Caroline was born in Douala, Cameroon and raised in Lyon, France. Her journey has been shaped by a passion for education, art, and creative exploration. After completing her degree in Electronic and Data Processing Engineering, she turned her mind to teaching. In 1991 she earned the prestigious Agrégation in Physics and Chemistry, the highest teaching qualification in France. She dedicated the next 28 years to inspiring high school students, both in France and at the San Francisco Waldorf High School. In all of her classes she combined technical expertise with a deep commitment to nurturing curiosity in her students and her colleagues.
In 2000, Caroline moved to San Francisco and discovered stained glass, a medium that would become a significant part of her artistic practice. She began taking classes in 2003 and by 2008, was teaching the craft herself at school. Her artistic horizons expanded further when she ventured into kiln-formed glass, experimenting alongside her 10th-grade students culminating in a collaborative piece that hangs in the school reception to this day.
After leaving her high school teaching career in 2018, Caroline began a new work and life chapter in Sonoma County. With her husband, she converted a barn into both a home and a dedicated teaching workshop, opening Sonoma Flow Farm in 2020. The farm serves as a creative space for practical arts, offering a hands-on environment where students of all ages and backgrounds can explore and learn through a diverse range of artistic practices.
Interact Takeover by Maria, Hawaii, Esmeralda, Deisy, and Other Members of the Interact Club of Elsie Allen High School
Our very special “speakers” for February 20, 2025, are members of the Elsie Allen Interact Club. In fact, our Elsie Allen Interactors led the meeting and provided us with a summary of their many accomplishments this year. The Interactor president, Maria, presided over the meeting, introduced us to the other members of the executive team, and was generally Sunrise President-for-the Day. Maria is a senior at Elsie Allen and was sent by our club to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Association (RYLA) last year. Santa Rosa Sunrise has long been an ardent supporter of the Elsie Allen Interact Club and the school itself. We have provided notable mentors for the club, attended their meetings and events, helped provide them with scholarships through our scholarship program, and rooted for them in many ways. The club’s teacher/advisor is Richard Molloy, who also attended the meeting and provided us with information about the club’s activities. Willie Billeter is the current Sunrise advisor to Interact, and Merle Hayes is Willie’s backup. Merle and Carolyn Anderson are also members of the board of directors of the Elsie Allen High School Foundation.
Maria did an amazing job presiding over the meeting and taking on the President’s usual role. She is articulate, poised, funny, organized, and dedicated to Elsie Allen. She introduced Hawaii (Vice President), Deisy (media guru), and Esmeralda (Past President), who each described the Interact event they liked the most during the 2024 school year. Maria’s favorite was the cemetery clean-up. Hawaii and Esmeralda loved Christmas shopping for the Valley of the Moon Children’s Center. They love to shop and are good at it! Esmeralda noted that shopping for the kids at the shelter helps you realize how good you have it and makes you want to help others. Deisy enjoyed the Thanksgiving meal service project. She likes connecting with others and coming together to help people in need.
The Interact club has engaged in 8 service projects since the beginning of the current school year. 18 students have participated, including 8 seniors and 10 juniors. They have amassed 221 service hours on those events! Their project list is below:
Our thanks to Maria for presiding over the meeting, to Hawaii, Esmeralda, and Deisy for presenting their favorite events and supporting Maria, and to the other members of the Interact club who attended the meeting. You guys are beyond amazing, and we are proud to work with you!
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!
We set a record with our Roseland Walk on Saturday, with 35 participants, on a beautiful summer day in February and with interesting guides from Roseland Library, Sonoma County Library Roseland Branch Manager Rosalie Abbott and other Roseland and Sonoma Library representatives. We learned about Roseland history, viewed artistic murals that dot the neighborhood, learned more about the Joe Rodota Trail and housing issues, and were informed about development projects, including the new Roseland branch library.
Courageous Elsie Allen co-eds anticipate School Board decision on the fate of their campus.
Their hopes were buoyed last Friday after weeks of dread when the board announced an alternative to closure; a restructuring to a magnet-type curriculum.
Sunrise two-decade partnership and Interact sponsorship will continue to draw campus and community into closer service opportunities.
A magician was working on a cruise ship. But his act kept getting ruined by the ship’s parrot who’d say things like, “It’s up his sleeve!” or “It’s in his pocket!” One day the ship sank, and the magician found himself floating on a piece of wood with the parrot. They stared at each other for days. Finally, the parrot said, “Alright, I give up. Where’s the boat?”
Rotary’s presence showcases high-level support for the environment
Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Mark Maloney led a Rotary International delegation joining more than 56,000 participants at the 29th United Nations climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan in November. Delegates at COP29 (short for Conference of the Parties) came from 193 countries and thousands of nongovernmental organizations, companies, and media.
“COP29 presented an invaluable opportunity for us to interact with key players in the environment space and share Rotary’s grassroots model of community action,” Maloney says.
The high-level delegation at COP29, appointed by Rotary International president Stephanie Urchick, showcased Rotary’s continued commitment to protecting the environment. Rotary delegates aimed to build on prior successes by connecting with organizations that align with Rotary’s focus on the environment and finding possible partners for future projects.
The Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Mark Maloney (top right) talks with officials with the Green Climate Fund at the 29th United Nations climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, 11-22 November 2024.
“Rotary’s ability to mobilize communities, build relationships at the local and global level, and provide grant funding for our members’ impactful projects positions us to continue to play an important role [in protecting the environment],” Maloney says.
In addition to Maloney, RI delegates included Mohamed Delawar Aly, Rotary Representative to the Arab League, and Alberto Palombo, the Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers’ lead for the environment. They joined other Rotary members from around the world. Rotary members in Baku hosted an event for the visitors during their stay in Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Maloney met with Kitty van der Heijden, Deputy Executive Director of Partnerships for UNICEF, Rotary’s polio eradication partner. The two discussed how the fight against polio and work in other areas intersect with climate action.
In 2020, as RI president, Maloney proposed the addition of the environment as an area of focus, after years of advocacy by Rotary members. Since July 2021, The Rotary Foundation has supported the work of clubs and districts to protect the environment. Rotary projects have included restoring mangroves, saving forests, and cultivating coral reefs.
In 2024, Rotary announced a strategic partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme that empowered members of Rotary, Rotaract, and Interact clubs to adopt bodies of water. The partnership provides guidance from UNEP’s experts, step-by-step instructions, and other resources.
The United Nations climate change conferences are the organization’s largest annual meetings, and among the largest international meetings in the world. The conferences serve as opportunities for the governments involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the “parties” in “Conference of the Parties”) to negotiate ways to address climate change and measure the progress they’ve made so far. This was the fourth Rotary delegation to attend the UN climate conference.
COP30 will be held in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025. Brazil is the home country of RI’s 2025-26 president, Mário César Martins de Camargo.
— February 2025
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise - Founded June 30, 1986
.png)
.png)
