12/9/08  RENEWAL DAY

Two Speakers: One timeless & inspiring and one contemporary & eye-opening

Ezekiel Sanchez

 The Anasazi Way: Living in harmony with "the one that stands within"

In the 1960s, Ezekiel Sanchez, a Native American immigrant from Mexico who was one of sixteen children in his family, received a scholarship to attend college - the first person in his family to do so. Not surprisingly, he struggled. Then outdoor survival expert Larry Olsen, a professor at the college, involved Sanchez in a project he was conducting, and Sanchez learned how testing himself in nature calmed him, centered him, and increased his self-confidence.

Together, Sanchez and Olsen began designing wilderness experiences for young people, and in 1988 they formed ANASAZI, a wilderness-based program emphasizing the acquisition of deep wisdom through encounters with the natural world.

ANASAZI's programs for young people, parents, leaders, and couples have directly touched many thousands of lives, and the model that Sanchez and Olsen created has affected more than 500,000 people. It is based on principles of harmony, responsibility, caring, and honoring the potential for greatness in oneself and others.

Sanchez says, "The heart is where the change has to begin for a true walking in harmony. Walking in harmony is being at peace with all that is around you with your heart and mind in balance." In this session he will share what he has learned from his eventful life about those subjects and others.

In his words:

"The ANASAZI Way is not to change the behavior of the Young Walker or the Parents, but to provide opportunities for the heart to be touched, so the change can come willingly from the 'one who stands within.' Then the Change of Heart, like clear water, will flow without compulsion."

 

Nadira Hira

Generation Y

Award-winning journalist Nadira A. Hira is a general assignment writer at Fortune, where she has focused increasingly on stories for and about Generation Y, the fastest growing segment of the American workforce.

She speaks on how to creatively engage Generation Y as important contributors to corporate culture and productivity, on racial and generational diversity, and on the role of social networks in the modern workplace and in society in general.

She authored Fortune's widely discussed 2007 cover story on Gen Yers and their impact on corporate America. She also writes a blog for Gen Yers on Fortune.com called "The Gig."

In 2007, Nadira received the NewsBios 30 Under 30 award, which showcases the most promising business journalists. She has twice been nominated for a National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence award. Nadira's work has also appeared in various other national publications-among them, Essence, Smithsonian, and Men's Fitness magazines. Her media presence extends to television, where she has been a featured personality on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher and ABC's America's Black Forum, a regular contributor to VH1's The Fabulous Life and BET's Black Carpet, and an expert guest on many major outlets, including CNN, CBS, MSNBC, CNBC, and BBC-A.

In her words:

"As the baby-boomers begin to retire, triggering a ballyhooed worker shortage, businesses are realizing that they may have no choice but to accommodate these curious Gen Y creatures."

To see a video clip from one of her presentations, go to: www.leighbureau.com/speaker_documents