Governor Barbara Roberts has been advocating for equity since the first time she spoke up for her autistic son’s educational rights while attending a local school board meeting, This began her career as a public speaker, leading to her political work for more than fifty years. Over the years she has been speaking out as a strong advocate for numerous causes; disability rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, environmental concerns, death with dignity rights, equality and respect for all, and more. Today at 85 years old, Roberts continues to speak publicly, passionately, a voice for equity, whether at keynote speeches, commencement addresses, political rallies and cendorsements for candidates and issues, leadership conferences, Ted X presentations, or any other gathering rallying for fairness and insight.

A Voice for Equity is a collection of twenty-two of Roberts’s compelling speeches that span her years as a public servant, including her term as the 34th Governor of Oregon. The topics of her speeches include disability rights, women’s rights, voting rights, LGBTQ rights, children’s rights, death education and grieving, the spotted owl and Oregon’s forest plan, protection of public lands, and more.

Equity is Governor Barbara Roberts’s life passion. She continues to be inspired to speak up and give a voice to fairness, equality, a level playing field, decency, and dignity. As she states so passionately in her author’s reflections: I hope my passion comes through to you, the reader. Please sense my urgency of message. Be open to making change. Be the voice.–Barbara Roberts NewSage Press