Past Dialogues - 2008

Since The Presidio Dialogues began in late 2000, conversation starters have graciously donated their time and knowledge for which The Presidio Dialogues is very grateful. The names of these people are in bold below.

April 22, 2008

Wellness, Work & Spirit: Reducing Stress and Burnout

Our health is of primary importance and thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours are lost personally and professionally from the impact of stress, burnout, and disconnection from our Spirit. What are organizations and individuals doing to restore balance in health care? What is the correlation between maintaining effectiveness in the work environment and feeding our soul? How do you do it? How do organizations do it? What innovative and interesting programs are taking place at work? What is the role of spirituality and sprit in personal health care choices?

Conversation Starters

Lisa Jing, Human Resource Manager, Integrated Health, Cisco

Denise Turner, Chaplain, St. Joseph Health System--Sonoma County

Phyllis Szal-Smith, Nurse with Sutter Health Hospitals

February 26, 2008

Feminine Power: How Women Can Change the World Without Resorting to the Masculine Ways

There is a quote from the poet Muriel Ruckeyser: "The universe is made up of stories, not atoms".

The assumption we are exploring in this month's Dialogue, is that the story of the world is changing.

Our understanding of the direction the world is moving towards is undergoing a transformation.

To understand this process is to arm oneself with the ability to anticipate opportunities and to prepare for challenges as a business, an organization or as an individual.

Conversation Starters

Drew Dellinger, Spoken Word Poet, Teacher & Activist. Founder of Poets for Global Justice

Anodea Judith, Ph.D. is the author of Waking The Global Heart: Humanity's Rite Of Passage From The Love of Power To The Love. Founder of the teaching organization Sacred Centers, she teaches and lectures worldwide, focusing on the meeting point of personal and collective transformation.

Allison Quaid, Executive Director: Creative Community Catalysts

January 28, 2008

Feminine Power: How Women Can Change the World Without Resorting to the Masculine Ways

If potential ideas and innovative insights could be rendered visible, one would see upon visiting most companies and organizations great ideas walking around in plain sight. You might see three members of a company, each holding a crucial piece of an innovation within them but not getting close enough to each other, for long enough, for these 3 pieces to fuse together into a magnificent new form. What are the characteristics of a business culture that encourage new ideas to find expression? What can each of us do, in our daily routine, to invoke our own insights?

Conversation Starters

Pele Rouge Chadima, Author: "Nurturing the Emergence of Collective Wisdom"

Sara Ellis Conant, Founder and Board Member: Young Women Social Entrepreneurs, Manager of Deloitte's Sustainability Practice

Vivian Wright, Former Director, Internal Consultant, Hewlett-Packard Company