The Wisdom Circle
The Sage-ing Guild's Wisdom Circle is comprised of well-known professionals who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in issues relating to elders and the aging process. The members of the Wisdom Circle serve as the "wise Elders" of the Sage-ing Guild, and may be called upon from time to time to lend their vision to the growth and development of the Sage-ing Guild.
The Wisdom Circle serves pro bono and members are granted all the benefits of Sage-ing Guild membership. Individuals are invited to sit in the Wisdom Circle by the Sage-ing Guild's Coordinating Counsel.
Wise Elders of the Wisdom Circle
 Angeles Arrien, Ph.D. is a cultural anthropologist, award-winning author, educator, and consultant to many organizations and businesses. She lectures and conducts workshops worldwide, bridging cultural anthropology, psychology, and comparative religions. Her work is currently used in medical, academic, and corporate environments. Angeles is the President of the Foundation for Cross-Cultural Education and Research.
Her books have been translated into nine languages, and she has received three honorary doctorate degrees in recognition of her work. Her book, The Second Half of Life was awarded the Nautilus Award in 2007. |
 Robert Atchley, Ph.D. is an award-winning teacher, scholar, author, and mentor who since 1985, has focused on the subject of how human beings develop spiritually and manifest spirituality in their lives. He has presented numerous lectures and workshops to a wide variety of audiences and has written more than a dozen articles for general audiences on this subject. His knowledge of the subject comes from extensive interviews and research, being part of several working groups of researchers, writers and lecturers focusing on spirituality, being involved in several organizations promoting "conscious aging" and/or spiritual growth, and his own 30-year conscious spiritual journey.
In addition to doing many workshops on his own, he was co-presenter of workshops with Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi on "From Age-ing to Sage-ing" and with Ram Dass on "Conscious Aging." Since 2000, he has published entries on spirituality for three different encyclopedias. His next book, Spirituality and Aging: Expanding the View, is forthcoming from Johns Hopkins University Press. He has received more than a dozen awards for his teaching, writing, and service, including the Distinguished Career Achievement Award from the Gerontological Society of America and the Benjamin Harrison Medallion, Miami University's highest honor given to a faculty member. He received the American Society on Aging's award for Distinguished Contribution to the Education of the Nation. |
 Connie Goldman was formerly on the staff of National Public Radio in Washington D.C. where she hosted the news program All Things Considered and produced many documentaries and feature stories.
Over 25 years ago at the age of 50 she felt called to go out on her own to explore the positive aspects of aging in a culture that seems to be obsessed with "staying young." She has had many conversations with "extraordinary older people." She has written numerous books including The Gifts of Caregiving and Late Life Love, and has been a sought-after speaker. Her presentations offer encouragement and inspiration for making positive transitions and continuing to deepen and grow in the second half of life. |
 Richard Leider, MS is dedicated to awakening people to their "true calling." He is committed to helping "new Elders" discover the power of Purpose in the second half of their lives. In addition to his life coaching, writing and speaking work through the Inventure Group, he is a senior fellow at the University of Minnesota's Center for Spirituality and Healing. Through the Purpose Project he and his colleagues are finding that "purpose is good medicine!" His eighth book, Something to Live For, is due out in spring, 2008. |
 Wendy Lustbader, MSW was a mental health counselor at Pike Market Medical Clinic in Seattle for many years and affiliate assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work. She is nationally known for her speaking and consulting work with the Pioneer Network and is the author of Counting on Kindness: The Dilemmas of Dependency. She also wrote What's Worth Knowing: Interviewing 100 Elders, and co-authored Taking Care of Your Aging Family Members. She is a very engaging speaker who has a profound passion for working with and advocating for elders. She has worked in this field for over 20 years. |
 H. Rick Moody is currently Director of Academic Affairs for AARP.
Dr. Moody is the author of over 100 scholarly articles and book chapters, as well as a number of books including: Abundance of Life: Human Development Policies for an Aging Society (Columbia University Press, 1988); Ethics in an Aging Society (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992); and Aging: Concepts and Controversies, a gerontology textbook now in its 3rd edition. His most recent book, The Five Stages of the Soul, was published by Doubleday Anchor Books (1997) and has been translated into seven languages worldwide. Dr. Moody taught philosophy at Columbia, Hunter College, New York University, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. From 1999 to 2001 he served as National Program Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Faith in Action and, from 1992 to 1999, was Executive Director of the Brookdale Center at Hunter College. He has also served as Co-Director of the National Aging Policy Center of the National Council on Aging in Washington, DC. Rick Moody is known nationally for his work in older adult education and recently stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Elderhostel. He has also been active in the field of biomedical ethics and holds appointment as an Adjunct Associate of the Hastings Center. |
 Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, better known as "Reb Zalman," is the founder of the Spiritual Eldering Institute and a mentor to all members of the Sage-ing Guild. In addition to his ordination, he has a Masters of Arts in Psychology of Religion from Boston University and a Doctor of Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College. He has taught at Universities and, in 1995, he accepted the World Wisdom Chair at Naropa University in Boulder Colorado from which he retired in 2004. He is the founder of Jewish Renewal, an active teacher of Hasidism and Jewish Mysticism and a participant in ecumenical dialogues throughout the world. His belief in the universality of spiritual truth has led him to study with Sufi Masters, Buddhist teachers, Native American elders, Catholic monks and humanistic and transpersonal psychologists.
He is the author of From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Profound New Vision of Growing Older and numerous other books and articles and continues to speak at world conferences both in person and electronically. |
 William H. Thomas, M.D. is a physician with a special interest in aging and the elderly. In 1991 he conceived the idea of the Eden Alternative™, a new approach to the care of frail elders. Facilities that adopt the Eden Alternative™ bring decision-making in line with the needs of the Elders, rather than bureaucratic priorities.
His award winning What Are Old People For? (2004) continues his visionary work on the Green House Project. Some of his other books are The Eden Alternative: Nature, Hope and Nursing Homes; Life Worth Living, which has received several awards, including an "Honorable Mention Award" from the American Medical Writers Association as well as being one of the 1996 selections for "Book of the Year" by the American Journal of Nursing; Learning from Hannah; and The Eden Alternative Handbook. Dr. Thomas diligently continues to work for change in institutional care worldwide. With his startling common-sense ideas and his ability to persuade others to take a risk, this creative and wildly exuberant country doctor has become something of a culture changer—re-imagining how Americans will approach aging in the 21st century. |