From Learner, "Bouncer" to Burner
Barry Posner, Roger Crawford & Christopher Breedlove
Planners of this year's five district conference weaved a central theme into their selection of the keynote speakers:
Leadership, innovation & transformation.
With relevance to both individual, personal as well as organizational development, these three seasoned experts provided guidance as well as inspiration into learning and applying principles for progressive uniting for good.
Barry Posner, dean of the University of Santa Clara's School of Business quoted from his co-authored book on leadership, asking "Tell me when you were performing at your best". From responses garnered over years of survey research and follow up he distilled clear patterns of successful team builders: They knew, demonstrated and integrated their values into their enterprises. They walked their talk. Credibility honesty, transparency, were tantamount to success. He asked those in attendance if they believed leaders were born or taught. What would you say?
The audience was split with more leaning that leaders were born. By the end of the breakout session, he had enlightened us that leaders are both and similarly colleagues skills are both inherent and modifiable. His book, Leadership im Higher Education is available on Audible.
Roger Crawford, exemplifies, personal resilience, creativity, humor, adaptability, and enjoys International acclaim. His story how high can you bounce Chronicles, his overcoming physical challenges and transformed personal victories on intercollegiate tennis court as well as elite speaking podiums. Born with one arm and leg significantly shorter and minus several fingers his parents were told he would never walk. At the age of five following a below, the knee, amputation and fitting of a prosthetic leg. Roger proceeded to not only walk but run and comp to championship levels of tennis. When teased on the playground his resilient skin thickened and developed his verbal returns skillfully. His bool is available on Audible.
Wrapping up the conference was Christopher Breedlove in behalf of
With roots in the decades, developing burning man movement, burners without borders is the evolution of the creative makers, social organizing and now International regenerative cohorts applying their organizational and building skills to people in disaster struck areas. In response to Louisiana's 2005 hurricane Katrina the Burners mobilized their skills and resourced materials to aid in the disaster recovery. Referring to themselves as "regeneratives" as opposed to hippies their diverse and integrating organizational skills have caught the attention of the United States Marine Corps. to gain logistical insights. Ashville North Carolina has received Burners energy in recovering from 2024 floods. A San Francisco NFP group,
Instituto Familiar de la Raza is a member of The Bay Area Working Group. The collaboration and diversity implicit in Burners Without Borders put an apt bookend to the conference spotlighting Leadership, Initiative and Collaboration: Principles expressed in the 2025-2026 Rotary International Theme "Unite for Good".
