People

* Spotlight on achievers

Betty O’Rourke

Director of Orange County emergency services

Dana Point

For 15 years, Betty O’Rourke has been helping people in need of emergency medical care.

O’Rourke is neither a paramedic nor an emergency room doctor. She is Orange County’s director of emergency services.

The Dana Point resident is in charge of coordinating and regulating all facets of urgent care, from 911 telephone calls to rehabilitation for people with serious injuries.

“It’s been a passion all my life,” said O’Rourke, 63, who is retiring this year.

Her commitment to emergency care has earned her the respect of colleagues not just in the county, which presented her with its Woman of Achievement award in 1993, but across the state. Gov. Pete Wilson acknowledged her expertise by appointing her to the state Emergency Services Commission.

The County Board of Supervisors added to the accolades with a resolution at Tuesday’s meeting honoring her for her achievements.

Under O’Rourke’s leadership, Orange County implemented a system of “paramedic receiving centers” at 29 hospitals. To join the system, hospital emergency rooms must meet several tough criteria set out by the county.

“Our whole goal,” O’Rourke said, “is to have the most timely, appropriate and highest-quality medical care available.”

*

Karen Collins

Director, Saddleback College art gallery

Aliso Viejo

When Karen Collins was a student at Saddleback College in the late 1980s, she didn’t set out to pursue a career in the arts. But a course she took in gallery display and exhibition changed her perspective.

Now Collins is back at the Mission Viejo community college as director of its art gallery.

“My goal was to direct and curate at a small gallery,” Collins said. “I had no idea I’d have a chance to return to Saddleback, where it all started, and run its gallery.”

The first show under her leadership will run from Sept. 7 to Oct. 4 and feature works by Saddleback College art and photography instructors. The next exhibit, Oct. 26 to Dec. 6, will showcase ceramic works of county artists.

“It’s exciting when somebody from our own curriculum goes on to excel in her studies,” said Gregory J. Bishopp, dean of fine arts and communications at the college. “We are glad that we were able to recruit and retain her. She’s very energetic.”

Collins, who has a strong interest in Mexican and Latin American art, said she hopes to expand the gallery’s schedule to include more works of ethnic artists, especially Latina artists.

An Aliso Viejo resident, Collins holds a bachelor’s degree in art history and a master’s degree in exhibition design.

While at Cal State Fullerton, Collins was involved with seven exhibitions and was the curator for two: “Myth and Modernism in Mexican Architecture” and “Mural Art: The Urban Vision.”