Sonja Connor, MS, RD, LD
President-elect
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Position / Skills and Attributes
| POSITION | Skills/Attributes associated with the position | Examples of how I have demonstrated outcomes for each skill/attribute that qualify me for the position |
| President-elect |
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Employment History
| Employer | Title | Years Employed |
| Oregon Health & Science University | Research Associate Professor | 36 |
| University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics | General Clinical Research Center Dietitian | 7 years |
Leadership Experience
| Leadership Position | Organization | Years Involved in the Organization | My specific leadership contributions, achievements and outcomes: |
| House of Delegates Speaker | American Dietetics Association | - | I loved the years I spent in the House of Delegates. I was first a Professional Issues Delegate for Research, next a House Director, then Speaker-elect and finally Speaker of the House. It was awesome to be a member of the House Leadership Team that implemented Knowledge Based Strategic Governance in the House of Delegates during which time I developed a number of leadership skills. These skills helped me deal with dietetics education, the most challenging issue I faced as Speaker of the House. I, along with the great help from the House Leadership Team and our current CEO Pat Babjak, was able to keep the discussion going in the House of Delegates. The end result was the successful and well-received Report of the Phase 2 Future Practice & Education Task Force. One of the recommendations, to plan and implement an education summit was carried out in March, 2011. I had the privilege of serving as the facilitator in area one. Another achievement was leading mega issue discussions on sustainability and industry relations. |
| ADA Board of Directors | American Dietetic Association | - | It was a privilege to serve on the ADA Board of Directors. I was able to bring the issues of the House of Delegates to the table for discussion (education, sustainability, industry relations, etc). I enjoyed the hard work involved in serving on the Finance Committee. I found the Board Retreats most helpful in creating a team that placed high value on the implementation and evaluation of the ADA Strategic Plan. This was my first experience in evaluating a CEO. My greatest accomplishment was being an interested and active participant on a great team that accomplished many things, two of which were the establishment of the Evidence Analysis Library and the Nutrition Care Process. |
| ODA Licensure Task Force Chair | Oregon Dietetic Association | - | I, along with a group of committed dietitians, led the final effort that successfully achieved licensure of dietitians in Oregon and almost bankrupted the Oregon Dietetic Association. This included hiring of and working with a lobbyist, testifying twice before legislative committees, organizing our grassroots effort, setting up a political action committee and holding a breakfast for legislators and their staff members. I developed a number of leadership skills over the two years of working on this issue that have served me well over the years. |
| Willamette View, Inc. Board of Directors Chair | Willamette View, Inc. | - | Willamette View, Inc. is a large continuing care retirement community in Portland, Oregon. I was invited to serve on the Board of Directors in 2003 because of my experience with policy governance on the ADA Board of Directors (Willamette View was just implementing policy governance and Board members were not very comfortable with it). I have been chair of the Board since November, 2009. The first task was hiring a new CEO. We took a risk and hired a person with experience in the health care arena but not in senior services. This has turned out to be a good decision. I was responsible for negotiating the CEO's contract that included working with our lawyer. I had the responsibility of supporting our new CEO as he became oriented with our facility. We have just been through strategic planning; the CEO and senior staff are energized and putting the plan into action. We on the Board are supporting these efforts. One long-time problem at Willamette View has been the residents coming to the Board chair with their issues. This problem ceased after I made it clear that the Board hires the CEO and the CEO runs the organization. If they had an issue with the organization they needed to take it to the CEO; if they had an issue with the CEO they were to bring it to me. I have been involved in the evaluation of the CEO since I joined the Board in 2003. I continue to work closely with the CEO; he runs ideas by me; I am proud of my support of him. |
| PHFS Board of Directors Chair | Portland Homeless Family Solutions (PHFS) | - | I have been involved with the Goose Hollow Family Shelter for homeless families since it was started by the First United Methodist Church 18 years ago. Shortly after I became chair of the Board in 2008 I was highly involved in forming a new nonprofit group, Portland Homeless Family Solutions, which allowed us to apply and obtain funding from the county. This money allowed us to start a day shelter and take over the case management of our families. Since then we have been able to get 86% of our families into permanent housing. The best story from our shelter came when a local high school awarded us a $1,000 grant. When we went to accept the award, the girl who had nominated our shelter said she did so because she had stayed there when she was a little girl. This is our wish for every child in our shelter - to get out of homelessness permanently. My role has been to lead the Board of Directors in these efforts and to support our executive director and staff in every way possible. When there were problems regarding receiving the county money, I met with someone from the county and someone from our coalition to help resolve the issue. It has also been my responsibility to conduct the evaluation of the executive director. I also learned a lot by helping write the bylaws and personnel and governance policies. |
Personal and Campaign Statements
What do you see as opportunities for the future of the nutrition and dietetics profession?
Campaign Statement
Top 3 reasons to vote for me: 1) My commitment to both science and good food guided me as I led efforts on education, sustainability and future practice; 2) I will work for every RD/DTR to be respected and recognized as I have been in my career; 3) I will work tirelessly for you as your President.