With over 14 years of experience in supporting autistic and neurodivergent individuals and families, I am the Founder and Program Director at IRL Social Skills, a company that offers evidence-based, parent-mediated, and trauma-informed social and communication skills training using current neuroscience-backed nervous system education and UCLA's PEERS curriculum. PEERS is a proven and effective program that helps socially struggling individuals learn how to make and keep friends, gain and retain employment, and develop and sustain romantic relationships.

As a neurodivergent educator who specialized in alternative and augmented communication (AAC) for nonspeaking autistic students and served on autism evaluation teams as a speech-language pathologist, I lead a brilliant and diverse team of professionals who understand first-hand the challenges and opportunities of navigating our strange, sensational social world. I also serve as a member of the Oregon Commission for Autism, where I advocate for representation, resources, and support for the autistic community. My mission is to create a kinder, more inclusive world where everyone can thrive.

David Paul Schafer has worked in the cultural field for more than fifty years as an author, educator, administrator, and advisor.  He was originally trained as an economist and taught the principles of economics, international development, and the history of economic thought at Dalhousie University and Acadia University before entering the cultural field.

Paul was Assistant Director of the Ontario Arts Council from 1967 to 1970, a founder and director of the Graduate Program in Arts Administration at York University from 1970 to 1974, and Coordinator of the Cooperative Programme in Arts Administration and the Cooperative Programme in International Development at the University of Toronto from 1984 to 1990.  He has taught arts administration and cultural policy at several universities in North America, written many articles and books, and undertaken several missions for UNESCO throughout the world, conducted major projects and assignments for Canada’s Department of External Affairs (now Global Affairs Canada), and assisted many other organizations in Canada and other parts of the world.

In 1989, Paul created the World Culture Project which he directs today.  Believing that humanity has only scratched the surface of the rich potential that culture and cultures possess to play a crucial role in the world of the present and the future, development of this project has led to numerous publications on this matter.  Included here are such books as: Culture – Beacon of the Future; Revolution or Renaissance: Making the Transition from an Economic Age to a Cultural Age; The Age of Culture; The Secrets of Culture; The Cultural Personality; Will This Be Canada’s Century?; The True North: How Canadian Creativity Changed the World; Culture and Politics in Canada: Towards a Culture for All Canadians; The Arts: Gateway to a Fulfilling Life and Cultural Age, and The World as Culture: Cultivation of the Soul to the Cosmic Whole published in 2022.

His latest book is The Great Cultural Awakening: Key to an Equitable, Sustainable, and Harmonious Age which was published in January, 2024.  In it, Paul makes the case that humanity should enter a cultural age in the future in order to  come to grips with the life-threatening and dangerous problems that exist in the world today as well as create much more happiness, equality, peace, order, sustainability, and stability in the future.

Paul is deeply committed to the centrality of culture, cultures, the arts, humanities, and creativity in global development and human affairs.

Johanna Beekman is one of a kind. Whether she’s leading a kirtan, performing original music at a concert or festival, or guiding students through a Lullaby Yoga session, she warms hearts with her soulful music and her soaring spirit. Her velvety voice, her creative interpretations of music from various world traditions, her gorgeous original songs, and her open-hearted presence come together to create unforgettable musical experiences.

Johanna wrote her first song when she was 9 and did her first solo performance at 10—a benefit for a children’s charity in which she performed John Lennon’s Imagine. By the time she was 20 she had performed in clubs, coffee houses, colleges, benefit concerts, rallies, festivals, musical theatre, rock and world-beat bands, gospel and women’s community choirs, improvisational acting and singing troupes, and films.

Johanna’s songwriting knows no stylistic boundaries. Her catalog includes heart-opening folk-pop songs, gospel hymns, a cappella anthems, classic soul songs, and jazz-infused love ballads. And these songs haven’t gone unnoticed. One of them, Free to Decide (Breathe), has been performed by several choirs and a cappella groups across the United States and Canada.

But for the last few years she’s been focused mostly on creating original kirtan—sacred music from the traditions of yoga. Many of her kirtan compositions interweave mantras and chants from other cultures with their English translations. Some are unison meditations, some are ecstatic call-and-response jams, and all are paths to a deeper awareness of Source.

In recent years Johanna has been a featured artist and/or singing yoga instructor at major yoga and music festivals across North America. She has collaborated with world-renown musicians and yoga teachers. When she’s not touring she spends time in Oregon doing yoga, singing, and giving back to her community.

Johanna loves singing for yoga classes, including Lullaby Yoga—her one-of-a-kind blend of music and restorative/yin yoga. In Lullaby Yoga, Johanna gently guides participants through a series of relaxing poses while singing and playing soothing songs and chants to them. The music facilitates the process of letting go by providing a luxurious, peaceful space for the mind to rest while the body relaxes, rebalances, and restores itself.

Johanna also provides music for RhythmAsana, a unique, joyous blend of yoga, movement meditation, dance, and global rhythms. For RhythmAsana events, the band’s engaging blend of Johanna originals and traditional music from around the world inspires inner and outer movement.

In 2016 Johanna released Heart Beats One, her fourth CD and her first-ever album of original kirtan music. The album, two years in the making, is a critically-acclaimed collection of Johanna’s soulful and strikingly original interpretations of sacred chants. It features guest appearances by Ben Leinbach, Hans Christian, Benjy Wertheimer, Jaya Lakshmi, Ananda, Gina Sala, Daniel Paul, and other esteemed members of the global kirtan community.

While she was completing her year-long Heart Beats One tour Johanna embarked on a new recording project: a collection of soothing songs for the soul in the spirit of Lullaby Yoga. Working with award-winning producer Ben Leinbach and a handful of gifted sacred music players, she created Beyond Love, an intimate and serene musical experience.

Johanna’s singing has always had a soulful, gospel-like quality. During her teenage years she sang in a gospel choir let by Reverend Isaiah Jones (who toured with the Fifth Dimension before becoming a minister). Mantra Soul, her followup to Beyond Love, bridges the worlds of Eastern kirtan and Western gospel with an irresistible collection of upbeat songs and chants.

During the pandemic Johanna explored a variety of ways to share her practice with others via the Internet. She developed and offered a series of Lullaby Yoga videos and a one-on-one online version of her Free Your Soul’s Voice playshop. She created and hosted One Heart TV, a series of insightful and inspiring interviews with many well-respected members of the yoga and kirtan communities. She made guest Zoom appearances on online programs and virtual church services. And she taught a variety of internet-only classes.

Early in the pandemic she discovered a mantra for healing by a beloved Indian teacher. With his blessings, she transformed that mantra into a beautiful, powerful chant: Mantra Shagha: Health and Healing. She recruited many of the best known and loved kirtan artists in the West to record the chant and make a remarkable music video. Everyone donated their time so that all of the proceeds from sale of the recording could go to support children in Nepal.

Johanna continues to explore new musical avenues in the studio and on the road. Her more recent work includes Heart Beats One: Feel the Heartbeat, an all-English version of her popular song; an electronic remix by Equanimous of her transcendental Om Shanti chant; collaborative singles with Joss Jaffe and with Mikey Palker; and Yoga Soundtrack, Volume 2, a meditative collaboration with long-time producer Ben Leinbach.

Johanna continues to perform and teach at festivals, studios, churches, and other venues across the country. But she’s also become more involved in making those events happen, co-producing Bhakti Love and helping coordinate other festivals. She and Sherrie Howard recently launched their first-ever week-long Sacred Chant and Yoga Retreat in Costa Rica. And Johanna recently became a voting member of the Recording Academy, producers of the Grammy Awards.

As Johanna’s journey continues, her music and her spirit reach more people around the planet. We’re all on this journey together, and our hearts beat as one.

Mikkal Harris, LCPC, a Clinical Division Director, relationship and interpersonal skills coach, and the Founder and Host of “The Blue Room Podcast,” unravels the complexities of these differences that contribute to misunderstandings and tensions between partners. In this thought-provoking conversation, we aim to provide valuable insights and practical strategies for couples striving to cultivate understanding, respect, and harmony in their relationships.

Whether you're navigating the early stages of marriage or seeking to strengthen an existing partnership, this episode offers valuable perspectives and tools for fostering greater connection and intimacy amidst the inherent differences between men and women.

Discover:

• Why critiquing your husband or mate can be heard as "You're trying to be my daddy!"
• Why it’s hard for men to learn from their wives what they should’ve learned from their fathers
• Why we can’t learn from someone that we don’t see ourselves in, don’t identify with
• Why rites of passage into manhood are important to having healthy relationships
• How a lack of healthy role models sets us up for unhealthy relationships
• How your spouse or partner are your mirror – reflecting your values, standards & generational patterns
• Everyone has expectations for marriage but often lack the emotional skills to create their vision
• Are you in love with a fantasy, not the reality of your spouse or mate
• How lack of self-awareness, fantasy, unexpressed expectations, unconscious family blueprints, and making your spouse responsible for your happiness undermine and damage relationships & marriage.
• The importance of adaptation, flexibility, negotiation & accountability to maintain connection and like-mindedness as people change over the course of a marriage.

If you don't want the same thing and aren't going the same place, then what are you doing?! Divorcing! 

Mikkal Harris, LCPC, has more than 15 years of clinical experience, is a Clinical Division Director, a relationship and interpersonal skills coach, and Trauma Trainer who brings healing to men with past trauma. He’s also a dynamic public speaker and the Founder and Host of “The Blue Room Podcast,” where he provides a space for men to heal and to be seen, while challenging them and helping them grow in all areas that matter.

Links

YouTube.com/@moveyourlf

FB: www.facebook.com/mikkal.harris.3

IG: www.instagram.com/mikkalharris

LI: www.linkedin.com/in/mikkal-harris-54aab873/

Andrew Sendejo: From Gritty Safety to Savvy Entrepreneur.

12-year NFL veteran Andrew Sendejo transitioned seamlessly from the gridiron to the boardroom. This San Antonio native defied the odds, rising from an undrafted All-American at Rice to an NFL starter. His journey is a testament to resilience and business acumen.

On the Field: Sendejo’s work ethic propelled him from the UFL to a starting role on the Minnesota Vikings’ record-setting defense (2017).** Off the Field:** He established Dejo Capital, a thriving real estate investment firm.

A Career-Ending Concussion ignited a new passion. Sendejo co-founded BrainTree Nutrition, a research-driven brain health supplement company committed to athlete well-being. BrainTree donates to Alzheimer’s research, reflecting Sendejo’s dedication to the cause.

Beyond Business: Sendejo actively supports Rice Athletics. He secured the first team-wide NIL deal with BrainTree and mentors student-athletes. His philanthropy extends to the Andrew Sendejo Nutrition Center, providing state-of-the-art facilities for Rice athletes.

Sendejo’s entrepreneurial spirit extends to angel investing with 4th & 1 Ventures. He’s a leader both on and off the field, empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Andrew Sendejo’s story is one of grit, vision, and giving back. He’s a role model for aspiring entrepreneurs, proving that success can be built on resilience and purpose.

Piper Hays is an Americana-soul singer/songwriter from Los Angeles.

She began her musical journey overseas while on various adventures through Africa and Europe.  Piper realized the traditional path was not for her, so she packed a backpack and her guitar and started playing on the streets of Spain, Germany, and England to survive while so far away from home.

Her music can be described as soulful Americana music, but Piper herself refers to it as “Astro-Soul” which is a mix of all her various influences including Billie Holiday & Norah Jones to Lead Belly & Led Zeppelin, Shakey Graves and Florence and the Machine and many more.

Her producer Matt Ross-Spang explains that “Piper’s music has moments of cool darkness with a real grown-up groove”. During the pandemic, Piper redirected her path from helping others through music to working directly with people struggling with mental health and substance use disorders which she has been doing for the past 4 years. She is excited to dedicate more time to music and continue helping people wherever she can.

More About Piper Hays at; Instagram: @piperhays www.instagram.com/piperhays/

Lee Rossi is a winner of the Jack Grapes Poetry Prize. He is the author of five poetry books Say Anything (Plain view Press) Darwin’s Garden (Moon Tide Press, 2019), Wheelchair Samurai (Plainview Press, 2011), Ghost Diary (Terrapin Press, 2003) and Beyond Rescue (Bombshelter Press, 1992.

Individual poems have appeared in The Southwest Review, Rattle, Spillway, The Chiron Review,
The Southern Review and many other venues. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and a Contributing Editor to Poetry Flash.

Anika Paris is an award-winning singer/songwriter for theater, television and film. Her poems have appeared in Poetic Voices without Borders II, The Mom Egg, Extreme, Ghost Anthology, Whirlybird Anthology of Kansas City Writers and is a co-author of the book Woven Voices: Three Generations of Puertorriquena Poets Look at Their American Lives (Scapegoat Press) which was nominated for the International Latin Poetry Award. Most recently, her poetry has been chosen to be on NASA’s Codex Polaris rocket mission to the moon in Nov 2024! Anika’s written two music educational books (Hal Leonard) and teaches at UCLA and the Grammy.

Artist/ Author/ Educator

Anika Paris is a CRIA double platinum singer/songwriter, recipient of ASCAP’s Abe Oleman Scholarship, and ASCAP Plus Award. She received an HOLA Award for outstanding music in a musical, and was nominated for the International Latin Poetry Award for her poetry book Woven Voices with Scapegoat Press. Anika is also a Hal Leonard author with two books Making Your Mark in Music, and most recently a co-authored book The Five Star Music Makeover.

Her songs can be heard in major motion pictures starring Ben Affleck, Gwenyth Paltrow, Mira Sorvino to name a few and on HBO Sex and the City, network television shows like Ellen, Oprah, The Bachelor and many more. A classically trained pianist, she composes for Warner Bros Telepictures, Multistages, and the League of Professional Theatre Women. She recorded three solo CD’s, toured the world sharing the stage with luminaries Stevie Wonder, John Legend, and John Mayer.

Anika is an adjunct professor at Musicians Institute, UCLA’s Creative Arts Studies Extension and guest lectures at the Grammy, USC and more. Currently, she and her writing partner Dean Landon have been commissioned to record a new EP scheduled for release 2017.