Francine Read’s background was actually in dental hygiene, working in private practice and teaching it at Clark College and for the Veterans Administration, for which she later also worked in advocacy.
How do you parlay that into hosting a women’s empowerment speaker series for 30 years?
Well, you don’t, other than Read always took pride in tackling challenging things that she knew little about. As she tells the story, Read joined a speakers bureau, basically representing people who would be invited to speak at events. “Out of that came inspiration to do something bigger,” Read said, and she started her own speakers series with no sponsorship, but a couple of notable guests signed up right away: NBC News correspondent Linda Ellerbee and gun control advocate Sarah Brady (wife of James Brady, the President Ronald Reagan press secretary shot by a would-be assassin in 1981).
Voices, Inc. was born, and immediately it emphasized women and women’s empowerment.
“One thing I did that was the right decision was to niche ourselves,” Read said. “There were so many lecture series, but nobody was doing just women (in Oregon). ‘This is what I know and I’m going to be brave enough to do it.’ It’s not like it was an environment like today, where everybody is supporting women in the workplace.
“Niching ourselves has kept us going for 30 years.” The Voices Lectures series became “Four Amazing Women, Four Incredible Stories,” showcasing women from all walks of life and from around the world and “for that evening, you put yourselves in the shoes of these famous women,” Read said. “And, what you realize is each one of us has a story, and we’re no different. There is real consistency in our stories — adversity, risk-taking, being a change agent.”
The 2022-23 Voices Lectures series wraps up Wednesday, March 8, with author Stephanie Land speaking at Revolution Hall.
New leader?
It also happens to be the final event hosted by Read, who plans to retire as the president of Voices, Inc. After hosting way more than 100 women, and it’s time for another woman (perhaps younger) to take it over, as well as different ownership of the business. She’s pursuing both at this point to keep such a meaningful lecture series going in Portland.
Voices has its loyal subscribers, and lots of fans who have enjoyed the variety of women Read has brought to Portland throughout the years. It’s a good base, and a notable speaker series because it emphasizes women — it is, after all, Women’s History Month in March. Someone should be stepping up to take it over. Read remains hopeful.
“That would be my hope that there would be a young woman who has that same kind of passion for learning and wants to build something that brings value to her life,” Read said.
“It’s best to retire on a winning note. It’s been a great ride,” she added. “The last three years we’ve been trying to be innovative and clever and do whatever we can do to keep business strong,” referring to Zoom interviews and more during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My husband said it’s OK if I just take a break.” But, Read, a Brooklyn, New York native who was raised in Northern California and who lives near Persimmon Country Club in Gresham, does have an association with a speakers bureau; and she can only do so much golfing and hiking, right?
Celebrities galore
The array of women to visit Portland and share their stories has been very impressive. Read said Voices has succeeded because of contacts with agents, professional service to the guests (i.e. costs covered) and relationship building. It all started in 1993.
“Linda Ellerbee always holds a special place in my heart: Nov. 11, 1993,” Read said. “The first year was really exciting.”
Brady followed Ellerbee, and then came movie producer Geri Jewell and actress Cicely Tyson.
Through the years, there have been highlights.
CBS News star Leslie Stahl had Read “nervous” upon the guest’s arrival at Portland International Airport — Read always personally greeted guests — but “she was very kind.” As was movie star Isabella Rosellini.
ABC News’ Cokie Roberts, author Amy Tan and music conductor Marin Alsop also come to Read’s mind as memorable guests.
“What I have found is most of these women are so charming,” Read said. “We brought in Sen. Barbara Boxer, who was so entertaining.”
She remembers the visit by Jenna Bush Hager, “The Today Show” host and daughter of former President George W. Bush.
“Jenna Bush Hager was on a book tour for her paperback about the sisters, and I knew she was on the road,” Read said. “Monday we got a call from her agent, ‘Golly, can you reschedule her for the end of the week?’ And I said, ‘No, tell her we have a sold-out audience (on Wednesday).’ She insisted on coming; we had to tweak things, instead of having a book signing afterward, we did it before.
“She was so charming. Charming and smart and kind and a great storyteller. She had a red eye (flight) to get back to New York City to be on ‘The Today Show.’ I watched it, and she was in the same dress she wore at Voices the night before!”
Local woman
Ruth Wariner, who lives in Lake Oswego and who taught at Gladstone High School, penned the book “The Sound of Gravel,” about escaping from a Mormon polygamist colony in Mexico with siblings. Her father, believed to be a prophet, had 42 children, but had been killed under mysterious circumstances (by his brother, Ervil, the “Mormon Manson,” and cohorts). Her mother remarried, and the stepfather physically and sexually abused Wariner. Her mother died in an electrical accident, and Wariner knew she needed to get out, as the stepfather started abusing her brother — she escaped as a teenager with siblings and helped raise them in the United States.
“Ruth’s presentation was at the Tiffany Center, sold out, more than 1,000 people. Very compelling story,” Read said.
The late Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Sen. John Edwards (also 2004 Democrat vice president candidate), had been diagnosed with breast cancer while also dealing with infidelity by her husband. She spoke at Voices and “she had such a huge heart,” Read said, adding about what she learned from Edwards: “She called everybody by their name (name tags providing the names). I always thought calling people by name seemed so personal. I started doing that. That small second you connect with somebody is on a human level. She also talked about how families are tapestries — strong chords, but fine threads give the relationships life.”
Another anecdote: Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair magazine, talked at Voices about how she looks at resumes. “If somebody doesn’t have a failure on a resume, she won’t hire them. In our society, we’re so afraid of failure, she embraced it,” Read said.
Then Read looks back at 2020-22, the pandemic years. Roz Chast, New Yorker cartoonist, was the final guest before Voices and everything else was shut down in March 2020. Some months later Read started the Voices Reunion Tour, interviewing former guests on Zoom.
Voices returned with M Jackson, National Geographic Society explorer, in February 2022.
This year it has been actress Marlee Matlin, Pixar Animation Studio’s Danielle Feinberg, National Geographic photographer Ami Vitale and Land, who has written two personal experience books about being a working single mother on food stamps (“Maid”) and going back to college and navigating life with financial aid (“Class”).
“Ami was one of my favorites,” Read said. “Magical evening, the way she would weave the stories. The one (memorable) thing she shared, like the Elizabeth Edwards quote, she would make an effort to establish relationships with people before taking their pictures.”
Read credits people around her, including Eric Iverson of Rose City Sounds and Christine Rains Design, for helping Voices, and all the volunteers and sponsors (including Pamplin Media Group).
“Thinking about what makes Voices special, it’s like a family,” she said. “The real focus was on women, but men were welcome right from the get-go. (Women) would reach out to their friends, and the audience really built our subscriber community.”
Now, she added, “I want to find somebody who can be the next face of Voices. I’ve done everything I can do.”