I was born in Chicago, Illinois; my father was a physician in Chicago’s Loop and my mother had been an entertainer and involved in community development before raising a family. Unfortunately, she left this life far too early, and as a result my family moved across the country a couple of times. I had the chance to travel within the United States and observe the differences in locations on both sides of the continent.

My young adult life was spent high in the Siskiyou Mountains of Southern Oregon where I grew a subsistence garden, raised livestock and rode horses. I became a certified farrier and dreamed one day of riding the Pacific Crest trail from Mexico to Canada. After marriage, I raised two stepsons and gave birth to three children. I was deeply involved in my children’s education, and planned one day, when they were older, to go back to school to become a teacher.

I always had a fascination and love for the natural world, so my first geology class was a real eye opener! For the first time, all the questions I had pondered regarding the landscapes and oceans were answered. I realized that I could still enjoy places for their natural beauty, but understanding their geologic history and formation greatly deepened my appreciation. I have the privilege of introducing many high school and college students to the geologic wonders of this remarkable planet!

My initial involvement with GSOC gave me the chance for continued professional development; attending lectures and field trips as well as opportunities to know and work with many geologists. As vice president I was able to continue the quality of presentations we were accustomed to. As president, I answered requests for school presentations and developed outdoor programs for children. Our President’s Field Trip was a time slice of the Oligocene environments on each side of the Cascades. We celebrated GSOC’s eightieth birthday during my office with a banquet that featured renowned plate tectonics expert, Tanya Atwater.

Upon completing my year as the president of GSOC, I was made the outreach coordinator and can continue fulfilling our mission as a speaker and educator. It has been an honor to serve the Geological Society of the Oregon Country!

Sheila’s second term as president came when the society was making radical changes to its board of directors. The society’s bylaws were changed to a model for the presidency in which the president could stay in office for 1-2 years plus one year on the board as Past President. The rest of the board consisted of a secretary, a treasurer, five managing directors, and two members at large. The Vice President position was removed.

So Sheila stayed in office for two years. And what interesting two years it turned out to be! Along with the changes in the structure of the board of directors, the board decided to find a membership platform to manage events, members and member dues, and we found it in Wild Apricot, a Canadian based company whose platform worked well for our non-profit group.

Newly elected treasurer Barbara Stroud and Paul Edison-Lahm did the lion’s share of the work in converting GSOC membership data into the new platform. They did an outstanding job, and the platform went operational in January 2020.

Then in January and February of 2020 reports were coming in of a pandemic starting to bloom. In February the first Oregon cases were being reported, and at the last minute Sheila decided to pull the plug on the March 8 banquet. Shortly thereafter the COVID-19 lockdown began.

The board of directors was very concerned that the lockdown was going to be the end of the society. However, reports were coming in about using online meeting software to do presentations. And there was the example of Nick Zentner from Central Washington University broadcasting live from his backyard on YouTube. Soon the board of directors were meeting on Zoom. Sheila thought that she could do a pilot presentation on Zoom and we could monitor the response. She did a pilot GSOC meeting on April 18, 2020, titled “Assembling Oregon Geology,” a project she had been putting together for outreach talks, and as this was a success, then she began lining up speakers for online meetings. Since no one knew how long the lockdown would last, this would ensure some continuity in the club’s existence until in-person meetings could be resumed.

The lockdown online meetings were the beginning of a new era for the society, and instead of being a detriment, they actually boosted the society’s range, membership, and depth.

What a great legacy to leave as president!

-Carol Hasenberg, 2024

Past Presidents

Geological Society of the Oregon Country (GSOC)

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