about us

Ann Schauber

After thirty years with the Extension Service, Ann Schauber opened her own business as an educational diversity consultant in July, 2006.  Building on her doctoral work in intercultural communication and organizational change as well as her years of work in community leadership development, Ann works with individuals, groups and organizations in supporting them to learn about how to work effectively with our human diversity.

Since 2003, Ann has been studying at the Jwalan Muktìkã School for Illumination in Whitefish, Montana.  The school’s purpose is to support the conscious evolution of humankind by supporting others in bringing out the wisdom of their true self and to support the unlimited possibilities of wisdom.  Ann is currently Chair of the school’s board of directors.

Born in Chestertown, Maryland, Ann’s family was part of the rural to urban migration in the early 50’s. She grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and moved with her husband to Oregon in 1978. She considers her husband and two adult children to be her greatest teachers.

Ann loves to read and watch movies, especially foreign films. She finds many great intercultural examples to share in her presentations from the books she reads and movies she watches. She loves to garden, hike, and cross-country ski. She also finds gazing out her kitchen window at the trees and deer to be one of her most favorite activities.

Ann, her husband and two cats, live in Corvallis, Oregon. Her turtle-necked dove flew away when she opened his cage one summer day.

Ann's resume

Doris Cancel-Tirado

Doris was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where she is a licensed psychologist. She has 12 years of experience in human service and public health. As a bilingual/bicultural person, she knows firsthand the challenges faced by organizations when diversifying their workforce and their program of services. Her areas of expertise include: program development and evaluation, program planning, community organizing, diversity in the workplace, multicultural issues in human services and public health, and multicultural competence.

In 2002, Doris moved to Miami, Florida and worked as a Bilingual Child/Family Therapist. There she met her husband Juan Pablo, who is a winemaker from Mendoza, Argentina. Doris and her husband have been living in Oregon since 2003. She is currently a PhD candidate in Human Development and Family Science at Oregon State University. She is also the Assistant to the Coordinator of Diversity and Community in the Department of Human Development and Family Science.

In her free time, Doris enjoys spending time with her friends, hiking or watching a good movie. Doris occasionally volunteers for the Extension 4-H program to motivate Latino youth to finish high school and pursue higher education.

Alan Kirk

Alan’s career spans over 30 years in the field of community development, with a focus on communication, group facilitation, and conflict mediation.  He has worked and volunteered with local and state government in the mid-Willamette Valley of Oregon and also has been an independent consultant.  He has worked with the Salem Public Schools Community Education Program, Salem Neighborhood Program, Salem Housing Authority, and Oregon Department of Transportation.  His interest in conflict mediation has led him to serve on the boards of two community mediation programs and also to serve as a trainer in conflict mediation.

Life happens when we’re making other plans.  Alan’s approach to maintaining a balance between career and family was to work part-time while he and Ann were raising their children.  Children moving away and retirement from state government have been recent life transitions. Alan’s personal interests for many years have included men’s work and spiritual exploration.  Throughout the journey he has loved the outdoors through gardening, hiking, camping, and cross-country skiing.

Over the years Alan and Ann have combined their training, facilitation, and communication skills in workshops and publications on communication, parenting, conflict management, and cultural diversity.

Alan grew up in northern Michigan and holds a master’s degree in community resource development from Michigan State University. 

Rebecca Kirk

Rebecca is a dancer, singer, artist, and educator whose work focuses in building communities.  She has worked as an arts education administrator for Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Washington National Opera, and currently at Boston Lyric Opera.  She designed the logo for Caracolores and her artwork is published in Ann C. Schauber's Working With Differences in Communities.

Rebecca has a background in conflict mediation, and brings this and other facilitation skills into communities to work with difference using and integrating the arts, including drama, movement, music, and visual art modalities. She believes that we are all creative beings and the arts can be a form of communication that adds insight into understanding ourselves and others in new ways. The arts are also collaborative and build community by bringing people together to share their unique perspectives and experiences.

Current projects include a collaboration in the development and implementation of arts integrated multicultural curriculum for Opera Boston.  Rebecca received her Bachelor of Arts from Whitman College in sociology and was awarded honors on her thesis entitled The Performing Arts and Society: Exploring the Roles and Relationships. An Oregon native, she currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is pursuing her Master of Education at Lesley University in community arts.

When not participating in, enjoying, or learning about the arts, Rebecca finds solace in the outdoors, hiking, camping, skiing, or walking through the many beautiful urban parks in the Boston area.