Oregon PSR is excited to welcome Samantha/Sam Paladini (she/her) to our team! Samantha is our Quaker Voluntary Services Fellow for the next year. Read on to learn more about Samantha and her role at Oregon PSR.
Q: How would you describe your role at Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility?
A: My role is to assist in outreach and program responsibilities within OPSR. This will include performing outreach to health professionals, students, and other organizations, tabling at events related to climate change, peace, and other social justice issues, as well as helping with social media. My goal is to help develop relationships with environmental justice, immigrant justice, and equity groups.
Q: What has been your favorite thing about being a Quaker Voluntary Services Fellow?
A: QVS is a yearlong fellowship based around Quaker values (SPICES: simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equity, and stewardship). Not only do I love exploring how to incorporate these aspects into my life, but I’ve also learned so much about social justice through the program. QVS motivates me to think outside our capitalistic box, focus energy towards dismantling white supremacy culture, and develop understanding instead of judgment towards others.
Q: How will you balance working with health professionals and frontline community members?
A: There is so much to learn from both “knowledge” and “awareness.” Our health professionals have university based knowledge of how our health is being negatively impacted by the climate crisis, nuclear war, and the fossil fuel industry. It’s important to hear the science and not shut down from fear. It’s just as important to listen to frontline community members, who have a heightened awareness of injustice because they live with it on a daily basis. People of color, indigenous background, and low income communities have incredible insight as to what their communities need, and those leaders deserve to be lifted up, heard, and compensated for the inequities woven into our institutions by people of privilege.
Q: What excites you about living in Portland and/or Oregon?
A: I am the most excited about biking, art, and the weather! I think change is important in life, and the seasons help me see and feel the ebbs and flows. I want to live my life in a way that reflects my values, and Portland seems to be a place where I can live environmentally conscious and a little weird!
Q: Tell us something about you!
I spent the last year learning about D&D culture, and now I’m a bigger nerd than I was before. Playing my first session with friends this summer was incredible; it’s a game of improv, social connectedness, strategy, and luck! I think there should be more space for adults to “play.”