Headlined Guests
Headlined Guests that have appeared on BBS Radio TV
BURBANK HIGH SCHOOL SIRENS
Burbank High School’s Sirens is an acapella group of eight young women. This year’s group features Senior Melanie Burckes, Senior Ali Diaz, Senior Kayla Pino, Junior Jasmine Cap, Junior Lindsey Miller, Junior Julia Skillsky, Junior Sydney Sugars, and Sophomore Bella Jade. They are under the direction of Mr. Brett Carroll, the musical director at Burbank High, and alumni Erin McGuire, who arranges the group’s music.
Learn More About the Burbank High School’s Sirens at https://www.bhsvocal.com
Check their performance calendar to enjoy the group in-person. The group can also be hired to perform at private parties, sporting events & celebrations. Contact them at their website above.
BURBANK HIGH SCHOOL GENTLEMEN’S OCTET
Burbank High School’s Gentlemen’s Octet is an a capella group of eight young men. This year’s group features Senior Christopher Aguirre, Senior Brandon Powell, Junior Noah Damasen, Junior Nathan Mai, Junior Travis Nichols, Sophomore Jonathan Coleman, Sophomore William Rodriguez, and Sophomore Eric Serna. They are under the direction of Mr. Brett Carroll, the musical director at Burbank High, and alumni Erin McGuire, who arranges the group’s music.
More About Burbank High School’s Gentlemen’s Octet at: https://www.bhsvocal.com
Check their performance calendar to enjoy the group in-person. The group can also be hired to perform at private parties, sporting events & celebrations.
CHRISTY WILHELMI
Christy Wilhelmi empowers people to grow their own food, to be more self-reliant, and to reduce pollution and waste, one garden at a time.
Christy is author of Gardening for Geeks, and founder of Gardenerd, the ultimate resource for garden nerds, where she publishes information-packed monthly newsletters, weekly blog posts, and podcasts. She also specializes in small-space, organic vegetable garden design and consulting. She holds regular organic gardening classes in California, and has co-taught organic gardening at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. Christy has been a board member of Ocean View Farms Organic Community Garden in Mar Vista, California since 1999, and gardens almost entirely with heirloom vegetables.
Between 70-80 percent of her family’s produce comes from her garden of less than 200 square feet. Her writing has appeared in Edible Los Angeles magazine, Edible Westside magazine, The Good Food Blog, and LowImpactLiving and the Mar Vista Farmers’ Market Wrap-Up for Patch.
Christy’s newest book, 400+ Tips for Organic Gardening Success: A Decade of Tricks, Tools, Recipes, and Resources from Gardenerd.com was published in 2017 on Amazon. She lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband, some chickens and two gardens.
SLIM MAN (aka SLIM MANICOTTI)
2018! It’s been a good year so far for the Slim Man!
He just won Best Jazz Vocalist at the Coachella Music Awards! Third year in a row. Threepeat!
How did Mr. Man arrive at this point? What’s the skinny on Slim Man?
It’s a long story. Settle in, Slim People…
When he was 5 years old, Slim Man’s dad showed him a movie. That film was The Five Pennies, and when Young Slim Boy saw Louis Armstrong play the trumpet and sing, he told his Dad, ”That’s what I want to do.”
Slim Man studied trumpet for the next 9 years, and also taught himself how to play piano and guitar. After studying classical piano, composition, and harmony at Peabody Institute of Music in Baltimore, MD, Slim Man got signed as a songwriter to Motown Records. He’s had songs recorded by the Temptations, Angela Bofill, Carl Anderson, and other artists.
Slim Man also recorded a CD for Motown, which gave birth to his signature style–a unique blend of jazz, soul, and pop..
Slim Man went on to form the band BootCamp,who had two of the first 100 videos ever played on MTV. Those videos catapulted BootCamp into a successful concert career, performing with The Tubes, TheB-52s, Squeeze, Split Enz, Johnny Winter, and tons of others.
After BootCamp broke up, Slim Man organized and hosted a nationwide talent contest sponsored by Marlboro. It was during this contest that he got the nickname Slim Man. Slim’s big discovery during the talent contest was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at a honky tonk called Tulsa City Limits.
The guy who won the contest that night was named Ronnie Dunn, who went on to win the national finals in Nashville, and later hooked up with Kix Brooks to form the multiple Grammy award-winning country music duo, Brooks and Dunn.
Slim Man then started writing songs for Brian Jack, a singer from a band called Child’s Play. The 12-song CD that Mr. Man wrote and produced landed Brian Jack a management contract with Dee Anthony (Frampton, J. Geils, Basia) and a recording contract with Epic Records, but the record company decided to cut Slim Man out of the deal.
Undaunted, Mr. Man went back into the studio, re-recorded some of the songs, and released his debut CD End of the Rainbow. This CD made many Top Ten lists for the year, and inspired JD Considine (Rolling Stone) to write…
“A near-perfect example of how jazz and soul can be combined as pop.”
That started the ball rolling, and it hasn’t stopped since. Slim Man has released 12 CDs; the latest is called “Young at Heart”. It’s a collection of Rat-Packin’, toe-tappin’ swinging songs from the 60s that sound like Vegas at the height of coolness.
In the late 1990s, Slim Man started another band, Bona Fide, an instrumental group whose combination of funk and jazz brought forth the Number One single “XRay Hip”. Bona Fide received the Best New Artist Award at the Smooth Jazz Awards. They’ve released 4 CDs, the latest produced by Marc Antoine.
Not content with just writing music, Slim Man has written screenplays, the latest of which, Marlboro Men, is currently being pitched around Hollywood.
Slim Man recently released a cookbook, Slim Man Cooks, which features 52 recipes of his own creation, and 52 funny stories about growing up Slim. There are links in the cookbook to more than 50 cooking videos.
And we thought we’d close with this…Slim Man sang for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican on Christmas Day, 1999.
ERROL GERSON
Curriculum Vitae –Errol Gerson:
Professional practice:
Errol Gerson is the Managing Partner at The Gerson Group Consultants, with offices in Los Angeles, London and Johannesburg, South Africa. The Gerson Group provides strategic Management consulting services to mid-size to large enterprises – specializing in strategic Financial Management planning, Strategic Tax planning, Succession Planning, Strategic Marketing and Management, Merger and Acquisition Strategies and Blue Ocean Strategy consulting.
After graduation from the University of Southern California (BS Accounting 1970, MBA Finance and Management 1972) Gerson worked in public accounting and Consulting for the first 6 years of his career. In 1978 he went out on his own and founded a Business Management and Accounting company which began with one employee, and ended up with over 80 employees in two states. He sold the company to his partners and so-founded cow, the first Interactive Design firm in the US in 1992 and subsequently sold his share to investors in 1998.
Gerson was then recruited to joining Creative Artists Agency in 1998 as Director of New Media Consulting, and was there until he was recruited to become the COO of the National Lampoon Television network which he ran for five years. Since leaving the Lampoon, he has been the Principal of the Gerson Group until today.
Educational Practice:
As an educator Errol Gerson has been teaching Business Management, Entrepreneurship and Leadership for Designers at the world-renowned Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, for the past 47 years. Errol has now taught some 6,500 students over a period of more than 141 continuous semesters at Art Center. During his tenure at Art Center, Errol Gerson has been the recipient of numerous Great Teacher awards, culminating with him being the recipient of the ‘first’ Legacy teaching Award given in 2006 for 100 semesters of teaching. Gerson teacher both The Entrepreneurial Spirit as well as Business 101, a course which was mandatory for most students for over 25 years. The course covered all aspects of operating, running and growing a ‘design based’ business, but the course content is applicable to virtually any and every small business. The advanced ‘Spirit of Entrepreneurship’ course is limited to 25 -30 students who have a desire to learn how to develop and grow an enterprise venture. Gerson also teaches a new course at Art Center called, “The Art and Practice of Leadership” which focuses on preparing designers for long-term leadership roles in their chosen field.
Errol Gerson has also guest lectured at his Alma Mater USC-Marshall, The Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate School, the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University, Cal-State Northridge and many other colleges and universities. He lectures on Negotiation Strategies, Blue Ocean Strategies, Sales and Marketing, Wealth Creation, and other related areas of business. He has taught professional seminars for the A.I.G.A., Advertising Photographers of America, Society of Illustrators, Industrial Design Society of America, Wedding Photographers International and others. Gerson has been widely published on a myriad of subjects related to the Business of Design, The Role of Design in Society, The basics of Entrepreneurship, Success and Motivation strategies, Goal setting and Life planning. Many of these articles can be found in LinkedIn, The Huffington Post, the AIGA quarterly, American Management Association, Journal of Social Science Review and others.
Gerson is on the Board of several local charities in Southern California, served as an officer of The USC-MBA association, The American Institute of Graphic Artists where he is the Senior Adviser) and also Mentors students each semester at the Art Center. He is a passionate golfer, avid English football (soccer fan) and is in the process of writing his first academic book entitled, ‘MOTIV8’ – the 8 Steps to keep constantly motivated. Gerson was awarded the prestigious “Fellow” award by the A.I.G.A. in 2017 recognising his decades of contribution to design education. Errol Gerson was born and raised in Johannesburg South Africa, where after high School he attended the University of the Witwatersrand studying accounting, prior to immigrating to the United States in 1966. Gerson received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1970, and subsequently earned an MBA at USC in 1972 majoring in Finance and Management. Mr. Gerson has also completed extensive coursework (non degree) in Management, Finance, Tax law, Psychology, Business Law, and attended the Harvard Negotiation Project
Gerson is on the Board of several local charities in Southern California, served as an officer of The USC-MBA association, The American Institute of Graphic Artists where he is the Senior Adviser) and also Mentors students each semester at the Art Center. He is a passionate golfer,avid English football (soccer fan) and is in the process of writing his first academic book entitled, ‘MOTIV8’ – the 8 Steps to keep constantly motivated. Gerson was awarded the prestigious “Fellow” award by the A.I.G.A. in 2017 recognising his decades of contribution to design education. Errol Gerson was born and raised in Johannesburg South Africa, where after high Schoolhe attended the University of the Witwatersrand studying accounting, prior to immigrating to the United States in 1966. Gerson received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Southern California (USC) in 1970, and subsequently earned an MBA at USC in 1972 majoring in Finance and Management.Mr. Gerson has also completed extensive coursework (non degree) in Management, Finance,Tax law, Psychology, Business Law, and attended the Harvard Negotiation Project
REBECCA WHITMAN
Rebecca Whitman is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and currently resides in Los Angeles, California. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English Literature and Italian Language and Culture. As an Executive Director for the direct marketing company Equinox International she developed and trained a salesforce of over one thousand individuals in 14 national offices. She was ranked number 3 out of 100,000 sales representative in personal sales volume. She went on to be a top producer at Mike Davidson Ford dealership in Jacksonville, Florida, where she helped them to develop new marketing strategies for their internet marketing division.
She moved on to the internet start-up company, FreeTaxPrep.com, where she was the Vice President of Business Development. In this company she not only exceeded her quarterly sales quota by 425%, she also hired and trained a sales team that developed a client base of over281 car dealerships in ten cities in a period of 90 days. As a Talent Coordinator for the Hollywood Group, she developed anew marketing strategy that increased the revenue of the company by $250k per year. She achieved between 100%and 400% of her sales quota for the Hollywood Group.
As the Vice President of Sales for Be Entertainment,she created a sales force that took the company from 0 to$15 million is sales revenue in the first year. She assisted the company’s expansion to 7 offices and managed 30sales reps. She also increased price points from an average of $1400 to $5000 per sale.
Rebecca is currently working for The Playground – A Young Actor’s Conservatory, where she increased the sales revenue of the company by $1 million per year for 5 consecutive years.In addition to her business acumen, Rebecca has done extensive study in the area of meta physics with such great teachers as Reverend Michael Beckwith, Esther Hicks, and Marianne Williamson. She has delved into the study of personal relationships with Dr. Pat Allen, Allison Armstrong, and Landmark Education. In addition, Rebecca has over 25 years of experience in the 12 Steps.
TERESA JAMES
Teresa James was born and raised in Houston, Texas where she was introduced to music at an early age by her father and grandfather, both guitar players in the old tradition. She starting playing piano at 5 and hasn’t stopped since.
Called a singer’s singer by many. (When the SAG Singer’s Committee got together to honor composer Randy Newman, Teresa was chosen as the soloist to perform his favorite song to him.) She has recorded with Walter Trout, Eric Burdon, Spencer Davis, Tommy Castro, Stephen Bruton, Randy Newman, LeeRoy Parnell, Neil Diamond, and many others. She has performed live with lots of other artists, including: Al Anderson, Marcia Ball, Levon Helm, Delbert McClinton, Lloyd Jones, and the Derailers to mention just a few.
Blues Matters magazine in the U.K. is quoted “the girls voice does the talking alright with a knife edge when she wants rip your ears off or your heart out!”
The Pasadena Weekly said…”She is one of the most honest, gutsy, incredible singers you’ll find. The Texas-bred James takes creative chances, investing amazing soul and spirit in her music.”
Levon Helm of “The Band” said “Teresa James is a true original. When she sings you can feel it in your bones.”
Here’s a little of what Bill Bentley from Sonic Boomers said about Teresa and her recent “You Know You Love It” cd. “This is the stuff they don’t teach you in school….. These are the keepers of the unknown language. Teresa’s voice is all-knowing, like she’s been to the places most of us aren’t able to go. It is a mixture of rejection and redemption, … be glad there are still people like Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps who care enough to do this and share their spirits. Each and every one of them should receive a letter jacket with a big “S” for soul on it. Class dismissed. “ Teresa’s latest cd “Come On Home” landed a hard to get 4 Star Review in Downbeat magazine.
Teresa and her band the Rhythm Tramps are a Los Angeles based band 6 piece band made up of players that have either played or recorded with such artists as Eric Burdon & the Animals, Bonnie Raitt, Delbert McClinton, Jimmy Reed, Lightin’ Hopkins, Jimmy Vaughan, John Martyn, Big Al Anderson (NRBQ), Johnny Nash, Dixie Chicks, Jennifer Warnes, Smokey Robinson, Tom Jones, Tower Of Power, just to name a few and have had their songs recorded by Paul Rodgers, Kathy Mattea, Eric Burdon, Tommy Castro, Marcia Ball and others. As one critic said, “there are no clichés in this band”. They move easily through Texas style grease and blues into Memphis soul or New Orleans flavored grooves and all points in between with fun and abandonment.
Teresa and the band have toured all over N. America and Europe and have played such music festivals as The Nottodden Blues Festival in Norway, Moulin Osprey in Holland, Tampa Blues Festival, iFest in Houston, Tx. Main St Arts Festival in Ft. Worth, Tx. Portand, Oregon’s Waterfront Festival and she has been one of the featured acts on Delbert McClinton’s Sandy Beaches Cruise for the past 14 years along with Delbert, John Hiatt, Keb Mo, Lyle Lovett…to name a few. She was nominated by the Blues Foundation in ’08 for “Contemporary Female Blues Artist of the Year”. She is now working on her 9th cd which should be out by mid-summer 2016.
The Rhythm Tramps
The Rhythm Tramps, has a long history: The first band to be called ‘the Rhythm Tramps’ was formed by Terry Wilson and Tony Braunagel when they were living in London back in the 70’s. They were touring at the time with the rock band, Back Street Crawler (which also featured the legendary Paul Kossoff on guitar and John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick who has been a long time keyboard player with The Who) and they missed playing the Texas style blues that they had grown up with, so they formed the ‘Rhythm Tramps’ and performed in local pubs.
It got to be quite a hang for London musicians – legendary singer, Frankie Miller was one of the regulars, which also included whoever happened to be in town. The transient nature of the players spawned the name, ‘the Rhythm Tramps’.
In the years since Terry and I have re-established the Rhythm Tramp tradition, we have also had a lot of amazing players that have played with the band – some for several years at a time, some for just a few nights. Even though we have a steady group of players with us now, there are still occasions where we have the opportunity to bring in other players.
Below our current roster, you’ll find a partial list (in no particular order) of some of the people that we have had the pleasure of working with over the years.
TERRY WILSON born: Warren Arkansas plays: bass and vocals has played with… ERIC BURDON, JIMMY REED, JOHNNY NASH, BACKSTREET CRAWLER (PAUL KOSSOFF)
“Terry is the soul of the band. It is his vision and his songs that make up the essence of our music.”
BILLY WATTS born: New Brunswick, Canada plays: guitars and vocals has played with… JACKSON BROWNE, BONNIE RAITT, MOJO MONKEYS, JENNIFER WARNES “Billy is a true musician and a joy to have in the band. He always seems to know just the perfect thing to play to bring out the heart of our music.”
HERMAN MATTHEWS born: Houston, Texas. plays: drums and percussion
has played with… TOM JONES, TOWER OF POWER, KENNY LOGGINS, GEORGE DUKE Herman has an eclectic style that is unlike any other drummer that I have ever worked with. He brings a wonderfully unique flavor to our music.”
LEE THORNBURG born: Danville, KY plays: trumpet, flugelhorn /arranger
has played with… RAY CHARLES, ETTA JAMES, TOM PETTY, SUPERTRAMP, TOWER OF POWER and many others. A member of the Tonight Show band for several years.
RON DZIUBLA born: Gary, IN plays: saxophones, guitar, keyboards has played with… DUANE EDDY, RICKY MARTIN, ROYAL CROWN REVUE, JAMES INTVELD, LOS STRAITJACKETS, DEKE DICKERSON
Together LEE and RON have performed with ROBERT CRAY, THE CRYSTAL METHOD, BETH HART and lots of others…
RHYTHM TRAMP ALUMNI
I’m sure that I have forgotten somebody, so if I left you out or if you know of anyone that I didn’t include – PLEASE let me know and I will fix it – I don’t want to leave anybody out.
(The * beside a name indicates active Rhythm Tramp status or special recognition for their contribution to the Tramps’ sound and the part they have played in the band’s legacy)
Drums:
Tony Braunagel* / Jim Christie* / Debra Dobkin* / Tom Fillman* / James Cruce* / Willie Ornelas / Jack Bruno / Lynn Williams / George Perilli / Dave Hunt / Dennis Edwards / Jack Kelly / Jay Bellarose / Brian Head / Sinclair Lott / Eddie Tuduri / Michael Jay Dohoney / Richard Millsap / Gary Ferguson / John Molo / David Raven / Jim Varley / Steve Hunter / Moon Calhoun / Gary Ray / Michael Clark / Brie Darling / Brannen Temple
Guitar:
Tommy K* / Stephen Bruton* / Jimmy Don Smith* / Josh Sklair / Paul Warren / Johnny Lee Schell / Stevie Gurr / Don Evans / Dave Lewark / James Pennebaker / Rob McNelley / Dean Parks / Snuffy Walden / Mark Shark / Mark Karan / Carmen Grillo / Pat Thrall / Jim Gibson / Jon Woodhead / Randy Mitchell / Stuart Ziff / Bob Hawkins / Randy Cobb / Patrick Pearsall / Gurf Morlix / Larry Knight / Danny Weis / Ricky Zahariades
Keyboards:
John Herron / Marty Grebb / Danny Timms* / Mike Finnegan* / William ‘Smitty’ Smith / Lee Michaels / Red Young* / Lewis Stephens* / John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick* / Kevin McKendree / Dillon O’ Brian* / Glen Clark / Michael Murphy / Tom Canning
Horns:
Jerry Peterson* / Sean Holt* / Joe Sublett* / Daryl Leonard* / Bill Churchville* / Mark Pender* / Warren Ham / Bill Bergman / Les Lovitt / Ron Dziubla / Paulie Cerra / Lee Thornberg
Bass:
Steve Mackie / Bob Glaub / ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson / David Jackson / Mike Mennell / Peter Freiberger / Taras Produniak / Will MacGregor / Ric Cortes
ALAN BUSTEED
Alan Busteed is a violinist who has been a concertmaster and soloist for film scores recorded in Los Angeles. He is a violist who has performed with the San Diego, Fort Worth, and Santa Barbara Symphonies. He has served as staff pianist for opera workshop at the University of Texas Arlington and done free lance vocal accompanying at Loyola Marymount University. He coaches string players and singers at East Los Angeles Performing Arts Magnet High School.
CALEB ROBBINS
Caleb Robbins is a 16 year-old who lives life passionately and all-in on whatever he is doing! His homeschooling life allows him to pursue his love for foreign languages, natural medicine, story-writing, animation, reading (up to a 1000 pages a day!) and music. Since his youth, he’s had a special gift for percussion and singing. As a baritone vocalist, he gets to use that loud ‘outside’ voice he always had as a child for the beautiful songs he expresses with his rich tone. While Caleb deeply appreciates all styles of music from Jazz to Rock to Opera, he told his family when he was 12, “I was born for Swing.” Caleb lives in Southern California with his mom and dad (who are also professional musicians and authors) and his younger brother, Seth, who harmonizes with him and accompanies him on the piano.
STACEY ROBBINS
Stacey Robbins is a Renaissance woman who lives life by inspiration as an Integrated Wellness Coach, Speaker, and Author of An Unconventional Life: Where Messes and Magic Collide, You’re Not Crazy and You’re Not Alone, and Bloom Beautiful.
Her career began as a professional musician when she was 15, working as a songwriter, pianist, and vocalist in solo performance as well as with many other talented artists, but when she was 27 hit a health bump that dramatically shifted her life. After gaining 100 pounds in a year and becoming so ill that she could barely get out of bed, the doctors told her to get her affairs in order.
Stacey began pursuing her health from a deeply spiritual angle that led her to shine a flashlight down all the corridors of her life: Thoughts, Beliefs, Patterns, Relationships, Spiritual Practices, Self-Care, Food and Exercise. Through that experience and years of research of a diagnosis with Hashimoto’s (an autoimmune condition that affects the thyroid and therefore every cell in your body) she has been able to speak all over the US and reach people all over the world with her healing insights that she discovered through her own sacred journey.
Now, in addition to her coaching and book writing, Stacey creates gorgeous, transformational experiences through her international retreats and workshops, empowering women to live from what she calls their “Brave Soul Place.” Stacey resides in Southern California with her author, tech-geek, musician husband and their two amazing, curly-haired teenage sons.
MARK BARANOV
Mark Baranov joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s first violin section in the 1978/79 season.
Baranov was trained in the Soviet Union at the Gnessin Music Academy in Moscow, where he earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree. He served as co-concertmaster of the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra under Gennady Rozhdestvensky, appearing as soloist on many occasions and touring with the ensemble in Eastern and Western Europe and Japan, as well as throughout the USSR. Baranov also performed as a leader of the orchestra’s chamber ensemble, Nonette. He was also a member of the Moscow Radio String Quartet. With these ensembles he toured throughout Europe participating in many important festivals and gave USSR premieres of works by such composers as Schoenberg, Messiaen, Denisov, and Schnittke, and made several recordings on the Melodiya label.
After coming to the United Sates in 1978, he became very active in the Southland’s musical community. In 1983 he founded the critically acclaimed chamber ensemble Trio West with Philharmonic cellist Barry Gold and Baranov’s wife, pianist Lina Targonsky. The ensemble has performed frequently throughout Southern California, including the Philharmonic’s Chamber Music Society series, as well as aboard the Queen Elizabeth II. In 1992 Trio West was invited to perform in Germany at the Festival Bahnhof Rolandseck near Bonn.
Baranov has also appeared as a soloist with the Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and at the Music Center. He has been a visiting professor of violin at Biola University and UCLA. He frequently gives master classes throughout the USA and judges many violin competitions.
NATHAN EDMONDSON
Nathan Edmondson, a native of Augusta Georgia, has worked in politics, with the military and intelligence communities, and written comic books and screenplays. He is currently penning the PRODIGAL TV pilot for Gold Standard Media. His comic credits include OLYMPUS, THE LIGHT, WHO IS JAKE ELLIS?, WHERE IS JAKE ELLIS?, THE ACTIVITY, DANCER, THE DREAM MERCHANT and GENESIS at Image Comics. He also wrote ULTIMATE IRON MAN, BLACK WIDOW, THE PUNISHER and RED WOLF for Marvel Comics, as well as GRIFTER for DC Comics and SPLINTER CELL: ECHOES for Ubisoft. His Eisner-nominated book WHO IS JAKE ELLIS? is soon to be a major motion picture from 20th Century Fox, and THE ACTIVITY film comes soon from Paramount Pictures. NPR has listed his work among the “Top 6 Comics to Draw You In” and USA Today and CNN are among those who have listed him in their Top 10 lists.
CHRIS VOSS
Chris Voss is the CEO & Founder of the Black Swan Group Ltd and author of Never Split The Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It.
He has used his many years of experience in international crisis and high-stakes negotiations to develop a unique program and team that applies these globally proven techniques to the business world.
Prior to 2008, Chris was the lead international kidnapping negotiator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as the FBI’s hostage negotiation representative for the National Security Council’s Hostage Working Group. During his government career, he also represented the U.S. Government at two (2) international conferences sponsored by the G-8 as an expert in kidnapping. Prior to becoming the FBI lead international kidnapping negotiator, Christopher served as the lead Crisis Negotiator for the New York City Division of the FBI. Christopher was a member of the New York City Joint Terrorist Task Force for 14 years. He was the case agent on such cases as TERRSTOP (the Blind Sheikh Case – Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman), the TWA Flight 800 catastrophe and negotiated the surrender of the first hostage taker to give up in the Chase Manhattan bank robbery hostage taking.
During Chris’s 24 year tenure in the Bureau, he was trained in the art of negotiation by not only the FBI but Scotland Yard and Harvard Law School. He is also a recipient of the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement and the FBI Agents Association Award for Distinguished and Exemplary Service.
Chris has taught business negotiation in the MBA program as an adjunct professor at University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He has taught business negotiation at Harvard University, guest lectured at The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, The IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland and The Goethe School of Business in Frankfurt, Germany. Since 2009 Christopher has also worked with Insite Security as their Managing Director of the Kidnapping Resolution Practice.
MICHEL PASCAL
Before moving to the US, Michel Pascal called the Kopan Monastery in the Himalayas, home. To this day he cherishes his close relationship and dedicated study of 15 years with his mentor, the late Buddhist master Chepa Dorje Rinpoche, the last descendant of Marpa. Additionally, Michel is the disciple of Theologian Psychologist Jean-Yves Leloup. Pascal is currently advised by and works closely with neuroscientists Dr. Mario Beauregard, Ph.D., who holds the title as one of the top one-hundred most important pioneers in science of the 21st century. He is also honored to work with Dr. Natalie Trent, Ph.D., author and professor at Harvard University, as well as Dr. Gary Schwartz, Director of the Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health.
DR. IBRAHIM JAFFE, MD
Dr. Jaffe, MD brings the teachings of Medical Spiritual Healing (MSH) to people suffering worldwide, from various types of illness, disease and personal issues.The healing results have been startling! Ibrahim Jaffe, MD is a physician, Master Healer, and a Sufi Spiritual Guide who has pioneered the integration of Western Medicine and Spiritual Healing. Together, the Medical Spiritual Healing technique has helped in healing over 100,000 people suffering from various types of problems and life-threatening illnesses.
Medical Spiritual Healing combines the ancient teachings of Sufi Spiritual Healing with energetic or subtle healing which is then applied to illness, suffering and spiritual transformation. MSH works to find, and heal, the hidden spiritual, psychological, emotional, and energetic aspects of disease, while concurrently treating with traditional western methods.
Dr. Jaffe, MD’s Institute supports people to heal by teaching the Medical Spiritual Healing method through their Foundations of Medical Spiritual Healing courses. Students are supported directly by Dr. Jaffe and his Master Healers via teachings and healings, while also working directly with their personal physicians, healers, or healthcare practitioners.
The University of Medical Spiritual Healing (UMSH) offers various courses and trainings to help teach these methods. Specialized courses are taught on Self-Healing—utilizing the MSH techniques, for professional practitioners seeking a Healer Certification in MSH, and to those students interested in personal transformation through Sufi Spiritual walking.
TREVAN MCCLURE
“I feel like my purpose is to create the soundtrack for people’s personal self-discovery, encouraging the blossoming of their inner truth, which always leads to a more authentic and harmonious world.”
“Just be yourself and let yourself be free” — ‘Be Free’ / SinceriT Album
“Dream on… Like we used to” — ‘Like We Used To’ / InfiniT Album
TREVAN’s mission has always been to create the best music possible, no matter the genre, and instill it with wisdom, understanding, hope, encouragement, and positivity. His music is the perfect embodiment of his dream to unify people, cultures, and beliefs that seem separate from each other, and do it in a way that feels natural, authentic, and harmonious; merging styles and genres that seem unique unto themselves, in a way that both respects and values their individuality, while showing the beauty made possible by their unity.
Beyond his artistry, TREVAN aims to produce other artists, create multi-media entertainment projects like music-movies and documentaries, as well as build a revolutionary media company for other eclectic artists and talents to harmonize together in new and inspiring ways. All with the intention of truly creating great art while valuing those who create it and those who will buy and support it.
DR. MARCEL DIENNET, MD
Dr. Marcel Diennet, MD is an internationally known medical doctor, as well as a noted humanitarian and human rights activist. He received his medical degree from the renowned Medical University of Paris, and began his medical career as a relief doctor for the International Red Cross.
In 1968, Dr. Diennet traveled to Biafra with the International Red Cross. He then worked with Flying Doctors in Kenya in 1969. In 1971 he built the Phu My Hospital in Vietnam. In 1975, Dr. Diennet returned to Paris to open a medical practice. Upon realizing he could reverse-engineer his research on starvation in the third world to help people lose weight, he founded the Diennet Institute.
Dr. Diennet continues to help thousands around the world with his effective custom medical weight loss treatment. He also continues his humanitarian work for countries in need around the world.
Cheryl Ginnings is a mother of a Special Needs son, as I am. She is also a survivor and courageous parent, who now shares her story, with humour and grace, to help other families thrive.
She is an International Speaker and International Best Selling Author who strives to continue to help as many others as possible. As a fellow Radio Show Host, she has aired the Courage-2-overcome Show over the past 3 years, touching thousands of lives with her encouragement and support.
Cheryl knows firsthand that caregivers struggle when they are thrust into the role of being responsible for others. It might be a newborn child with special needs, or an aging parent with Alzheimer’s or Dementia. It could be a disease, terminal or not, which requires a total life change. A spouse with PTSD or wounded warriors who return home different from the way they left to serve their country. Who can I talk to about my new role? Where can I find support? With her own son having 3 surgeries in the last 10 weeks, she has a beautiful story to share of compassion and love.
She was not always personally so bold, and shares: “As a child, I was scared to speak my name in front of others, but I love encouraging and supporting others and helping them feel confident about growing and yearning to be more and do more. It is a journey that caused me to return to school after my youngest was in 3rd grade and finish my degree. (My oldest had severe cerebral palsy and I had another daughter
six years older.)
This was not my dream early, but I developed confidence in teaching women's classes and I won awards in school. It propelled me into making a video to help others with special needs children, writing books and articles, and speaking many places. I taught a class for teachers and parents of special needs children in Arlington, TX, and now connect on the radio helping other parents and caregivers to be strong and courageous, despite my own challenges and stepping stones which have helped me to grow stronger. I love to share humor and hope with families who feel overwhelmed with caregiving roles.”
Her book: “IT TAKES COURAGE TO BE A CAREGIVER” is available on Amazon (as well as contributing to 10 anthology books). She willingly shares her knowledge as an International Speaker and International Best-Selling Author, and her Radio show airs on BoldBraveMedia.com/shows/courage-2-overcome on Mondays 8 pm Central.