Leading Conversations

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Jerilyn Brusseau, a cook, baker, restaurateur, businesswoman, humanitarian and cultural diplomat. She is founder of PeaceTable and co-founder of PeaceTrees Vietnam. Her story begins in her grandmother’s kitchen and takes her globetrotting in the spirit of peace and diplomacy. Jerilyn passionately advocates warm-hearted, soul-connected food as the most common language spoken around the world. She founded PeaceTable to create shared culinary experiences between people of the United States and the former Soviet Republics as a tool for building cultural understanding. Her citizen diplomacy did not stop there. In 1995, she co-founded PeaceTrees Vietnam, a humanitarian organization that sponsors the removal of land mines and sends volunteers to plant trees and build homes in their place. To date, there have been 13,000 bombs removed and 32,000 trees planted. Jerilyn can imagine…all the people…living life in peace… Join us for a beautiful conversation!

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Dr. Luh Ketut Suryani, M.D., Ph.D. a renowned Balinese healer, highly acclaimed western-trained psychiatrist and a leader in bridging indigenous Balinese knowledge and values with the western world. Founder of Suryani Institute for Mental Health, much of her work focuses on the challenges of the children of Bali. Dr. Suryani has authored numerous books on Balinese culture and spiritual practices, hosts her own television show on women’s issues, offers weekly community meditation gatherings, and speaks about cultural issues impacting her beloved Bali. Join us as Dr. Suryani shares her insight into the growing problem the youth of Bali face as they try to blend the world of you-tube and MTV with life in paradise.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Debbie Ford, a New York Times #1 bestselling author of The Dark Side of the Light Chasers; The Secret of the Shadow; and The Best Year of your Life: Dream It, Plan It, Live It. Known for her groundbreaking work, the Shadow Process, and founder of The Ford Institute for Integrative Coaching at JFK University, Debbie is committed to the evolution of human consciousness. Her work is based on the core belief that outer transformation occurs when we experience an internal shift in perception. Join the conversation to learn how to transform the issues that keep you from moving forward in your leadership and your life.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Riane Eisler, bestselling author of The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics; The Chalice & the Blade and The Power of Partnership. Riane’s story begins in Austria, where as a small child she and her family had to flee from the Nazis. This trauma could have destroyed her. Instead, it led to her quest to understand why horrible things like the Holocaust can happen–and what we can do so they do not happen again. She is an eminent social scientist, attorney, author, and social activist and set out to show that “caring pays - in dollars and cents.” Riane proposes a new approach to economics that gives visibility and value to the most essential human work: the work of caring for people and nature. Jeffrey Hollender, president of Seventh Generation Inc., says of The Real Wealth of Nations: “This book should be mandatory reading for every CEO, every economist, every government official, every student, and every citizen of our world.”

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Juanita Brown, Ph.D., co-author of the award-winning book, The World Café: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter. Juanita is the co-originator of an innovative approach to large group dialogue coined The World Café. She creates powerful dialogue forums with business, government, and nonprofit leaders internationally. “The collective holds the wisdom,” she says, and “gold lies in discovering the big questions.” Join us to discover how “conversational leadership” is shaping the successful future of our 21st century world and beyond.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes C. Otto Scharmer, Ph.D., author of Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges, and Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations and Society, co-authored with Peter Senge, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers. Otto is Senior Lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and founding chair of Presencing Institute. A blend of the words “presence” and “sensing,” presencing signifies a heightened state of attention allowing individuals and groups to shift the inner place from which they function. “The trouble is that most leaders are unable to recognize, let alone change, the structural habits of attention used in their organization. Being able to facilitate this shift is the essence of leadership today.” Join us as Otto helps us understand how to find the blind spots in order to transform them and develop the seven capacities of successful leadership in our ever-changing world.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Betty Sue Flowers, Ph.D., poet, editor, educator, business consultant and Director of the LBJ Presidential Library. She is co-author of the book Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society. As opportunity goes global, is a new story of leadership emerging? Can we shape the future by shaping the story? Betty Sue challenges leaders to sense and help actualize emerging futures in part by using spiritual disciplines as tools. Be part of this important conversation as we explore the new story of leadership.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes John P. Milton a pioneering ecologist, spiritual teacher, meditation master, vision quest leader and corporate shaman. How can listening to our inner nature reveal the future? Join our conversation as we explore the importance of self-awareness in leadership. John shares his process of guiding global leaders into an encounter with nature that allows them to find a deeper purpose and unleash the creativity needed to live that purpose.

Cheryl welcomes Angeles Arrien, Ph.D. a cultural anthropologist, educator, corporate consultant and author. What can business learn from the ancient cultures? Angeles shares how indigenous wisdoms are relevant to global leadership today.

Cheryl Esposito welcomes Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Ph.D. co-founder & President of Strozzi Institute, author of several books including In Search of the Warrior Spirit and The Leadership Dojo to be released this year. Richard crosses borders and boundaries in war zones and boardrooms to teach global leaders that the mind and the body are inextricably linked: to develop one, you must cultivate the other. Can embodied leadership change the direction of business and the future of the world? How does a warrior lead with heart and meaning? Join this inspiring conversation of courageous action and commitment to making the world a better place.