Barbara Keirnes-Young, MEd ’67 (elementary education), MS ’71 (special education), PhD ’84 (education policy and management)

Retired educator, first woman principal in Eugene 4J School District 

Barbara Keirnes-Young is a trailblazer in educational leadership. She was the first woman principal in the Eugene 4J School District and superintendent of schools in Saskatchewan, Canada. 

The triple Duck pursued her doctoral degree as a single mother to four children. Her studies were made possible thanks to fellowships and grants to alleviate the teacher shortage during the 1980s. During this program, she worked with the UO and Eugene 4J to develop an internship program for women aspiring to be principals. All participants were appointed as principals at the end of the internship. As a student, Keirnes-Young herself was mentored by other women who were professors researching women in educational leadership. 

Following graduation, she moved north to Saskatchewan, Canada, where she enjoyed a 41-year career as provincial superintendent, director of K–12 policy, and superintendent of the Regina, Saskatchewan Public School Division. She also served as a school board trustee and chair of the board, as well as a Regina city councilor. 

Today, Keirnes-Young is back in Oregon, living in Waldport and volunteering as a member of the League of Women Voters of Lincoln County. She is writing memoirs to share with her twelve grandchildren about her career in education and policy, highlighting what it was like to be the first woman in many of her roles and to immigrate to Canada.
 

Taralee Suppah, MEd ’08 (teaching and learning)
 

Taralee Suppah is a graduate of the UO’s Sapsik'ʷałá Teacher Education Program and a veteran teacher of more than fifteen years. 

Upon graduating with her master’s degree, she began teaching for her tribe, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. This was a return home for Suppah, who received her own elementary education at the very school where she taught for ten years. Four years ago, she relocated to Wyoming, where she now teaches first grade on the Wind River Indian Reservation. 

Suppah knew since she was young that she wanted to become a teacher. At first, it was because she wanted to coach basketball. Over time, through experiences in her tribe’s Culture & Heritage department and a summer linguistics program at the UO, Suppah said she became driven to teach based on a desire to implement culture and language into the classroom. 

In her role today, she’s able to do just that. Suppah works alongside a dual language teacher, who is an elder in the community and speaker of the Arapaho language. Together, the pair are working to keep the language and culture alive for generations to come by implementing them into daily lessons.
 

Leah Dunbar, DEd ’20 (educational leadership) and Rena Dunbar, DEd ’20 (educational leadership)
 

Co-facilitators of Courageous Conversations and public educators

Leah and Rena Dunbar are identical twins, lifelong teaching partners, and co-facilitators of Courageous Conversations, an ethnic studies course focused on healthy racial identity development, critical thinking, listening, (re)storying, and community-building. 

The Dunbar sisters grew up Black/biracial on the traditional homelands of the Miami Nation in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They both earned bachelor’s degrees from DePauw University before making their way to Eugene, where they each spent more than twenty years with the Eugene School District 4J as middle and high school language arts and ethnic studies teachers. Both Leah and Rena have now moved into roles that allow them to focus on systems-level change as ethnic studies practitioners. Together, they graduated from the UO College of Education’s educational leadership PhD program.

Today, Leah works as a language arts/social studies specialist on the School Improvement Team at Lane Education Service District. Her work has earned her multiple awards, including being named Teacher of the Year in 2022 by Eugene Weekly. She's also currently completing the principal licensure program through a partnership between the University of Oregon and the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators.

Rena works as project coordinator and research associate for the Sapsik’ʷałá Grow Your Own Future Teachers Program, a twelve-week mentorship program for American Indian and Alaska Native high school and undergraduate students. Her work in education over the years has included serving as facilitator of the Youth Action Project at the While Privilege Conference; working with Black and Brown students to address institutional racism through symposiums; and working with incarcerated youth. 

Leah and Rena have collaborated numerous times over their lives and careers to challenge the marginalization of young people. For ten years, they organized “Weapon of Choice: Voice,” an open mic event series for Eugene area youth. They also co-facilitate a community of practice for educators teaching tribal history/shared history curricula in Lane County with Sapsik’ʷałá Co-director Leilani Sabzalian, BA ’02 (education studies), MEd ’03 (educational leadership), PhD ’15 (critical, sociocultural studies, and education).
 

Cory Mainor, BA ’05 (English), MEd ’09 (teaching and learning)
 

Growing up in Eugene, Cory Mainor was surrounded by constant influence and community from the University of Oregon, playing a significant role in his decision to become a Duck. 

While an undergraduate student, Mainor began to gain educational experience in the Eugene School District 4J, where he worked as an instructional assistant. He also became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, the same fraternity that provided him mentorship during his primary education through the Guide Right Program. 

Mainor credits his student teaching experience as the most impactful on his career path. He worked under alumna Leah Dunbar and had the opportunity to take over her classroom when she was on leave. He learned how to develop meaningful relationships with students and how to best guide them through academic curriculum. 

After graduating from the UO with his bachelor’s degree in 2005 and his master’s degree in 2009, Mainor added fourteen years of teaching experience to his career in Oregon and Virginia. Today, he works as an assistant principal for Arlington Public Schools, where he was recently named the 2024 Assistant Principal of the Year. He hopes to continue to uplift a culture that promotes fairness in his students’ education and build a community for everyone involved in education.  
 

Amanda Sarles, MMus ’18 (music education)
 

Amanda Sarles is a 2018 graduate of the School of Music and Dance’s Master of Music Education program. She currently teaches at Siuslaw Elementary School in Florence, Oregon, where she continues to share her love for music. 

Before coming to the University of Oregon, she spent six years in the classroom. She struggled with her confidence as a music educator, but when she arrived at the SOMD, the faculty helped to strengthen her competency in conducting and student cognitive development. She credits the professors she worked with who made her into the teacher she is today. 

After graduation, Sarles took her experiences and implemented them into her style of teaching. She prioritizes creating an inviting and inclusive environment for all her students, introducing them to a wide variety of music from musicians of all backgrounds. According to Sarles, without that sense of belonging, students will not be able to learn. 

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. In January 2024, Sarles was awarded the Excellence in Elementary Music Education Award by the Oregon Music Education Association. She said she is grateful for this recognition and believes this award validates her efforts in the classroom as an educator. 
 

Trevor Thompson, MMus ’18 (music education)
 

Trevor Thompson earned his degree from the School of Music and Dance’s Master of Music Education program in 2018 and has continued to spread his passion for music since. 

While completing his studies, Thompson worked as a graduate assistant for the Wind Symphony and with the Oregon Athletic Bands, which included conducting. He credits these positions with teaching him how to stay organized, care for students, and ultimately, be a good musician. 

Thompson has set out to create an engaging environment for his students that encourages them to participate and enjoy learning. His philosophy is “all about having fun!” at Joseph Lane Middle School in Roseburg, Oregon. 

His middle school students have responded in positive ways. After their experience in his class, 100% of Thompson’s students from the 2023–24 school year enrolled in high school band. His retention rate was 90% for the sixth and seventh grade students he taught during the 2022–23 school year. For the first time in school history, eleven students submitted recordings for the highly competitive all-state audition last year, a testament to Thompson’s efficacy as a teacher. 

Thompson was recognized with the Outstanding Middle School Music Educator award by the Oregon Music Education Association in January 2024.  
 

Erika Bare, BS ’00 (education studies), MEd ’01 (educational policy and management)
 

A seasoned educator of more than twenty years, Erika Bare is the incoming superintendent for the South Umpqua School District in Myrtle Creek, Oregon. 

After graduating from the UO with both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, the Double Duck started her career as a middle school special education teacher. When her family moved to Southern Oregon, the Portland native continued in a special education role with the Medford School District. 

In 2012, Bare transitioned to school administration after earning her administrative credential from Southern Oregon University. She worked as assistant principal and principal at Ashland High School and then as an elementary school principal in the Medford School District. She then took her career to the district level, serving as director of student services and assistant superintendent for Ashland School District. She’ll take on the superintendent role for South Umpqua starting July 1, 2024. 

Bare also recently co-authored Connecting through Conversation: A Playbook for Talking with Students. She described the book as a work of love that is now serving educators across the country. 
 

John Branam, JD ’04

Executive Director at Get Schooled

John Branam is the executive director of Get Schooled, an educational nonprofit organization that is the nation’s only free, all-digital college and first jobs advisor. 

He’s served in the role since 2019 and has worked in senior leadership positions for various national education organizations for more than fifteen years. In his role today, he and his team provide personalized support to primarily Black, Brown, and low-income youth, as well as those entering college as first-generation students. 

From a young age, Branam had an interest in the intersection of social change, justice, public policy, and education. This led him to the UO’s School of Law, where he earned a JD in 2004. He said this experience taught him how to find success in the face of adversity and how to be a better thinker and writer—skills he uses every day as a nonprofit leader and advocate for young people of color. 

In addition to his role with Get Schooled, Branam has served on the UO Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2018. 
 

John Chang, BS ’95 (economics)

Executive Director at College Possible

John Chang is the executive director of College Possible Oregon, a nonprofit organization offering free college access and success programs designed to help students overcome common barriers to college acceptance and completion. 

Prior to joining College Possible, Chang served as senior program officer for the Oregon Community Foundation, where he directed community grant initiatives across all thirty-six counties in the state. He has spent more than twenty years leading student success programs and workforce-education partnerships. 

As a Portland native born into an immigrant family, Chang has experienced the power of education to affect a family’s trajectory over multiple generations. This background, as well as his experience in K–12 and higher education systems, gives him a unique perspective as a champion of students from underrepresented and low-income backgrounds. 

He and his team at College Possible Oregon, based in Portland, match eligible students with at least six years of coaching support, as well as curriculum. The Oregon office, part of a national organization, partners with high schools and higher education institutions throughout the state, including the University of Oregon.