Michael B. Koep as an Inland Northwest "Renaissance Man.” An avid world traveler, educator, accomplished visual artist, award winning poet and a touring rock musician, Michael’s spirit is imbued in the arts.  The Invasion of Heaven is his fiction debut. He lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho with his wife and son.

J. Damian Birkel is a Certified Career Counselor and the Founder of Professionals In Transition ® Support Group, Inc. (PIT®), a national non-profit organization founded in 1992 to assist downsized employees.

His latest book,The Job Search Checklist, Everything You Need to Know to Get Back to Work After a Layoff (as told to Linda Speaks) will be published this Fall by the Ameican Management Association's AMACOM Book Division.

Nationally recognized for its unique program, Professionals In Transition®) has been highlighted in numerous printed and electronic publications including the CNN, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Fortune, NPR, Parade Magazine, and many others.

He is a recipient of the Jefferson Award for "Outstanding Public Service Benefiting the Local Community." The award has honored nationally recognized history makers, side by side with grassroots "unsung heroes" and include: Barbara Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Oprah Winfrey.

Having lost a job as a result of downsizing and survived three company reorganizations, Birkel established PIT to create "safe space" where members could discuss the issues surrounding unemployment. He has written widely about career topics in numerous publications and is the co-author of Career Bounce-Back!, and the Career Bounce-Back Workbook..

Prior to joining Forsyth Tech, Birkel built a successful career in marketing management over a 22-year period with leading Fortune 500 corporations, including Sara Lee Corporation, Dillard's Department Stores (Higbee's) and Macy's (The May Company Cleveland).

He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Cleveland State University and was the graduate assistant of Dr. John P. Wilson, PhD. (one of the world's experts on Post Delayed Stress Syndrome and war trauma).

Specialties:Career Counseling, Public Speaking, Seminars, Group Facilitation, Non-profit Management, Marketing, Product Development, Publishing. Author and National Employment Expert Commentary (Television, Radio, Newspaper and Internet).

Jim Harold is America’s most popular paranormal podcast host.  With his two free programs, The Paranormal Podcast and Jim Harold’s Campfire, Jim has developed a loyal following that spans the globe. As a result, he has also become a published author with his New Page Books release Jim Harold’s Campfire: True Ghost Stories in 2011.  In 2013, Jim released a sequel: True Ghost Stories: Jim Harold’s Campfire 2

This latest release is currently (as of October 2013), the #1 Supernatural Best Seller on Kindle.

In 2005, Jim created The Paranormal Podcast.  After over a decade of working on the business side of media, Jim decided it was time to dust off his broadcast training and step back behind the mic.  A life long interest in the paranormal, combined with his love of broadcasting and technology, resulted in some the most successful podcasts of their type to date. Jim has worked in radio, business to business media and has written, hosted and produced award winning video programming over the course of his career.

He holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Communication Theory and Methodology and is accredited as a Certified Digital Media Consultant by the Radio Advertising Bureau.  Jim has also had the opportunity to teach at the university level.

Jim’s free podcasts are regularly among the top Podcasts on iTunes in their respective categories competing with mainstream media publishers such as NPR and many others.   Jim lives in Ohio with his fantastic wife and (two) daughters. He is incredibly thankful for them and his loyal audience.

All too often, organizations implementing operational excellence (OE) do so without addressing the human and cultural implications of such a change strategy. They conduct studies, move equipment, reduce work in process, collocate employees and change measurement systems, all focusing on minimizing waste and improving the flow of value through the value stream, but they overlook the human impact of these changes, the mindset and belief system that must accompany it. As a result, they find themselves “reworking” the initiative, an unfortunate and wasteful irony. Be it manufacturing, service, administration or product development, the result is the same. Without clear understanding, buy-in and commitment, the initiative does not lead to sustained culture change. It simply fades into history as another “flavor of the month.”

Recognized as an international expert on leading culture change, John Murphy helps organizations address this issue head on. The author of 15 books on related topics, and a guest on over 400 radio and television stations, Murphy teaches leaders worldwide how to integrate the culture piece (of OE) with the systems, structural, and “tools” components. Approaching the change process with an integrated strategy leads to powerful, measurable, sustainable results.

Susan B. Martinez, Ph.D., is a writer, linguist, teacher, paranormal researcher, and recognized authority on the Oahspe Bible with a doctorate in anthropology from Columbia University. The author of 3 books, including Time of the Quickening, she is the book review editor for the Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies

Ronna Prince, Founder, Modern Mastery™, Global Wholeness Corp, Intuitive Counselor, Coach, Workshop Leader and Inspirational Speaker

RonnaRonna Prince is the writer and producer of Sacred Journey of the Heart, a film about the science and spirit of our connection. She is also an intuitive counselor and coach, a guide to sacred sites around the world and a songwriter. Ronna created a step-by-step personal growth process that she trademarked as Modern Mastery™. She guides clients through the process of transition and creating a new reality that aligns with each person’s unique talents and dreams.

Ronna presents workshops throughout the US on topics of spirituality and conscious change-creation. She is a certified Radical Forgiveness Coach, an aura-soma practitioner and a licensed teacher of the Institute of HeartMath™ tools and techniques. Ronna’s goal with the film, Sacred Journey of the Heart, is to encourage viewers to “dive in” and to make the connection to their hearts and to the hearts of all.  We are connected and the place of connection is the heart.

The film is part of a larger project that Ronna envisioned in 2005 entitled “Global Wholeness.” Global Wholeness Corp is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to bring healing and wholeness to oneself, our communities and the whole earth through the power of love. Global Wholeness supports projects that bring healing and wholeness to communities through charitable giving.

Heidi Barham thinks of hospices as being much more than simply places where people go to die. By her accounting, they can prove life-enhancing for patients who might no longer benefit from medical intervention, providing them with art therapy, music therapy, spiritual consultation and a chance to leave a legacy perhaps in the form of a video that shows them playing the piano.

Ms. Barham, chair of African American Outreach Committee for the Hospice of the Western Reserve, is working alongside other members of that committee to spread that message at health fairs and other similar events. She realizes that it might take quite a while for that message to have its full impact. But she is pleased that increasingly more African Americans are utilizing the hospices where she works. And she is also encouraged when she receives calls from people, some of the prominent, who had previously spoken against hospice care but have changed their attitude when they saw home much it benefitted a loved one.

Bullying was once considered nothing more than a normal part of childhood, something that children must simply learn to tolerate. But Linda Culbreth is working to help people understand that bullying is a more serious matter than is commonly assumed, having the potential to scare people for life. And more to the point, she maintains that it does not have to happen.

She has spread this message through her book best selling book, Bullies + Teen Dating = Bullying, and by developing an anti-bullying program that involves teens, parents and educators. Linda has also spoken to thousands of people throughout the country about these matters.