Don Wright, who holds a Master's of Education in Counselling Psychology, is the Founder and Executive Director of B. C. Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse. This is the first agency in Canada mandated to provide recovery options for males who were victims of childhood sexual abuse, recent sexual assault or domestic violence.
Over the years, Don has acted as a mentor and guide to the other new organizations across Canada that have subsequently been established. Also, a former student, then staff therapist, moved to Japan, his home country, to establish the first agency in that country for male survivors. Don has provided consultation to similar organizations in Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia. He has also provided consultation to the Provincial and Federal governments regarding victims' issues.
In addition to his administrative duties, Don supervises practicum students who have come to BCSMSSA from universities in eight countries. Don is also responsible for providing all of the agency's conference and training seminars across Canada and the US.
He also maintains a case load of individual and group therapy clients. In his words “This is what the agency is all about and I don't want to lose sight of that”.
In 2001, the B. C. Human Rights commission awarded Don the B.C. Human Right Medal of Honour for his pioneering work in this field.
Fran Siederer Bio
I’m a sixty something year-old wife of my wonderful husband Marty (34 yrs.), a calligrapher for over 30 years, and mother of three wonderful children – Dave (32), Emily (26) and Ariel (22).
My story is about our second child Emily. My pregnancy and her birth and the months and years of struggle that followed have all been worth every minute of our time, love, effort and positive attitudes. She has grown into an amazing young woman. I mean to speak of the journey we have been on for these 26+ years, especially the pregnancy that I chose to continue with, even though my doctor was not very encouraging.
Love, the support of so many people around the world, positive attitudes, and real efforts to get through, and also help Emily through, difficult times have strengthened both our marriage and our belief in the power of love.
We have been fortunate to have a huge support system – loving family, wonderful friends, and even strangers who heard of our trials during my pregnancy and Emily’s years since. The journey continues.
Emily Siederer Bio
When I was born at 25 weeks, and a very low birth weight, the doctors said I wouldn’t live.
When I did, they said I wouldn’t function properly. I challenged them. They also said I wouldn’t walk. I didn’t walk, I danced.
At age 2 I began ballet, got along with people very easily, did well in dance class. Then reality hit. The “nice girl” was too nice, too much of a pushover.
At age 10 I began puberty, I gained weight and was shunned by all my peers. My friends didn’t want to play with me anymore, shows you how cruel children can be.
I then began to take on different “characters”. At age 12 I was a cheerleader, at age 14 I was a Wiccan, at age 16 I was an anorexic, at 17 I was a bulimic, by age 18 all I was, was an eating disorder. It had taken over, kept me stuck at age 16.
By age 18 (which I don’t even remember most of) I was bingeing, purging, restricting, over-exercising, blacking out when I stood up, and I wasn’t even underweight.
At age 19, I went for help, I went to outpatient treatment. I encouraged others in group therapy. I completed all my meals, but I was not filling out my food journal for my nutritionist. Consequently I was kicked out.
I stayed with my therapist from treatment, who is basically the only reason I am staying in recovery. She believed in me. Sometimes all it takes is that one person who you really connect with to make you believe in yourself.
I am now 26 years old and am at a job I love in fashion, my favorite activities include shopping, watching Netflix, hanging out with my friends, or just cuddling with my dog.
Christine Ha is the first ever blind contestant and season 3 winner of the competitive amateur cooking television show, MasterChef USA on FOX, with Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot, and Joe Bastianich. She defeated over 30,000 home cooks across America to secure the coveted MasterChef title, a $250,000 cash prize, and a cookbook deal.
“The lady has an extraordinary palate, a palate of incredible finesse. She picks up hot ingredients, touches them, and she thinks about this image on the plate. She has the most disciplined execution on a plate that we’ve ever seen. But the palate is where it’s just extraordinary. And honestly, I know chefs with Michelin stars that don’t have palates like hers.” –Chef Gordon Ramsay, MasterChef judge
Christine also has a Master of Fine Arts from University of Houston’s nationally acclaimed Creative Writing Program. During her time there, she served as Fiction Editor for Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts. She is currently working on a memoir.
Christine’s first cookbook, Recipes From My Home Kitchen: Asian and American Comfort Food (Rodale, 2013), was a New York Times best-seller. She has been featured on NPR and the BBC; made guest appearances on “MasterChef” Vietnam; and travels around the globe to give inspiring keynote addresses and cooking demonstrations, including a TEDx talk at University of California, San Diego, in May 2015. Her latest foray into television is a Canadian cooking show on AMI called Four Senses (Varner Productions), on which she is a co-host with Carl Heinrich, season 2 winner of “Top Chef” Canada. “Four Senses aims to encourage visually impaired individuals to get cooking in the kitchen and will begin production of its third season this fall.
Christine received the 2014 Helen Keller Personal Achievement Award from the American Foundation for the Blind, a recognition formerly bestowed upon Ray Charles, Patty Duke, and Stevie Wonder among others. Christine resides with her husband and two dogs in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Harriet Lerner is an author, speaker and psychologist. Dr. Lerner is one of the world's most respected voices in the psychology of women and family relationships. She is the author of 11 books published in 35 languages including The Dance of Anger, a New York Times bestseller that has helped rescue men and women from the swamps and quicksands of difficult relationships. The Dance of Anger can be found on Amazon at this link:
Dr. Lerner is a sought-after speaker for both professional and popular audiences. She is a dynamic presenter who has made numerous media appearances including Oprah, CNN, and NPR.
Laura is a Intuitive Astrologist, Global Alchemist, Cosmic Mythologist and is the great-granddaughter of Dwight David Eisenhower. She is on a profound mission to reveal our true origins connected with the 'Magdalene' and 'Gaia-Sophia' energies of love and wisdom and works to liberate us from the Military Industrial Complex, the Archonic systems and false power structures.. These forces connect many dots that are coming into our awareness, now more than ever, as our solar system aligns with the Galactic plane in 2011-2012.
While residing and traveling independently in over 20 cities in the U.S. and abroad, she developed an excellent knowledge base in frontier health, Exopolitics, alchemy, metaphysics and ancient history, and also has degrees and certifications in science, wilderness expedition leadership, natural healing and building. She has masterfully woven together the esoteric and alchemical aspects of nature with our ancient roots, hidden history, the present world, and our future potential.
She is also a Whistleblower and has been speaking out about being recruited to go to a Colony on Mars that represented a time-line that she refused to go along with. She has been able to uncover some necessary truths and agendas that humanity is being kept in the dark about and lectures and does workshops on these issues along with topics such as Global Alchemy, Christ-Sophia, Sacred Union, ET races, Esoteric Cosmology, the Positive Time-line and seeks to empower the individual so that harmony can be restored.
For more than 15 years, she has been providing clairvoyant readings and transformative healings for individuals with the assistance of many divination tools and astrology. Focusing on chakra systems, Laura has advised on topics such as soulpath, abduction, mind-control, core issues, relationships, past lives and physical ailments. She has been strategizing to solve the roots of major world problems including epidemics, war, environmental degradation and injustices that have been a result of the misuses of power of the shadow government. She also covers hidden agendas connected to ET races and the exile of the Divine Feminine energies.
Going through an intense World Soul journey of the labyrinth, Laura has discovered an ability to open a Natural stargate by co-creating with the Venus transits and weaving through the multi-dimensions of the higher and lower worlds. Clearing portals and moving past gatekeepers, Laura works to free us from the 3-D holographic time-loop and guide us back to the Pleroma, the totality of divine powers. With great passion and courage, she is helping to return Sacred Union, divine wisdom, and the many faces of the Goddess that have been buried and forgotten for thousands of years.
Belle Dessa represents Great Plains Earth Institute in Wichita, Kansas. GPEI is an environmental education program that seeks spiritually integrated solutions to ecological challenges through transformational experiences.
As a community catalyst and change agent, Great Plains Earth Institute provides innovative programs that empower individuals and groups to take care of Earth. Programs emphasize individual responsibility as well as the importance of a supportive community, offer action-oriented educational, spiritual and creative forums for rediscovering our interconnectedness to all living things, and provide access tools and resources for individual and cultural change.
Billy Sherwood created this concept album based on a lost soul that is reincarnated into various periods of history. "I was inspired by the notion that General Patton believed he was reincarnated on various battlefields through time; I wanted to take that concept even further." As the songwriter/producer, Billy placed the citizen character into significant moments of history.
The lead off track is called “The Citizen" which sets the stage for what's to come on the recording. “The Citizen” features Billy's longtime friends and members of the legendary Progressive Rock band Yes: bassist Chris Squire and former Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye.
Billy has written all the music and production is now in full swing. Guest artists joining Billy in this journey through music, time and space include:
1 John Wetton (Asia [Original Asia])
2 Rick Wakeman Music (Yes)
3 Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater)
4 Tony Kaye (Yes)
5 Geoff Downes (Yes, Asia)
6 Chris Squire (Yes)
7 Steve Hackett (Genesis)
8 Jerry Goodman (The Mahavishnu Orchestra)
9 Steve Morse (Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs)
10 Steve Hillage (Gong)
11 Patrick Moraz (Yes)
12 John Wesley (Porcupine Tree)
Billy Sherwood was born in Las Vegas Nevada and into a showbiz family of talented musicians. His father was big band leader/musician/actor Bobby Sherwood -his mother Phyllis was a singer and a drummer and his brother Michael a singer and keyboardist. Now if that hadn’t convinced anyone that they were indeed a showbiz family how about the fact that his Godfather was legendary comedian Milton Berle.