I Share Hope: Chris Williams

Author of seven books about rational living, including "When Everything Fails, Try This" (2009), "Rationality Is the Way to Happiness" (2009), "The Philosophy of Builders: How to Build a Great Future with the Pieces from Your Past" (2010), "The 10 Principles of Rational Living" (2012), "Rational Living, Rational Working: How to Make Winning Moves When Things Are Falling Apart" (2013), "Consistency: The Key to Permanent Stress Relief" (2014), and "On Becoming Unbreakable: How Normal People Become Extraordinarily Self-Confident" (2015).

Dada Gunamuktananda has been a yogic monk and meditation teacher since 1995 and have taught meditation in Australasia, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, the Far East and North America. He practices and teaches the system of life known as yoga or tantra, the core practice of which is meditation. Meditation is about finding the essence of yourself within yourself and realising that essence as the inner self of all beings and the entire universe. This he believes will lead to the greatest happiness and fulfilment for everyone and the whole society, and that's why his mission is to teach meditation to as many people as possible.

Started being a Recovery Educator in April 2009, but since April 2004,She have facilitated PSR classes in W.R.A.P., Self-Advocacy, Healthy Grieving, Understanding Bipolar Disorder, Ready for Change, Stress Management, Expressive Writing/Poetry, Expressive Arts, and various Pre-Vocational Classes at the DuPage County Health Department (DCHD). Her classes average 6-12 students, so each gets individualized attention, and the opportunity to express their points of view. She has witnessed much growth in many people during that period of time. She has also mentored some of my peers to lead classes on their own, e.g. Basic Drawing, Theater, and Arts & Crafts. In February 2010, She was promoted to a PSR Specialist. She believes she has a talent sharing her knowledge and experiences so that others may learn and benefit from them.

An ambassador for the arts, am President of The Awakenings Project, where she has curated, organized exhibits, and written grants for this internationally recognized organization for the past 20 years. She worked full-time for nearly 20 years with Bell Laboratories, now Alcatel-Lucent, while living with and openly speaking about her bipolar disorder. While working full-time, She finished her B.S. degree, majoring in Computer Science, and graduated in 1986, Magna Cum Laude, from North Central College.

She respects diversity and individual differences, and is open to learning more about all cultures. She speaks German, Spanish, and am proficient in American Sign Language. She was one of four illustrators of a children’s book entitled, “Coffee, Cream and In Between.” She has been prominently featured in several videos and articles produced by various media organizations, describing The Awakenings Project. She also maintains our website: www.awakeningsproject.org and have done so for several years.

She believes she is an effective communicator, both individually and in groups. She has spoken publicly about Awakenings and about mental illnesses for many years. She loves my job, my volunteer work for Awakenings, and she loves people. I continue to do much public speaking about recovery. I believe I am a beacon of hope and encouragement for the people who receive services at DCHD, for Awakenings artists, for the general public, and she also learns a lot from everyone I come in contact with.

Bjørn Ihler is a Norwegian activist, writer, designer, and filmmaker working across mediums to promote peace and human rights in defiance of violent extremism. A survivor of the 2011 attack on Utøya Island in Norway, Ihler works to promote an understanding of the influence design, narratives, and storytelling has on culture and how narratives can be transformed to build more peaceful societies. Ihler graduated from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts in 2013 and is currently pursuing a master’s in Peace and Conflict Studies at Hacettepe University.

Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant, inhabits the worlds of administration, academics, and arts; straddling them with equal ease.

Celebrated as one of India’s most eminent and renowned classical dancer, choreographer and dance scholar, Ananda’s artistic body of work ,spans mythologies and abstraction, historical chronicles and women studies, poetry and abstraction, philosophy and humour.

As the Artistic Director of Shankarananda Kalakshetra, Ananda, leads an acclaimed ensemble, besides training and presenting the next generation of Bharatanatyam artists.

For her contribution to the field of classical art, she was conferred the "Padma Shri" (India’s 4th highest civilian award) in 2007 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar (India’s apex cultural body) for Bharatanatyam in 2009.

Ananda is a sought after motivational speaker and actively engages with young India on a wide range of topics, at leading corporate entities, leadership programs, hospitals, universities and schools. A TED speaker in 2009, her TED talk after her tryst with Cancer has been ranked as one of 12 Incredible TED talks on the subject. In January 2015, the Huffington Post ranked Ananda’s TED talk, as one of five greatest TED talks by Indians.

Another rare honour was a recent invitation to speak at the Harvard Business School for the Inspire Series of the India Conference at Harvard   

Ananda is an officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service and is currently posted at the Centre for Railway Information Systems, in Hyderabad, India.

Paul was branded as a “naughty child” at school. He was classically autistic in his early years and gained functional speech around the age of 7 or 8 years old. He went through mainstream school with no additional help or recognition of his autism. Consequently, he did not achieve his academic or his social potential and had very low self-esteem.

After a string of unsuccessful jobs, Paul’s mental health suffered. He was referred to mental health services and misdiagnosed with “Asperger traits with a complex personality”, which did not satisfy Paul was diagnosed by an experienced psychiatrist, who diagnosed him with High Functioning Autism at 24 years old.

Paul wanted to promote autism awareness and help others on the autism spectrum, in the hope that others would not have to suffer as he had. He became a speaker for an autism organisation and has not looked back! Presenting speeches, training and conducting consultancy, Paul is now a freelance speaker, trainer and consultant who continues to raise the profile of autism at every opportunity. Having done much research, he is keen to explain the differences between Asperger’s Syndrome & Autism using Autism Consultant Donna William’s (Polly Samuel's) ‘Fruit Salad’ model.

Paul firmly believes in retaining the ASD acronym. He says there should not be a negative stigma around the word ‘disorder’. His message is that Autism is a complex mix of ability and disability and every person with autism (and all people) should be a valued member of society.

Paul in his spare time likes to meetup with friends, create art and write poetry which is both a creative and relaxing output for him.

Kathy Shorr was born in Brooklyn, New York.  Her work is rooted in documentary, portraiture and street photography.  She received her undergraduate degree in photography from the School of Visual Arts and an MS in Education, earned while working as a New York City Teaching Fellow in the public schools in crisis.  Shorr’s work has been shown in galleries in New York City, Houston and Los Angeles, and has been featured at the celebrated Visa pour L’Image Festival in Perpignan, France.  She lives and works in New York City.

Jacob Cramer, at age 15, is the founder and executive director of Love For The Elderly, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that our elders receive the utmost care and compassion in their final and most precious stage of life. A strong advocate for social reform, Jacob has given talks and speeches throughout the globe in his pursuit of inspiring others to break down age-related barriers. Although he is just a high school student, his maturity and compassion proves that he is just the right person to generate positive change. His age shows that anyone can make their mark on the world and strive to inspire others to help people, creating a ripple-type effect. He resides in Cleveland (Ohio) with his loving family.

In 2005, at the age of 36, and only three months after giving birth to a beautiful daughter Lily Rose, Heather Von St. James was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. Upon learning of this life-altering diagnosis, Heather, together with her husband Cameron, embarked upon a search to find the best mesothelioma treatment care available. Their search eventually led them to Dr. David Sugarbaker, a renowned mesothelioma surgeon at the Boston based Brigham and Women's hospital. Dr. Sugarbaker recommended a relatively new surgical procedure called extrapleural pneumonectomy, a groundbreaking treatment option offered through the International Mesothelioma Program. Although there were some risks associated with the procedure, it also carried promise for the best possible outcome. Heather, with full support from her husband and family, agreed to have the surgery.

Today, Heather Von St. James is a ten-year mesothelioma cancer survivor and continues to provide unending inspiration to mesothelioma victims around the globe. She carries out her mission to be a beacon of hope for those afflicted with mesothelioma by sharing her story of faith, love and courage both as a keynote speaker at conferences and through social media forums.

Dean is very passionate about motivating others using his successful struggle for life to empower audiences. He challenges them to dare to dream and believe in themselves with his own life experience as the motivational tool. Dean created his company DMC Motivational over 10 years ago; Since then he has travelled the world speaking with groups and organisations as diverse as Primary School Children to Prime Ministers.

What is so amazing about Dean Clifford you may say?

Simple he is a survivor! Dean was born with Epidermolysis Bullosa which is commonly referred to by the media as Cotton Wool Kid, he was not expected to live past early childhood (5 years) let alone survive and contribute so immensely in the world to date by sharing his story and encouraging as many people as possible to believe in themselves and achieve their dreams.

Dean’s life is one of extreme pain and hardship, yet he has never wavered from his own dreams to be a productive member of the community working and contributing.

Dean’s story is powerful, moving and empowering, an audience is taken on the emotional roller coaster –that is Dean’s life! Dean sharing his story- is life changing and makes one look seriously at life and what we all take for granted. Dean has something unique and special to offer to everyone, from all walks of life and every age group, corporation, or business simply by sharing his story!

Dean motivates, encourages and empowers all who come in contact with him, His Motivational presentations inspire everyone to follow their dreams and believe in themselves the way Dean has throughout his life. You most definitely come away inspired, realising what the power of One can actually achieve.

In 2004 Dean became the first National Ambassador of ACE (Australia’s Disability Employment Services Peak Body). This is a voluntary role helping promote employment awareness to businesses and communities throughout Australia for people with disabilities.

Dean is also the only official Ambassador of the Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club.

Dean is an advocate for DEBRA as mentioned in the opening. This is a voluntary organization to raise awareness for those and their families afflicted with Epidermolysis Bullosa (Cotton Wool Kids). This is a tragic and debilitation disease with no cure, usually containing an early death sentence. Dean has baffled medical science with his sheer will and determination to survive and fight for life. It has been said that few would be able to deal with the intense level of pain that those with Epidermolysis Bullosa have to deal with every single day of their life.

On top of all that Dean is an integral team member for Ken Mills Toyota – Kingaroy and Nambour Dealerships.

And that is just the start of Dean’s incredible life story.