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Accessing the Power Within: Being an Agent of Change
Felora Derakhshani
Felora is the founder and President of ACT Women, an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to educate, encourage and empower women and young girls to become agents of change. She is owner of Felora Image Consulting Company. She has also worked as an electro-mechanical engineer in varying engineering and management capacities. She currently serves on the board of Austin Area Interreligious Ministries (AAIM) and UNA-USA Austin Chapter. Felora was born and raised in Iran, and now lives in Austin, Texas. www.actwomen.com
Journaling: Writing Your Way to Freedom
Marcia Wakeland
Marcia is a spiritual director, physical therapist and pastor who currently runs a downtown ministry in Anchorage, Alaska called The Listening Post. She is the author of two books, several essays and sixty-two journals. She believes that writing is not only a way to unearth the voice of your soul, but also to learn how deeply that soul wants to speak. Marcia lives in Eagle River, Alaska.
Healing Hurts, Building Peace
Nitsan Gordon-Giles and Silvia Margia
Nitsan is an Israeli Jew and the founder and director of "Beyond Words", an Israeli based multi-disciplinary approach to empower women and promote understanding and empathy between Palestinian Arabs and Jews. She believes that the emotional and economic empowerment of women are key factors in cultivating lasting peace. She is trained and experienced in dance/movement therapy, healing touch, and multi-level listening techniques. She has taught and led workshops and training sessions using this approach in Israel, the United States and New Zealand. www.beyondwords.org.il
Silvia is a Palestinian Arab Christian living in Israel, and the visionary, creator, and co-director of Women in the Center, a women's empowerment and peace center in the Arab city of Nazareth. She has been a social worker for sixteen years and studied at the Leslie University extension in Natanya in the departments of Women Studies and Arts. She has been a facilitator of women and young women's groups, both with Beyond Words and Creativity for Peace. www.beyondwords.org.il
Celebrating Our Oneness
Sarah Thomsen and Joyce Rupp
Sara is a singer-songwriter, recording artist, and artistic director of the Echoes of Peace Choir and the vocal trio Three Altos. She is the leader in facilitating community singing and in activating, encouraging and empowering hearts and minds through the power of song. Sara lives in Wisconsin. www.sarathomsen.com
Joyce is the author of numerous best selling books, and describes herself as a spiritual midwife. Besides writing, her ministry includes speaking at national and international retreats and conferences, spiritual direction, and co-directing. The Institute of Compassionate Presence. She is a member of the Servants of Mary and a volunteer for Hospice. Joyce lives in Iowa. www.joycerupp.com
Learning to Trust Love
Pegge Bernecker
Pegge is an author, spiritual director, retreat leader, and editor of Listen: A Seeker's Resource for Spiritual Direction published by Spiritual Directors International. For over eighteen years she served in youth and campus ministry. The death of her teenage son magnified her calling to be present, offering transformative hope and love to others. She lives in Kasilof, Alaska. www.PeggeBernecker.com
Birthing the New Elder
Sherry Ruth Anderson
Sherry is co-author of The Feminine Face of God: The Unfolding Story of the Sacred in Women and the Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing the World. She chaired the Dept. of Psychological Research at Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Canada, was Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto Medical School and has served as Head Dharma Teacher at the Ontario Zen Center. She currently is a founding teacher of the Feminine Wisdom School www.femininewisdomschool.org and is writing a book on her stories and reflections on being a woman elder. www.wisdomculture.org
The Speed of Life
Jill Biebel
Jill is a storyteller, a seeker, and a sociology graduate of the University of Minnesota. She is a regular presenter at the Franciscan Center for Spiritual Renewal in Tampa, Florida, where she lives.
Healing, Transformation and Creativity: Using Art to Unite Hearts
Suzanne Damrich
Suzanne found her way to art through the ancient images of iconography, which speak to her of universal themes common to all cultures. Her interest in the healing power of creativity originated in her early career experience with Adjustment to Illness/ Crisis Intervention social work done in hospital settings. She now continues this work with local inmates. She will guide women in this workshop to express themselves through art. Suzanne lives in our host city of Mobile, Alabama. www.suzannedamrich.com
