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

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

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

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

Zach Friend has worked for more than one politician and in this publication' ON MESSAGE' he gives real insights into the world of communication and how anyone can use his techniques to make their businesses and personal lives more successful.

Zach Friend is a policy, public affairs and communications expert who has worked for Barack Obama and John Kerry’s presidential campaigns, the White House Council of Economic Advisers, U.S. Senate, Congressman Sam Farr and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).


With Obama for America ’08, Zach was a press secretary and spokesman in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, handling planning, writing and media relations in the Greater Philadelphia market. For appearances and interviews, he staffed and briefed Barack Obama, Joe Biden and other campaign principals and surrogates. 



As Deputy National Director of Special Projects for the DNC, Zach helped lead the field staff for John Kerry’s campaign. Additionally, he designed message and campaign strategy for Native American outreach in battleground states.



Before the Kerry campaign, Zach served with Senator Daschle, Congressman Farr and the Council of Economic Advisers as a  staffer, researcher and writer. 

He has been quoted by MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS, National Public Radio, the LA Times, the Boston Globe, Politico, the Huffington Post and others. 



In June of 2012, Zach was elected to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors representing the 2nd District - which includes Aptos, La Selva, Corralitos and portions of Capitola and Watsonville.
 
Previously, Zach was the Press Information Officer and a Crime Analyst for the Santa Cruz, California Police Department. In addition to directing communications strategy and acting as the department's spokesman, he analyzed crime statistics to help design more effective prevention and enforcement strategies. This included bringing predictive policing to the department, a complex mathematical model that helped predict when and where crime would occur.
 
He has been published extensively on issues related to public management, law enforcement resource allocations and health and economic policy. Zach has a Masters degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University and a BA with Honors in History from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Margaret Johnston has spent decades improving people's eyesight. Now she offers clearer vision on a higher level.

http://www.faithbeyondbelief-book.com/

After a quarter century practicing Optometry, Margaret Placentra Johnston now offers people clearer vision of a different sort - through her writing. The author of Faith Beyond Belief: Stories of Good People Who Left Their Church Behind, she feels the spiritual development stages have the power to bring an end to religious intolerance and should be part of the general knowledge of our culture.

Dr. Dana Ardi is a leader in the executive coaching and recruitment field. She is Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, wirking with human capital to advise and transform businesses. She lives in New York.

Dr. Dana Ardi is the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, a consulting firm that provides human capital solutions to companies building value through people. The firm’s services include:

• Executive Search
• Organizational Design
• Team Building
• Tactical Human Resources
• Talent Management
• Workforce Planning
• Consulting and Coaching
• Succession Planning

An expert in the fields of talent management, organizational design, recruiting, assessment, and leadership, Dr. Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi’s twenty-five years of experience and global network give her the ability to map the competition and talent in unexpected ways, bringing companies the most creaitvie

She also coaches senior management, boards, and investors on the art and science of building high caliber teams, providing them with the skills to attract top-level management, design ideal organizational structures, and deploy people against strategy

Dr. Ardi has served as a Partner/Managing Direcor at CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners, and was a Partner at Flatiron Partners. Earlier in her career, she was an operating executive at R. R. Donnelly & Sons and at McGraw-Hill. She also has a background managing and leading executive search firms.

Dr. Ardi served on the board of AMC Entertainment Inc. from 2009 until the company’s sale in 2012. She is an officer at the Creative Arts Council of the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, and a member of the Royal Society of the Arts. She is part of the Leadership Council of the New York Foundation of the Arts as well.

Dr. Ardi has a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a masters degree and doctorate from Boston College. She is the author of THE FALL OF THE ALPHAS (St. Martin’s Press, October 2013).