February 19th Meeting
Our speaker this week is Dan Bigley, author of “Beyond the Bear: How I Learned to Live and Love Again after Being Blinded by a Bear.”
Dan Bigley grew up in Ohio, California, and Malaysia, where he took up with an acrobatic hip-hop dance troupe and got a black belt in Taekwondo at 14. While earning a degree in natural history and a minor in environmental education at Arizona’s Prescott College, he spent several months a year living out of a backpack. Dan has ways felt the most at home in wild, quiet places. He loved sharing the magic of the natural world with the kids he guided on wilderness trips throughout his college years and beyond. He dreamed of starting his own outdoor school someday.
Before the bear, with a degree in natural history from Arizona’s Prescott College, Dan landed the most challenging and rewarding job he’d ever had, taking emotionally disturbed children on recreation outings for Alaska Children’s Services. After the bear, Dan obtained a master’s degree in social work from UAA. Dan is now director of therapeutic foster care for Denali Family Services, the largest therapeutic foster-care provider in the state.
In 2008, the Governor’s Committee on Employment and Rehabilitation for People with Disabilities presented Dan with its Alaskan of the Year Award. Prescott College honored him with a Distinguished Alumni Award that same year, and in 2010, a Desert Star Award, which recognizes alumni carrying forward the Prescott mission.
Dan, his wife Amber and their two children live in Anchorage, Alaska.
Alaska World Affairs Council’s third annual Speed Mentoring – International Edition
Anchorage East Rotary members have been invited to participate as mentors at the Alaska World Affairs Council's third annual Speed Mentoring - International Edition event on Thursday, February 20 at the Hilton Hotel. Many of our members participated in the past two events.
Three hundred high school students from across the Anchorage and Mat-Su School District will be invited and encouraged to participate in this event designed to jump start their post-secondary planning. Students will be bused from their high schools to the Hilton. Students will rotate in small groups through mentors aligned with their interest areas. Each student group will spend 8 minutes with a mentor and will have time to meet with 10 mentors by the end of the rotations. To close the event, there will be a Keynote presentation during lunch.
Message from Lise Falskow, President & CEO of Alaska World Affairs Council:
The time commitment for mentors is 8:45 am to 12:00pm at the Hilton Downtown on Thursday, February 20. If you are interested in participating and able to commit to this time frame, I would ask you to complete our Mentor Information Sheet here to provide information we will need for an event pamphlet we will be distributing to students as well as for use in matching mentors with students.
Please contact Lise Falskow, with any questions at: (907) 440-5473 or lise.falskow@alaskaworldaffairs.org