Peter Block is an author, consultant and citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio.  His work is about empowerment, stewardship, chosen accountability, and the reconciliation of community.  Peter is the author of several best selling books including Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used (1st Ed 1980, 2nd Ed 1999); Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest (1993) and The Empowered Manager: Positive Political Skills at Work (1987).  Block is the recipient of the first place 2004 Members? Choice Award by the Organization Development Network, recognizing Flawless Consulting.  Peter has also authored Flawless Consulting Fieldbook & Companion: A Guide to Understanding Your Expertise (2000). The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters (Berrett-Koehler, 2002) won the 2002 Independent Book Publisher Award for Business Breakthrough Book of the Year.  Freedom and Accountability at Work: Applying Philosophic Insight to the Real World was co-authored with Peter Koestenbaum (Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2001).  Peter serves on the Board of Directors of Cincinnati Classical Public Radio and acts as an advisor to the City of Hope and Hip Hop Center in Cincinnati.  He is the first Distinguished Consultant-in-Residence at Xavier University.  He has received national awards for outstanding contributions in the field of training and development, including the American Society for Training and Development Award for Distinguished Contributions; the Association for Quality and Participation President?s Award; and Training Magazine HRD Hall of Fame.  He received his Masters Degree in Industrial Administration from Yale University and did his undergraduate work at the University of Kansas.

Read the article, "Civic Engagement and the Restoration of Community" by Peter Block in Nation's Cities Weekly newspaper June 2006.

Pamela L. Shipp? is a Senior Program Associate at the Center for Creative Leadership at the Colorado Springs campus.  In addition to the Leadership Development Program (LDP), Pam is a faculty member of the Leadership at the Peak (LAP) and the Foundations of Coaching (FOC).  She is an adjunct professor at Denver University?s graduate program in Counseling Psychology specializing in issues of leadership credibility, assessing leadership behaviors and counselor supervision.  Pam is the author of Counseling Blacks: A Group Approach; The Personnel and Guidance Journal, Oct. 83; Managing Diverse Work Teams: Leaders in Action, Jan/Feb 01, Vol. 20; Building Communities For Tomorrow, One Person At A Time, (2002).  Shipp is a licensed psychologist and managed a private clinical practice in Colorado Springs for 12 years.  Pam has worked as a public school administrator, a business management consultant, and an executive coach.  She is a member of the Association of Black Psychologists, a board member of the Colorado Springs Black Leadership Forum, the Pikes Peak Community Foundation, Penrose-St. Francis Hospital and a past member of the El Pomar Foundation Advisory Board.  She has served on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Springs Children?s Museum; The Boys and Girls Club of the Pikes Peak Region; and the Colorado Springs Human Relations Board.  Pam has been recognized in Who?s Who in Black Colorado Springs, is a recipient of the NAACP Community Service Award, and was featured in the Gazette Telegraph?s Women at the Top.

Read the article by Dr. Pam Shipp entitled, "Building Communities for Tomorrow: One Person at a Time" in Nation's Cities Weekly Newspaper July 2006.

Allan Wallis? is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Graduate School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado at Denver, where he directs the Ph.D. program as well as the concentration in local government.  He currently teaches courses in leadership and ethics, urban policy, growth management policy, and innovation in public management.  He has also taught courses in architecture, city planning and urban design.  An active researcher, Dr. Wallis focuses his work on emerging forms of metropolitan regional governance, leadership development, and methods for improving collaboration among nonprofit organizations.  He is currently working on a metropolitan regionalism project in South Florida and Chicago under a grant from the MacArthur Foundation.  He has authored numerous articles, book chapters, and a book entitled, Wheel Estate: the Rise and Decline of Mobile Homes.  Wallis holds a Bachelors in Architecture from The Cooper Union, a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Psychology from the Graduate School of the City University of New York.  Dr. Wallis has also taught at The Cooper Union, Pratt Institute, Ball State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Read the article by Dr. Allan Wallis entitled, "Sir Ernest Shackleton's Lesson's for Adaptive Leadership" in Nation's Cities Weekly newspaper in July 2006.

Michael Gardner?  has been an adjunct faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership for the past seven years.  He works with senior-level executives in industry and government from around the world in the Center?s flagship program, Leadership at The Peak (LAP).  Gardner began his work in leadership development as a trainer and program leader at the Santa Fe Mountain Center where he worked with candidates for parole at the state prison and youth reformatory in wilderness programs.  He then served on faculty for Peak Performance where he has helped design and run programs for Sears, Johnson & Johnson, Expedia, Carlson Hotels and many other organizations.  Gardner is also publisher of Springs Magazine, a 23-year-old arts and cultural magazine for Colorado Springs and is co-founder of Blue Clover Press, an outdoor adventure guide publishing house with six current titles, including Dawson?s Guide To Colorado?s Fourteeners, one of the state?s best-selling mountaineering guides.

Read Michael Gardner's article entitled, "Sir Ernest Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance: An Experience in Leadership" in Nation's Cities Weekly newspaper in July 2006.

Christopher T. Gates? is President of the National Civic League, the nation?s oldest organization advocating for the issues of community democracy that was founded in 1894 by civic reformers including Teddy Roosevelt and Louis Brandeis. He also serves as a member of NCL?s Board of Directors and was Vice President of the National Civic League for eight years prior to becoming its President in 1995. Gates speaks extensively around the country, and around the world, on topics including the changing forms of democracy, citizen participation, community visioning and strategic planning. He has also regularly lectured in a variety of academic institutions, including the University of Colorado?s Graduate School of Public Affairs and the State and Local Government Program at Harvard?s Kennedy School of Government, and is a regular instructor in leadership training programs across the country.  Gates serves on a variety of other boards including the National Commission on Civic Renewal, the Council for the Advancement of Citizenship, and the California Center for Civic Renewal.  He is also co-chair of the Civic Practices Network, co-chair of the Saguaro Seminar, a Harvard University project studying ?social capital? and co-chair of the Alumni Council of the Kennedy School of Government?s Career Services Office.

Read the article by Chris Gates entitled, "Apathetic Citizens? Not When  They Can Make A Difference" in Nation's Cities Weekly newspaper in June 2006.