Equitable Giving | University Research | Pacific Islander Community

• Earlier this year, a group of Black women in Portland founded the Equitable Giving Circle to provide resources to Black, Indigenous and other people of color in Oregon. The group works with Black and Indigenous farmers to provide food to families in need, and has also raised about half a million dollars in funds to help people with other immediate needs. We talk with Equitable Giving Circle co-founder and director AJ McCreary and co-founder Dyvisha Gordon.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted higher education in a number of ways. Many colleges went largely online with their classes, and some are still figuring out exactly how to handle fall enrollment. But university research of all kinds was arguably even more affected, with many projects paused, stopped or prevented altogether. And not all studies can be easily resumed as the state begins reopening while still in the midst of the pandemic. We talk with Tuba Ozkan-Haller, a marine researcher and associate vice president for research at Oregon State University who tells us how OSU is slowly ramping up research after several months on hold.

• According to data from the Oregon Health Authority, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders have the highest COVID-19 infection rate per capita in the state. Pacific Islander communities in Oregon see policies restricting healthcare access and a lack of culturally-specific resources as barriers to care. We talk about the work nonprofit organizations and local governments are doing across Oregon to bring resources directly to PI communities during the pandemic. Our guests are Manumalo Ala'ilima, co-founder and board co-chair of UTOPIA PDX and Joe Enlet, Consul General for the Consulate General of Micronesia and president of COFA Alliance National Network.

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