The Unfortunate Truth About Jay O'berski (Jaybird)

A reporter at Duke’s student newspaper, The Chronicle, is looking to connect with former undergraduates or employees that interacted with O’Berski in any capacity. If you’re willing to share your experience, please reach out to  nadia.bey@duke.edu . You do not have to be on-the-record.

On 2/9/2023 Monica posted this story to her personal blog.  https://monicacatherine.com/2023/02/09/on-jay-oberski/ Full text below: On Jay O’Berski. Posted:  February 9, 2023   |  Author:   Monica Byrne   |   Filed under:   Uncategorized   | 1 Comment UPDATE, February 10, 2023: I’ve been notified that the clinic that had employed Jay as an intern has cut all ties with him. Therefore, I’m removing their contact information from the post, though still naming them for the sake of public record. ~ I’m writing this public, searchable account about Jay O’Berski’s history so that no one can claim in good faith any longer that they “just didn’t know.” Background. To summarize: Jay O’Berski is a former professor of theatre at Duke University, and the founder and former Artistic Director of the now-dissolved Durham theatre company Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern. As of February 9th, 2023, he is training as a therapist at  Wake Forest University  and practicing at Art of Wellness in Chapel Hi

Presently, Jay is seeking a degree in Counseling from Wake Forest University and IS NO LONGER interning with the therapy office in Chapel Hill. The purpose of his internship is WAS to run group for men struggling with sex addiction. I have already called Dr. Ivers, the Dean of the department at WFU and sent him a link to the facebook post from 2019 and expressed my concerns about their training him to be a councilor. Dr. Ivers said they did a background check and googled Jay's name and found nothing of concern before admitting him to the program. (this is why we created this blog). I emailed Dr. Ivers earlier today asking him for an update on what if any action has been taken from my previous conversation.  We also shared the same information with the therapist in Chapel Hill a couple weeks ago and recently heard back from her. She called WFU and they did not report having taken any action or even speaking to Jay about the post or his past behavior.  She also hasn't heard fr

This was originally posted to Facebook on Feb 6, 2023 by Monica Byrne. The original post can be found here .  https://www.facebook.com/monicabyrne13/posts/pfbid0wYhJyDjtm6GmrWdhTuRo1cTQazZJpLBYkz2GyqzsADUDMRA2j6rFZojL2BxBDPi2l So this is what happens when Duke quietly lets go a theatre professor (Jay O’Berski) with a history of grooming and sleeping with his students, and pays him off not to sue them: he enrolls in the counseling program at Wake Forest and sets himself up as a therapist in Chapel Hill, specializing in “sex addiction.” This is not a case of him “working on himself.” Sorry. Compulsive sexual abuse of power can’t be cured in three years. And even if it could, you know what that looks like? Taking responsibility for the abuse and making amends to the people you’ve harmed. Not immediately seeking ANOTHER position of authority where you have even MORE intimate access to even MORE vulnerable people. If you think that’s what healing looks like…!? I don’t know how to help you.

This was originally posted to facebook on September 19, 2019 by Adam Schultz:  The original post can be found here . I strongly suggest you read all of the comments on the post.  https://www.facebook.com/boldadam/posts/pfbid02puwuszuigYWZvdBzZu48MuMAPD3gAzCc3aTKNy2BZBA8rHpfJkqsmGD7jgcdrqpfl I've always enjoyed performing and improv. Until recently, the last production I was in involved a high school play about a group of teens who were unaware that they recently died in a car crash. The performance had a “Twilight Zone” meets “Hotel California” vibe. Since then, I got my performance fix from meeting facilitation, leading trainings or entertaining my friends with impressions. I also read to my three kids most nights before bedtime. Many of the book’s characters would have their own distinct voices and accents. Hagrid from the Harry Potter series remains their favorite, although I find his voice challenging without the lines in front of me. The other important way I expressed this pa