Gretchen Dubie

“My mother was a special educator,” says Gretchen Dubie, a Catholic school student through college in Burlington, Vermont. “I was fascinated by her students’ honesty and humor.” In 1994, one day after graduating from all-girls Trinity College with degrees in special education and psychology, Dubie and two friends hit the road for Alaska and summer work in a cannery. Returning in September with a new boyfriend, Chris Gadsby, she stopped in Eugene to visit an old friend. “The car was ransacked while we slept,” she says, and in the time it took to replace car documents, they had decided to stay. “Six months later I was pregnant.” The couple had two kids, Anaiese and Brautigan, a marriage in 1998 and a divorce in 2002. She put in 13 years of work for Relief Nursery, a local agency that supports younger at-risk kids and their families. “I wore many hats there,” says Dubie, who teamed with Dr. Lori Britain to open nine regional Relief Nurseries in Oregon and five in Ukraine, by way of a USAID grant. “I was an expert witness for the state in parental termination cases. It was difficult for me as a new mom.” But it prepared her for selection, in 2009, as executive director of the Oregon Supported Living Program, a unionized nonprofit with 190 employees that supports adults with developmental disabilities. “My pride and joy is the OSLP Arts and Culture Program,” she says. “We started it in 2012, to provide recreational opportunities for the folks we serve. It has become a source of happiness for so many people.” Visit the program’s Lincoln Gallery at 309 W. 4th Ave. in Eugene, open weekdays from 10 am to 5 pm.

Know anyone whose good work deserves attention in this space? Call the editor at 484-0519 or email editor@eugeneweekly.com.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!