Kelly Shelstad has more than 16 years' experience working with youth in the classroom and in wilderness settings with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in Environmental Education. She has been teaching at Siskiyou School, a Waldorf school in Ashland, Oregon. With 3 other adults, she has sailed 1000 miles in open water from Fiji to New Zealand in a 39-foot boat. And has also co-created a four-day, three-night camp for girls based on the principles of self-awareness, expression, and connection in a wilderness setting through the Rose Circle Mentoring Network. • Tom Shelstad has a background in teaching in both public and private schools. He has worked in wilderness therapy, juvenile corrections organizations as well as personal and athletic coaching. He has run leadership development programs for teens and is a faculty member at Southern Oregon University. He is the founder and director of Inner Guide Expeditions. • Kelly and Tom Shelstad co-lead and create transformational experiences for youth in their organization, known as Inner Guide Expeditions.

Tags: Kelly Shelstad, Tom Shelstad, Kelly and Tom Shelstad, backpacking, wilderness, teenagers,  Ecology, Nature, Environment, Personal Transformation, Relationship, Partnership, Sexuality, Travel

Terry Tempest Williams is a naturalist, environmentalist, and award-winning author. In 2014, on the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act, Ms. Williams received the Sierra Club’s John Muir Award honoring a distinguished record of leadership in American conservation. She is currently the Annie Clark Tanner Scholar in Environmental Humanities at the University of Utah.

Tags: Terry Tempest Williams, National Parks, sacred lands, mountain lion, Big Bend National Park, Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park, Grizzly bear, wolves, Yellowstone, keystone species, public lands, public commons, Ecology, Nature, Environment, History, Social Change, Politics, Animals, Travel

Stephen Dinan is a social entrepreneur, visionary political strategist, and founder and CEO of The Shift Network. He is the author of:  Radical Spirit: Spiritual Writings from the Voices of Tomorrow (New World Library 2002) and Sacred America, Sacred World: Fulfilling Our Mission in Service to All (Hampton Roads 2016)
Tags: Stephen Dinan, transpartisan, democracy, progressives, conservatives, political polarization, Citizens United, political fundraising, Wolf PAC, Cenk Uygur, constitutional amendment, upgrading democracy, United Nations, Barbara Marx Hubbard, planetary nervous system, internet, www.Kiva.org, Social Change, Politics, History

Stephen Jenkinson is an activist, teacher, author, and farmer. He has a master’s degree in theology from Harvard University and a master’s degree in social work. He was formerly a program director at a major Canadian hospital and medical-school assistant professor. He has worked extensively with dying people and their families and is a consultant to palliative care and hospice organizations. He is the founder of the Orphan Wisdom School in Canada and is the subject of the documentary film, Griefwalker. He  is the author of: Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul (North Atlantic Books 2015)
Tags:  Stephen Jenkinson, writing a letter to your mother, encounter with dying, heartbrokenness, Brother Blue, Hugh Hill, initiation, Death & Dying, Indigenous Wisdom

Jacob Needleman, Ph.D. is a professor of philosophy at San Francisco State University and former director of the Center for the Study of New Religions at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He has also served as a research associate at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. 

Tags: Jacob Needleman, silence, awareness, presence, meaningful, questions, happiness, Gurdjieff, attention, Philosophy, Personal Transformation, Spirituality

Father Francis Tiso holds a Master of Divinity degree from Have University, and a doctorate from Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary where his specialization was Buddhist studies. He was Associated Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic bishops from 2004 to 2009, where he served as liaison to Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Sikhs, and Traditions religions as well as the Reformed confessions.He  is the author of: Liberation in One Lifetime (North Atlantic Books 2014) and Rainbow body and Resurrection: Spiritual Attainment, the Dissolution of the Material Body, and the Case of Khenpo A Chö (North Atlantic Books 2016)
Tags:  Francis Tiso, Interreligious dialogues, Berlin Wall, refugee migration, meaningful work, religious education, diversity, Eco diversity, religious diversity, Religion, Spirituality, 

Leslie Shore has worked in the retail industry and personal management fields as well as being a professor and instructional designer where she has gained much wisdom in what it takes to be an effective listener. She is the owner of “Listen to Succeed,” a consultancy that focuses on using listening analytics to help personal and professional clients achieve their highest level of effective communication. Her book is currently being used as a text book in several universities.

Tags: Leslie Shore, barriers to listening, emotions, interrupting, attention, daydreaming, being present, emotional IQ, body language, eye contact, Personal Transformation, Self Help

Kira Asatryan is a certified relationship coach who provides individual life coaching, relationship coaching, conflict mediation, and couples’ coaching. Before becoming a relationship coach, she was director of performance marketing for prominent Silicon Valley technology start-ups and cofounded an online marketing consultancy. She lives in San Francisco, and is the author of: Stop Being Lonely: Three Simple Steps to Developing Close Friendships and Deep Relationships (New World Library 2016).
Tags: Kira Asatryan, depression, anxiety, loneliness, isolation, friendship, affection, support, respect, appreciation, encouragement, comfort,  conversation, communication, Relationships, Psychology, Personal Transformation, Self Help

Debra Silverman holds a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and has specialized in helping thousands of individuals achieve emotional health and wisdom based on their unique personality and the four elements of water, air, earth, and fire. She combines this work with her expertise in Soul-Centered Astrology. She is a host of an on-line radio program “Tell me a Story.” She works on an individual basis as well as with groups, and is the author of The Missing Element: Inspiring Compassion for the Human Condition (Findhorn Press 2016).

Tags: Debra Silverman, personality, water people, air people, fire people, earth people, four elements, fire element, air element, water element, earth element, missing element, shame,  Psychology, Self Help, Spirituality, Relationship, Partnership, Sexuality

David Gibson is a leader in the field of sound healing and therapy. He’s the founder and director of the Globe Sound and Consciousness Institute in San Francisco which offers an Associates degree in sound healing therapy. He is also the producer of sound healing music and runs the sound therapy center at the Institute offering different types of sound healing treatments. He is a founder of the Sound Healing Research Association, which is designed to help bring sound healing into the mainstream, and is the author of The Complete Guide To Sound Healing (Sound Healing Center, 2013)

Tags: David Gibson, sound, sound healing, pain, disease, frequency, ultrasound, anxiety, grief, grieving, emotion, emotions, crystal bowls, Tibetan bowls, vibration, white noise, Health & Healing, music, science