Conference Speakers

Keynote Speaker

Dr. James Kok

Care and Kindness Is Infectious—Others Catch It and Pass It on!
This is just one of the Five Essential Keys of Care and Kindness that Dr. Kok presents in his book, The Miracle of Kindness. Dr. Kok will explore all five keys in this presentation.

An Unexpected Prescription
Kind words actually alter body chemistry. Just whisper a kind word into someone’s ear and you will initiate an improvement in his or her health. Norman Vincent Peale declared: “Go out and do something for somebody. These are the things that make happy people. Here is the one never-failing source of joy and enthusiasm we are all talking about.” Dr. Kok shares “Healthy Tips” for the care giver and the care receiver.

Thirteen Secret Behaviors
People all around us are hungry for a touch of care, concern, love and even simple acknowledgement. Dr. Kok will share the Thirteen Secret Behaviors to help us maximize our gifts of reaching out to others.

Dr. James Kok has been an ordained minister for 50 years and is the founder of Care and Kindness Ministries, which presents conferences throughout the United States to train and motivate people in the Vision of Care and Kindness. His book, The Miracle of Kindness is effectively a textbook for this vision. He speaks extensively throughout the United States and Canada.

Dr. Kok was Director of Care Ministry for the Crystal Cathedral Congregation of Garden Grove, CA for 29 years. As a certified Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor, he trained churches, pastors and telephone counselors in care methods.

He writes for the Care Capsule and is the author of six books. The most recent one, Transform Belief Into Behavior has just been released.

Keynote Speaker

Dr. John Vawter

How to Be a Faithful Friend
Relationships are the most important commodities in our lives. o why do people often experience life without deep meaningful friendships? Dr. Vawter will explore the differences between a true friend and a false friend and the qualities of true friendship. Discover the steps that can help us all become better friends.

Achieving High Performance Friendships
Dr. Vawter will discuss the five ways in which we use the word “friend” today in our country. However, only two of the ways are genuine friendship. And only one way helps us grow spiritually. We will all have the opportunity to explore the quality of friendships we have and learn how to deepen those friendships.

Dr. John Vawter, former President of Phoenix Seminary, has spoken in 18 countries and taught Doctor of Ministry classes at seven seminaries. His daily radio program was heard on 430 stations in the United States.

Dr. Vawter’s career has included serving as Regional Director of Campus Crusade for Christ and pastoring churches in Minneapolis and Tempe, Arizona. Most recently, he has authored three books: Uncommon Graces: Christ-like Responses to a Hostile World; Hit by a Ton of Bricks: You’re Not Alone When Your Child’s on Drugs; and Achieving High Performance Friendship.

Workshop Speakers

Kathleen Thoren

A Laughing Matter
“Smiles are instant inoculations of loving kindness.” In “A Laughing Matter,” Kathleen Thoren goes beyond that. During this fully interactive workshop you will personally experience the positive benefits of laughter and learn how to use laughter as good medicine for yourself and others. Discover how you can reduce stress, prevent “hardening of the attitudes” and build relationships.

Kathleen Thoren’s diverse experience includes living in two third-world countries, enjoying a professional singing career, performing nationally and internationally, and founding a non-profit organization serving abuse victims. Kathleen earned a Master’s Degree in Counseling and has a private practice in Tempe, AZ. She has enjoyed sharing the gift of laughter with numerous organizations and conferences throughout the state.

Elva Coor

The Arizona We Want
An opportunity to connect Arizonans toward a common vision for our state. It needs to be more broadly recognized, accessible and actionable. Reaching the Citizen Goals requires the efforts and ideas of a lot of people—educators, elected officials, community leaders, business leaders and other citizens-brought together by a common vision and a commitment to the future of Arizona as defined by the people who live here. Learn about the Citizen Goals and how to become part of a network of Arizonans working to achieve them.

Elva Coor has discovered Civility, Collaboration and Compromise to be the keys to success, from “round-ups” to navigating the halls of the US Senate as a full time staffer to founding and cofounding three communications companies. In 1994 she married Dr. Lattie Coor, President of Arizona State University and became a full time volunteer for ASU. In 2007 she worked with her longtime friend, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and the program SpeakOut AZ was conceived—its mission to create a civil, well informed and engaged electorate. That program is now part of Dr. Lattie Coor’s The Arizona We Want Institute with a commitment to focus on energizing and empowering people to become engaged at the grassroots level.

Hospice of the Valley

Caring for the Caregiver
This presentation focuses on the rewards and challenges of providing care for a loved one and learning how to care for yourself in the process. We will explore the ways in which caring for older adults with long-term illness impacts the caregiver and the methods caregivers can utilize to optimize their well-being.

Hospice of the Valley is Arizona’s leading provider of end-of-life care. They are the largest not-for-profit hospice in the nation—yet they remain true to their original mission: “Bringing comfort and dignity as life nears its end. One patient and family at a time.” And this professional caring team focuses on the caregiver as well as the care receiver.

Joelle Hadley
Founder, The Culture Coaches

Creating Positive and Productive Work Environments
You can work to boost happiness. When I think back on my personal happiness, the material and financial achievements feel good in the moment but certainly have been fleeting. It’s those activities when I’m engaged with loved ones and friends, reading a book, attending a class, traveling the world, giving back to my community or helping another human or animal that I have this amazing sense of gratification and fulfillment.

Many of us spend our lives and careers gauging success based on our IQ and our technical skills and talent. Yet what really matters for success and relationships both at work and at home has to do with our emotional intelligence (EI). If we think about the people who have had the most positive impact on us, what makes that person exceptional is usually his or her emotional traits: Caring, Funny, Tough, Authentic, Positive, Driven, Patient, Kind Thoughtful. People with strong EI build the skill sets that include: Empathy—seeing things from another’s perspective; communication—articulating our points and non-defensive listening; and coaching—giving and receiving feedback. My grandmothers were right: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Joelle hadley, is founder of The Culture Coaches and The Southwest Institute for Emotional Intelligence. She is a columnist for the Arizona Republic.

Christy McClendon
MSW

Building A Community Of Inspiring and Inspired Individuals Through Transformative Mentoring
It’s human nature to want to belong—to want to be a part of something bigger. New Pathways for Youth prides itself on responding to this basic desire. Conference participants will learn about the prevention and intervention methods of transformative mentoring that create a culture of healing and resiliency for youth. An overview of skills needed by adult mentors to provide our youth with acceptance, belonging and the opportunity to envision and create a better future will be reviewed so that we build supportive communities that teach new possibilities and the essential skills for youth to achieve life goals.

Christy McClendon is the President/CEO of New Pathways for Youth, a local organization that transforms lives through mentoring and life skill development. Her personal passion and efforts toward the well-being of children and families in our community are extraordinary and have resulted in numerous honors and recognitions including: being named the recipient of the 2014 Greater Phoenix ATHENA Award for the public sector, Top 25 CEO’s by the Phoenix Business Journal, 50 Most Powerful Women Business Leaders by the Arizona Business Magazine, and 20 Women Who Will Shape the Valley by 2020 by the Arizona Republic.

Dr. Julian Pickens

Gaining an Understanding For Ministry to the Addicted Person
What is addiction? How does it affect a person? Dr. Pickens will discuss the type of treatment program that is most beneficial to someone who has crossed that line of being addicted. He will include the intervention process and how it can be effective in getting a person into treatment.

Dr. Julian Pickens is licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist and a Substance Abuse Counselor by the Board of Behavioral Health, State of Arizona. He is also a nationally Board certified interventionist, having completed more than 2,000 interventions. He has been active in the alcohol and drug field for a total 46 years after feeling God’s call to be in a ministry to the addicted person. He has three advanced degrees from the Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans and is an ordained minister.