Moments With Marianne

Captain Sean Gobin enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1994 as an Infantry Rifleman and received his commission upon graduating from the University of Mississippi in 2001. As an Armor Officer, Sean served as a platoon commander in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and again in 2005. In 2011. Sean trained the Afghan National Security Forces in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Since separating from the Marine Corps and hiking the Appalachian Trail, Sean founded the Warrior Hike “Walk Off The War” Program. https://warriorexpeditions.org

Adam La Reau is an O2X co-founder and former SEAL. Adam was the first successful candidate to pass SEAL training directly from the US Merchant Marine Academy and went on to have a very successful career as a SEAL officer. He is also the founder of a nonprofit, One Summit, that helps to connect special operations warriors with children battling cancer. Adam lost his mother to cancer in 2004. Paul McCaullough is an O2X co-founder and former Navy SEAL. Paul spent his career with Navy SEAL Team Eight and Naval Special Warfare Develpoment Group. Throughout his service Paul conducted numerous combat deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduing Freedom, and other operations. Paul provides world class training and education for tactical athletes and top tier organizations. https://o2x.com

Andrés Edwards is an educator, award-winning author, media designer, and sustainability consultant. He is founder and president of EduTracks, a firm specializing in developing education programs and consulting services on sustainable practices for green building and business initiatives. He is the author of The Heart of Sustainability: Restoring Ecological Balance from the Inside Out, Thriving Beyond Sustainability: Pathways to a Resilient Society and The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift. https://www.andresedwards.com

Jon Steinman has studied and worked with all things food for over two decades. He was the producer and host of the internationally syndicated radio show and podcast Deconstructing Dinner, once ranked as the most-listened-to food podcast in Canada. Jon is the writer and host of "Deconstructing Dinner: Reconstructing our Food System" – a television and web series currently streaming online. Jon coordinates and curates the annual Deconstructing Dinner Film Festival of compelling food documentaries and was an elected director from 2006-2016 of the Kootenay Co-op – Canada's largest independent retail consumer food co-op. https://grocerystory.coop

Meredith May spent sixteen years at the San Francisco Chronicle, where her narrative reporting won the PEN USA Literary Award for Journalism and was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize. She is co-author of I, Who Did Not Die, about a child soldier who risked his life to rescue a wounded enemy fighter during the Iran-Iraq War. She is a fifth-generation beekeeper and lives in San Francisco, where she keeps several hives in a community garden. https://meredithamay.net

John A. Chuback, M.D., is Board Certified in General Surgery and Cardiovascular Surgery. He received his MD from Rutgers University and has been in private practice in Paramus, New Jersey, for 16 years. Dr.Chuback is also a successful entrepreneur: he is the founder and Chief Medical Officer at Chuback Medical Group. He is the recipient of the Patient’s Choice Award and Compassionate Doctor Recognition amongst many other honors.He is a member of the Board of Trustees at Phillip’s Academy Charter School in Newark, NJ, an exceptional school where underprivileged children receive an outstanding education. Dr. Chuback founded Chuback Education, LLC, which offers audio programs on subjects like weight management, smoking cessation, personal development, and academic achievement. He is also author of Kaboing! 50 Ideas That Will Springboard You To Academic Greatness.http://chubackeducation.com/

Benatti Kennedy is an internationally-recognized leadership coach and trainer who provides an achievable, authentic, and accessible path to increasing workplace resilience. Benatti’s Resiliency Model and the five key strategy that enhances career resilience and ability to recharge. The strategies—Well-being, Self-awareness, Brand, Connection, and Innovation—are unique and easy to implement, even for people with an already full life. https://bethkennedy.com

Jessica Gimeno is a health activist, speaker, and blogger best known for her TEDx Talk, "How to Get Stuff Done When You Are Depressed."  Healthline named her TEDx Talk, 'One of the Best Depression Videos of the Year,' for two consecutive years.   Jessica's blog, 'Fashionably ill ®,' and eponymous YouTube channel chronicle her journey living with five chronic illnesses: bipolar 2, myasthenia gravis, endometriosis, psoriasis, and asthma.  She has been featured in NBC News, BuzzFeed, everyday, HEALTH, MSNBC, Huffington Post, and HealthCentral.  Jessica is writing a book about resilience and being productive with depression.  https://jessicagimeno.com 

Ordained Zen priest Duncan Ryuken Williams’ AMERICAN SUTRA: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War (Harvard University Press; February 2019) described by George Takei as a “must read.” This groundbreaking history tells the little-known story of how, in one of our country’s darkest hours, Japanese Americans fought to defend their faith and preserve religious freedom. The mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II is not only a tale of injustice; it is a moving story of faith. In this path-breaking account, Duncan Ryuken Williams reveals how, even as they were stripped of their homes and imprisoned in camps, Japanese American Buddhists launched one of the most inspiring defenses of religious freedom in our nation’s history, insisting that they could be both Buddhist and American. https://www.duncanryukenwilliams.com

Laura Schroff is a former advertising executive who helped launch three of the most successful start-ups in Time Inc. history— In Style, Teen People, and People Style Watch. Schroff has also worked as the New York Division Manager at People magazine. Since the release of An Invisible Thread, Schroff has been a keynote speaker at over 300 schools, libraries, charities and bookstores, encouraging people to find for their own invisible thread connections and appreciate the power of small acts of kindness. http://lauraschroff.com

Mallory O’Meara is an author, screenwriter and genre film producer. Every week, she co-hosts the literary podcast Reading Glasses. Whether it's for the screen or the page, Mallory seeks creative projects imbued with the weird; horror and monsters are her passion. www.malloryomeara.com

Recording artist and MMA trainer Mike Lee has released an epic new music video for his single, THE HEAT. The song features the band VONDI, which is a Canadian-American music and production duo consisting of Stephen Von HeyKing and Cody Norris.  https://www.mikeleemusic.com

Mark Coleman is the author of From Suffering to Peace, Make Peace with Your Mind, and Awake in the Wild. He is the founder of the Mindfulness Institute and has an MA in clinical psychology. Mark has guided students on five continents as a corporate consultant, counselor, meditation teacher, and wilderness guide. He lives in Northern California. www.MarkColeman.org

Laura Gassner Otting helps people get "unstuck" ― and achieve extraordinary results. Laura's 25-year resume is defined by her entrepreneurial edge. She served as a Presidential Appointee in Bill Clinton's White House, helping shape AmeriCorps; left a leadership role at respected nonprofit search firm, Isaacson, Miller, to expand the startup ExecSearches.com; and founded and ran the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group, which partnered with the full gamut of mission driven nonprofit executives, from start-up dreamers to scaling social entrepreneurs to global philanthropists. https://lauragassnerotting.com

Darren Cockburn has been practicing meditation and mindfulness for over 20 years, studying with a range of teachers from different religions. As a coach and teacher, he has supported hundreds of people in meditation, mindfulness, and finding a connection to spirituality, with a focus on applying spiritual teachings in everyday life to cultivate a peaceful mind. The author of Being Present, he lives in Bournemouth, UK. www.darrencockburn.com

Thomas Lockley is Assistant Professor at Nihon University College of Law in Tokyo, where he teaches courses about the international and multicultural history of Japan and East Asia. He has published several dozen research papers and articles, including the first in the world regarding the life of Yasuke. He is currently Visiting Scholar at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He and his family live in Chiba, Japan.

Dr. Marni Feuerman is the author of Ghosted and Breadcrumbed. She is a licensed social worker and marriage and family therapist with a private practice counseling those with relationship issues. She also trains therapists to do couples therapy and writes about love relationships for a number of online media. She lives in Boca Raton, Florida. www.TheTalkingSolution.com

Rachel Cline, author of the novels What to Keep and My Liar, has written for the New York Times, New York, More, SELF, and Tin House magazines, and is a produced screen and television writer. For five years, she was a screenwriting instructor at the University of Southern California and has taught fiction writing at New York University, Eugene Lang College, and Sarah Lawrence College. She has been a resident at Yaddo, a fellow at Sewanee, and a Girls Write Now mentor. She lives in Brooklyn Heights, a few blocks from where she grew up. https://www.rachelcline.com

Tom Bunn, LCSW, is the author of Panic Free: The 10-Day Program to End Panic, Anxiety, and Claustrophobia, which is the result of his many years addressing flight panic in his role as an airline pilot. He is also a licensed therapist, regular contributor to Psychology Today, and a former U.S. Air Force captain who flew the Air Force’s first supersonic jet fighter, the F-100. Visit him online at http://www.panicfree.net

Jason B. Kendrick is a Communications and Transformation Specialist, Author, Speaker, Reiki Master, Heart Core Communications Trainer and Heart Centered Living Practitioner. He offers himself to the world in Love and Service to cultivate Peace, Love and Joy within all he works with.  https://www.jasonbkendrick.com