All Topics in Chicago

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  Start Early, Start Smart: How to Choose a Motivating College Major

  Georgia Koch, Community Outreach Coordinator, Career Vision

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Educational

  Is it possible for students to identify potential college majors and career directions while still in high school? You bet! Students and parents will learn what they need to know before choosing a college, and how identifying a college major and career direction can build a student's motivation and confidence while reducing college expenses. MORE >

  Receive information and resources to guide your student and take the stress out of making these important decisions. This program is for parents and students of high school and college age.

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  Speaking with Confidence in any Situation

  Suzanne M. Bracken, Managing Director, Ludicrous Theatre Company

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Self-Improvement

  This lively presentation will address the causes of fear associated with speaking when we are not comfortable doing so. Learn how to make those butterflies in your stomach "fly in formation," so you can get your point across in a confident and effective manner.

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  Solutions to Climate Change that benefit you and the Environment

  Dorelle Ackermann, Activist, Pachamama Alliance: Chicagoland Co-Hearts

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Climate

  Every presentation is created to address the specific interests of your group. This presentation highlights 4 solutions that can benefit individuals while contributing to healing our planet. Food waste is the first solution discussed. One third of the world’s food is never eaten and is responsible for 8 percent of global warming emissions. Learn how you can reduce food waste, save money and at the same time create a more environmentally sustainable future. MORE >

  Reducing meat intake is the second solution. If everyone in the U.S.skipped red meat just one day per week for a year, it would be the equivalent of taking 7.6 million cars off the road.

  The third solution highlighted is home energy use. Did you know that ComEd will give homeowners a free energy assessment, install low flow faucets and LED lights without cost? Save money and save the planet!

  The final solution discussed is transportation. Consider your options when traveling and quick trips to the store. Small behavioral changes can make a difference. Finally, in addition to individual solutions, the presentation will touch on our power to influence companies and government (especially local government) to move us to a more sustainable way of life.

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  Solutions to Climate Change

  Andrew Panelli, Group Leader, Chicago South Suburbs, Citizens' Climate Education

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Climate

  Here’s an opportunity to engage your audience in a fun way to learn more about the climate change issue, solutions, and the relative effectiveness of those solutions. As part of the exercise, we discuss various actions that can be taken. The audience is engaged to offer suggested solutions to slow climate change. MORE >

  Our trained facilitator will show the group how each suggested action(s) will impact climate change on a MIT/Sloan simulator that will model their proposed solution(s) instantly in “real-time”. This stimulates discussions as to why an action may or may not be as effective a course of action as expected. We’ll also share bipartisan actions that Congress is considering and evaluate what impact those actions have on climate change.

  Participants leave the discussion with new insights on how the problem should be addressed.

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  So You Think You Know A Lot About Babe Ruth? Let’s Find Out!

  Gary Livacari, Author and Baseball Historian

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Entertainment

  During the first half of the twentieth century, America experienced profound cultural changes. Many of those changes were the direct result of the life of one man: George Herman "Babe" Ruth (1895-1948). Author Gary Livacari is available to present a one-hour PowerPoint presentation covering the life and times of this original American sports icon. The discussion begins with Babe's early life as a neglected "incorrigible" orphan cruelly dispatched at age seven to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys by a family that didn't seem to want him. It continues through his early adulthood, highlighting his marriage to Claire Hodgson Merritt who finally gave him the stable family life that he so desperately desired. Included are many highlights from his record-setting, historic career. MORE >

  No one better personified the extravagance and excesses of "Roaring Twenties" that the great Bambino. At the height of his fame, he was possibly the most recognized and celebrated person in the world. The presentation details some of the most memorable Babe Ruth stories and fables, all illustrated with rarely seen photos. It concludes with a fun "Babe Ruth trivia quiz," followed by a question and answer session.

  The discussion will have appeal to baseball fans of all ages, but will also appeal to those who are intrigued by one of the most beloved and enduring personalities in American history; and by the lasting impact he had on American sports and culture. From our perspective in the twenty-first century, it's hard for us to appreciate the influence he continues to have on America, even now 77 years after his death. All this and many more topics will be examined in detail.

  The presentation can also be given remotely via Zoom.

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  Small Business Ownership

  Jennifer Davis, President & Co-Founder, Davisware, Inc.

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Business

  Owning your own business can be a challenge. Jennifer, a working mother, shares the fascinating story of her startup with sweat equity and personal growth along the way. Her personal account of what works and what doesn’t, and how to balance it all, is perfect for those in business or with an entrepreneurial spirit. MORE >

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  Six Sigma and Finance Intersections

  Diane Davidson, Finance Transformation Leader, Clever Fox, LLC

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Business

  As a practitioner with a Six Sigma Green Belt, I am seeing demand for Six Sigma principles being used in the Finance industry. Six Sigma is typically viewed as a tool only used for Supply Chain, Logistics or Operations. Finance organizations are using Six Sigma principles such as Value Stream Mapping and Kaizen Events to bring standardization and efficiencies to their business processes. MORE >

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  Senior Living Myths Unmasked

  Andrea Donovan, President, Andrea Donovan Senior Living Advisors

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Health & Fitness

  Having toured more than 450 senior communities, Andrea offers advice about what to look for when searching for alternative living for a senior. Her researched facts will demystify the myths.

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  Self-Improvement

  Hajer Rikabi, President and Founder, Thrive Coaching CORP

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Self-Improvement

  As a human I can't imagine life without the self-improvement. Self improvement is a human nature since ever, it's overlapping in every aspect in our lives. From the basics of the life like the way we talk, walk, eat and deal to the life improvement level education, goals, relationships. MORE >

  Self improvement is the way of wanting things, people and life to be better in every way we can control. It is the learning to new things to add to our life's basket. The basket that we have to take a look at once in a while to decide it's time to clean, and when cleaning happens we are freeing space to add new things to go well in our life right now in this stage.

  As to my basket it took me a while to see and another while to understand that I need to clean it. When I found that basket It was heavy and big like I was dragging a big tent behind me, and because of it's heavy wight sometimes I just sit by it and cry. After I was done with the crying that happened many many times, I decided to take a look at it from a curious mind, just like a child when exploring the kitchen.

  That's not mine, and that , and that, long pause and realized nothing in there belong to me. So I decided to place everything where it belong and to whom, learned about myself and what I like. Like I am a whole new person and found my way to improve myself to what I value and what really belong to me.

  SOO What's in your basket?

  انا لا استطيع ان اتخيل الحياة من دون تطوير ذاتي. التطوير الذاتي هو طبيعة بشرية منذ الازل. وهو متداخل في كل جانب من جوانب حياتنا. من الاساسيات مثلا كيف نتكلم , نمشي , ناكل ونتعامل الى مستوى التطوير الحياتي كمثال التعليم, اهداف وعلاقات. التطوير الذاتي هو الحاجة التي نسعى بها لتطوير الاشياء , الناس والحياة ليكونوا بافضل نسخ وكل شي نستطيع التحكم به. التطوير الذاتي هو تعلم كل شي جديد لاضافته لسلة الحياة. وهي السلة التي يجب علينا ان نلقي نضرة عليها بين الحين والاخر لنقرر انه وقت التنظيف. وعندما يحين وقت التنظيف فنحن نسمح بافراغ مساحة لاضافة اشياء جديدة تتماشى مع حياتنا الان وفي هذه المرحلة.

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  Self-Defense for Seniors

  Peter Honigmann, Founder and Head Instructor, Best Defense Concepts, LLC

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Health & Fitness

  I've been teaching teaching self-defense to seniors at libraries, senior centers, park districts and retirement centers throughout Northern Illinois since 2012. My presentations to seniors focus on being observant, using verbal skills to de-escalate a situation, complying with demands for property, and then only as a last resort using very simple self-defense techniques to disable an attacker, including: the use of a cane or walking stick, improvised weapons such as pens, flashlights, and magazines, and the use of pepper spray. MORE >

  I include inspiring stories of other seniors who have successfully defended themselves against various attacks.

  I am only available to give presentations weekday evenings and weekends, and limit my travel to suburbs north of Chicago.

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