HELEN WOO

Depressed, Unhappy, Stuck in Life?

Then Take Your Cue from Helen Woo’s “Self-Aid” to Put Your Life Back on Track

Woo Offers the Transformative Thinking That Helped Her Overcome the Miseries in Her Life

Helen Woo endured her life. It wasn’t living. Raised in a restrictive traditional Chinese-American household, she experienced self-esteem issues, mental and physical abuse, grief, substance abuse, betrayal and depression. Yet she still managed to have a successful career that allowed her to build a bit of a nest egg. Later, when she invested it in a partnership with a close friend, only to have her partner steal all of the assets, that betrayal was the last straw. Alone and raising a son, Woo knew something had to change-and it wasn’t the world around her-it was the world within her.

Freed by the laughter she experienced watching Ellen DeGeneres each day, Woo realized that laughter was indeed the best medicine for her. During her healing, she started to read inspirational books, and as she did, she began to revise what she was reading into her own, positive, uplifting interpretations so that it directly applied to her. Each negative thought or emotion was then subjected to a “rewrite” in her mind, so that soon she could feel the shift in both her inner AND outer life.

Having experienced a philosophical and spiritual shift, Woo created the concept of Self-AID–an acronym that stands for Self-Aid (self-help), Esteem, Love/Laughter, Freedom, Attitude, Integrity, Dream. Her new book SELF-AID – Inspirations to Turn Struggles into Success (January, 2015), allows her readers to be inspired and uplifted by the very quotes that ultimately turned her life around. Each quote is followed by one of her unique “Wooisms” – the ideal way to interpret the quote to engineer a shift into a higher and better way of thinking. The book, divided into each of these categories, provides SELF-AID for anyone to lift out of their doldrums or depression and move into a life filled with joy, peace, gratitude and prosperity.

Woo is passionate about paying it forward–giving others the thrust they need to overcome whatever past traumas and dramas might have held them back. With her new book, her radio show, SELF-AID Success Stories, and her second book of the same title, due in the spring, Woo shares empowering and inspiring stories from successful entrepreneurs and public figures on how they overcame their own struggles and failures. Woo is also creating a SELF-AID foundation for empowerment that gives people the courage to change from a negative to a positive framework in their lives; leaving the struggle behind and experiencing the surge!

Woo is now an emerging speaker, writer and leader, who brings a welcome ultra-positive perspective to everything she does. SELF-AID Inspirations to Turn Struggles into Success is a key to opening up the reader’s heart and mind to re-frame his or her life from lackluster to luscious.

Ms. Woo would be happy to offer quotes and “Wooisms” from SELF-AID Inspirations to Turn Struggles into Success. For an engaging and shot-in-the-arm interview with Helen Woo, please send an email with the name of the show, your contact information, a proposed date and time, and the calling details.

Elise Woodward was a three sport athlete at North Eugene High School in Eugene, Oregon.  She earned all-state honors as a goalie in soccer, a guard in basketball, and a shortstop in fastpitch.  She was nationally recruited, and has lived in Seattle ever since the University of Washington offered her a full-ride scholarship to play basketball.  

Woodward was team captain as a Senior.  One of her biggest thrills on the court, was playing in the NCAA Tournament.  In her Sophomore year, she helped the Lady Huskies make it to the Sweet 16.  

After college, Woodward went to work at FOX Sports Net in Seattle.  She was a reporter covering the Seahawks, Mariners, and Huskies.  She left FSN to work as the Seattle Supersonics courtside reporter, and to join the Seattle Storm radio broadcast team as an analyst.  Woodward was on the call in 2004 when the Storm won the WNBA Championship.  

From 2002-2014 Woodward was a sports talk host at Sports Radio 950 KJR in Seattle.

Woodward currently is the Sideline Reporter for Husky football broadcasts, and an analyst for Lady Husky baskteball. 

Dr. Mark Naison is professor of African American studies and history at Fordham University. He is author of many books and articles including 'Communists in Harlem During the Depression', 'White Boy: A Memoir' and his newest book 'Badass Teachers Unite! Reflections on Education History and Youth Activism'. The founder of the Bronx African American History project, Naison has emerged in the last five years as a passionate defender of America's public school teachers and students, founding groups like Dump Duncan, the Teachers Talk Back Project, and most recently, the Badass Teachers Association.. He was a former political activist who was a member of CORE and SDS in the 1960s. He is a graduate of Columbia University and holds a Ph. D. in American History.

He has written over a hundred articles and published three books on urban history, African-American History, and the history of sports. Naison has also appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, Chappelle's Show, and The Discovery Channel's Greatest American Competition. He has also been an outspoken critic of Teach for America.

Naison is co-founder of the Badass Teachers Association, a group dedicated to fighting the Common Core Curriculum and corporate influences on American education. His newest book is 'Badass Teachers Unite! Reflections on Education History and Youth Activism'. In this incisive collection of essays, educator and activist Mark Naison draws on years of research on Bronx history and his own experience on the front lines of the education wars to unapologetically defend teachers and students from education “reform” policies that undermine their power and creativity.

Naison shows how dominant education policy systematically hurts the very children it claims to support and instead forces them to “race to the top.” He exposes the Duncans, Rhees, and Gateses for schemes that intensify racial and economic inequality. And he refocuses the conversation on teaching and organizing strategies that should be implemented in communities everywhere.

Review

Ruth Powers Silverberg is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York. Her teaching and research focus on preparing educational leaders to foster constructivist learning communities and countering the damaging effects of neoliberal education reform. She actively advocates for reclaiming schooling for the democratic project with colleagues, parents, and teachers.



Recent projects include the following:



Scholarship / Publications :

Dodge, A. &  Powers Silverberg, R. (forthcoming) Dominant Discourse, Educational Research and the Hegemony of Test Scores: If You Only Have a Hammer Every Problem Looks Like a Nail. Critical Education.



Kempf, A. and Powers Silverberg, R. (forthcoming). Academic Disobedience: Engaging

Michael Apple’s Nine Tasks of the Critical Scholar in an Age of Standardization. Chapter in School against neoliberal rule. Information Age Publishing: Charlotte, NC.



Powers Silverberg, R. (2013). From Compliance to Activism: The case of the New York

Principals. Roundtable Presentation, 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, California.



Ayers, W., Dodge, A., Nunez, I., Powers Silverberg, R.  (2013). Edu4: Social Imagination and Political Activism in Education. Session, 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, California.



Powers Silverberg, R. (2013). From Compliance to Activism: The case of the New York

Principals. Roundtable Presentation, 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, California.

My name is Aggie Kurzyna and I am running for the New Britain Board of Education. I am a parent, a grandparent and a lifelong New Britain resident who cares deeply about my community. I am taking the leap to run for a seat on the BOE as I have found education advocacy is my life’s purpose and passion.

For too many years, New Britain parents have struggled with trusting the New Britain school district.  My mission once on the board of education will be to rebuild the trust between parents, students and the school district. Clearly, if families and schools are to form partnerships that work, there must first be a foundation of mutual trust, confidence, and respect.

Students will need more than just good teachers and smaller class sizes to meet the challenges of tomorrow. For students to get the most out of school, we need to promote a partnership between parents, community leaders, and schools. Only through partnerships can our schools keep improving and stay on the right track. In my opinion, the biggest single dilemma in local education today is making significant decisions about schools without genuinely accepting input from parents and community members. This demoralizes and discourages those who are most actively involved in our city’s schools.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am a first generation Polish American, born and raised in New Britain. My parents emigrated here in 1973. My significant other, Gerry Benitez, is Puerto Rican, which makes our children Polorican. Gerry and I have been together for 15 years.

I was a high school dropout who worked diligently to get my GED and college degree and have established an 18 year career in Project Management. In addition to my job as a Project Manager, I also chair a mentoring program at my place of employment. Now in its 30th year, the program provides an opportunity for students in grades 3-8 from the Fred D.Wish Elementary School in Hartford to spend time with a caring adult in the business community.

I am a parent and a woman with a diverse background that has been through many life experiences which have brought me to where I am today. I am a passionate, caring person who wants to work with other compassionate and focused people to bring about meaningful and sustainable changes to this community. The amount of heart I possess for this work is clearly displayed in the amount of research, time, and energy I give to the many issues that must be addressed.

For over five years I have dedicated nearly all my free time to advocating for an equitable and quality education for ALL children. I've worked hard with many other passionate people to bring concerns to light and look for solutions.

I taught special education for many years. I left teaching due to the current reforms that are taking over the nation’s classrooms. I am now committed to writing about the profession that I hold dear and the public schools that are critically important to the future of America and its children.

Along with my book, Misguided Education Reform: Debating the Impact on Students, I have been published in Phi Delta Kappan and Education Week. I am an activist on the issue of safe school facilities. In 2012, I was invited to speak about school building safety at the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s annual meeting in Memphis, Tennessee.

I have a B.S. degree in special education from Central Michigan University, a M.Ed in special education from the University of North Florida, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Florida State University. I earned credentials in teaching students with emotional disabilities, learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, and school administration. I also obtained post-doc credentials in teaching gifted and talented from the University of South Florida. My student teaching involved working under wonderfully talented veteran teachers who I still hold in high regard.

Jamaal Bowman is the founding principal of Cornerstone Academy for Social Action Middle School. In its 4th year, based on the New York City Department of Education's progress report, Cornerstone ranks in the 83rd percentile of all middle schools. Jamaal was trained to be a school leader by New Leaders for New Schools in 2008. New Leaders is a national principal recruitment and training program, which admits less than 7% of applicants. During his time with New Leaders, Jamaal's principal residency took place at Achievement First Endeavor Charter School in Brooklyn New York, and he participated in seminars and visits to exemplary middle schools in New York and throughout the country. Prior to joining New Leaders in 2008, Jamaal served as Guidance Counselor, teacher, and Dean of Students at The High School of Art and Technology at the Martin Luther King Jr. Campus for 3 years. Before working at M.L.K, Jamaal began his career as an elementary school teacher at P.S. 90 in the Bronx for five years.



More about CASA Middle School:

Joseph Carringer is a professional didgeridoo musician and sound therapist. In his sound therapy practice he uses concert class didgeridoos, combining Traditional Chinese Medicine meridian and organ theory with Ayurvedic Chakra philosophies creating a unique and powerful therapeutic sound healing experience. Joseph has been playing an Australian Aboriginal didgeridoo for over 15 years, using it as a deep meditative tool in his personal shamanic journey as well as a therapeutic instrument for his clients.

Joseph presents and performs both nationally and internationally on mind/body connection and the effects of didgeridoo sound therapy for the purposes of clearing energetic and emotional stagnation within the energetic body to wellness and healthy life style seekers, as well as to medical and holistic professionals.

After doing extensive research, Joseph opened his harmonic therapy practice to the New England Seacoast communities in January of 2004. Since the fall of 2005, Joseph has offered yearly classes for the Maine Medical CAM programs and the University of Southern Maine’s CAM programs, and presents at the University of New Hampshire and New England College. Joseph also volunteered at Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME on R-1 (cardiac) and Pediatric floor.

Joseph has been on the internationally known author and psychic medium, John Holland’s Hayhouse Radio show several times as well as opened musically for many of John’s events. He was also a guest speaker at John’s Chakra-Healing class at Kripalu Center for Yoga presenting his Didgeridoo Chakra Clearing Workshop.

Joseph began performing musically with the didgeridoo in 1997 with blues and jazz acts and later moved on to playing live breath percussion to electronic dance music with DJs. Currently he is performing and producing music with Josh Harris (major label remix producer and former music director/keyboardist for Seal) in a club/world fusion electronica group called Table Syndicate.

It is Joseph’s goal to help people realign their bodies’ natural rhythms on a cellular level through harmonic therapy. He believes that through this work, people can achieve a greater sense of natural health and open doors for a higher sense of creativity and consciousness. He feels a deep natural connection with the healing of our planet and ourselves and has a variety of CD’s for sale.

Joseph also spent nearly a decade in the hemp-based apparel industry as both a manufacturer and activist.