Podcasts about very special arts

In this HCI Podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanhwestover/) talks with Kirk Bowman and Jon Wilcox about their new book, Reimagining Global Philanthropy. See the video here: https://youtu.be/Hvq5rYESIlQ.  Kirk Bowman is full professor and Jon Wilcox Term Chair of Global Development & Identity and Global Politics in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  Bowman previously was the founder and director of a non-profit based in Fiji that combined drug discovery and local sustainable development in small Fijian coastal communities. He is currently working on several book projects, including one with Jon Wilcox on a new model of international non-profit organizations that maximizes efficiency and outcomes for young people. Mr. Wilcox is the Co-Founder and former CEO and Director of California Republic Bank. California Republic Bank was one of the fastest-growing and most successful de novo banks in California history. He has been and remains an active early-stage investor in numerous companies and industries, including computer technology, medical products, biotechnology, and financial services. Wilcox's current and prior board affiliations include South Coast Repertory, Junior Achievement, Very Special Arts, Westside Center for Independent living, and Fiji Reef Resources. Please leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts!  Check out the LinkedIn Alchemizing Human Capital Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/alchemizing-human-capital-6884351526333227008/.  Check out Dr. Westover's book, 'Bluer than Indigo' Leadership, here: https://www.innovativehumancapital.com/bluerthanindigo.  Check out Dr. Westover's book, The Alchemy of Truly Remarkable Leadership, here: https://www.innovativehumancapital.com/leadershipalchemy.  Check out the latest issue of the Human Capital Leadership magazine, here: https://www.innovativehumancapital.com/hci-magazine.  Ranked #6 Performance Management Podcast: https://blog.feedspot.com/performance_management_podcasts/  Ranked #6 Workplace Podcast: https://blog.feedspot.com/workplace_podcasts/  Ranked #7 HR Podcast: https://blog.feedspot.com/hr_podcasts/  Ranked #12 Talent Management Podcast: https://blog.feedspot.com/talent_management_podcasts/  Ranked in the Top 20 Personal Development and Self-Improvement Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/personal_development_podcasts/  Ranked in the Top 30 Leadership Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/leadership_podcasts/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hcipodcast/support

Kirk Bowman is full professor and Jon Wilcox Term Chair of Global Development & Identity and Global Politics in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Bowman previously was the founder and director of a non-profit based in Fiji that combined drug discovery and local sustainable development in small Fijian coastal communities. He is currently working on several book projects, including one with Jon Wilcox on a new model of international non-profit organizations that maximizes efficiency and outcomes for young people.Mr. Jon Wilcox is the Co-Founder and former CEO and Director of California Republic Bank. California Republic Bank was one of the fastest-growing and most successful de novo banks in California history. He has been and remains an active early-stage investor in numerous companies and industries, including computer technology, medical products, biotechnology, and financial services. Wilcox's current and prior board affiliations include South Coast Repertory, Junior Achievement, Very Special Arts, Westside Center for Independent living, and Fiji Reef Resources.Riseup.careReimagine.carehttps://www.facebook.com/riseupandcare/

I 12. episode af vores podcastserie KENNEDYLAND taler Anders Agner og Peter Keldorff om Jean Kennedy Smith. Kvinden, der ofte er blevet beskrevet som den sky Kennedy, men hvis meritter både tæller grundlæggelsen af Very Special Arts og ambassadørposten i Irland i 90'erne.

For episode 33 I have a chat with Brian Heap @Brian.heap.3…all about immersion, education and theatre. Brian Heap is English-born but Jamaican by assimilation. A graduate teacher from the University of Newcastle on Tyne/University of Leeds he has shared his special skills in drama in education and therapy with a wide audience in Jamaica. He has worked as regional coordinator for Very Special Arts, an international programme which seeks to enrich the lives of the disabled through involvement in the performing arts. His classroom years include work at St. Joseph's Teacher Training College, and he was Director of Studies at the School of Drama (Edna Manley College). Brian was a senior lecturer at the UWI, Mona, and Artistic Director of the University Players.  [source: www.ltmpantomime.com]     Links in Bio Apple Podcasts Links to Podcast, Book and Website Folkbeats & Blipspeak Single: All Forgiven www.michaelseanharris.com   The Book: Mike's Pocket Performance Pointers on Audible Mike's Pocket Performance Pointers on Amazon Mike's Pocket Performance Pointers on iTunes   To Support what I do: BuyMeACoffee Cash App: $aelsean2 Patreon   Equipment I use to create the podcast: Shure SM 58 Microphone Zoom H6 Audio Technica AT2020 Condenser Mic Arturia AudioFuse (I use the 2 channel version)

Alex is joined by Michael Burns (The Artistic Director and Co-Owner of Mopco Improv Theatre) as he shares a Dare to be Human Story about sailing in Maine. We discuss the power of daring to name the obvious thing and finding where it takes you. Send us your Maine waves, questions, episode ideas and DTBH stories to hello@daretobehuman.com and follow us on Facebook! Michael Burns is the Co-Director and founder of The Mop & Bucket Company .Before settling in the area, Michael studied theatre at SUNY Purchase, and then improv with David Shepherd in New York, where he directed for the American Modern Dance Theatre and the American Folk Theatre. He was a member of The Big Apple Experience, a short-lived but cleverly named improv troupe. He has since worked for several upstate theaters including Home Made Theater, The Theatre Barn and Steamer 10 Theatre.Michael developed (with David Shepherd) the Compass Institution, an improv troupe touring senior centers and hospitals. He directed inmate-written plays for Very Special Arts at Greene Correctional facility, and has created youth theater troupes for several human services agencies. He is the author of First You Sit on the Floor: A Guide to Developing a Youth Theatre Troupe.

Larry Morrisey talks with 2018 Governor’s Arts Awards recipient V.A. Patterson from Jackson. Patterson got her start in the arts at an early age, attending performances with her mother a columnist for the Clarion-Ledger newspaper. She spent her career in the arts and culture, working in historic preservation, museum work and heading up the Craftsmen’s Guild and Very Special Arts of Mississippi. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wynton Marsalis joined us for Behind The Note Podcast today! We talked many things including leadership, building a team, and turning vision into reality. Rate Behind The Note Podcast on the platform you're using right now to read this script and to listen to the show. Press Play. Enjoy. Share. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is Wynton's Bio straight from his website: Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, educator and a leading advocate of American culture. He is the world’s first jazz artist to perform and compose across the full jazz spectrum from its New Orleans roots to bebop to modern jazz. By creating and performing an expansive range of brilliant new music for quartets to big bands, chamber music ensembles to symphony orchestras, tap dance to ballet, Wynton has expanded the vocabulary for jazz and created a vital body of work that places him among the world’s finest musicians and composers. The Early Years Wynton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 18, 1961, to Ellis and Dolores Marsalis, the second of six sons. At an early age he exhibited a superior aptitude for music and a desire to participate in American culture. At age eight Wynton performed traditional New Orleans music in the Fairview Baptist Church band led by legendary banjoist Danny Barker, and at 14 he performed with the New Orleans Philharmonic. During high school Wynton performed with the New Orleans Symphony Brass Quintet, New Orleans Community Concert Band, New Orleans Youth Orchestra, New Orleans Symphony, various jazz bands and with the popular local funk band, the Creators. At age 17 Wynton became the youngest musician ever to be admitted to Tanglewood’s Berkshire Music Center. Despite his youth, he was awarded the school’s prestigious Harvey Shapiro Award for outstanding brass student. Wynton moved to New York City to attend Juilliard in 1979. When he began to pick up gigs around town, the grapevine began to buzz. In 1980 Wynton seized the opportunity to join the Jazz Messengers to study under master drummer and bandleader Art Blakey. It was from Blakey that Wynton acquired his concept for bandleading and for bringing intensity to each and every performance. In the years to follow Wynton performed with Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Sweets Edison, Clark Terry, John Lewis, Sonny Rollins, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and countless other jazz legends. Wynton assembled his own band in 1981 and hit the road, performing over 120 concerts every year for 15 consecutive years. With the power of his superior musicianship, the infectious sound of his swinging bands and an exhaustive series of performances and music workshops, Marsalis rekindled widespread interest in jazz throughout the world. Wynton embraced the jazz lineage to garner recognition for the older generation of overlooked jazz musicians and prompted the re-issue of jazz catalog by record companies worldwide. He also inspired a renaissance that attracted a new generation of fine young talent to jazz. A look at the more distinguished jazz musicians of today reveals numerous students of Marsalis’ workshops: James Carter, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Harry Connick Jr., Nicholas Payton, Eric Reed and Eric Lewis, to name a few. Classical Career Wynton’s love of the music of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and others drove him to pursue a career in classical music as well. He recorded the Haydn, Hummel and Leopold Mozart trumpet concertos at age 20. His debut recording received glorious reviews and won the Grammy Award® for “Best Classical Soloist with an Orchestra.” Marsalis went on to record 10 additional classical records, all to critical acclaim. Wynton performed with leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Pops, The Cleveland Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and London’s Royal Philharmonic, working with an eminent group of conductors including: Leppard, Dutoit, Maazel, Slatkin, Salonen and Tilson-Thomas. A timeless highlight of Wynton’s classical career is his collaboration with soprano Kathleen Battle on their recording Baroque Duet. Famed classical trumpeter Maurice André praised Wynton as “potentially the greatest trumpeter of all time.” Record Production To date Wynton has produced over 80 records which have sold over seven million copies worldwide including three Gold Records. His recordings consistently incorporate a heavy emphasis on the blues, an inclusive approach to all forms of jazz from New Orleans to modern jazz, persistent use of swing as the primary rhythm, an embrace of the American popular song, individual and collective improvisation, and a panoramic vision of compositional styles from dittys to dynamic call and response patterns (both within the rhythm section and between the rhythm section and horn players). Always swinging, Marsalis blows his trumpet with a clear tone and a unique, virtuosic style derived from an encyclopedic range of trumpet techniques. The Composer Wynton Marsalis is a prolific and inventive composer. The dance community embraced Wynton’s inventiveness by awarding him with commissions to create new music for Garth Fagan (Citi Movement-Griot New York & Lighthouse/Lightening Rod), Peter Martins at the New York City Ballet (Jazz: Six Syncopated Movements and Them Twos), Twyla Tharp with the American Ballet Theatre (Jump Start), Judith Jamison at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (Sweet Release and Here…Now), and Savion Glover (Petite Suite and Spaces). Marsalis collaborated with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society in 1995 to compose the string quartet At The Octoroon Balls, and again in 1998 to create a response to Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale with his composition A Fiddler’s Tale. With his collection of standards arrangements, Wynton reconnected audiences with the beauty of the American popular song (Standard Time Volumes I-VI). He re-introduced the joy in New Orleans jazz with his recording The Majesty Of The Blues. He extended the jazz musician’s interplay with the blues in Levee Low Moan, Thick In The South and other blues recordings. With Citi Movement, In This House On This Morning and Blood On The Fields, Wynton invented a fresh conception for extended form compositions. His inventive interplay with melody, harmony and rhythm, along with his lyrical voicing and tonal coloring assert new possibilities for the jazz ensemble. In his dramatic oratorio Blood On The Fields, Wynton draws upon the blues, work songs, chants, call and response, spirituals, New Orleans jazz, Ellingtonesque orchestral arrangements and Afro-Caribbean rhythms; and he uses Greek chorus-style recitations to move the work along. The New York Times Magazine said the work “marked the symbolic moment when the full heritage of the line, Ellington through Mingus, was extended into the present.” The San Francisco Examiner stated, “Marsalis’ orchestral arrangements are magnificent. Duke Ellington’s shadings and themes come and go but Marsalis’ free use of dissonance, counter rhythms and polyphonics is way ahead of Ellington’s mid-century era.” Wynton extended his achievements in Blood On The Fields with All Rise, an epic composition for big band, gospel choir, and symphony orchestra – a classic work of high art – which was performed by the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Kurt Masur along with the Morgan State University Choir and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (December 1999). Marsalis collaborated with Ghanaian master drummer Yacub Addy to create Congo Square, a groundbreaking composition combining elegant harmonies from America’s jazz tradition with fundamental rituals in African percussion and vocals (2006). For the anniversary of the Abyssinian Baptist Church’s 200th year of service, Marsalis blended Baptist church choir cadences with blues accents and big band swing rhythms to compose Abyssinian 200: A Celebration, which was performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Abyssinian’s 100 voice choir before packed houses in New York City (May 2008). In the fall of 2009 the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra premiered Marsalis’ composition Blues Symphony. By infusing blues and ragtime rhythms with symphonic orchestrations Wynton creates a fresh type of enjoyment of classical repertoire. Employing complex layers of collective improvisation, Marsalis further expanded his repertoire for symphony orchestra with Swing Symphony, premiered by the renowned Berlin Philharmonic in June 2010, creating new possibilities for audiences to experience a symphony orchestra swing. Marsalis’ rich and expansive body of music for the ages places him among the world’s most significant composers. Television, Radio & Literary In the fall of 1995 Wynton launched two major broadcast events. In October PBS premiered Marsalis On Music, an educational television series on jazz and classical music. The series was written and hosted by Marsalis and was enjoyed by millions of parents and children. Writers distinguished Marsalis On Music with comparisons to Leonard Bernstein’s celebrated Young People’s Concerts of the 50s and 60s. That same month National Public Radio aired the first of Marsalis’ 26-week series entitled Making the Music. These entertaining and insightful radio shows were the first full exposition of jazz music in American broadcast history. Wynton’s radio and television series were awarded the most prestigious distinction in broadcast journalism, the George Foster Peabody Award. The Spirit of New Orleans, Wynton’s poetic tribute to the New Orleans Saints’ first Super Bowl victory (Super Bowl XLIV) received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Feature (2011). From 2012 to 2014 Wynton served as cultural correspondent for CBS News, writing and presenting features for CBS This Morning on an array topics from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Louis Armstrong to Juke Joints, BBQ, the Quarterback & Conducting and Thankfulness. Marsalis has written six books: Sweet Swing Blues on the Road, Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life, To a Young Musician: Letters from the Road, Jazz ABZ (an A to Z collection of poems celebrating jazz greats), Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life and Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! a sonic adventure for kids. Awards and Accolades Wynton Marsalis has won nine Grammy Awards® in grand style. In 1983 he became the only artist ever to win Grammy Awards® for both jazz and classical records; and he repeated the distinction by winning jazz and classical Grammys® again in 1984. Today Wynton is the only artist ever to win Grammy Awards® in five consecutive years (1983-1987). Honorary degrees have been conferred upon Wynton by over 25 of America’s leading academic institutions including Columbia, Harvard, Howard, Princeton and Yale (see Exhibit A). Elsewhere Wynton was honored with the Louis Armstrong Memorial Medal and the Algur H. Meadows Award for Excellence in the Arts. He was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement and was dubbed an Honorary Dreamer by the “I Have a Dream Foundation.” The New York Urban League awarded Wynton with the Frederick Douglass Medallion for distinguished leadership and the American Arts Council presented him with the Arts Education Award. Time magazine selected Wynton as one of America’s most promising leaders under age 40 in 1995, and in 1996 Time celebrated Marsalis again as one of America’s 25 most influential people. In November 2005 Wynton Marsalis received The National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists by the United States Government. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan proclaimed Wynton Marsalis an international ambassador of goodwill for the Unites States by appointing him a UN Messenger of Peace (2001). In 1997 Wynton Marsalis became the first jazz musician ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his epic oratorio Blood On The Fields. During the five preceding decades the Pulitzer Prize jury refused to recognize jazz musicians and their improvisational music, reserving this distinction for classical composers. In the years following Marsalis’ award, the Pulitzer Prize for Music has been awarded posthumously to Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. In a personal note to Wynton, Zarin Mehta wrote: “I was not surprised at your winning the Pulitzer Prize for Blood On The Fields. It is a broad, beautifully painted canvas that impresses and inspires. It speaks to us all … I’m sure that, somewhere in the firmament, Buddy Bolden, Louis Armstrong and legions of others are smiling down on you.” Wynton’s creativity has been celebrated throughout the world. He won the Netherlands’ Edison Award and the Grand Prix Du Disque of France. The Mayor of Vitoria, Spain, awarded Wynton with the city’s Gold Medal – its most coveted distinction. Britain’s senior conservatoire, the Royal Academy of Music, granted Mr. Marsalis Honorary Membership, the Academy’s highest decoration for a non-British citizen (1996). The city of Marciac, France, erected a bronze statue in his honor. The French Ministry of Culture appointed Wynton the rank of Knight in the Order of Arts and Literature and in the fall of 2009 Wynton received France’s highest distinction, the insignia Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, an honor that was first awarded by Napoleon Bonaparte. French Ambassador, His Excellency Pierre Vimont, captured the evening best with his introduction: “We are gathered here tonight to express the French government’s recognition of one of the most influential figures in American music, an outstanding artist, in one word: a visionary… I want to stress how important your work has been for both the American and the French. I want to put the emphasis on the main values and concerns that we all share: the importance of education and transmission of culture from one generation to the other, and a true commitment to the profoundly democratic idea that lies in jazz music. I strongly believe that, for you, jazz is more than just a musical form. It is tradition, it is part of American history and culture and life. To you, jazz is the sound of democracy. And from this democratic nature of jazz derives openness, generosity, and universality.” Jazz at Lincoln Center In 1987 Wynton Marsalis co-founded a jazz program at Lincoln Center. In July 1996, due to its significant success, Jazz at Lincoln Center was installed as new constituent of Lincoln Center, equal in stature with the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, and New York City Ballet – a historic moment for jazz as an art form and for Lincoln Center as a cultural institution. In October 2004, with the assistance of a dedicated Board and staff, Marsalis opened Frederick P. Rose Hall, the world’s first institution for jazz. The complex contains three state-of-the-art performance spaces (including the first concert hall designed specifically for jazz) along with recording, broadcast, rehearsal and educational facilities. Jazz at Lincoln Center has become a preferred venue for New York jazz fans and a destination for travelers from throughout the world. Wynton presently serves as Managing and Artistic Director for Jazz at Lincoln Center. Under Wynton’s leadership, Jazz at Lincoln Center has developed an international agenda presenting rich and diverse programming that includes concerts, debates, film forums, dances, television and radio broadcasts, and educational activities. Jazz at Lincoln Center is a mecca for learning as well as a hub for performance. Their comprehensive educational programming includes a Band Director’s Academy, a hugely popular concert series for kids called Jazz for Young People, Jazz in the Schools, a Middle School Jazz Academy, WeBop! (for kids ages 8 months to 5 years), an annual High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival that reaches over 2000 bands in 50 states and Canada. In 2010 the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra established its first residency in Cuba with a rich cultural exchange of performances with Cuban musicians including Chucho Valdes and Omara Portuondo and education programs for kids. Education In 2011 Harvard University President Drew Faust invited Wynton to enrich the cultural life of the University community. Wynton responded by creating a 6 lecture series which he delivered over the ensuing 3 years entitled Hidden In Plain View: Meanings in American Music, with the goal of fostering a stronger appreciation for the arts and a higher level of cultural literacy in academia. From 2015 to 2021 Wynton will serve as an A.D. White Professor at Cornell University. A.D. White Professors are charged with the mandate to enliven the intellectual and cultural lives of university students. Giving Back Wynton Marsalis has devoted his life to uplifting populations worldwide with the egalitarian spirit of jazz. And while his body of work is enough to fill two lifetimes, Wynton continues to work tirelessly to contribute even more to our world’s cultural landscape. It has been said that he is an artist for whom greatness is not just possible, but inevitable. The most extraordinary dimension of Wynton Marsalis, however, is not his accomplishments but his character. It is the lesser-known part of this man who finds endless ways to give of himself. It is the person who waited in an empty parking lot for one full hour after a concert in Baltimore, waiting for a single student to return from home with his horn for a trumpet lesson. It is the citizen who personally funds scholarships for students and covers medical expenses for those in need. Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, Wynton organized the Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Concert and raised over $3 million for musicians and cultural organizations impacted by the hurricane. At the same time, he assumed a leadership role on the Bring Back New Orleans Cultural Commission where he was instrumental in shaping a master plan that would revitalize the city’s cultural base. Wynton Marsalis has selflessly donated his time and talent to non-profit organizations throughout the country to raise money to meet the many needs within our society. From My Sister’s Place (a shelter for battered women) to Graham Windham (a shelter for homeless children), the Children’s Defense Fund, Amnesty International, the Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute, Food For All Seasons (a food bank for the elderly and disadvantaged), Very Special Arts (an organization that provides experiences in dance, drama, literature, and music for individuals with physical and mental disabilities) to the Newark Boys Chorus School (a full-time academic music school for disadvantaged youths) and many, many more – Wynton responded enthusiastically to the call for service. It is Wynton Marsalis’ commitment to the improvement of life for all people that portrays the best of his character and humanity. In 2011 Wynton joined with Harvard University President, Drew Faust to present a series of 6 lectures to the student body over 3 years. The series entitles Hidden In Plain View: Hidden Meanings in American Music was developed to foster a stronger appreciation of the arts and a higher level of cultural literacy amount college students.

V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai, the inventor of email and other revolutionary innovations, has been passionately interested in science and technology throughout his life. This passion has earned Shiva high honors in the academic and corporate worlds. It has also given him an opportunity to confront the financial and power dynamics that affect scientific innovation, especially when innovation arises from sources considered outside the mainstream - as Shiva, in fact, proudly considers himself to be. Born in Mumbai in 1963, at the age of five Shiva began observing his grandmother -- a farmer and healer in the small village of Muhavur, in South India - as she applied Siddha, India's oldest system of traditional medicine, to heal and support local villagers. He saw how his grandmother’s work was a multi-faceted, comprehensive system that impacted her patients physically, mentally, and even spiritually. When Shiva’s family immigrated to the United States, those early experiences inspired him to pursue the study of modern systems science and information technology. He has never lost touch with India’s healing traditions, and much of his work has been directed toward integrating the tools and techniques of East and West. At the age of 14, after completing a special program in computer science at New York University’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Science, Shiva was recruited by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey as a Research Fellow. His mentor at UMDNJ soon presented Shiva with a difficult but irresistible challenge. Shiva was asked to create an electronic equivalent of the interoffice mail system, in which hard copies of documents were circulated throughout an office environment. The interoffice mail system was standard operating procedure in literally millions of companies, hospitals, schools, and other institutions around the world. It was literally everywhere. And in practice, preparing interoffice mail was virtually always tasked to female secretaries or assistants in service of their male bosses and managers. Shiva understood this assignment in human terms as well in a scientific context. Creating an electronic alternative to interoffice mail would be not only a technical advance, but also a revolutionary work-saving innovation that would benefit everyone from secretaries to CEOs. After writing 50,000 lines of computer code, Shiva introduced the world’s first true email system, incorporating Inbox and Outbox, Folders, Address Book, Memo, and other now-familiar features of every email system. He named the system “EMAIL,” and was awarded the first United States Copyright for “Email, Computer Program for Electronic Mail System.” This legally recognized Shiva as the inventor of email, at a time when Copyright was the only protection for software inventions. Since then Shiva Ayyadurai has become a world-renowned systems scientist, inventor, and entrepreneur. He has been a Fulbright Scholar, Lemelson-MIT Awards Finalist, India’s First Outstanding Scientist and Technologist of Indian Origin, Westinghouse Science Talent Honors Award recipient, and a nominee for the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Shiva has earned four degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), including a Bachelor’s in electrical engineering and computer science, and a dual Master’s Degree in mechanical engineering and visual studies from the MIT Media Laboratory. In 2003 he completed his doctoral work in systems biology in the Department of Biological Engineering. Shiva’s love of complex systems, which began in India, has continued to inform all his work. After receiving his PhD he returned to India on a Fulbright grant, where he researched the systems theoretic basis of Eastern medicine. Systems Health®, a new educational program that provides a scientific foundation for integrative medicine, was based on these findings. Shiva is also the inventor of CytoSolve®, a scalable computational platform for modeling the cell using dynamic integration of molecular pathways models. Like all of Shiva’s work, CytoSolve draws on the principle that nature’s intelligence is decentralized. While we might expect the nucleus to dominate the cell’s function, the work itself is done on the periphery of the cell, in the membrane. While at MIT, Shiva developed Systems Visualization, a pioneering course integrating systems theory, data, metaphor, and narrative storytelling to enable visualization of complex systems. After winning a White House competition to automatically analyze and sort President Clinton’s email, Shiva started EchoMail, Inc. which grew to nearly $200 million in market va lua t io n. Shiva has appeared in The MIT Technology Review, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, NBC News, USA Today and other major media. He was named to the “Top 40” in the Improper Bostonian. He has also authored four books: Arts and the Internet, The Internet Publicity Guide, The Email Revolution, and most recently The System and Revolution. His passion for entrepreneurialism continues as Managing Director of General Interactive, a venture fund that incubates, mentors, and funds new startups in in rural healthcare, media, biotechnology, and information technology. Shiva also founded Innovation Corps, to inspire and enable innovation among teenagers worldwide. He serves as a consultant to CEOs and Executive Management at Fortune 1000 companies, as well as government organizations such as the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General. Shiva is the Chairman & CEO of CytoSolve Inc., which provides a revolutionary platform for modeling complex diseases and developing multi-combination therapeutics. His recent efforts at CytoSolve have led to an FDA allowance and exemption on a multi-combination drug for pancreatic cancer, development of innovative nutraceutical products, and numerous industry and academic partnerships. Shiva’s earlier research on pattern recognition and large - scale systems development has also resulted in multiple patents, numerous industry awards, commercial products including EchoMail, and coverage by scientific and industry publications. Shiva serves as Executive Director of the International Center for Integrative Systems, a non- profit research and education foundation dedicated to the application of systems thinking across a range of disciplines. Research on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is a specific and urgent focus of this foundation. Along these lines, Shiva has met with world leaders including former President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and French President Francois Hollande, who have sought his advice on innovative technologies and their applications to food and healthcare systems. Shiva Ayyadurai is a member of Sigma-Xi, Eta Kappa Nu and Tau Beta Pi. He supports the Shanthi Foundation, which raises money to provide scholarships for education of orphaned girls. He is also a supporter of non-profit organizations including the Guggenheim Museum, Very Special Arts, National Public Radio, and the National Geographic Society. Shiva enjoys yoga, travel, tennis, animals, art and architecture. He resides in Belmont, Massachusetts, and travels extensively between there, Malibu, California, and New York City.

Joyce welcomes John Kemp, president and CEO of the Viscardi Center, a network of non-profit organizations. The Viscardi Center programs and services include Pre-K through High School education, school-to-work transition services, vocational training, career counseling and placement and workforce diversification assistance to children, adolescents, and adults with disabilities and businesses. Mr. Kemp will discuss the mission of this network in depth, and his more than 50 years of direct experience in the disability movement. Just a sample of the organizations he has been involved with include: Cerebral Palsy Associations, Very Special Arts, HalfthePlanet Foundation, Independent Sector, The Abilities Fund Inc., Disability Service Providers of America, Easter Seals, Goodwill Industries of America, U.S. Business Leadership Network, and the U.S. International Council on Disabilities.

Lisa is a board certified music therapist who received her Bachelor of Music from Michigan State University. She currently provides music therapy services to students in the Berkley School district.  Lisa was named the 2008 Very Special Arts of Michigan Educator of the Year for her work with "The Starfish Project," which utilizes the arts to promote social skill development for children with special needs and their peers in general education. She has presented at national conferences of the American Music Therapy Association and promotes music therapy education by supervising Eastern Michigan University music therapy students in their field work. Lisa is an active board member for the Kidz Klez Band of Michigan, a musical ensemble of teens that perform throughout metropolitan Detroit. She lives in Farmington Hills with her husband and two sons and enjoys singing and playing a variety of instruments including piano and guitar.

Lisa is a board certified music therapist who received her Bachelor of Music from Michigan State University. She currently provides music therapy services to students in the Berkley School district.  Lisa was named the 2008 Very Special Arts of Michigan Educator of the Year for her work with "The Starfish Project," which utilizes the arts to promote social skill development for children with special needs and their peers in general education. She has presented at national conferences of the American Music Therapy Association and promotes music therapy education by supervising Eastern Michigan University music therapy students in their field work. Lisa is an active board member for the Kidz Klez Band of Michigan, a musical ensemble of teens that perform throughout metropolitan Detroit. She lives in Farmington Hills with her husband and two sons and enjoys singing and playing a variety of instruments including piano and guitar.