Walton, Vikki

Birth City
Colorado Springs
Birth State
CO
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Author's Website
Occupation(s)
Author - Designer - Nonprofit Consultant - Speaker/Trainer - #workquilter
Biography

I have lived in Colorado Springs for the last seventeen years. I was born in Chicago, later moved to France (father in the military), returned and moved to Kansas before spending most of my time in Texas (San Antonio area). I have held myriad positions in my life. I like to undertake more than one thing at a time, thus I refer to myself as a #workquilter combining various avenues of income. These include: -Author of nonfiction and fiction. -Certified permaculture designer and previously worked as a registered interior designer. -Suburban Homesteader (have gardens, chickens, bees). -Speaker/trainer on myriad topics. -Global house- and pet-sitter. -Nonprofit consultant, certified grants specialist (proposal writer, donor communications, fundraising strategy)

Awards/Honors
Honor of Community Trustee (Leadership Pikes Peak)
Education/Training
Bachelor of Science, Organizational Management in Christian Leadership, GCU (magna cum laude) - Associate's degree, Registered Interior Designer, St. Philips College in San Antonio, TX - Certified Grants Specialist - Certified Grants Reviewer
Organizations
Colorado Springs CDBG Board Member
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Writing - Creative writing - Self-publishing - Backyard farming (permaculture principles, food forest, perennial gardening, lasagna gardening) - Travel - House/pet sitting - Getting what you really want in life - Work quilting - Nonprofit topics (e.g. Fundraising 101) - Entrepreneurship - Design (Interior Design, Landscape design using permaculture zones)

Cook, Doug

Cook, Doug
Birth City
Dayton
Birth State
OH
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Email (Public)
Author's Website
Occupation(s)
Author - Chair AAPG Astrogeology Committee - Sr. Geophysical Consultant (ret.)
Biography

Doug Cook has spent over two thousand hours underwater exploring and photographing life in the oceans. He is retired from a thirty-four year career as a petroleum geophysicist. This career allowed him to explore five of the world’s continents and live in Saudi Arabia for eighteen years. A career highlight in petroleum exploration was participating in ten years of deep-water submersible oil seep studies in the Gulf of Mexico. These seeps have associated chemosynthetic communities of life. As extremophiles, these organisms relate to Doug’s interest in astrogeology and exobiology. Doug has always had a passion for astronomy and space exploration. He now pursues this passion as an author. The beauty of the mountains and geology lured Doug to retire in Colorado. He has two daughters and lives in Colorado Springs with his wife Elizabeth.

Education/Training
BS Oceanography, University of Michigan, 1976 - MS in Carbonate Sedimentology, University of Florida, 1984 - Exploration Geophysics (Conoco, BHP Americas, Saudi Aramco)
Published Works
D. Cook et al., 2018, "The Douglas Crater Field, Wyoming, USA: Discovery of an …
D. Cook et al., 2018, "Exhumed Paleozoic Impact Crater Strewn Field near Dougla…
D. Cook, 2018, "Near Earth Objects (NEOs): Population Distributions, Origins, a…
D. Cook et al., 2017, "AAPG Total Solar Eclipse Field Guide."
D. Cook, 2017, "Asteroid Mining: The State of the Industry and our Future in Sp…
D. Cook, 2016, "A Bold Proposal for a Crewed Deep Space Mission to Rendezvous w…
D. Cook et al., 2016, "Chronostratigraphic Framework and Gross Depositional Env…
D. Cook et al., 2016, "Exploration and Commercialization of Tight Gas Reservoir…
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
Member, American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) - Chair AAPG Astrogeology Committee, Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) - Member-at-Large Colorado Springs Astronomical Society - Member of the Planetary Society, National Space Society, and Adjunct Astronomy Professor PPCC.
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
1) The Aquila Mission- It’s 2023. Our crew enters deep space to study asteroid Bennu and comet 125P- a step to mankind’s first voyage to Mars. A rigorously scientific yet thrilling story of man’s first journey beyond the Moon. (2018 print and eBook) - 2) Earth Impacts and the Threat from Near Earth Asteroids - 3) Research Submersible Exploration on Chemosynthetic Communities that Eat Oil and Gas, 2600 feet Down in the Gulf of Mexico - 4) Discovering Ancient Ship Wrecks in the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia.

McConnaughey, Janyne

McConnaughey, Janyne
Birth City
Albuquerque
Birth State
NM
Email (Public)
Author's Website
Occupation(s)
Educator - Retired faculty Emeritus
Biography

Janyne McConnaughey, PhD, retired from a career in education that spanned forty years—from early-childhood educator to college professor—in order to heal from the effects of the childhood abuse she had suffered. During therapy, Janyne wrote her way to healing and now is redeeming her story by helping others to understand and heal from childhood trauma. Along with Brave: A Personal Story of Healing Childhood Trauma, Janyne is working on two forthcoming sequels. She also keeps busy blogging at Janyne.org, and guest blogging for other organizations that address childhood trauma. Janyne enjoys full-time RV living with her husband, Scott, at the edge of Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and treasures the time she spends in the Seattle area with her children and grandchildren.

Awards/Honors
2009 - Lawrence E. and Verna A. Vredvoe Award for Distinguished Scholarship and Christian Leadership in Education
Local Authors Genres
Published Works
The Overachieving Underachiever, Therapeutic Parenting (published article)(Atta…
When God is Not in Control (featured in Uncontrolling Love, ed. by Thomas Jay O…
Guest blogger at Attachment and Trauma Network, Rebecca Bender Initiative, The …
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
PhD University of Colorado, Denver, Department of Education (Educational Leadership and Innovation) - M.S. Southwest Missouri State University, Education - B.A. Point Loma Nazarene University, Child Development and Christian Education
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
The Effects of Childhood Trauma - Behavior through the Lens of Childhood Trauma - Trauma Sensitive Schools - Personal Story of Healing from Childhood Trauma/Dissociative Disorders

Nations, Linda Nija

Nations, Linda Nija
Birth City
Oklahoma City
Birth State
OK
Current Location
Anywhere USA
Occupation(s)
Author - Psychotherapist and life coach - Animal Communicator - Public speaker - Workshop leader
Biography

I moved to Colorado Springs in 1986. I ran a very large psychotherapy practice (counseling) until 1997 when I was sidelined for 12 years by a very severe brain injury requiring a craniotomy. As a result of the changes in my brain I was forced to completely change my modus operandi. Eventually I returned to counseling and wrote a memoir of my seven and one-half years post TBI. I lived in Colorado Springs until 2015, when my husband and editor, sold our home and moved into our 5th wheel, to experience additional locations in the US.

Education/Training
Master of Arts degree in Counseling
Local Authors Genres
Published Works
Remember Me: How My Soul Connection with Animals Helped Me Heal from a Severe B…
Published Works Book Jackets
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Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Animal consciousness - Overcoming Adversity: The art of not giving up - Animal communication training - Women: The Rebirth of Soft Power

Jadusingh, Laul

Pseudonym
Maitreya B. Abhisambodhi
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Email (Public)
Occupation(s)
Author - Translator
Biography
  • A resident of Colorado Springs since 7/2015. 
  • Active writer and translator. 
  • Have held three book-signings at Bookman bookstore on Colorado Avenue since October 2017.
Education/Training
* Harvard University, 1972-1976, Sanskrit and Indian Studies/Buddhist Studies
* U.C. Berkeley, 1987-1989, Buddhist Studies
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
* Buddhism
* Yoga Philosophy
* Comparative Philosophy (East-West)
* Comparative Religions
* Indian Philosophies/Religions
* Buddhism and Science
* Tantra: Buddhist and Hindu

Thomas, Roger

Thomas, Roger
Birth City
Oak Park
Birth State
IL
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Email (Public)
Occupation(s)
Freelance Writer
Biography

Roger moved out to Colorado Springs from the Washington, DC, area, in 1994, and has been here ever since. The whole family grew up here and still live in the area. After a 30-year career in information technology, Roger decided to follow another passion- writing. After writing user manuals, training materials, and other writing assignments as a part of his regular IT duties, he launched his own career as a writer. He has six books published- two on bowling and four historical mysteries set in Laramie, Wyoming, in the 1880s.

Education/Training
BS in Political Science and History - MBA Project Management
Local Authors Genres
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Any topic related to writing: the process, my experiences, freelance, indie, etc..

Riley, Gina

Riley, Gina
Birth City
Detroit
Birth State
MI
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Email (Public)
Occupation(s)
Former librarian and teacher - Cherokee Two-Spirit Shaman
Biography

I was still living as a man when I moved to in the year 2000. Having been outed as transgender, and fired at the Prep-School where I had been working, I was recruited at the National Librarians' Conference to be the Coordinator of Information and Technology at Mitchell High School, where I was again outed and fired. In 2007, after being outed and fired at CollegeAmerica, I transitioned to living full time as a woman. My storytelling-performances in The Story Project in Colorado Springs and for The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers are viewable on YouTube. I also sing karaoke and do an occasional standup open-mike.

Awards/Honors
First Place - Bowling This Month, Amateur Bowling Writers Contest
First Place - Best Creative Non-Fiction 2013, Loyola Maryland University Literary EZine
Education/Training
Master's Degree in Library Science - Bachelor's Degree in English, Wayne State University, Michigan
Published Works
Dragonfly and the Pack of Three (America Star Books, 2013)
Slow on the Clicker (PublishAmerica, 2009)
The Bride's Room (published in The Chaffey Review)
Numerous professional publications as a librarian and 40+ articles in the CS In…
Mantras for Bowling (published in Bowling This Month)
Published Works Book Jackets
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Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Storytelling - Transgender - Theory of Mind - Education

Gould, Peg

Birth City
Olean
Birth State
NY
Current Location
Manitou Springs, CO
Email (Public)
Occupation(s)
Journalist, author, chaplain, massage therapist, spiritual advisor
Biography

Author Peg Gould, MBA, RScP, LMT, a career writer/editor from upstate New York, moved west to Colorado, then Alaska, where she renewed her love of nature and photography on the stunning Kenai Peninsula. She is licensed both as a massage therapist and a spiritual advisor. Peg and her husband Todd raised a family with a diversity of pets in Manitou Springs, CO; they also enjoy working on their log home near Homer, AK.  Her work appeared daily for decades in newspapers in New York and Colorado, and later for years in Alaska Business Monthly. She also has freelanced for Vocational Biographies, American News Service, Colorado Springs Health, Springs Magazine, Women’s Edition, Compassion International, Convergent Performance, and for other businesses and nonprofits.

Awards/Honors
Mark Hellinger Award, Journalism
Sigma Delta Chi Outstanding Graduate, Journalism
First HS Journalism Award
Well Dones, Colorado Springs Gazette
Education/Training
* MBA, University of Colorado
* BA Journalism, Cum Laude, St. Bonaventure University
* Alaska's oral history
Published Works Book Jackets
Organizations
Member, AMTA (Message Therapy)
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
* Grief
* Bereavement
* Interviewing
* Self-publishing
* Travel
* Parenting
* Nature and Animals
* Outdoors

Pilch, Fran

Birth City
West Point
Birth State
NY
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Email (Public)
Occupation(s)
Professor of Political Science
Biography

Dr. Pilch was awarded her MA and PhD from Yale University in the field of International Relations. She joined the United States Air Force Academy faculty in 1998 and became Professor Emeritus in 2015. She participated in a Fulbright Hays to South Africa and a Fulbright to Mongolia in 2012 and in 2011 was named the Case Carnegie Colorado Professor of the Year. Her expertise is in human rights, international law, and genocide.

Awards/Honors
Fulbright Scholar
Case Carnegie Professor of the Year (Colorado), 2011
Professor Emeritus, United States Air Force Academy
Education/Training
MA & PhD, Yale University, International Relations - BA, University of Connecticut
Published Works
Invisible: Surviving the Cambodian Genocide (Bob Reed Publishing, 2017)
Published Works Book Jackets
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Organizations
Zonta International World Affairs Council
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Cambodian Genocide - Genocide - Women in Conflict - International Relations - US Foreign Policy

Strauss, Robert

Strauss, Robert
Birth City
Augusta
Birth State
GA
Current Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Author's Website
Occupation(s)
Owner of Global Perspectives Consulting - Lead Faculty at Regis University
Biography

Robert Strauss is owner of Global Perspectives Consulting in Colorado Springs, Colorado. GPC clients excel in complex global marketplaces through the acquisition of cultural competence. He is Lead Faculty of Program Development and Evaluation and Research Methods in the College of Business and Economics at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. Also, he is President of Worldview Resource Group, a not-for-profit organization that equips cross-cultural workers in a story-based worldview approach to cross-cultural communication. WRG works with agencies located in India, Southeast Asia, North Africa, Western Canada, Mexico, and all of Ibero-America. Robert is a member of the International Academy for Intercultural Research.

Awards/Honors
Member of the International Academy for Intercultural Research (IAIR)
Education/Training
Doctorate in Intercultural Studies from Biola University's School of Intercultural Studies in Los Angeles, California
Local Authors Genres
Published Works
Four Overarching Patterns of Culture: A Look at Common (Wipf and Stock, 2019)
Introducing Story-Strategic Methods: Twelve Steps toward Effective Management (…
Published Works Book Jackets
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Organizations
International Academy for Intercultural Research (IAIR) - Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research (SIETAR) - American Evaluation Association (AEA)
Speaker Availability
Yes
Speaker Topics
Cultural Anthropology - Intercultural Communication - Cultural Intelligence (CQ) - Storytelling across cultures - Four overarching patterns of culture: justice, honor, reciprocity, and harmony
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