February 2015

Welcome to the new OACBS newsletter! We hope to use this newsletter as a forum for communicating between the OACBS board and members, as well as among OACBS members. Topics will include updates regarding on-going OACBS projects, volunteer opportunities, trainings, member spotlights, and anything else relevant to the mission of OACBS. If you have feedback about the newsletter, would like to contribute information, or would like to help prepare the newsletter, please contact Meghan Marty, PhD, OACBS Member-at-Large.

OACBS Board Members

Several new members have joined OACBS since the last board election was held in June 2014, so we thought it would be a good idea to mention the current board members. We welcome your feedback and thoughts about how to make OACBS most useful to our members.

President: Jenna LeJeune, PhD (Portland)
President-Elect: Brian Thompson, PhD (Portland)
Past-President: Scott Rower, PhD (Portland)
Secretary-Treasurer: David Brillhart, PsyD (Salem)
Member-At-Large: Meghan Marty, PhD (Portland)
Student Representative: Jesse Burrell, MA (Newberg)

Project Updates

Study Groups

Over 30 OACBS members expressed interest in participating in ACT reading or study groups. We are in the process of collating the survey responses to match individuals to groups based on interest and location (including in-person and on-line groups). For those of you who have already responded, watch for an upcoming e-mail regarding next steps. If you have not responded and are interested in finding out more information, please contact Jenna LeJeune, PhD.

Student Outreach

OACBS is developing a Student OACBS listserv for students to connect with, and receive support from, each other and 1-2 moderators experienced in ACT. We are reaching out to graduate programs in Oregon to establish a network for disseminating information that might be relevant to students, such as training opportunities and study groups. Additional ideas being discussed include creating a brief ACT webinar focused on case conceptualization. If you would like to be involved in the student outreach project, please contact Jesse Burrell, MA.

OACBS Website

We are making great progress on developing a website for OACBS and will likely have the website domain name purchased, the hosting arranged, and a first trial version of the site launched within a month or so. One exciting feature to look forward to is the “Find an ACT Therapist” functionality. Thank you to OACBS member Fred Kane, MDiv who is generously volunteering his time and skills to help put this project into place. If you would like to be involved in the website development project, please contact Scott Rower, PhD.

CREST Awards Program

OACBS has been asked by the Center for Research in Environmental Sciences and Technologies (CREST) for assistance with their Jane Goodall Science Symposium. Over 200 students, representing three high schools in the state, will be presenting the results from research projects they have been working on all school year. OACBS agreed to sponsor a Contextual Behavioral Science Award at the symposium for the student project that best represents the principles of CBS. We need your input!! What criteria would you use to evaluate high school student’s research projects for a CBS- specific award?What are the main CBS principles we would want to see covered/represented in the project? Do you have any ideas for a cool name for the award? Please send your ideas to Jenna LeJeune, PhD by February 14th.

Member Spotlight

In an effort to facilitate greater connection among OACBS members, we would like to start “spotlighting” a member in each newsletter. Please watch your e-mail for an invitation to share information about yourself, to be included in a future newsletter. Questions will likely include…

What is your name?
Where are you located (city, state)?
Where do you work?
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
What might other OACBS members not know about you?
Anything else you would like to share?

New OACBS Members

Welcome to our new members! We look forward to your contributions to our chapter.

Brenda Bomgardner
Honora Hanley

Upcoming Trainings

The opportunities listed below may be of interest to OACBS members. Please note, these trainings are not endorsed by OACBS and the information is simply provided as a convenience to members.