Ben Slothower - Board Member

With retirement on the horizon a few years ago, I faced the question of what did I wanted to do with the extra time that retirement would afford me? My answer still surprises me: I wanted to volunteer in prison. I had volunteered support to incarcerated persons with an organization in the past, and it struck a chord. When I looked into a new opportunity for that, Oregon Prison Project (OPP) seemed like the avenue that fit my needs the best. What a journey that started for me! My need to connect with people, and a wonderful tool to assist in this has been a winning combo for me.

I came to OPP with no knowledge of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and soon discovered more than I’d bargained for. I took three different classes from the Director, Sandra Amiry, and also received a great deal of individual coaching. When classes started at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in the Fall of 2023, I joined Sandra and a couple other volunteers as an observer and class participant. Slowly, over the next couple years, I transitioned into instructing some classes. It’s so fulfilling to see changes in our class members (and in myself) as the year of classes progresses and as the relationships and trust within us, and between us continually deepen.  It’s been an unexpected gift to experience the satisfaction of contributing life changing tools to others, while growing and deepening effectiveness and meaning in my own life as well.

Besides volunteering in the prison, I've found other ways to assist as OPP came back to life again after the Covid years. Besides generally helping where needed, I've been the Board Treasurer and worked with our director and other Board members to provide framework to assist us as we grow. 

When I'm not doing OPP stuff, I can be found hiking or skiing with friends, reading, writing, working with the unhoused community in Corvallis where I live, watering my parched yard, or going on motorcycling adventures.