Thursday, May 21, 2009
John Raynolds
Author and Former President and CEO of Outward Bound USA
John Raynolds III '47 is a former president & CEO of Outward Bound USA. During his tenure as president from 1981-1990, student enrollment increased from 7,000 to over 30,000 per year. He led Outward Bound's entry into public schools and founded the first independent urban Outward Bound Center in New York City.
He is a graduate of Williams College and attended Stanford University's Graduate School of Business Administration. In September 2009 he will be awarded a Bicentennial Medal at the Convocation of Williams College for "distinguished achievement in his field of endeavor."
Raynolds currently serves on the boards of four non-profit organizations. He has participated in 41 Outward Bound expeditions and courses. Raynolds is also the author of several books, the most recent of which is Leadership the Outward Bound Way: Becoming a Better Leader in the Workplace, in the Wilderness, and in Your Community.
Raynolds' hobbies include mountain climbing, boxing, running marathons and writing haiku poetry. Raynolds and his wife, Eileen, divide their time between Wayzata, MN, and Vero Beach, FL.
His Breakfast at Blake topic will be "Make Every Day Count: A Personal Journey."
April 16, 2009
Dr. Joel Boyd
Orthopaedic Surgeon and Head Team Physician for the MN Vikings, MN Wild, MN Swarm, MN Lynx and Assistant Team Physician for the MN Timberwolves
Dr. Joel Boyd is an orthopaedic surgeon at TRIA Orthopaedic Center and the head team physician for the Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Vikings, team physician for the Minnesota Lynx and Minnesota Swarm, and assistant team physician for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Previously, Dr. Boyd served as the team physician for the USA Hockey World Championships in Zurich, Switzerland in 1998, the USA Men’s Hockey Team at the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, and the USA Women’s Hockey Team in 1998.
Dr. Boyd completed his undergraduate work and received a master of science degree from Bucknell University and graduated from Temple University Medical School. He completed his orthopaedic training at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and his fellowship training at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
A Blake parent, Dr. Boyd and his wife, Cheryl, have three children and reside in Eden Prairie. His hobbies include traveling, playing golf, watching movies and listening to music.
Dr. Boyd’s Breakfast at Blake presentation will focus on his work as an orthopaedic surgeon and athletic team physician.
February 19, 2009
Rob Zeaske
Executive Director of Second Harvest Heartland
Rob Zeaske is the executive director of Second Harvest Heartland, the Upper Midwest's largest hunger-relief organization with a mission of ending hunger through community partnerships. The topic of his Breakfast at Blake talk will be “Mission Possible: Ending Hunger in our Community, in our Lifetime.”
January 15, 2009
Speaker: Greg Mortenson
Executive Director, Central Asia Institute; Founder, Pennies For Peace; author
Greg Mortenson is the executive director of Central Asia Institute, founder of Pennies For Peace, and co-author of Three Cups of Tea. He has dedicated his life to promote education, especially for girls, and as of 2008, he has established over 78 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mortenson's Breakfast at Blake presentation will focus on his humanitarian work with Central Asia Institute and his book Three Cups of Tea.
November 20, 2008
Speaker: Peter Heegaard ’54
Civic leader, volunteer, philanthropist, and author
Peter Heegaard began his business career in 1960 with Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis. He was the founder and former Managing Principal of Lowry Hill, the leading Twin Cities based asset management company dedicated to serving affluent individuals. After retiring in 1996, Heegaard served as a consultant to several Minnesota foundations and non-profit organizations. In 1997 he founded Urban Adventure, an educational program that exposes young leaders in business and MBA candidates to challenging urban issues. Heegaard is also editor of “An Investment Letter for Minnesota Philanthropists.”
Heegaard currently holds leadership positions with several civic organizations, including Ready 4 K, Northstar Foundation, One Percent Club, City of Minneapolis Empowerment Zone Governance Board.
He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration. Heegaard lives with his wife, Anne, in Minneapolis. They have three children and eight grandchildren. His hobbies include fly fishing, hiking, skiing and biking.
October 23, 2008
Speaker: Jocelyn Hale '81
Executive Director of the Loft Literary Center
Jocelyn Hale is the Executive Director of the Loft Literary Center, the country's oldest and largest literary arts center. As a freelance writer, columnist for the Southwest Journal, and commentator on Marketplace Radio, her work has been featured locally and nationally.
She was previously manager of Minnesota giving for the Best Buy Children's Foundation and has 12 years' experience in the field of interactive educational technology. In the early 1990s she was Executive Director of Dan Buettner's Africatrek Expedition and also worked for Connors Technology Communications and Classroom Connect.
Hale has held marketing, public relations and development positions with a host of arts nonprofits and has served on numerous boards of directors. She holds a B.A. from Brown University and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute.
Hale's Breakfast at Blake topic will focus on the future of creative writing and reading in the age of technology.
Heegaard’s Breakfast at Blake topic will focus on his book, Heroes Among Us: Social Entrepreneurs Working to Build Strong Families and Communities.
September 26, 2008
Speaker: Shep Harder '68
Humanitarian
Shepard Harder '68 is The Blake School's 2008 Alumnus of the Year for a lifetime's work in non-profit and non-governmental organizations helping children around the globe. Harder's tireless devotion to his chosen mission has led him to work in North Africa, the Middle East, Switzerland and the United States.
After graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1973, Harder entered the Peace Corps where he spent two years in Fez, Morocco. He became fluent in Arabic, teaching students whose aspirations included teaching and other vocations in north central Morocco. Harder earned a master of arts in teaching degree from Stanford University in 1977. He then joined the America Mideast Educational Training Services organization in Wash., D.C., where he served as a project coordinator administering scholarship programs in Egypt, Syria, Yemen and Gaza.
In 1981, he joined Save the Children Federation, Inc. As the assistant regional director to the Middle East/North Africa sector, Harder helped implement the foundation's programs devoted to health and nutrition, small-scale enterprise, agriculture, appropriate technology, education and training. In this capacity, he also served as field office director in Tunisia on an interim basis.
Harder returned to the United States in 1984, where he served as an executive officer in service to the president of the Save the Children Federation. He authored white papers and wrote reports for the president, and worked as a special assistant in the inter-governmental, governmental and NGO communities. Harder earned Save the Children's Distinguished Service Award in Management in 1986.
In 1987, Harder returned to school, this time to Harvard, where he earned a master's in public administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. After furthering his expertise in public administration and international development, he returned to the Save the Children community as executive officer of the Save the Children Alliance in Geneva where he worked closely with United Nations and NGO bodies. He returned to the United States with his wife, Kate, (Katherine Callahan) and later became director of external relations and development with the Christian Children's Fund (CCF). Today, he serves as the administrator of ChildFund International, the confederation of 12 CCF organizations around the world.