These Bay Area women, co-authors of This is Not the Life I Ordered, have experienced extraordinary life challenges over many years of friendship.
"This book is funny, inspiring, and practical – often all at the same time. Put the most entertaining episode of The View in a blender with Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and you'd get This Is Not the Life I Ordered. It's a book you'll want to order a stack of, so you can share it with your girlfriends and your daughters." – Arianna Huffington, author of On Becoming Fearless
Join us for an entertaining, enlightening and laugh-out-loud talk by these delightful, accomplished women. Through their stories, best-selling business-book author Deborah Collins Stephens, award-winning writer, director, human rights activist, and entrepreneur Michealene Cristini Risley, US Congresswoman Jackie Speier, and award-winning broadcast journalist Jan Yanehiro, will share wisdom, advice, hope and inspiration.
Deborah Collins Stephens is an expert on the human side of business. A best selling author of five books that have been translated into 8 different languages, Deborah is passionate about helping women leaders reach their potential.
Deborah co-founded The Center For Innovative Leadership, a firm that has worked with many Fortune 100 companies and venture backed early stage firms, for over 20 years. She created one of the first e-learning and web cast programs, Leadership Lessons From The Fastlane in conjunction with Broadcast.com/Yahoo. She has been a guest lecturer in the Stanford University Entrepreneurial Thought Leader's Forum, a faculty member in the Stanford Professional and Executive Development Program and a judge in the Stanford Entrepreneurs Business Challenge Competition. She has also lectured at the University of California San Francisco, California State University, and University of California Haas School of Business.
Deborah's work and commentary has been covered by National Public Radio, ABC News (San Francisco and Chicago affiliates), United Press International, Inc. Magazine, Fortune Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Family Circle Magazine, Connections Magazine, Gentry Magazine, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Dallas Morning News, Contra Costa Times, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Epoch International Times, CBS Radio Boston and Wisconsin Public Radio.
Jan Yanehiro pioneered the magazine format on television as co-host of Evening Magazine, a nightly program in San Francisco that ran for 15 years on KPIX TV-CBS5. Currently she is the Director of the School of MultiMedia Communications at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco.
She has hosted 6 documentaries on the redress and relocation issues of Japanese Americans during World War II. Jan has won multiple awards including an Emmy and the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award.
She is the mother of six (three of her own and three step-children), holds seats on several boards including the Kristi Yamaguchi Always Dream Foundation and The Bank of Marin. Her latest book is titled, This Is Not The Life I Ordered…50 Ways To Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down.
Congresswoman Jackie Speier (pronounced SPEAR), a life-long resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, represents California’s 12th District which covers the southwest quarter of San Francisco and most of the adjacent San Mateo County. She was first elected in April, 2008 after serving 18 years in the California State Legislature where she authored over 300 bills signed into law by Republican and Democratic governors. Key laws she authored include the nation’s strongest measure to protect the privacy of banking and credit card customers; numerous protections for reproductive health rights and child support measures that provided for more equitable collection formulas and that curtailed the rate of delinquent payments. She also led numerous committee investigations of illegal and wasteful state expenditures.
Jackie serves on two key committees in the House of Representatives: the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; and the Committee on Homeland Security where she is the Ranking Member on the Subcommitee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.
Jackie’s insight on the San Bruno pipeline disaster of September 2010 have prompted her to author the National Pipeline Safety Bill that seeks to minimizing the risk of future pipeline failures. She is also working hard to address the needs of veterans and has introduced a bill that will attempt to reduce the rise of military suicides by providing mental screening.
Jackie continues her life-long commitment to protect consumers from unsafe products. She introduced a bill that will make all children’s products safe by banning harmful levels of heavy metals like cadmium. She triggered the recall of 12 million drinking glasses sold by McDonalds as part of a promotional scheme. These colorfully painted glasses, touting the movie characters from “Shrek,” were found to contain levels of cadmium that may present a health risk to children.
She was instrumental in the fact finding behind vehicle safety recall issues and misleading investment products that fueled a global financial meltdown. She fought to include language in the financial reform bill to ensure that investment advisers and brokers will have to look out for the consumer’s interests—not their own. She championed language that prohibits credit rating agencies from advising the firms they rate on how to structure their securities to get higher ratings; that creates an independent and strong consumer financial protection agency; and that sets a cap on the debt-to-asset ratio of 15:1 for systemically-risky financial institutions.
She has introduced legislation to require new vehicles to be outfitted with a “black box” that would record a vehicle’s safety performance in an accident. The bill also requires black box data to be shared with federal regulators—prior to this bill, companies like Toyota kept black box data secret.
Prior to her election to the State Legislature in 1986, she served for six years on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisor. She graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from UC Davis and received her JD from UC Hastings College of the Law.
Jackie was the first California state legislator to give birth while in office and she was the third state lawmaker in history to be nominated by both Democrats and Republicans in a primary election.
Jackie is married to Barry Dennis and has a son, Jackson, a recent college graduate; and a daughter, Stephanie, a high school junior.
Michealene Cristini is an award-winning writer, director and human rights activist. Her first film, Flaschards, won numerous awards, screened in the Shorts du Jour program at The Cannes Film Festival and was picked up by American Public Television for PBS stations. Her new documentary, Tapestries of Hope has also won numerous awards and launched in 107 theatres on Sept 28th for one night only. The film is also being used as a tool for grassroots efforts with over 45 groups to push Congress to sign and FUND I-VAWA (International Violence Against Women Act). One of those key partners is Facebook, who actually helped her to get out of prison in Zimbabwe.
She is a member of both the Writers Guild and The Directors Guild. Miss Risley also blogs frequently for the Huffington Post on issues of Women and Children, Human Rights and Africa. She was recently honored as One of Silicon Valley's most influential Women.
John Gray, Ph.D. | Best-selling relationship author of all time and the most trusted voice in relationships today. Author of 17 books, including Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, named one of the 10 most influential books of the last 25 years.
Marybeth Bond | Global travel expert, cross-country cyclist, founder of GutsyTraveler.com and National Geographic award-winning author of 11 travel books.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom | Writer, director and producer of the inspiring documentary Miss Representation. Founder and CEO of MissRepresentation.org and of Girls Club Entertainment.
Kate Shaw | Founder and host of the Lucasfilm Speaker Series
Linda Burch | Co-founder and Chief Education and Strategy Officer of Common Sense Media, the nation’s leading nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving the media lives of kids and families.
Laura Ling | American journalist, host and reporter for E! Investigates. Ling received worldwide attention when she was imprisoned in North Korea for 140 days before being granted a pardon facilitated by President Bill Clinton and her sister Lisa Ling, enabling her return to the U.S.
Rebecca Costa | Sociobiologist, futurist, nationally syndicated radio host and author of The Watchman’s Rattle: Thinking Our Way Out of Extinction. As a recognized thought-leader and provocative new voice in the mold of Thomas Friedman, Malcolm Gladwell and Jared Diamond, she examines “the big picture”– providing compelling insight and encouraging solutions to the global gridlock of our day.
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This event took place on
October 18, 2011 • Marin
October 19, 2011 • San Francisco
Girlfriends' Guide To Learning from Life's Little Surprises
Co-authors of This is Not the Life I Ordered
Deborah Collins Stephens | best selling author, co-founder of The Center For Innovative Leadership
Jan Yanehiro | award-winning broadcast journalist
Jackie Speier* | Congresswoman, US House of Representatives (*invited)
Michealene Cristini Risley | award-winning writer, director, human rights activist
These Bay Area women, co-authors of This is Not the Life I Ordered, have experienced extraordinary life challenges over many years of friendship.
"This book is funny, inspiring, and practical – often all at the same time. Put the most entertaining episode of The View in a blender with Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and you'd get This Is Not the Life I Ordered. It's a book you'll want to order a stack of, so you can share it with your girlfriends and your daughters." – Arianna Huffington, author of On Becoming Fearless
Join us for an entertaining, enlightening and laugh-out-loud talk by these delightful, accomplished women. Through their stories, best-selling business-book author Deborah Collins Stephens, award-winning writer, director, human rights activist, and entrepreneur Michealene Cristini Risley, US Congresswoman Jackie Speier, and award-winning broadcast journalist Jan Yanehiro, will share wisdom, advice, hope and inspiration.
Deborah Collins Stephens
Deborah Collins Stephens is an expert on the human side of business. A best selling author of five books that have been translated into 8 different languages, Deborah is passionate about helping women leaders reach their potential. Deborah co-founded The Center For Innovative Leadership, a firm that has worked with many Fortune 100 companies and venture backed early stage firms, for over 20 years. She created one of the first e-learning and web cast programs, Leadership Lessons From The Fastlane in conjunction with Broadcast.com/Yahoo. She has been a guest lecturer in the Stanford University Entrepreneurial Thought Leader's Forum, a faculty member in the Stanford Professional and Executive Development Program and a judge in the Stanford Entrepreneurs Business Challenge Competition. She has also lectured at the University of California San Francisco, California State University, and University of California Haas School of Business.
Deborah's work and commentary has been covered by National Public Radio, ABC News (San Francisco and Chicago affiliates), United Press International, Inc. Magazine, Fortune Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Family Circle Magazine, Connections Magazine, Gentry Magazine, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Dallas Morning News, Contra Costa Times, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Epoch International Times, CBS Radio Boston and Wisconsin Public Radio.
www.deborahstephens.com
Jan Yanehiro
Jan Yanehiro pioneered the magazine format on television as co-host of Evening Magazine, a nightly program in San Francisco that ran for 15 years on KPIX TV-CBS5. Currently she is the Director of the School of MultiMedia Communications at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco.
She has hosted 6 documentaries on the redress and relocation issues of Japanese Americans during World War II. Jan has won multiple awards including an Emmy and the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award.
She is the mother of six (three of her own and three step-children), holds seats on several boards including the Kristi Yamaguchi Always Dream Foundation and The Bank of Marin. Her latest book is titled, This Is Not The Life I Ordered…50 Ways To Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down.
Jackie Speier*
Congresswoman Jackie Speier (pronounced SPEAR), a life-long resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, represents California’s 12th District which covers the southwest quarter of San Francisco and most of the adjacent San Mateo County. She was first elected in April, 2008 after serving 18 years in the California State Legislature where she authored over 300 bills signed into law by Republican and Democratic governors. Key laws she authored include the nation’s strongest measure to protect the privacy of banking and credit card customers; numerous protections for reproductive health rights and child support measures that provided for more equitable collection formulas and that curtailed the rate of delinquent payments. She also led numerous committee investigations of illegal and wasteful state expenditures.
Jackie serves on two key committees in the House of Representatives: the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; and the Committee on Homeland Security where she is the Ranking Member on the Subcommitee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.
Jackie’s insight on the San Bruno pipeline disaster of September 2010 have prompted her to author the National Pipeline Safety Bill that seeks to minimizing the risk of future pipeline failures. She is also working hard to address the needs of veterans and has introduced a bill that will attempt to reduce the rise of military suicides by providing mental screening.
Jackie continues her life-long commitment to protect consumers from unsafe products. She introduced a bill that will make all children’s products safe by banning harmful levels of heavy metals like cadmium. She triggered the recall of 12 million drinking glasses sold by McDonalds as part of a promotional scheme. These colorfully painted glasses, touting the movie characters from “Shrek,” were found to contain levels of cadmium that may present a health risk to children.
She was instrumental in the fact finding behind vehicle safety recall issues and misleading investment products that fueled a global financial meltdown. She fought to include language in the financial reform bill to ensure that investment advisers and brokers will have to look out for the consumer’s interests—not their own. She championed language that prohibits credit rating agencies from advising the firms they rate on how to structure their securities to get higher ratings; that creates an independent and strong consumer financial protection agency; and that sets a cap on the debt-to-asset ratio of 15:1 for systemically-risky financial institutions.
She has introduced legislation to require new vehicles to be outfitted with a “black box” that would record a vehicle’s safety performance in an accident. The bill also requires black box data to be shared with federal regulators—prior to this bill, companies like Toyota kept black box data secret.
Prior to her election to the State Legislature in 1986, she served for six years on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisor. She graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from UC Davis and received her JD from UC Hastings College of the Law.
Jackie was the first California state legislator to give birth while in office and she was the third state lawmaker in history to be nominated by both Democrats and Republicans in a primary election.
Jackie is married to Barry Dennis and has a son, Jackson, a recent college graduate; and a daughter, Stephanie, a high school junior.
*invited
www.speier.house.gov
Michealene Cristini Risley
Michealene Cristini is an award-winning writer, director and human rights activist. Her first film, Flaschards, won numerous awards, screened in the Shorts du Jour program at The Cannes Film Festival and was picked up by American Public Television for PBS stations. Her new documentary, Tapestries of Hope has also won numerous awards and launched in 107 theatres on Sept 28th for one night only. The film is also being used as a tool for grassroots efforts with over 45 groups to push Congress to sign and FUND I-VAWA (International Violence Against Women Act). One of those key partners is Facebook, who actually helped her to get out of prison in Zimbabwe.
She is a member of both the Writers Guild and The Directors Guild. Miss Risley also blogs frequently for the Huffington Post on issues of Women and Children, Human Rights and Africa. She was recently honored as One of Silicon Valley's most influential Women.
www.tapestriesofhope.com