Aqus Connections
An open forum for discussion and idea exchange featuring people you know from our community. It’s a no-need-to-rsvp open invitation to come and meet some new people in Petaluma, or revisit old friends in a new venue.
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Dave Rabbitt
Tuesday November 6th 12:30pm
A twenty-one year resident of Petaluma, David Rabbitt was born and raised in San Francisco, the sixth child of Irish immigrants. He is a local architect and a member of the Petaluma City Council having been elected in November 2006. He is a past member of the City of Petaluma’s Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee (SPARC); a current member of the City’s Recreation, Music, and Parks Committee, and Technology and Telecommunications Advisory Committee. He currently is the Council liaison to the North Bay Watershed Association (NBWA) and was appointed by the County Board of Supervisors to serve on the Sonoma County Health Action Council. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Southern Sonoma County Tomorrow’s Leaders Today (TLT). He has served on the Petaluma City School’s Fund Development Task Force, Campaign Committees of Measure C and K and helped co-found SHAKE- Support Healthy Active Kids in Education. He is a past board member of both the Petaluma National Little League and Sonoma County Alliance Soccer Club. He is a soccer coach, has been a baseball and basketball coach as well as PTA president for two terms at McNear School. He lives with his lovely bride of twenty-five years, Jane, his 16-year-old daughter Megan, his 13-year-old son Patrick, his 11-year-old daughter Sarah, as well as two dogs, two rabbits, and a kitten.
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One Tuesday each month Aqus Cafe hosts a community leader for an open forum for conversation and exchange of ideas. Participants will share their ideas and knowledge over lunch at Aqus Café – come and join them at the community table for a chat.
Initiator John Crowley : "A lot of times I'd like to meet up for an informal chat with someone but maybe don't feel like phoning up and arranging a meeting. I hope this provides people with a relaxed, spontaneous way to connect with other members of the community" .
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If you are interested in hosting please contact John Crowley at the Aqus Cafe
Previous Hosts
Wayne Morgentahler
Wayne Morgenthaler is founding director of Petaluma Independent Business Alliance (PIBA), a local chapter of the national American Independent Business Alliance(AMIBA)which works to create health local economies. Wayne developed and owns Jungle Vibes Gift & Toy Emporium.
Since coming to Petaluma, he has been deeply involved in the community, first with anti-war efforts, then as founding president of Petaluma Community Access television(PCA). Morgenthaler moved to Petaluma from Long Beach, CA to the North Bay in 1990 specifically to find community, he says, "I didn't want to be a suburbanite who just came downtown to have lunch. Having a business in the community is a perfect way to be right in the middle ofthe action in town.
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Honoring Our Shared Humanity
Honrando Nuestra Humanidad Compartida
Marjorie Helm is a Coach and Consultant in private practice in Petaluma. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Petaluma Arts Council and has co-coordinated El Dia de los Muertos, Petaluma for 7 years.
Abraham Solar is Latino Ministry Director for St. Vincent de Paul Church. Abraham has co-coordinated El Dia de los Muertos, Petaluma for 7 years and coordinates the ever-popular Sugar Skulls workshop each year.
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Pam Torliatt
Pamela Torliatt is a fourth generation Petaluman and for the past fourteen years has served the community, from 1992 to 1996 as a Planning Commissioner and for the last ten years as a Petaluma City Councilmember.
She was recently elected Mayor of Petaluma and received the highest number of votes in city history.
She has been praised as a tireless worker and as one local paper described – “Torliatt is arguably the hardest working member of the City Council and has devoted hundreds of hours of service on a variety of regional boards which helps ensure clear communication between Petaluma and neighboring jurisdictions on issues such as transportation, water resources and air quality, all of which are important to maintaining Petaluma's quality of life.”
(Argus Courier - October 13, 2004)
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Tom Gaffey |
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Tom Joynt |
| Tom Gaffey is what happens when you grow up on the mean streets of downtown Petaluma He spend his teenage years working at the Phoenix (then known as the Showcase Theater). After graduating from PHS he spend some years in real estate, theater management and development in other towns. He came back to Petaluma in 1983 for a one year Theater Transformation project in the Phoenix which as stretched to 24 years. |
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Tom Joynt, educational liaison for the Superior Court, works with social workers, probation staff and the attorneys serving youth in the courts. He has been involved with student discipline and alternatives to suspension and expulsion including restorative justice for the past decade.
Tom has a long history of involvement with Petaluma youth, first as a teacher, then administrator and head of alternative high school programs |
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| Trathen Heckman is founding director of Daily Acts Organization, executive director of Green Sangha, and publisher of Ripples Journal. Seeking to inspire the engagement of hearts, minds and senses, Trathen writes and teaches about harnessing the power of daily actions to restore the health of our lives, communities and world. He lives in the Petaluma River Watershed where he grows food, medicine and wonder while working to compost apathy and lack. |
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Executive Director of Petaluma Bounty, which is working to create a healthier Petaluma food system with healthy fresh food for everyone; member of Petaluma's Green Team; Aikido instructor at Two Rock Dojo. Past incarnations include CEO of a private multi-campus secondary school system, first executive director of COTS (getting out of the way just in time for John Records to come in and turn it into the extraordinary organization it is today); professional mediator and management consultant (focused on collaborative leadership) working with executives and management teams throughout the U.S., Latin America and in Europe. Before all that, most likely some simple-minded four legged creature, or possibly a waterfowl. Memory gets blurry prior to the late 1950s... |
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Val Richman |
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John Records |
| Executive Director of Mentor Me Petaluma for 2-1/2 years. Mentor for 5 years. Twist & Shout for 4 years. Pub Crawl DJ for 5 years. Cinnabar Theater Young Rep Director for 3 years. Travel Agent for 12 years... a long time ago. Speak French, some Italian, less Spanish. Two adorable daughters. Married to the Only Other Jew in Dublin. |
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Executive Director of COTS since 1992. Work experience includes practice of law, IRS and teaching in university. Numerous community- and service-oriented activities. Interests include deep connection about things that matter to people, spirituality, technology, and peanut butter smoothies. Two grown daughters, one grown wife. |
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Colette Bizal |
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Karl Rebstock |
| Colette Bizal, ScD, CMT, WHP received her Doctorate in Physiology from Harvard University in 1990. Her teaching career began in 1982 at The Pennsylvania State University. Colette’s experiences span coast-to-coast, as she was faculty and Assistant Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation at the University of New Hampshire and a research fellow at the Research Institute of Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, California. Having worked in cardiac rehabilitation, exercise physiology, teaching and research provides her with the expansive knowledge and experience she brings to the Wholistic Health field. As the Director of Education at the Wholistic Life Center, Washburn, Missouri for fourteen years, Dr. Bizal fulfilled many roles as she directed Center programs and co-directed the Center’s School of Massage and Healing Therapies, taught workshop classes, provided counseling, and designed individualized health and nutritional programs. In addition, she uses her healing gifts with clients through wholistic massage and health and nutritional counseling. At Sky Hill Institute, Dr. Bizal is the School director and teaches Anatomy and Physiology II, Integrated Bodywork, and Wholistic Health for the Massage Therapist in the Wholistic Massage Therapy program and Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, Body Balance, Student Intern Clinic, Special Topics, and Group and Personal Dynamics in the Wholistic Health Practitioner program. |
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Executive Director of Rebuilding Together Petaluma for nearly two years.
Work experience includes the U.S. Arrrrrmy and marine science.
Also oversees the nonprofit organization Passionfish.org, working to promote sustainable fisheries. Interests include talking about learning the banjo, running, and organic gardening.
Single (unless you ask my friends, who accuse me of being married to my work). |
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