Oakmont Sunday Symposium

11/30/2024

Tree starts up. With Pat Amedeo.

11/30/2024

When we thought he could go no lower.

Charles Kushner, the father of Trump’s son-in-law, pleaded guilty to 18 federal charges in 2004 and was pardoned by Trump in 2020.

03/12/2023

Granddaughter Tamsin Mason continues to amaze us. Our Little Rock climber demonstrates how to do it!!!

08/25/2015

Sunday Symposium Passes Reduced for Upcoming Season
The Oakmont Sunday Symposium is offering season passes to its fall, winter and spring programs for a reduced price of $50. That's about half the usual $3 donation for a Sunday discussion. In addition, the season opener on September 13 will be a free event.
The OSS board approved the reductions to thank the many symposium regulars for their continued support and to invite all Oakmont residents to take advantage of the varied programs offered each week. Sunday Symposiums are held from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the East Rec Center.
The September 13 opener features geographer and historian Karen Wegan, who will present a new perspective on Japan's rise to global power in the modern age. Based on recent research in the fields of Japanese and world history, her talks will highlight seven under-appreciated features of the archipelago’s geography and history that help explain its remarkable rise.
A geographer by training who earned her doctorate at the University of California at Berkeley in 1990, Ms. Wegan teaches courses on Japanese, East Asian, and world history at Stanford University.

04/24/2015

Oakmont Sunday Symposium
April 26, 2015

10:30-12:00 at East Rec Center
* $3 Donation Requested *

Jay Bell:
"Reimagining Retirement: Not Retiring from Something – Retiring TO Something"
In 2015, the concept of retirement is in a state of flux and transition. With Americans living longer and healthier lives today, they face new challenges that no generation has ever faced in such numbers. The very word retirement is becoming irrelevant to more and more people.
Jay Bell offers inventive and exciting alternatives to conventional retirement. In his own transition from a successful professional in the field of creative business communications, he is newly committed to helping current and prospective retirees chart a new journey to freedom. The focus is not on financial planning, rather reimagining life goals and translating those goals into creative, fulfilling, and balanced lives.

• If you missed any of our symposium discussions, audio -- and some video -- versions are available on our website www.oaksunsym.org. The past program link is at the top of the page.
• The Sunday Symposium is open to all Oakmont residents and their invited guests. We appreciate your comments and suggestions. And we are always looking for qualified speakers, so if you have a suggestion, please let us know.

02/20/2015

Oakmont Sunday Symposium
February 22, 2015

10:30-12:00 at East Rec Center
* $3 Donation Requested *


Ky Boyd
Let's Talk Movies and Oscars
In what has become an annual tradition for the Sunday Symposium, local film expert Ky Boyd will talk about the movies and the journey to this year's Oscars, including the surprises, delights, and slights of this year’s movie awards season.
The proprietor of Rialto Cinema, Boyd operated the much beloved Rialto Cinemas Lakeside location on the East side of Santa Rosa from January 2000 until August 2010. Rialto Cinemas relocated to Sebastopol in May 2012 after almost two years as a pop-up theatre operation. As part of his Symposium presentation, he will also give us a peak at what’s going on with all that renovation at Rialto Cinemas including the question – when will it be done?

• If you missed any of our symposium discussions, audio -- and some video -- versions are available on our website www.oaksunsym.org. The past program link is at the top of the page.
• The Sunday Symposium is open to all Oakmont residents and their invited guests. We appreciate your comments and suggestions. And we are always looking for qualified speakers, so if you have a suggestion, please let us know.

01/30/2015

Oakmont Sunday Symposium
February 1, 2015

10:30-12:00 at East Rec Center
* $3 Donation Requested *

Seth Shostak:
Are We Alone in the Universe? If Not, So What?

Thanks to exciting new approaches to detecting life off of our planet there is good reason to expect a discovery soon of microbic organisms on other worlds. We could even within a few decades uncover evidence of sophisticated civilizations – the type of aliens we see in the movies, on TV, and in the mind-stretching colorful worlds of science fiction.
Dr. Seth Shostak, the Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountain View and director of the Institute’s Center for SETI Research, will discuss why this all might be more than wishful thinking. He will explain what contact could mean, positive and negative, and help us better understand our continuing efforts to establish our place in the universe of living things.

• If you missed any of our symposium discussions, audio -- and some video -- versions are available on our website www.oaksunsym.org. The past program link is at the top of the page.
• The Sunday Symposium is open to all Oakmont residents and their invited guests. We appreciate your comments and suggestions. And we are always looking for qualified speakers, so if you have a suggestion, please let us know.

01/24/2015

Oakmont Sunday Symposium

January 25, 2015



10:30-12:00 at East Rec Center

* $3 Donation Requested *



Mark Randol:

The Paradox of Disclosure: The Snowden Leaks and the Future of Intelligence

Intelligence authority Mark Randol will address the paradox inherent in the Snowden disclosures. Can a manifestly criminal act ever be considered a public service? Without the Snowden leaks, how would Americans have learned about these government activities? And how can the intelligence community continue to function effectively while reassuring us that its activities are consistent with American values?

Prior to retirement in 2011, Mr. Randol served as the senior specialist in domestic intelligence and counterterrorism at the Congressional Research Service (CRS) in Washington, DC, where he provided non-partisan research and policy analysis for members of Congress and their staffs.

01/17/2015

January 18, 2015

10:30-12:00 at East Rec Center
* $3 Donation Requested *

Dr. Lynn Stauffer:
Science and Technology at SSU
Dr. Lynn Stauffer, dean of the School of Science and Technology, will present an overview the departments and programs in Science & Technology. She will also highlight the innovative teaching and learning taking place and the department's commitment to graduating learned and capable students who will contribute to the well being and prosperity of our region, state, nation, and planet.

01/09/2015

Oakmont Sunday Symposium

January 11, 2015



10:30-12:00 at East Rec Center

* $3 Donation Requested *



Dr. Rodney Jackson:

Saving the Snow Leopard

There are less than 7,000 snow leopards left in the wild. From being poached for their pelts and bones, to being killed by rural herders in retaliation for deaths of livestock, snow leopards have many pressures to face. Dr. Rodney Jackson, leading authority on snow leopard habitat, will share detail on the threats putting these cats at risk and how he has devoted his life to protecting them by teaching the locals who live with them how to be their greatest protectors. With villagers and herders becoming citizen scientists who are using modern technology paired with their knowledge of local wildlife and cultures, snow leopards stand a chance.

11/08/2014

Oakmont Sunday Symposium

November 9, 2014



10:30-12:00 at East Rec Center

* $3 Donation Requested *



Dr. Marek Lorenc:

"What You Need to Know About Skin Cancer"



Dr. Lorenc will discuss what the warning signs of skin cancer are, what specifically to look for, and what prevention and treatments are available. He will also talk about what influences a doctor's decision to perform surgery or select alternate, non-surgical therapies such as radiation.

Dr. Lorenc is a board certified dermatologist specializing in surgical and cosmetic dermatology with 30 years of private practice experience. He lives in the Valley of the Moon where he has raised his children and has been an active member of the community.



v If you missed any of our symposium discussions, audio -- and some video -- versions are available on our website. The past program link is at the top of the page.

v The Sunday Symposium is open to all Oakmont residents and their invited guests. We appreciate your comments and suggestions. And we are always looking for qualified speakers, so if you have a suggestion, please let us know.

11/01/2014

Oakmont Sunday Symposium
November 2, 2014

10:30-12:00 at East Rec Center
* $3 Donation Requested *

Linda Loveland Reid:
"Who Sculpted that Amazing Piece?"

Did you know we have many very famous sculptural works right here in our backyard? Linda Loveland Reid returns to the Sunday Symposium to take you on a virtual tour that includes slides and sculptures and history of artists whose work is exhibited a local sculpture gardens such as Oliver Ranch, Sonoma County Museum, Paradise Ridge Winery, SSU Green Center and in parks and cities of our communities.



v If you missed any of our symposium discussions, audio -- and some video -- versions are available on our website. The past program link is at the top of the page.

v The Sunday Symposium is open to all Oakmont residents and their invited guests. We appreciate your comments and suggestions. And we are always looking for qualified speakers, so if you have a suggestion, please let us know.