An Authentic Life 1.1 for pdf - Universalist Radha-Krishnaism

community organizing and married to a community
organizer, Rich Rodhe.
The Green Movement in Ashland mostly attracted
people who wanted to do projects like plant a
garden in an alley. I wanted a more political activist
approach. Rich provided that. He worked for Oregon
Fair Share, a Citizen Action group that dealt with issues
affecting poor and middle-class people. He recruited
me to join as the church’s representative.
Caren was also actively involved. I worked with them
closely, and the three of us became good friends.
I became the chair of the deacons and then the
chair of the social concerns committee. I moved from
the local to the statewide level of Oregon Fair Share--
first serving on the state council, then as Vicepresident,
and then as Acting President.
I heard that Geraldine Baldassarre, a woman
who started a newspaper in California, moved to
Ashland. I wanted to meet her to explore what printing
and publishing ventures we might do together. I
later hired her as my commission sales person.
She attended a Fair Share conference and heard
Caren speak. She was impressed to see such an empowered
woman and started attending our church.
She felt right at home and already knew some of the
members. She also became the editor of Fair Share’s
newsletter.
I flew to Washington, D.C. as Fair Share’s representative
at a Rural Coalition conference. I saw
some of the sights there too. I became friends with a
couple of black organizers from Montana. We liked to
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