Lora Unger is the recently appointed President and CEO of the Luther Burbank Center for the Performing Arts. She has served for more than 20 years in nonprofit performing arts leadership, distinguished by her success in innovative fundraising, strategic growth, and community engagement. Most recently, she served as Executive Director of the Performing Arts Center Eastside (PACE) in Bellevue, Washington, where she reignited a multimillion-dollar capital campaign.
Before PACE, Unger spent nine years as CEO of the Pasadena Symphony Association (previously five years as COO), leading one of Los Angeles County’s most dynamic artistic and organizational transformations. Under her leadership, the Symphony established financial stability through strategic programming and unprecedented growth in fundraising, which set the stage for sustainable future annual growth. At the same time, the Symphony more than doubled its education programs, deepening its impact on students and families across the region.
Lora arrived at the Pasadena Symphony after two years as General Manager of the Jacksonville Symphony Association and four years as Chief Operating Officer of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra.
“Lora brings an impressive record of leadership, creativity, and community engagement to lead the LBC’s continued success,” said Wes Daniels, Chair of the LBC Board of Directors. “She has a deep understanding of the performing arts as both a cultural and educational force, and she embodies the collaborative spirit that defines Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. We are excited to welcome her as she leads the Center into its next exciting chapter.”
Lisa Ellisen Founder of Soul Yoga and the Soul Yoga Foundation
Our speaker for March 12, 2026 was Lisa Ellisen, founder of Soul Yoga and Soul Yoga Foundation. Soul Yoga Foundation is a 501c3 organization focused on supporting physical, mental, and emotional health through trauma-informed yoga programs. Lisa’s path to yoga teaching was unintentional but became her life's purpose despite initial resistance and personal challenges. She first encountered yoga in Sun Valley, Idaho in 1996 when her boss required her to attend yoga training to get a paycheck. She has been teaching since 2001 and opened her own studio to support her young family in 2012. She founded Soul Yoga Foundation in 2023.
In 2024, the Foundation reached over 6,000 students across 14 schools with 4 teachers, expanding from 4 schools in 2023. The Foundation’s programs target youth in schools, high school athletes, first responders, incarcerated youth, and families, addressing mental health challenges including high teen suicide rates in Sonoma County. The organization has trained 80 yoga teachers through 200-hour and 300-hour certification programs, with the ninth cohort currently in progress. The school program funding primarily comes from PTAs, but efforts are underway to expand fundraising to provide free programs to schools facing budget cuts.
The 2017 fires catalyzed Lisa's shift from fitness-focused yoga to the trauma-informed practices that now form the foundation of her teaching. Prior to 2017 many of her students were educators who reported children were "frozen in fear" and showing unprecedented behaviors after the fires. She began volunteering in classrooms and learning about trauma and the body. She listed trauma symptoms in youth, including anxiety, clinginess, fear, hyperactivity, aggression, difficulty relating to others, repetitive play, sadness, developmental regression, lack of attention, and psychosomatic complaints. She described trauma-informed yoga as incorporating grounding activities, mindful poses, safe and predictable environments, deep diaphragmatic breathing, and attunement to recognize anxiety signs.
The model and inspiration for Soul Yoga Foundation was the Africa Yoga Project, which trains young people to teach yoga in orphanages, prisons, and slums around Nairobi. She hosted Project teachers in 2016 and 2017. Lisa also teaches yoga to local high school athletes, such as the Montgomery High football and track teams. Yoga is great for injury prevention and recovery, mobility, flexibility, enhanced strength and balance, mental toughness, and breathing regulation. Lisa mentioned that many elite athletes practice yoga, including LeBron James, Tom Brady, George Kittle, and Noval Djokovic.
Thank you, Lisa, for the very informative presentation. Special thanks for the early morning mindfulness and breathing exercises!
On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith, submits pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.
Thanks for all the great pictures Warren!Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
The teens and Rotarians from Westport Connecticut could not imagine the joy there efforts would bring until the fresh spring water flowed into the homes in Ecuador. In typical Rotary style, a collaborative with Peace, Corp connectioons and Builders Beyond Borders created a mini water system delivering fresh dream water for cooking washing and sanitation beyond the dreams of the residence. Read the entire article HERE for even more on this Rotary International area of focus.
The image above from Ecuador well illustrates the momentum Rotary International brings to improving quality of life, International cooperation, youth engagement, and good old-fashioned, fun and sweat equity.
It was a Friday through Sunday, the weekend of March 6th, at the DoubleTree Hotel San Jose, that Max took it all in!
A Rotarian trying to explain what it is like at PELS, is like a burner trying to describe what it is like a Burning Man. You can't really. You just have to be there! As you can see it is a lot of serious business. Each district hosted their own hospitality suite Friday and Saturday nights. Our 5130 suite was decorated for the Chinese New Year. Rotary International President Elect, Olayinka "Yinka" Hakeem Babalola, dropped in on Saturday, and is pictured above between DGE Jeff Kolin and me. I am not sure if he tasted our Henhouse draft IPA or our Sonoma wines while he was there.
The weekend was packed with inspirational back-to-back keynote speakers, seminars and fabulous F&B!
In the end, I passed! Honored here with DGE Jeff Kolin, DG Kristine Redko, and DGN Jack Strange.
I want to thank you, Santa Rosa Sunrisers, for choosing me to be your 2026-27 Club President! Together, we will create lasting impact!
An event to celebrate Indian culture featured local luminaries with Bollywood connections and raised about $2,200 for the Rotary Club of Maidenhead Bridge’s service work. Attendees included Chittal Shah, choreographer to celebrities, and vocalist Atul Pushkarna, both of whom now reside in the United Kingdom. Ten of the club’s 55 members are from India or have Indian heritage. “The laughter, dancing, and genuine sense of connection in the room showed just how powerful cultural celebration can be in bringing people together for a good cause,” says Lisa Hunter, charter president of the club. The November event helped fund a Parkinson’s disease support group and a trip by the club’s vocational training team to Uganda for a maternal and child health initiative.
Malta
The Rotary Club of Gozo has discovered a formula for civic and social media engagement: Tell community members just how much they’re appreciated. After rolling out the glitzy Pride of Gozo Awards in 2022, the club saw a burst of interest in the work of Rotarians on Gozo, one of Malta’s three populated islands. “The event is our showcase of the year,” says Tom Welch, a past president of the club who proposed the ceremony, which is supported by the Times of Malta newspaper and a government ministry. “While not a fundraiser, it raises our profile: a touch under 40,000 views on Facebook, 600 new followers, and over 2,000 engagements. It also provides us with a collection of wonderful speakers and drives membership growth.”
This story originally appeared in the March 2026 issue of Rotary magazine.
Rotary projects make a difference in communities around the world.
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An event to celebrate Indian culture featured local luminaries with Bollywood connections and raised about $2,200 for the Rotary Club of Maidenhead Bridge’s service work. Attendees included Chittal Shah, choreographer to celebrities, and vocalist Atul Pushkarna, both of whom now reside in the United Kingdom. Ten of the club’s 55 members are from India or have Indian heritage. “The laughter, dancing, and genuine sense of connection in the room showed just how powerful cultural celebration can be in bringing people together for a good cause,” says Lisa Hunter, charter president of the club. The November event helped fund a Parkinson’s disease support group and a trip by the club’s vocational training team to Uganda for a maternal and child health initiative.
The Rotary Club of Gozo has discovered a formula for civic and social media engagement: Tell community members just how much they’re appreciated. After rolling out the glitzy Pride of Gozo Awards in 2022, the club saw a burst of interest in the work of Rotarians on Gozo, one of Malta’s three populated islands. “The event is our showcase of the year,” says Tom Welch, a past president of the club who proposed the ceremony, which is supported by the Times of Malta newspaper and a government ministry. “While not a fundraiser, it raises our profile: a touch under 40,000 views on Facebook, 600 new followers, and over 2,000 engagements. It also provides us with a collection of wonderful speakers and drives membership growth.”