http://collaborate.extension.org/wiki/ariel_ginsburg_bio?action=feed&mode=raw 2009-11-22T07:20:10Z Wiki page as wiki MediaWiki 1.14.0 Contributors http://collaborate.extension.org/wiki/ariel_ginsburg_bio/13163 2008-10-23T21:13:56Z === Vice chair-elect (1) Ariel Ginsburg === [[Image:Ariel_2.jpg]] '''Ariel Ginsburg''' grew up in Los Angeles, California, and since her youth she has been attracted to and interested in connecting with people of different cultures. She studied and became fluent in Spanish and French, and spent a year traveling through Europe. In 1996, she married an Israeli man and lived for a year in his home kibbutz, learning to speak Hebrew as well. She and her husband returned to live in Eugene, Oregon, and adopted their daughter (who has African- and European-American heritage). (The marriage did not last, but Ariel’s daughter is the light of her heart!) Ariel was an early and active member of the Eugene Middle East Peace Group, which formed in 2000 from the desire of Arab Muslims and Israeli (and American) Jews in Eugene to meet, listen to, and befriend each other during a time of grievous violence between our peoples. Ariel’s first career was in the arts, collaborating and making close friendships with people from African American, Latino, Native American, and Asian backgrounds. In 1992, Ariel was introduced to the work of the Oregon State University Extension Service through her job with a desktop publishing company. When she won the position of 4-H Publishing Manager for the Extension and Experiment Station Communications department at OSU in 2005, her passion for cultural diversity and inclusivity connected with current efforts throughout the university to address needs in these areas. She researched and collaborated in writing an inclusiveness presentation for the Office of Community and Diversity, and currently is a member of the Diversity Catalyst Team of the Change Agent States for Diversity initiative at Oregon State. Ariel attended her first ACE conference and first Diversity SIG meeting in June 2007. She says, “Running for officer of the ACE Diversity SIG was an act of spontaneous combustion. I liked the people I met, and felt that the best way to get to know them better was to work together. I am passionate about creating inclusive community and working to find ways to open the windows and doors of people’s minds. I thought I’d find lots of support for that through this SIG’s combined experience and expertise.”