Behavioral Health – Where We Are Today

Behavioral Health – Where We Are Today
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Dr. Maggie Labarta recently retired as President and Chief Executive Officer for Meridian Behavioral Healthcare after 19 years in that position. Based in Gainesville, Meridian provides comprehensive mental health and substance use disorder treatment, primary care and supportive vocational and housing services with offices in 11 largely rural counties and a 16-county service area. Meridian employs about 800 staff and provides treatment services to almost 25,000 individuals annually, as well providing outreach and prevention services across the community.

During her 36-year tenure at Meridian, Dr. Labarta directed its rural clinics, Children’s Department, and Acute Care Services, including the Crisis Stabilization Unit, becoming CEO in 2000. Labarta has also practiced as a clinical psychologist, specializing in psychological evaluation, primarily within the family law arena, serving as an expert witness in child abuse and other custody matters. She has provided clinical and management training as well as consulting on strategic planning to a number of organizations.

The GRU controversy: David Denslow and Joe Little

The GRU controversy: David Denslow and Joe Little
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October’s luncheon was between two speakers, each taking equal time to present their thoughts on the GRU Authority referendum that appeared on the 2018 midterm ballot.

Dr. David Denslow Jr., Research Economist for the Bureau of Economic and Business Research and Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Economics, is best known at the University of Florida as the effective and popular professor of the televised course Basic Macroeconomics.

Joseph Little is Emeritus Professor of Law at the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida. He obtained his B.S. summa cum laude from Duke University and his J.D. from the University of Michigan. Among the courses he taught at UF was a course in Local Government Law, and is considered to be an expert in this area.

Civics 3.0: How Communities Transform Conflict into Creative Solutions

Civics 3.0: How Communities Transform Conflict into Creative Solutions
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Many intentional communities such as ecovillages and cohousing communities form around broad principles such as sustainability, but residents find that social sustainability proves a much greater challenge. In researching Living Sustainably, I visited communities that developed a range of strategies for governance and conflict resolution. These strategies helped residents through difficult dialogues about what constitutes sustainability and, more important, how can we productively translate conflict into creative solutions.

A. Whitney Sanford is a professor in the Religion Department at the University of Florida. She is currently conducting ethnographic research on the Florida rivers, exploring human attachment to place and water, for a book tentatively entitled “River People of Florida”. Her books include Living Sustainably: What Intentional Communities Can Teach Us About Democracy, Simplicity, and Nonviolence (University Press of Kentucky, 2017), Growing Stories from India: Religion and the Fate of Agriculture (University Press of Kentucky, 2012) and Singing Krishna: Sound Becomes Sight in Paramanand’s Poetry (SUNY 2008).

Replacing American Exceptionalism: Towards a New Origin Narrative of American History

Replacing American Exceptionalism: Towards a New Origin Narrative of American History
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Humans are wired to be story tellers…that’s kind of the signature element of oral history…in a way it kind of goes back to if you had a grandmother or grandfather, you remember the power of the story that they told.

-Dr. Paul Ortiz, AAHP-055

Dr. Paul Ortiz is the director of the award-winning Samuel Proctor Oral History Program and associate professor of history at the University of Florida.

He is president of the Oral History Association for the 2014-2015 term. He has previously served as vice-president as well as chair of the nominating committee for the OHA. His publications include the Emancipation Betrayed (University of California Press) a history of the Black Freedom struggle in Florida, and Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Jim Crow South (New Press) which went into its 4th printing in 2014.

He is the recipient of several book awards including the Lillian Smith Book Prize conferred by the Southern Regional Council & the Harry T. and Harriett V. Moore Book Prize bestowed by the Florida Historical Society and the Florida Institute of Technology. His forthcoming monograph is titled: Our Separate Struggles are Really One: African American and Latino Histories and will be published by Beacon Press as part of its ReVisioning American History series. He is also co-authoring the forthcoming book Behind the Veil: African Americans in the Age of Segregation, 1895-1965 with William H. Chafe.

Paul has published essays in a wide array of publications including Latino Studies, The Oral History Review, Radical History Review, Truthout, Against the Current, Southern Exposure and McClatchy News Services. He writes frequently for the popular press about African American and Latino histories and politics. He has been interviewed by ABC News, the Washington Post, the Hong Kong Daily Apple, BBC, Russia Today News, Agencia De Noticias Del Estado Mexicano, and Time on historical and contemporary social issues.

Paul serves on the international editorial boards for Kalfou: A Journal of Comparative and Relational Ethnic Studies as well as for Palgrave Studies in Oral History, Palgrave Macmillan Books. He has served as a Post-Doctoral Faculty Mentor for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation as well as for the Ford Foundation Fellowship Program.

February Luncheon with Karen Clarke

February Luncheon with Karen Clarke
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Karen Clarke is a proud product of Alachua County Public Schools. Following her graduation from Gainesville High School, Mrs. Clarke attended Santa Fe Community College and then the University of Florida, earning a degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership.

Mrs. Clarke has spent more than 26 years as an educator. She has worked as a teacher, dean, assistant principal and principal. Under her leadership, Oak View Middle School established its highly successful Center for Advanced Academics and Technology magnet program.

Since 2010, Mrs. Clarke has served in a number of leadership roles in the district office, taking on more responsibility with each of those roles. She began as the Director of Secondary Curriculum and School Improvement, then became Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Student Services. In 2016 she became Deputy Superintendent and served in that capacity until being named Superintendent in May of 2017.

Mrs. Clarke is active in a number of community and statewide organizations. She served as president-elect of the Florida Association of Instructional Supervisors and Administrators, served on the Board of Directors for the Florida Association of School Administrators and is a member of the Florida Department of Education Articulation Coordinating Committee, among other organizations. Locally, she serves on the Alachua County Children’s Services Advisory Board, and is a member of the board of directors for Junior Achievement, the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce and The Education Foundation for Alachua County Public Schools.

Mrs. Clarke is married and has three sons, two of whom graduated from and one who is currently a student of Alachua County Public Schools.

Between Hell and Hope: Teaching Humanity in an Imperfect World

Between Hell and Hope: Teaching Humanity in an Imperfect World
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Leanne Lawrence is an educator and an advocate who believes that dialogue is fundamental in the crusade against apathy, abuse and intolerance. She is an award-winning poet, an animated speaker and a gifted storyteller. Born in Upstate New York, she has lived and taught in Gainesville since 2001. She sits on the Board of Directors of The Alachua County Coalition Against Human Trafficking, and works closely with local law enforcement and child advocacy groups. She is a dedicated animal rescuer and community activist.

This, her first book, was written to celebrate the tenacity of the human spirit. She strives to reveal the truth behind the crime, and empower the human being who has become ‘the criminal.’ As a teacher in the Criminal Justice System for more than two decades, her goal is to provide a mirror for her students to enable them to “see what she sees:” just how beautiful and intelligent and capable they truly are.

According to Leanne, she has the best job in the world.

2018 Buddy Davis Speech Contest

2018 Buddy Davis Speech Contest
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For our December luncheon, winners of the 2018 Buddy Davis Speech Contest read their entries. The topic for this year’s contest was: Can schools discipline students for social media use outside of school?

Every teenager knows that he can’t call his principal a vulgar name to his face. But it’s really unclear whether he can go home, get on his computer, and then call him vulgar names online. Is this type of online speech protected by the First Amendment? This important issue is gradually making its way through the lower courts, and will probably be considered by the Supreme Court in the near future.

David Barkey

David Barkey







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Hate Crimes and Hate Speech, and What’s the Difference. Although hate speech is generally protected in the U.S., the federal government and 45 states enhance penalties for bias-motivated criminal conduct. This interactive presentation will provide an overview of federal and state hate crimes laws, examine the First Amendment implications of these laws, and discuss frequency and key characteristics of hate crimes.

Dan Barker

Dan Barker







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The Battle of Church & State. Dan Barker’s talk will explain why religion should be separate from government, and how it actually serves to protect the religious freedoms of everyone.

Jim Foster

Jim Foster







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