Happy Wednesday! This week, as part of our observance of Women’s History Month, we’re going to take a closer look at Christine McKinley! Christine is a mechanical engineer running her own engineering firm and managing industrial and commercial construction projects… but that hardly scratches the surface of her experiences and interests! She has also hosted …

Engineer/Women in STEM activist Christine McKinley – a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday! As part of our continuing observance of Women’s History Month, we’re taking a closer look at journalist/memoirist/creative writing professor Daisy Hernández!     Describing her newest publication, Daisy notes  “with my comadre, the author Bushra Rehman, I co-edited the anthology Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism. That first edition came …

Daisy Hernández, Author/memoirist/feminist- a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday! This week, we’re taking a closer look at Dr. Ainissa Ramirez!   “I have wanted to be a scientist ever since I was a little girl. I got the idea from a television program called 3-2-1 Contact, where I watched a young African-American girl solve problems. I saw my reflection in her and …

Ainissa Ramirez, author of THE ALCHEMY OF US — a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday! This week we’re talking a closer look at documentary filmmaker Shola Lynch.     Shola was quite accomplished in a number of areas before becoming a filmmaker. For instance, she was a member of the Sesame Street cast as a child! As she got older, she also became a nationally-ranked track star in …

Documentary Filmmaker Shola Lynch – a closer look Read More »

Happy Thursday! This week, we have a special bonus speaker feature,  we’ll take a closer look at science writer David Quammen! David’s been featured in the news, and interviewed internationally, about the emerging coronavirus from China. David’s book Spillover took an in-depth look at emerging pandemics caused by animal-to-human transmission, including Ebola and coronavirus.   …

David Quammen and emerging diseases – a closer look! Read More »

Happy Wednesday! Today, we’re taking a closer look at civil rights/human rights champion Lateefah Simon! (Lateefah, second from left, at recent dedication of the Oscar Grant mural at Fruitvale Station in San Francisco)   A nationally recognized advocate for civil rights and racial justice, Lateefah has over 20 years of executive experience advancing opportunities for …

Civil/Human Right champion Lateefah Simon – a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday! This week, we’re going to take a longer look at author/scholar Charles Johnson. Actually, the full ‘slash line’ would be author/Buddhist scholar/cartoonist/philosopher/photojournalist/television producer…   When asked about the difference between visual art and writing, Johnson said “…when you’re talking about language, you have the possibility of multiple levels of meaning. If I shifted …

National Book Award winning author Charles Johnson: a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday! This week, we’re going to take a closer look at what climate scientist Michael Mann has been up to lately … Dr. Mann is a climatologist and the head of Penn State’s Earth System Science Center. His work on the IPCC’s “Third Scientific Assessment Report” on climate change was cited as an important …

Climate Scientist Michael Mann in Australia- a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday! Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “God never intended for one group of people to live in superfluous inordinate wealth, while others live in abject deadening poverty”. This week, we’re going to take a closer look at philanthropist/inequality scholar Chuck Collins!     He is a storyteller and organizer known for his efforts …

Inequality scholar Chuck Collins – a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday! Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday is Wednesday this week, and will be nationally observed next Monday.   Dr. King once said “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ We’re going to take a closer look at Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, a man for whom this question is …

Stockton Mayor Micheal Tubbs- a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday, and Happy New Year! We’re starting 2020 by introducing to you our newest speaker, labor organizer and activist Jane McAlevey!   Jane McAlevey has spent most of her life as an organizer and negotiator. She’s fourth generation union, raised in an activist-union household. She spent the first half of her organizing life working …

Labor Activist/Author Jane McAlevey – A closer look Read More »

Friends – Even as we face uncertainty and conflict within the United States, we are reminded of the holidays that remind us of our commonality. Both the Christmas tree and the Hanukkah menorah are reminders of faith, of hope in hopeless situations, of renewal and rebirth. Let 2020 be the year of a world cultural …

The Happy Holidays edition … Read More »

Happy Wednesday!  This week, we’re taking a closer look at the woman they call “Canopy Meg” – Dr. Margaret Lowman. Nicknamed the “real-life Lorax” by National Geographic and “Einstein of the treetops” by Wall Street Journal, Meg Lowman pioneered the science of canopy ecology. For over 30 years, she has designed hot-air balloons and walkways …

“Canopy Meg” Lowman – a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday! This week, , let’s take a look at Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson, as it’s Paul’s birthday!   With Paul’s international legal issues behind him, he has returned to the lecture circuit speak out for the world’s oceans. A few things to know about Paul:   -Founding member of Greenpeace, left when the …

Paul Watson- Sea Shepherd Founder, Ocean Warrior – a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday! This week, we’re taking a closer look at Dr. Ainissa Ramirez! “I have wanted to be a scientist ever since I was a little girl. I got the idea from a television program called 3-2-1 Contact, where I watched a young African-American girl solve problems. I saw my reflection in her and was …

Science Evangelist Dr. Ainissa Ramirez – a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday! We’re continuing our look at the speakers we’re getting the most requests for this spring. This week, we’re taking a closer look at author/columnist Jessica Valenti! “One of the most successful and visible feminists of her generation.” ~The Washington Post.   Jessica Valenti – called one of the Top 100 Inspiring Women in the …

Feminist essayist/author Jessica Valenti – a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday! This week, we want to feature roboticist/novelist Daniel H. Wilson. He’s well-known for his New York Times best-selling novels, and is about to take a great leap forward with the publication of The Andromeda Evolution. Daniel H. Wilson is a Cherokee citizen and author of the New York Times bestselling Robopocalypse and its …

Novelist/Roboticist Daniel H. Wilson- a closer look Read More »

Happy Wednesday! As we are deep in the midst of our customers finalizing their plans for Spring 2020, for programs like Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, we’re taking a closer look at Lilly Ledbetter! The best explanation of what happened to Lilly at Goodyear comes from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s dissenting opinion in …

Equal Pay Activist Lilly Ledbetter- a closer look Read More »