TEDxSalem speaker Rose Barker is equal parts world traveler and safety guru.
She spent a year in Ecuador doing everything from volunteering at a church and orphanage to getting her kiteboarding certification and swimming in the ocean nearly every day.
“It was a full experience,” she says.
She also lived in Mexico for about a year, volunteering as an interpreter for several nonprofit organizations.
Yet she balanced her desire for adventure with an emphasis on safety. A self-described “paranoid traveler,” Barker invented a ‘Passport Pocket’ to safely and comfortably conceal passports, money and other vital documents inside one’s clothing.
Despite her focus on safety and protection, her outward disposition is friendly, open. The first word that comes to mind is ‘ebullient.’ Not only in the way that she greets visitors with a hug and insists on offering them something to eat, but in the way she talks — thoughtfully, animatedly.
Barker believes strongly in social justice and living in community. She worked at CAPACES Leadership Institute, a Woodburn-based nonprofit geared toward developing advocacy in Oregon’s migrant farming community. It was during her time at CAPACES that Barker got interested in increasing access to legal services, which she calls “empowering.”
“You have to know what your rights are in order to stand up for yourself,” she says.
Her interest in advocacy and safety eventually merged and led to a career as a certified risk management consultant. She gives talks to employers and state agencies about the importance of, and useful techniques for, protecting one’s identity from hackers and thieves.
“Our identities,” she says, are “one of the most valuable things we own.”
And reclaiming your identity is a tough battle. Victims can have a challenging time proving that someone else stole and assumed their identity to commit a crime. Identity theft, she said, is one of the few crimes where the victim is guilty until proven innocent.
She hopes to help others protect themselves before it’s too late. If you want to learn about the internet of things and how to keep yourself safe, check out Barker’s talk Saturday, Jan. 6 at TEDxSalem.
Get your tickets for TEDxSalem V
TEDxSalem V is an all-day event featuring talks, performances, refreshments, lunch and a swag bag Saturday, Jan. 6, at the Salem Convention Center. Purchase tickets here. Follow us on Facebook for the most up-to-date news from our community, and check our website regularly for new information. You can also reach us at info@tedxsalem.com.