Joan Brock is an extraordinary woman, author and speaker. She has transformed adversity into challenge, and frustration into opportunity. Joan's poignant story of the sudden loss of her sight (WHILE working at a school for blind children), then the loss of her young husband to cancer and the journey of going forward positively and productively, will captivate your audience. As... read full bio
Dawn Riley is one of the best-known sailors in the world. She was the first woman ever to manage an entire America's Cup syndicate, the first American, man or woman, to sail in three America's Cups and two Whitbread Round the World races and is one of the forerunners in providing community access into the sport of sailing. Dawn is... read full bio
Art Holst is a motivational speaker whose career includes being a top salesman in building materials, infantry captain and officiator for the National Football League for fifteen years. A legend in the speaking industry, Art Holst's broad background provides the foundation for his messages spiced with inspiration, humor, and poetry. For twelve years, he worked as Administrator of the Forest... read full bio
Dr. Janis Amatuzio lectures on many topics pertaining to forensic pathology and related sciences. The lecture, Beyond the Threshold of Death: A Forensic Pathologists Perspective on Living reflects upon the real-life stories and messages in her book, FOREVER OURS. ... read full bio
Doctors Without Borders/Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971. Today, MSF provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. MSF provides independent, impartial assistance to... read full bio
With her groundbreaking What Do We Tell Our Children" essays, Adams deepens her commitment to improving the lives of children. Emmy Award-winning journalist, historian, producer, and publisher, Janus Adams is the author of nine books and creator of the award-winning BackPax children's book-and-audio series. Her commentaries are featured on NPR, and her syndicated column is beginning its fourteenth year. Adams... read full bio
A dreamer, visionary, and grassroots realist, Ms. Avery combines activism and social responsibility by developing a national forum for the exploration of health issues of African-American women. By gathering and documenting African-American women's health experiences she is providing a supportive atmosphere for African-American women. Prior to her entry into the health care arena, Ms. Avery taught special education to emotionally... read full bio
Bob Abrames is one of the 'originals' who built Sunquest Vacations, one of North America's largest tour operators, into the giant it is today. He's an expert on leadership, aptitude assessment, service, sales and personal marketing. Bob has directed seven successful businesses, authored ten business books and 300 business articles. He has done business in 76 countries on six continents,... read full bio
David L. Smith is a noted historian of the Early Modern period of British history, particularly political, constitutional, legal and religious history in the Stuart period. He is the author or co-author of eight books, and the editor or co-editor of four others. In 1991 he won the Royal Historical Society's Alexander Prize, and Cambridge University's Thirlwall Prize for historical... read full bio
Judy George is an entrepreneur, author, leading businesswoman, and a recognized expert in the home furnishings industry. Best known for introducing fashionable lifestyle furnishings in award winning retail formats, Judy George broke new ground in the home furnishings industry and forever changed the way women shop for furniture. The early success of her cutting- edge business model, Domain Home was... read full bio
Daniel Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange Splot. His collections of NPR essays (most notably Fish Whistle) explain that many... read full bio
Holly Clegg has offered expert advice on quick, flavorful and healthy eating for nearly 20 years through her best-selling trim&TERRIFIC cookbook series. Consisting of 14 books to-date, the trim&TERRIFIC series includes the newly released women’s lifestyle cookbook Too Hot in the Kitchen: Secrets to Sizzle at Any Age, in addition to the specialized trim&TERRIFIC Diabetic Cooking and Eating Well Through... read full bio
Chris Burke has become best known for his character Charles Corky" Thatcher on the television series Life Goes On. Burke has Down Syndrome, and his parents were told to institutionalize him when he was born, but they decided to raise him at home and nurture his talents. He was encouraged to follow his career objectives no matter how untraditional they... read full bio
Howie Seago manages the Shared Reading Video Outreach Project (SRVOP) which uses videoconferencing technology to encourage deaf and hard of hearing children to become interested in reading and to train their parents and teachers in how to read storybooks in sign language. Howie has a B.A. in Psychology and has acted/taught/directed in the performing arts for over 24 years. He... read full bio
Kevin Saunders is a survivor of the 1981-grain elevator explosion in Corpus Christi, Texas, which left 10 co-workers dead. Hurled over 300 feet by the massive explosion, he suffered a broken back, collapsed lungs, and massive internal injuries. When he awoke from his coma, he discovered himself paralyzed from the chest down. Few believed he would survive. Confronted with tremendous... read full bio
Girard Sagmiller is an author, trainer and speaker on the topic of dyslexia and the negative perceptions surrounding the disability. Sagmiller gives his audience a comprehensive presentation that details not only his own experiences, but also his own innovative techniques and skills used to overcome dyslexia. Through his strong passion and need to help he has become an activist and... read full bio
Chris Fonseca has done stand-up on the tube, The Late Show with David Letterman, Arsenio, SHOWTIMEs Latino Laugh Festival, among other shows. Despite being born with Cerebral Palsy, Fonseca has no chip on his shoulder. He sees himself as did the Montreal Gazzette, as a comedian who happens to have Cerebral Palsy. Among various charitable efforts, in 1998 Chris established... read full bio
The life of Alvin Law could easily have become a tragic story, but it didn't turn out that way. Born without arms, and given up by his birth family, Alvin, today, is a successful professional speaker, living proof that out of nothing, and with the right combination of Attitude, Learning, Value of self, Imagination and Never giving up, the impossible... read full bio
Holly Hughes started her career as a performance artist alongside Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver. In 1990 Hughes earned national attention as one of the so-called NEA Four, artists whose funding from the National Endowment for the Arts was vetoed. It has been argued that she is influenced by Sam Shepard. In 2010, Holly Hughes received a Guggenheim Fellowship. She... read full bio
Jackie Mayer is a former Miss Ohio and Miss America and currently travels the United States as a motivational speaker, noted for her recovery from a near-fatal stroke suffered at age 28. For over 20 years, Mayer has dedicated her life to assisting stroke survivors and their families. She speaks to dozens of schools, colleges and corporations each year. She... read full bio
