Martyn Ellis is the Founding Director of the Centre for Research & Policy on Extraterrestrial Relations (CeRPER), an independent, non-profit organisation registered in England and Wales engaged in extraterrestrial contact, research and training, encouraging a non-harmful, non-prejudicial contact with extraterrestrial visitors to Earth.  Consequently, the philosophy and fundamental principles supporting peaceful diplomatic human initiated contact, are upheld by CeRPER and reasserted to continue that approach through the promotion of the UK CE-5 Diplomat Training Program. Orientated towards a rational non-anthropocentric understanding of the ETi [Extraterrestrial Intelligence] subject, CeRPER also encourages a synthesis of empiricism and spiritual understanding as a necessary component for successful celestial/ETi contact and communication which to date, empiricism alone, has failed to achieve.

Earlene : I recall that my first conscious memory of this phenomenon as a young girl in the sixth grade in Wichita Kansas. An assignment had been given to us to write an essay on any subject that we chose.  Back in 1966, we had were encyclopedias to do our research from, and they were housed in our school library. Our class made a trip to the library, and began looking through all the encyclopedias. As I was flipping through the encyclopedia looking for a subject for my essay, I came across a black-and-white picture of what at the time was called a flying saucer. I was simply mesmerized by it. I stared and stared at it, contemplating whether there could really be life on other planets that is here visiting us.

The years passed, and in my twenties, I gravitated to books on developing higher consciousness, channeling, and spiritual growth - and stories of people who claimed they had been taken by alien beings. I read everything I could get my hands on. I began to believe that there was a conspiracy by our government to keep this information from the public based on my earlier readings of government investigations like Project Grudge and Project Bluebook.

In retrospect, I now believe that my first experience in that school library had an indelible subconscious affect on me, because my fascination would grow and grow through the subsequent years. Little did I know how much my own personal life would become intertwined in this phenomenon as my sister began to have interactions with non-human beings. There’s an old spiritual, called Wouldn’t Take Nothing For My Journey Now, and that’s how I feel when it comes to this phenomenon. It’s been a fascinating journey, and one that I am proud to be a part of. 

Shurlene : Unlike my sister, I held a passing interest on the subject. Certainly, like others, I wondered about life on other planets and about other experiences but never thought that it would ever be something I would personally experience. I was busy raising a family and really didn’t concern myself with such thoughts too often.

Occasionally, my sister would share something she had read, but that was the extent of my involvement - until it happened to me. Since my first experience interacting with extraterrestrials, my life has taken on a new facet and I am thrilled to be in a position to share our story. My sister, based on her self-taught expertise on the subject has helped me so much over the years to come to grips with the experiences and to integrate them into my life in a meaningful way.

We both realize we have our perfect roles to play in the continuing, unfolding events of what may well be mankind’s greatest story yet to tell.

Martina Hughes is the founder and creator of Tantric Blossoming. Tantric Blossoming has been actively supporting thousands of men and women to transform using heart-opening tantric practices for over ten years. 

Tantra is about self-love in action.  Tantra teaches a person to live with an open heart and authentically say yes to yourself.  Tantra is a way of learning how to use sexual energy for improved health, vitality, and well-being.  It works from the inside out!  And as your inner sexual energy increases, you can also enhance your relationships and sexual connections with others.

Martina’s journey with Tantra has been the catalyst for great transformation.  She is deeply inspired and passionate about spreading this message, so that others may benefit from the gifts of tantra. 

Martina shares heartfelt wisdom with compassion.  She understands that many of our greatest challenges are in the areas of love, sex and relationships.  Learning to live an embodied life embracing our love and sexual energy (as fuel) is the first and most important step.

Martina has a unique gift for feeling and seeing into the heart of the dynamics at play in a person’s life.   She is able to sense how to coach and support people in moving forward, creating a new and fulfilling path for them.

Martina holds a deep space of loving openness and receptivity, whilst also bringing direction and clarity.   She works to create a vulnerable and powerful balancing of the masculine and feminine gifts in working with others.

Tantric Blossoming focuses on making the practices and information shared, relevant to men and women in their everyday lives.  Martina offers sessions, workshops, retreats and training for men, women, singles and couples.  These events use a combination of breathwork, bodywork, feminine / masculine embodiment, meditation and sexual energy practices to restore inner connection in the body. 

Tantric blossoming allows each man and woman the opportunity to reveal deeper layers of their own unique essence through tantric practices. It’s full of potential for greater truth and clarity.  This approach is designed to create a life with less conditioning and a greater sense of knowing oneself from the inside out.

Christopher Vasey is a naturopath and author living in Chamby-Montreux, Switzerland.He studied at a naturopathy school in Paris under the supervision of P.V. Marchesseau and Alain Rousseaux.

In 1979 he started his own practice. Alongside his therapeutic work, he continued his formation by studying the works of famous naturopaths such as Dr. Paul Carton, Herbert Shelton, Robert Masson, R. Jackson, Kneipp, etc. In 1981, he organized his own introductory courses to naturopathy and started teaching in various health-oriented associations (natural medicine therapists, staff of health shops …)

From 1988 onwards, his many books on natural medicine have been published by Editions Jouvence, Geneva, Switzerland. Part of these books are now available in English, published by Inner Traditions, Vermont, USA. Among others "The Acid alkaline Diet", "The Naturopathic Way", "Optimal Detox"...

Some of Christopher Vasey's books are also available in other languages, such as German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Chinese …

Since 1994 he has also written books on spiritual themes. Available in English: "The Secret of the blood" and "Gnomes, Elves, Nixies … a worldwide knowledge".

Christopher Vasey gives lectures regularly in Europe (Switzerland, France, Scandinavia, Iceland …), in the USA and Canada. He takes part in Book Fairs and natural medicine exhibitions, as well in radio programs. He writes for several
nature- and health-oriented magazines and for spiritual publications, among others the "GrailWorld".

Dr. Wu Dhi was born Sherwood Swartz but mostly known as "Woody" to friends and family. As a student of various traditions he as received various names and titles over the years as is appropriate in those schools. Among these names was Wu Di, very similar to the pronunciation of Woody, in China the name means "has no enemies". Wu Di was later renamed by a Tibetan Lama to Wu Dhi with an "h". Although this may not seem like that much of a change from Wu Di or even Woody for that matter, it is in fact a high honor to receive such a name directly from a Lama. Dhi in this case is the Sanskrit seed syllable "Dhi" and associated with the great wisdom holder Manjurshri.

Dr. Wu Dhi has been a pioneer in alternative health care for over 30 years and a master of Medical Qi Gong. Dr. Wu Dhi completed his advance studies in neurology under the direction of Professor Sun at the prestigious Heilongjiang, University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Harbin P.R.China.

As a part of his comprehensive training, he worked in the immunology department at South Shore Hospital in Miami Beach Florida.  He has a degree in Oriental Medicine and is also State licensed and nationally board certified as an Acupuncture Physician.

In China, Dr. Wu Dhi was afforded the privilege of studying under many of today’s living masters of Chinese Medicine. He has extensive experience working and training in the medical, spiritual and martial Qi Gong disciplines (Chinese Energetic Medicine). He is presently completing his doctoral degree in Medical Qi Gong, under the direction of Dr. Jerry Alan Johnson, one of the few internationally recognized non-Chinese Grand Masters of Medical Qi Gong therapies.

Dr. Wu Dhi has been practicing and teaching an integration of Ancient Eastern and Modern Western healing practices for the greater portion of his professional career. Through seminars, public speaking, and direct practice, he continues to inspire and guide professional health practitioners in the United States and abroad who are just now realizing the value of utilizing Traditional Chinese and Alternative Therapies.

Laura F. Dabney, MD wants to live in a world where people with emotional problems are treated with dignity and respect and not as pharmaceutical experiments or parts of an assembly line.

As a relationship expert who specializes in professional men with relationship problems, she’s been showcased as a regular weekly co-host on the Hampton Roads local radio show WPTE Relationship 911,  featured as a guest on Alice Radio, Chicago, Ill, highlighted as a regular blogger for Hampton Roads Women’s Magazine and pegged as a regular admissions interviewer at Eastern Virginia Medical School.

When she’s not devoting time to helping professional men be as successful in their personal lives as they are in their business lives, you can find her slinging paint on canvases in her art studio, schussing down a mountain or hanging with her husband and two boys (young men really) at their favorite sushi bar.

Her first (and quite possibly the world’s first) book on the unique difficulties professional men face in long-term relationships is due to hit the shelves later this year. 

My first guest, Dr. Katie Rickel, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in weight management and health behavior modification. Dr. Rickel graduated summa cum laude from Duke University with a B.S. in Psychology. She earned her M.S. and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida. Following this, Dr. Rickel completed a clinical internship in Health Psychology – specializing in obesity – at Duke University Medical Center where she was trained in the management of chronic pain, behavioral weight loss and surgical interventions for obesity. Dr. Rickel’s research has been presented at numerous professional conferences and has been published in scientific journals and peer-reviewed publications. She has also been featured on The Doctor Oz show and on local news and radio media.  Additionally, Dr. Rickel has been quoted in Women’s Health magazine, Health magazine, the Huffington Post, Yahoo! Health, and CurvyGirlHealth.com.

Dr. Rickel serves as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist at Structure House – a residential weight loss facility in Durham, North Carolina – where she provides clinical services and develops novel program enhancements. Most recently, she created a specialized program to treat binge eating disorder as well as a behavioral pain management program. She also developed a series of courses to educate and coach family members of overweight and obese individuals. In addition, Dr. Rickel strives to reach those individuals who cannot attend Structure House’s residential program in person. To that end, she has written a self-guided weight management workbook, “Structured for Life ®: 28 Day Weight Loss Action Plan” and has assisted in the creation of an online version of the Structure House treatment program.  In her spare time, Dr. Rickel is passionate about fitness and enjoys challenging herself in the areas of weight lifting, indoor cycling, and yoga.

CRAIG and CINDY CORRIE - the parents of American activist Rachel Corrie, speak about the Israeli Supreme Court dismissal of appeal in the wrongful death case of their daughter Rachel.

ABOUT RACHEL CORRIE

Rachel Corrie was a 23-year-old American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, who was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer on 16 March 2003, while undertaking nonviolent direct action to protect the home of a Palestinian family from demolition.

Since her killing, an enormous amount of solidarity activities have been carried out in her name around the world.

Rachel’s journals and emails from her time in Palestine are available in a variety of forms. They have been published in books, turned into plays and dramatic readings, and used around the internet.

ABOUT THE RACHEL CORRIE FOUNDATION
The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice is a grassroots, 501(c)3 non-profit organization that conducts and supports programs that foster connections between people, that build understanding, respect, and appreciation for differences, and that promote cooperation within and between local and global communities. The foundation encourages and supports grassroots efforts in pursuit of human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice, which we view as pre-requisites for world peace. Continuing the work begun and envisioned by our daughter, Rachel Corrie, our initial emphasis has been on Israel/Palestine.

We conduct and support projects that educate for peace and justice, that foster connections and understanding between peoples on global and local levels, that promote the use of art and the written word in fostering justice and peace, and that encourage individual grassroots participation in bringing to fruition a positive world vision.

We hope people will take from our work the same, simple understanding that Rachel expressed as a young child: that we are interconnected. The future of us all depends on our ability to truly want for other children those basic things that we want for our own – shelter, health, education, safety, opportunity, and joy – and to work for that. Our leaders seem very parochial now, emphasizing the differences between people and pointing to “the other” with fear and disrespect. Through our projects, we hope to illustrate how much we have in common with one another and that our differences should be points of celebration rather than fear.

The creation of the foundation was one response to Rachel’s killing. Shortly after her death, we had the opportunity to meet Linda Biehl whose daughter Amy was brutally killed as she registered voters for the first election in which all South Africans could participate. We learned how the Biehl family, guided by their daughter’s spirit and values, had established a foundation in South Africa. At the same time in the spring of 2003, people were asking us what they could do to remember Rachel. The conjunction of those two things encouraged us to believe that through a foundation inspired by Rachel’s values and spirit, we might make some difference. We slowly took the steps to organize the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice. The structure and work evolve as we continue to learn and to think about sustainability. We have drawn on the expertise of those in the Olympia community and elsewhere who have been eager to help us.

It requires tremendous effort and resources to establish the infrastructure for such an organization, and sometimes there is frustration at not being able to accomplish actual projects as quickly as we would like. We are primarily an all volunteer organization at this point. Certainly one of our frustrations is the struggle to keep up with communications that we have with wonderful people and supporters from throughout the U.S. and the world.

With the devastation and loss of life in Palestine, Lebanon, and Israel, Iraq and elsewhere it is challenging to hang on to hope. Still, it is always there for us, prompted by the many extraordinary people we meet throughout this country and in the world who work for justice on this issue and on many others. We are personally blessed each day with seeing the very best in humanity. A moment that stands out was at the West Bank village of Bi’lin in December where we joined Israelis, internationals, and an entire village of Palestinians who for over a year have been nonviolently protesting the Israeli military confiscation of sixty percent of their West Bank farmland. An apartheid wall and illegal settlements now stand where olive groves did before. Whenever we experience this convergence of Israelis, Palestinians, and many others – all recognizing the injustice, opposing it, and supporting human rights and international law – it is very heartening; and it happens for us frequently.

It can happen for others as well. The first thing Americans can do is to reject the idea, the myth really, that the Israeli/Palestinian situation cannot be solved. That kind of thinking makes it far too easy to avoid responsibility and action. Then, citizens can become better informed by seeking information from a variety of sources, including alternative media and from those with direct experience in the Middle East. They can join or lend support to one or more of the growing number of secular and religious groups that oppose the Israeli occupation and seek a just peace in the Middle East. They can educate their communities by monitoring local media coverage of this issue and writing informed letters to the editor. They can educate their representatives in Congress, challenge them to act and vote responsibly on this issue, and insist that U.S. laws regarding weapons exports are adhered to. The U.S. Government maintains a very biased stance in support of Israel that is not in the long-term interest of either Americans or Israelis, let-alone Palestinians. We must insist on more balanced policy that assures justice, freedom, security, and economic viability for both Israelis and Palestinians. Then there may be a chance for peace. Avoidance of this issue only makes the situation increasingly perilous for all involved, including the U.S.

JP SOTTILE is a freelance journalist, published historian, radio co-host and documentary filmmaker. His credits include a stint on the NewsHour news desk, C-SPAN, and as a newsmagazine producer for ABC affiliate WJLA in Washington. Joseph “JP” Sottile is a two-time Washington Regional Emmy Award Winner. Documentary film credits include: writer, director, producer of The Warning and various production and photography credits on other public interest films. His weekly show, Inside the Headlines w/ The Newsvandal, co-hosted by James Moore, airs every Friday on KRUU-FM in Fairfield, Iowa. He is the Newsvandal.

As a Valentine's Day follow-up, I’ll be interviewing Jamie Turndorf, Ph.D., known to millions as 'Dr. Love' through her immensely popular website, AskDrLove.com, the web's first relationship-advice site, online since 1995.

         Watch the 4 minute YouTube book trailer regarding Jamie's recent book, 'LOVE NEVER DIES - How to Reconnect and Make Peace with the Deceased'. 
         Discovering for herself that relationships don't end in death, Dr. Turndorf has created a groundbreaking new grief therapy method that combines her acclaimed conflict-resolution techniques with after-death communication. The result: an unprecedented method that enables the bereaved to reconnect, heal unfinished business, and make peace with the deceased.
         This is for guys too, those who are serious about core dynamics that can improve any relationship in this dimension... and others.
         Jamie's conflict-resolution techniques have been featured on major networks including CNN, NBC, CBS, Fox and on WebMD, Discovery.com, and iVillage. She has also appeared in popular national magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Men's Health and Glamour.
         In addition, Dr. Love writes a column called 'We Can Work It Out' for Psychology Today online.
         The Ask Dr. Love radio show can be heard in Seattle on KKNW and on WebTalkRadio.net, which is heard in 80 countries worldwide as is BBS Radio.
         Welcome Dr. Love to Cosmic LOVE for an amazing story of the power of love that has blessed so many lives with the wisdom of the heart for healing fragmented, compartmentalized "stinking thinking" (paradigm paralysis). Good life lessons for balanced full-spectrum conscience.

GUEST: DENNIS P. CALVERT

Dennis P. Calvert is President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of BioLargo. He also serves in the same positions for BioLargo Life Technologies, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of BioLargo, Inc., and chairman of the board of directors of each of Odor-No-More, Inc. and Clyra Medical Technologies, both BioLargo subsidiaries. Mr. Calvert was appointed a director in June 2002, and has served as President and Chief Executive Officer since June 2002, Corporate Secretary from September 2002 until March 2003, and Chief Financial Officer from March 2003 through January 2008.

Mr. Calvert holds a B.A. degree in Economics from Wake Forest University, where he was a varsity basketball player. Mr. Calvert also studied at Columbia University and Harding University. He also serves on the Board of Directors at The Maximum Impact Foundation, a 501 (c)(3), committed to bridging the cap for lifesaving work around the globe for the good of man and in the name of Christ. He serves as a member of the Advisory Council for Wake Forest University’s Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship.

He is also an Eagle Scout. He is married to his wife of 27 years and has two children. He is also an active coach in youth sports organizations and ministry activity in his home community. Mr. Calvert has an extensive entrepreneurial background as an operator, investor and consultant. Prior to his work with BioLargo, had participated in more than 300 consulting projects and more than 50 acquisitions as well as various financing transactions and companies that ranged from industrial chemicals, healthcare management, finance, telecommunications and consumer products.

Mada Eliza Dalian is a world-renowned luminary, spiritual teacher, and master of healing and personal transformation. She is the founder of the revolutionary Dalian Method™ (DM) featured in Healing the Body and Awakening Consciousness with the Dalian Method: An Advanced Self-Healing System for a New Humanity book and 2 CD set, and the award-winning best-selling author of In Search of the Miraculous: Healing into Consciousness. Mada began her quest for truth at the age of five when she witnessed her grandfather’s death. Becoming aware of her own mortality at such a tender age, she began to contemplate life’s existential questions: Who am I? Where have I come from? and Where will I go when I die? At the age of twenty-four, she left behind her training in education and architecture and devoted herself to the search for truth and spiritual enlightenment. After years of meditation and introspection, she was blessed with several profound experiences that ultimately led to a powerful awakening experience at the age of thirty-three. In 1997, combining her experience of Truth and extraordinary ability to accurately read the unconscious belief patterns imprinted in the body’s cellular memory, Mada pioneered a new healing system, which helps to quickly identify the causes of pain, illness, emotional and psychological problems and permanently transform what is unconscious into self-empowered consciousness. Mada shares her wisdom through Dalian Method seminars, workshops, online courses, retreats, private sessions, and coach and facilitator trainings.

Lauren is a trance medium and the author of:  Be Honest with Yourself – 7 Secrets to Happiness and Success.

Lauren has over 25 years of experience in the metaphysical world. 

“My return to this earth plane was a natural state of being. Through my journey of life my taught me, and gave me an understanding about my gifts.”  

Today she is an Author, Teacher, Psychic/Medium, Clairvoyant, Empathic, Tarot reader. Lauren is very direct and to the point.  It is all about you.  All readings are channeled from her Angel.

MARK CRISPIN MILLER is a Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University. He is the author of several books, including Boxed In: The Culture of TV; The Bush Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder; Cruel and Unusual: Bush/Cheney’s New World Order and Fooled Again: The Real Case for Electoral Reform. He is also the editor of Loser Take All: Election Fraud and the Subversion of Democracy, 2000-2008. His essays and articles have appeared in many journals, magazines and newspapers throughout the nation and the world, and he has given countless interviews worldwide.

Miller is the editor of Icons of America, a book series published by Yale University Press. Miller is now at work on The Marlboro Man: An American Success Story, to be published by Yale University Press in 2011. He is also editor of Discovering America, a new book series from the University of Texas Press.

Miller earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in 1971, and his doctorate in English from Johns Hopkins University in 1977. Although he specialized in Renaissance literature, Miller is best known as a media critic. Before joining New York University, Miller served as director of film studies at Johns Hopkins University.

ABOUT FORBIDDEN BOOKSHELF

(New York, NY—June 9, 2014)—Open Road Media announced today Forbidden Bookshelf, a series of books curated by Professor Mark Crispin Miller of New York University. Forbidden Bookshelf titles fill in the blanks of America’s repressed history by resurrecting books that focused on issues and events that are too often left in the dark, including abortion, organized crime, the CIA, and financial inequality.

The series launches on June 10 with five books: Blowback: America’s Recruitment of Nazis and Its Destructive Impact on Our Domestic and Foreign Policy by Christopher Simpson, The Phoenix Program: America’s Use of Terror in Vietnam by Douglas Valentine, The Search for an Abortionist: The Classic Study of How American Women Coped with Unwanted Pregnancy Before Roe v. Wade by Nancy Howell Lee, Interference: How Organized Crime Influences Professional Football by Dan E. Moldea, and The Lords of Creation: The History of America’s 1 Percent by Frederick Lewis Allen. Each of the first four titles includes a new introduction. 

Additional books by I. F. Stone, Gerard Colby, Charlotte Dennett, Kati Marton, Robert Fitch, Bertram Gross, and John Dinges will be released later this summer.

Open Road Media CEO Jane Friedman said, “This list of books is much deserving of renewed attention. The issues they address are as significant today as they were when the books were first published. We believe that we will stimulate new conversation and debate through our intensive and extensive marketing platform.”

Mark Crispin Miller said, “Despite our First Amendment—or because of it—countless crucial books have been adroitly ‘disappeared’ through methods far less crude than outright censorship, from threats of litigation to press black-outs and/or charges of ‘conspiracy theory.’ Such tactics have repeatedly erased those books that we most need to read, because of their important truths about the powers that be; and so our purpose is to bring those books to life again.”

Miller is a professor of media studies at NYU and an accomplished author of several books, from Boxed In: The Culture of TV (1988) and Seeing Through Movies (1990) to his more recent works on politics, including The Bush Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder and Fooled Again: The Real Case for Electoral Reform. He has also written many articles for newspapers and journals, including four op-eds in the New York Times, as well as many pieces in the Nation, the New Republic,and the New York Review of Books, and articles for Harper’s,the Atlantic, Mother Jones, Esquire, and the Wall Street Journal. Through his blog, News from Underground, he is also an influential presence on the web.

About Open Road Integrated Media

Open Road Integrated Media is a global digital publishing company that creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media. Open Road has published fiction and nonfiction ebooks from authors including William Styron, Pat Conroy, Alice Walker, James Jones, Pearl S. Buck, David Halberstam, Victor S. Navasky, Gloria Steinem, Martin Duberman, and Richard Ben Cramer. 

I discovered the astrologer Alison Reeves through my good friend Mahala Gayle's guest contribution on Planet Alert.  Alison wrote a fascinating piece on mushrooms!  You can find it here:

Though Alison doesn't have a website, she says this about herself:

Things I used to do which are interesting:
I was born in Johannesburg and left when I was 18 years old to get away from Apartheid. Im 44 now.
Project Manager of Anam Cara crisis house modelled on Soteria House in California for 7 years.
Creative therapist in a Hospice for 3 years.

Now......

Astrologer and poet
Chiron astrology workshops with horse whisperer Amanda Oates. 
Sacred Isles tours, celestial events around the world at sacred sites
Im a Queer astrologer but I work with everyone who wants a queer perspective in life!

Alison

I’m starting a new group in Lancashire, UK with neuroscientist Dr. Jen Altman called

Ipek Ozulu Goldberg has been a classical violinist since the age of 6. She was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey and started her musical education at University of Istanbul, State Conservatory in 1989. At the age of 9, Ipek moved to Washington D.C. with her parents, Ilhan and Deniz. Initially a culture shock, she quickly learned the language and excelled in school and music. She joined the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras and played with them for 8 years gradually joining AYP under the direction of Luis Haza and traveling the country competing in youth symphony competitions. Upon graduating high school with honors, she attended Virginia Tech on a music scholarship where she was the concertmaster of the New River Symphony. She later transferred to George Mason University where she graduated top of her class with a B.S. in Marketing and double minor in music performance and IT. After college, she moved to New York City where she met her husband Craig in 2008 and the couple fell in love.

They moved to San Diego in 2010 where they currently reside. In 2014, they celebrated their love with 4 wedding ceremonies in 4 locations in the U.S. and Mexico. Both with a background in sales, marketing and event planning, Ipek and Craig are founders and leaders of a camp called “Desiderata” at Burning Man, a week-long cultural event celebrating music and art with 70,000 participants from around the world. Ipek’s passion for music continues with performances along side her father Ilhan and her recent acceptance into the Greater San Diego Chamber Orchestra.

To Learn More About Our Guest, Ipek Ozulu Goldberg’s Participation in The Greater San Diego Chamber Orchestra

ILHAN SAMI OZULU

İlhan Sami Özulu is currently celebrating his 49th year anniversary in music. He was born and raised in İstanbul, Turkey and started his music education in 1966 at İstanbul Municipal Conservatory of Music when he was at middle school. After his graduation from Kültür Koleji, in 1972, he enrolled at the University of İstanbul’s School of Economics. At the same time, he started to play guitar at various hotels, nightclubs and casinos in İstanbul and participated in several tours in Europe and all around Turkey.

İlhan formed his first band, “Evrim Folk Dörtlüsü”, with his brother İhsan in 1970, and recorded the first single record in 1971. In 1973 they changed their band’s name to “Evrim 5”, and recorded their second single with lyrics by Ümit Yaşar Oğuzcan, and Esmeray featured on lead vocal. With the success of this single, “Evrim 5” hit the charts on HEY Music Magazine’s Top 50 list for 16 consecutive weeks. İlhan İrem later joined the group as a lead singer. Among his many other accomplishments, İlhan received the TRT Best Composer Music Award in 1979, competing with 415 other composers.

In 1978, İlhan was the leader of the professional well-known band “Grup Evrim.” Grup Evrim performed various locations in Turkey until İlhan moved to the USA in 1992.

Between 1978 and 1981, he played viola at “Kültür Bakanlığı Devlet Klasik Türk Muziği Korosu” until he had to serve for the Turkish Armed Forces at General Staff Headquarters in Ankara as a Second Lieutenant. After completion of his military service, he rejoined his band “Grup Evrim.” At the same time, İlhan was also the Music Director of the Turkic World Research Foundation Music Ensemble, toured Europe and Turkey several times.

With his undergraduate degree in music, İlhan started working at İstanbul Municipal Conservatory of Music, later known as University of İstanbul State Conservatory, as both an instructor and a performer on the viola and guitar, and later the jazz orchestra conductor and arranger, between 1983 and 1992. He received a Master’s degree in 1991, and following with a Ph.D. in Radio/TV Broadcasting from the University of İstanbul, in 1995. İlhan received his second master’s degree, M.S. in Electronic Commerce from George Mason University in 2007, in addition to 5 associated degrees in Information Technology from Northern Virginia Community College. He is still continuing his Project Management education at University of Irvine.

İlhan, his wife Deniz and daughter İpek, moved to Washington, D.C. on July 20, 1992 and started working for the Voice of America as an International Radio Broadcaster. After working a short period of time at the Turkish Embassy, İlhan changed his career to Information Technology. Currently, he is working as a Senior Software Release Manager in Orange County, California.

He established and directed Turkish Music Choir in 2001, and supported Turkish Folklore Troupe of Washington, DC. Even though he changed his daytime career, Dr. Özulu still plays all kinds of Turkish and international music in both East and West Coast. He moved to the Greater Los Angeles Area on March 29, 2012, and established his own Internet Radio station ‘Radio OZULU’ on 12.12.12 and still broadcasting live from Southern California. Dr. İlhan Özulu is also the past president of Galatasaray DC and Galatasaray California.