Speakers Bios and Info

Sally Gelardin, NCC, Ed.D., International and Multicultural Education, is a National Certified Counselor, Distance Credentialed Counselor, Career and Life Transitions Coach, and Career Development Facilitator Instructor. She provides training and counseling/coaching to organizations and individuals. In addition, she teaches career development and serves as a women's studies evaluator at universities in the San Francisco Bay area, creates online curriculum, (http://www.jobjuggler.net), and is a Fellow in the University of San Francisco's Children's and Young Adult Multicultural Literature Institute.

A leader in state and national counseling associations, she lectures nationally on family career influences and adult transition issues. She has been a coordinator of state, national, and international career conferences and has served as guest editor of, and is a frequent contributor to, career and transitions publications. An advocate of lifelong learning, she has earned a BA in Education, MA in Urban Teaching and Counseling, a second MA in Life Transitions Counseling, and an Ed.D. in International and Multicultural Education, as well as seven career-related certificates.

Dr. Gelardin has co-owned and served as full-time operator of a retail business, as well as a university administrator, educator, counselor/coach, textbook editor, and coordinator of publications. For the past decade, through her website and numerous presentations, radio interviews, and publications, she has demonstrated ways people in transition can hear their own voices, balance their lives, solve career-related problems and discover their life work. Dr. Gelardin is Past-President of the California Career Development Association and Professional Development Chair of the National Career Development Association. She is author of "The Mother-Daughter Relationship: Activities for Lifework Success," (2004, CAPS Press).

www.askdrsal.com

Dr. Laurie Andreoni is a cum laude graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic West. Since 1978, she has coached women to create a life of physical, emotional and spiritual balance, as well as presenting retreats and workshops on holistic health and self discovery. She was the founder and director of Pathway Institute of Holistic Health in Monterey, California. Dr. Andreoni is the author of Weigh Beyond Beauty, and Passionate Recovery - A Journal for Joyful Living.

Prior to becoming a doctor of Chiropractic in 1996, Dr. Andreoni practiced as a Clinical Hypnotherapist at The Center for Creative Therapy in San Jose, California, where her treatment focus was on eating disorders and recovery from addictive behavior. Her current practice directs particular attention to women's health issues, with holistic care for the body, mind and spirit. Because beliefs, attitudes, and motivations can all play a major role in wellness, she considers the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of each case and takes a patient-centered approach to preventive care, tailored to the unique needs of each patient.

www.weighbeyondbeauty.com

Susan Swartz is a newspaper columnist, author, public radio commentator and long-time journalist. She's been writing about women since she reported on consciousness raising groups and covered a rising star in the women's movement named Gloria Steinem.

She says: Back then I was also going to New York to cover the latest in fashion and beauty, which is pretty typical of how most of us continued to grow, torn between fascinations - our head wrapped around issues, our face in the mirror.

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area gives Susan a good place to report on outspoken women and Boomer angst which she does in her column for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and the New York Times News Service. I've always said that being a journalist made be a better feminist. And being a feminist made me a better journalist. Because both insist that you keep your eyes open, challenge stereotypes and ask "what's this about?"

This is her second book on the mid-life women she calls JUICY TOMATOES. They're not just any woman over fifty. They have daring and confidence and they can be wonderfully ironic about life because they've been around to see so much.

At the very least, as it says in her book, they "have survived teenagers, aging parents, multiple downturns in the economy, dubious mammograms and the half century mark. And they are unstoppable."

www.juicytomatoes.com

Lori Hope is the author of the new book, Help Me Live: 20 Things People with Cancer Want You to Know.

Hope, a cancer survivor herself, has produced more than 20 documentaries for which she has won dozens of awards, including two Emmys. Currently editor-in-chief of Bay Area BusinessWoman News, Hope has been published in Newsweek and her essays have been broadcast on radio stations nationwide.

Hope is also a public speaker who has worked with The American Cancer Society, the Jewish Federation, the American Thoracic Society, and many other organizations and institutions. She delivers messages of hope, humor, and compassionate communication -- which are useful not only to people who care for someone with cancer, but to all of us.

Hope lives with her husband, son, two dogs and two cats in a diverse, close-knit community of Oakland. She loves jigsaw puzzles, dancing, walking her dogs, step aerobics, and, most of all, her family.

www.lorihope.com

Karen Arnold has over twenty years senior leadership experience in all aspects of Human Resource. She has developed and led an organizational development and training department, and has significant experience in workforce/succession planning, change management, team building, and strategic planning. She was employed as a Human Resource Director for 15 years at Blue Shield of California.

Ms. Arnold holds a Masters of Arts in Management and a Bachelors of Arts in Human Resources. Ms. Arnold is an adjunct professor at California State University, Sacramento in the College of Continuing Education and at the University of San Francisco.

Ms. Arnold is a partner in FutureDecisions, a company that provides cutting edge succession planning programs, training, and retirement transition workshops. In collaboration with Sacramento State University, FutureDecisions provides a Workforce/Succession Planning Program designed specifically to fit the needs of the public sector.

Ms. Arnold is Board Chair of JOBONE, a non-profit organization whose mission is to strengthen the economic health of El Dorado County. She is also a member of the leadership team for the Sacramento Area Organizational Development Network.

www.futuredecisions.com

Kevin Williams is a management professional with over 25 years of experience in Fortune 100 companies such as Pacific Bell, AT&T and Comcast. He held a variety of management positions in those organizations including change management, strategic planning, marketing and customer support. Mr. Williams successfully led several major departments through large scale mergers, acquisitions, and re-organizations. Before joining FutureDecisions, Mr. Williams was Vice-President of Customer Service for Comcast in Northern California.

Mr. Williams holds a Masters Degree in Human Resources and Organizational Development, and a Bachelors Degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco. Mr.Williams is an adjunct professor at California State University, Sacramento in the College of Continuing Education.

Mr. Williams is a partner in FutureDecisions, a company that provides cutting edge succession planning programs, training, and retirement transition workshops. In collaboration with Sacramento State University, FutureDecisions provides a Workforce/Succession Planning Program designed specifically to fit the needs of the public sector.

Mr. Williams is a member of the leadership team for the Sacramento Area Organizational Development Network, and a trained mediator. He also serves as Board Chair for Healing Hands, Healing Hearts, a non-profit organization providing massage therapy to those who are critically and terminally ill.

www.futuredecisions.com

Grace White, aka That Old Hippie Chick, is a classic bohemian with a mother who stalks her, a father to whom road rage is an art-form and a stand-up comedy act like no other. White launched her comedy career at the onset of her "Middle Ages," and has gone on to open for the Jefferson Starship, 3 Doors Down, Edgar Winter, Leon Russell, Father Guido Sarducci, and Kevin Pollack. She made her film debut in "The Independent," starring Jerry Stiller and Janeane Garofalo and has appeared on "Good Morning America."

White is a symphony in contradictions, a blur of reluctant energy and a compulsive workaholic entrepreneur who stubbornly maintains her title of World's Laziest Woman. She's also a successful single parent (her daughter's never been to jail), and has earned a solid reputation for herding aspiring comedians through their performing puberty. That Old Hippie Chick may not be the last of her tribe, but she is surely one of the most entertaining.

www.gracewhiteproductions.com

Armed with a degree in Psychology and a math phobia, Erin began her career in financial services in 1985. Erin is a Registered Principal with FSC Securities Corporation. She currently focuses on educating clients and the public on the importance of planning for your financial future. She has created and conducted seminars for the Pleasanton & Livermore School Districts, University of Alaska Southeast, local credit unions, organizations and corporations.

Erin is involved in women's issues and has a special interest in educating women on the importance of financial planning. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Westmont College in Santa Barbara and a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco. Erin is a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA)and the National Speakers Association (NSA). She is married and resides in Montara. Erin is an avid gardener and enjoys cooking, jazz music, and spending time with her dogs, Lily and Riley.

www.centsandsensibility.com