to over 200 members and raised nearly $500,000. ORABSE partners with multiple com- munity organizations as well as the Oregon Department of Education to maximize the “it takes a village” concept. As a member of Oregon Community Foundation’s Black Student Success Network, ORABSE ben- efits from the rich network of others inter- ested in doing what it takes to educate the Black child. Multnomah Education Service We're in Your Corner People today can spend nearly half their lives over the age of 50. That’s a lot of living. So, it helps to have a wise friend and fierce defender like AARP in your community. Find us at aarp.org/or. /AARPOregon @AARPOR District (MESD) and ORABSE partner in Multnomah Educators Rising (MER) in a “grow your own'' program to recruit Black students of every age who want to become educators. We used our grant from MESD to award 6 scholarships to public school district employees to continue their educa- tion to become teachers and administrators. To meet affiliate goals of celebrating, supporting and inspiring Black educators, ORABSE hired its first Program Manag- er in July 2022. This was made possible with a generous grant from Meyer Trust. ORABSE has welcomed Lurlene Sham- sud-Din, an experienced health practi- tioner, manager and educator to this role. Lurlene is a long-time member of the Oregon Alliance of Black School Educa- tors, serving two terms as president. She is also a member of the National Alliance of Black School Educators and served as the Conference Office Chair when the organi- zation convened their 2000 person NABSE Conference in Portland, Oregon. Lurlene’s background in advocacy, policy and leadership is a perfect fit to guide ORABSE as it continues to pro- vide opportunities to educators for in- creased professional growth and to take pride in being celebrated for increasing Continued on Page 10
