SPEAKERS

Dr. Ira Byock

Dr. Byock currently holds the following positions: Director of Palliative Medicine, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, and Senior Faculty member, Dartmouth Medical School; Director of The Palliative Care Service in Missoula, Montana; Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national grant program, Promoting Excellence in End-of-Life Care; Research Professor in the Department of Philosophy at The University of Montana; Faculty member of the Practical Ethics Center at The University of Montana; Founder and Principal Investigator of Lifes End Institute: The Missoula Demonstration Project, a community-based organization dedicated to the research and transformation of end-of-life experience locally, as a demonstration of what is possible nationally.

Dr. Byock has been involved in hospice and palliative care since 1978, during his residency. At that time he helped found a hospice home care program for the indigent population served by the university hospital and county clinics of Fresno, California. He is a Past President of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (1997)

Dr. Byock has authored numerous articles on the ethics and practice of end-of-life care. His book, Dying Well: The Prospect for Growth at the End of Life, is available from Putnam/Riverhead. In 1995 Dr. Byock was the recipient of the National Hospice Organization=s Person of the Year award, in 2000 was given the National Coalition of Cancer Survivorship=s Natalie Davis Spingarn, Writers Award, and in 2003 the American College of CHEST Physicians Roger Bone Memorial Lecture Award. His most recent book, The Four Things That Matter Most, published by Simon & Schuster will be released in March 2004.

Dr. Byock has been a featured guest on the following national television and radio programs: Before I Die: Medical Care and Personal Choices, a PBS Fred Friendly Seminar; Letting Go: A Hospice Journey, produced by Maysles Films for HBO; CNN; Today; ABC Nightline; The News Hour with Jim Lehrer; One on One with John McLaughlin; Under Scrutiny with Jane Wallace; Fresh Air with Terry Gross; Talk of the Nation; All Things Considered; Late Show with Tom Snyder; NBC Dateline; 60 Minutes with Ed Bradley; MSNBC ASummit for a Cure@ with Brian Williams.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter

ZALMAN SCHACHTER SHOLOMI, better known as Reb Zalman, was born in Zholkiew, Poland, in 1924. Raised largely in Vienna, his family fled the Nazi oppression in 1938 and finally landed in New York City in 1941 and settled in Brooklyn, where he enrolled in the yeshiva of the Lubavitcher Hasidim. He was ordained by Lubavitch in 1947. He received his master of arts degree in the psychology of religion (pastoral counseling) in 1956 from Boston University and a Doctor of Hebrew Letters degree from Hebrew Union College in 1968. He taught at the University of Manitoba, Canada, from 1956 to 1975 and was professor of Jewish mysticism and psychology of religion at Temple University until his early retirement in 1987, when he was named professor emeritus. In 1995 he accepted the World Wisdom Chair at Naropa University, where he is currently a professor in the Department of Religion.

Throughout his long career, Reb Zalman has been an unending resource for the world religious community. He is the grandfather of the Jewish Renewal movement, the founder of the Spiritual Eldering Institute, an active teacher of Jewish mysticism, and a participant in ecumenical dialogues, including the widely influential dialogue with the Dalai Lama documented in the book The Jew in the Lotus. He is the author of Paradigm Shift, Spiritual Intimacy, From Age-ing to Sage-ing, and Wrapped in a Holy Flame. Reb Zalman currently lives in Boulder, Colorado, and continues to be active in mentoring the next generation of Jewish Renewal.

Eve Ilsen

Eve Ilsen, is the life and teaching partner of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. She is a student of Joseph Campbell, the Jungian analyst, Edith Wallace, and the innovative teacher of imaginal therapy, Colette Alboulker-Muscat Together with Reb Zalman she has conducted a Wisdom School and workshops on Spiritual Eldering around the world. She is an effective teacher, masterful storyteller, and gifted guide in imaginal meditations.

Ilsen has developed unique ways of conducting workshops --- using songs to create sacred space and stories to convey a sense of the inexplicable and extraordinary --- the points at which sparks of realization break through the patterns of everyday life. Her compelling renditions bring forth the mystical dimensions of the stories.

Mother Tessa Bielecki

Tessa Bielecki is Mother Abbess of the Spiritual Life Institute, a Carmelite community with hermitages in Colorado, Nova Scotia, and Ireland. She studied for a career in international relations at Trinity College in Washington, D.C., before entering a monastery in 1967. Mother Tessa is actively involved in Buddhist-Christian dialogues and international initiatives exploring world peace and planetary survival. She is the author of Teresa of Avila: Ecstasy and Common Sense; Holy Daring; and Teresa of Avila: Mystical Writings and publisher of Forefront, a quarterly magazine of contemporary spirituality.

Marilyn Schlitz, Ph.D.

Marilyn Schlitz is Director of Research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences and senior scientist at the Geraldine Brush Cancer Research Institute at the California Pacific Medical Center. Trained in Medical anthropology and psi research, Marilyn has published numerous articles on cross-cultural healing, consciousness studies, distant healing and the discourse of controversial science. She has conducted research at Stanford University, Science Applications International Corporation, the Institute for Parapsychology, and the Mind Science Foundation. Has taught at Trinity, Stanford and Harvard universities, and has lectured widely, including talks at the United Nations and the Smithsonian Institution. She serves on the Editorial Board of Alternative Therapies, is the leader of Esalen's Center for Theory and Research Working Group on Distant Healing Intentionality, and is on the Scientific Program Committee for the Consciousness Center at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Bill Cathers, Philosopher

William Cathers moderates and designs seminars for The Aspen Institute. He has moderated seminars with Mortimer J. Adler on Dr. Adlerx92s books, Reforming Education and Six Great Ideas. He has also moderated the prestigious Aspen Institute Executive Seminar. William has developed two highly successful programs for the Aspen Institute, the Aspen Institute High School Great Ideas Seminar, and the Aspen Community Seminar. He recently designed a highly acclaimed seminar entitled War, Peace, and International Relations for the Socrates Society. He also worked in conjunction with Aspen FilmFest on a seminar entitled Democracy and the Problem of the Hero. Mr. Cathersx92 use of music, film, opera and visual art in addition to readings from the great works of philosophy and literature have established his seminars as unique learning experiences among the programs at The Aspen Institute.

In addition to his work with The Aspen Institute, Mr. Cathers is the Founder and Director of HIPP (High Intellectual Preparedness Program), which works with Title I high schools in the inner city of Los Angeles. HIPP provides workshops for students and teachers and has produced dramatic and ongoing improvement of test scores across a variety of subjects. HIPP grew out of the Options Enrichment Program, a nationally recognized program for at-risk students that Mr. Cathers designed and implemented in the 1980x92s.

Tina Staley, Program Co-director and Moderator

Tina Staley is director of the Cancer Guide Program at Aspen Valley Hospital. She also serves as the Grief and Loss Counselor for the hospital. Tina holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and a Master's degree in clinical social work from Loyola University. She is a founder and on the board of Aspen Center for Integrative Health, Roaring Fork Hospice Board of Directors, and on the faculty of the Center for Mind, Body, Medicine in Washington, D.C. Prior to Aspen Hospital she was national spokesperson for eating disorders and on the board of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. Her background in eastern philosophy, mental health, integrative medicine, and hospice care have helped her for the role of Cancer Guide.

As a Cancer Guide, Tina works with a team of health care professionals to support and assist the cancer patient and his/her family as they navigate the challenging, confusing and often lonely path from diagnosis to treatment to resolution. She serves as a provider of information and education. Both traditional and complementary therapies are components of the program.

Ed Bastian, Ph.D., Program Co-director and Moderator

Ed Bastian is President of the Spiritual Paths Foundation. His Ph.D. is in Buddhist Studies and Western Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bastian lived for several years with Buddhism monks and in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, studied Indian philosophy and religion at Banares Hindu University and translated Buddhist scriptures from Tibetan and Sanskrit sources. At the Smithsonian Institution, Bastian served as Director of BioDiversity and Intellectual History programs as well as a producer of CD-ROMs, television, books, conferences and exhibitions. He also taught courses and moderated conferences on BioDiversity, Buddhism and world religion at the Smithsonian. He has taught and lectured at a variety of educational venues and presented scholarly papers at academic conferences in the U.S., England, Japan and India. Bastian produced a series of award winning television documentaries on the religions of Asia for the BBC and PBS. He produced three films on Tibetan Buddhism with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. As President of Aspen Interactive Media, Bastian was an Internet pioneer, creating one of the worldx92s first few community Web Sites in Aspen, Colorado, called "aspen.com."