From Breaking News to Awakening the Muse is the theme for the 2012 Women of Achievement Awards, honoring award-winning anchorwoman Paula Lopez and poetry therapist Perie Longo. The honorees will be recognized at a celebratory luncheon on Wednesday, June 6, 11:30 am-1:30 pm, at the Hyatt Hotel.

Paula Lopez, co-anchor KEY NEWS at 11 pm, began her television career in 1985 as an intern in Channel 3′s news department before heading to KCAL Channel 9 in Los Angeles in 1990. Paula anchored live gavel-to-gavel events of the O. J. Simpson murder trial, and continuous coverage of southland floods and the firestorms during 1993. One of her most challenging duties was reporting on the devastating Los Angeles riots continuously as the events unfolded.

Paula’s awards include:

• Los Angeles Area Emmy Award for 9 NEWS at NOON (1993)
• Striving For Excellence Award from the Minorities in Broadcasting Training Program (1994)
• Golden Mike Award for Best News Reporting from the Radio & TV News Association of Southern California
• Best News Reporting Award from the Radio and Television News Directors’ Association of Northern California.

Paula returned home to KEYT in 1996. She is a ninth generation Santa Barbaran and a direct descendant of Lt. Pablo Cota, one of the founding officers of the Royal Presidio in Santa Barbara.

Perie Longo moved to Santa Barbara in 1969. She taught Speech and Communication, first at Santa Barbara City College and then for ten years at Brooks Institute. She found that she enjoyed helping others, as shy as she’d once been, to find their voice. About that time, she took her hobby of writing poetry to a more serious level and attended the SB Writers’ Conference, where she won two writing awards. She began teaching at the annual conference and through California-Poets-in-the-Schools, both programs she continues to be involved in to this day. Inspired by the ability of children to “find their voices” through writing poetry and be fearless in expressing their deepest feelings, she pursued her education and earned her PhD in Counseling Psychology. This led to her involvement with Poetry Therapy. She joined the National Association for Poetry Therapy and received their Outstanding Achievement Award in 1999 and their Outstanding Service Award in 2004. Perie has led poetry therapy groups at Sanctuary Psychiatric Centers and Hospice of Santa Barbara, always focusing on guiding others to find their unique voices and expressing them through poetry.

Perie’s publications include:

• Three books of poetry: Milking the Earth, The Privacy of Wind, and With Nothing Behind But Sky: A Journey Through Grief
• Poems in literary journals, including Askew, Atlanta Review, Connecticut Review, International Poetry Review, South Carolina Review, Santa Barbara Magazine, and Solo
• Poems in anthologies, including Breathe: 101 Contemporary Odes, Bear Flag Republic: Prose Poems and Poetics from California, Fishing With My Father, The Cancer Poetry Project, and The Poetry of Peace

Perie is Poet Laureate Emerita of Santa Barbara (2007-09). One of her most fascinating experiences in communications has been traveling to Kuwait in 2005 to speak on Poetry as a Path to Healing.

Tickets for the event are $50 if purchased online before Saturday, June 2 or $60 at the door.

Sponsorship opportunities are available and encouraged. Please contact Dr. Lynn K. Jones, AWC-SB President, at awcsb@hotmail.com, or 805/448-7681.

In my work as an executive coach and organizational consultant, I use a philosophical approach called Appreciative Inquiry (AI). One of the primary tenets of AI is that “words create worlds.”

I find it inspirational that by using words, we can recreate, re-imagine, and reinvent our world. And that’s why I am committed to the Association for Women in Communication. As skilled communicators, we have the potential to create communities and organizations that we want to be part of.

I see the difference that good communication makes all the time: A nuanced conversation or well-written editorial bridges a cultural or philosophical divide. Appreciative listening helps someone to think deeply.  A film or photograph motivates action. A provocative question inspires a new direction.  Words creating worlds.

The 5th annual AWC SB  Women of Achievement luncheon, From Breaking News to Awakening the Muse, on June 6th at the Hyatt Hotel, will honor two women communicators who are masters of their craft; their words truly have created new worlds.

Paula Lopez, KEY NEWS anchor, has broken news in our community—both heartbreaking and heartwarming—for the last 20 years.  She has helped us to make sense of these events, and she has shaped how we experience them.

Perie Longo, Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Emeritus and poet for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, has been writing using poetry to heal and create hope for the last 25 years.

I, for one, can’t wait to hear these two women share their stories with us!  I hope you will join us for lunch at the Hyatt on June 6th and experience first-hand how words can create worlds.  Buy your ticket today!

Appreciatively,
Dr. Lynn K. Jones
President

Here is a summary of what Ms. Telleen-Lawton had to say:

Ten Tips:
1. Live Within Your Means. Don’t spend money you don’t have. Record all your expenses. Consider under-consumption as a way of life. Don’t shop when angry, sad or hungry.  Work out some frugal alternatives for entertainment. In Santa Barbara, there are endless frugal ways to eat, entertain or be entertained, such as having friends in for dinner instead of eating out, discount movies, hiking, or frequenting the beach or park.

2. Pay Down Your Debt but maintain credit.  Start with the highest interest rate debt.  The average household debt as a percentage of disposable income is 105%, down from 114% in 2004.  Having a credit record is good to establish credit, but keep the length of the loan less than the life of the purchase.

3. Nurture a Savings Habit.  Make savings a part of your budget and pay yourself first. Have 3-6 months worth of your expenses available as an emergency fund. Set up an IRA and then build some savings for purchases you’ll need to make in the next 6-7 years. The earlier you learn to stick to a budget, the more you can slack off when you’re older. That’s partly because you will have saved more of a cushion, but it’s also because you will have developed a healthy habit of consuming less.

4. Invest in stocks for long-term goal to create wealth.  Stocks preserve and increase purchasing power. Choose socially responsible-type investments.

5. Discern your goals and risk tolerance.  Consider some “What if scenarios,” regarding your retirement. First imagine having all you need. What are your life goals? Then imagine that amount is reduced to half.  What are your goals? Then imagine you have only a short time to live. (Go to her website to formulate your life goals.)

6. Develop marketable skills. Keep evolving.

7. Manage your personal risk.  Floss! Eat well, exercise. Insure whatever you can’t afford to lose, like your health.  If you need to, go for the high deductibles, high caps. Insure against catastrophe.

8. Cultivate a life-long network.  Maintain healthy relationships. Choose your life partner wisely.  Even so, 60% of wealth is held by women.

9. Recognize the value of Social Security. There is $2.3 trillion in reserve, assuring that the current system would pay benefits until the late 2030′s.  It will be there.  Retirees use social security as 40% of their income. If you wait to collect until you are 70, you’ll get 8% credit for every year you don’t collect after age 66.

10. Dare to seek help. Get advice from “Fee-only” planners who have no conflicts of interest since they sell no products. Telleen-Lawton is one of those, and you can check out her website at
www.decisivepath.com.

Karen Telleen-Lawton has published on environmental, economic, social, and family issues in local, regional, and national publications including Santa Barbara Seasons, Stanford Magazine, UCSB Coastlines, Coloradan, and Family Fun.  Her book, Canyon Voices – The Nature of Rattlesnake Canyon is available through Amazon.  She lives with her husband in Rattlesnake Canyon, volunteering as a docent at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. They have two grown children.

Since Perry Norton moved to Santa Barbara and began her career as a voice-over narrator, engineer and editor for her company PanRight Productions, she’s gotten quite a lot of exposure.

“You may have heard my voice as a talking dachshund, a laughing pig, an alarm clock, the voice you love to hate for countless ON HOLD messages (including Barnes and Noble), as well as video game heroines and villains,” she told me.  “I’ve sneezed and coughed to the tune of The Blue Danube Waltz, read entire textbooks as well as kids’ books for the iPod, and provided audio-training for everyone from members of the National Notary Association to surgeons learning to use new tech devices. My latest adventure is narrating a ‘true crime’ series called Cold Blood for the Discovery Channel.”

Perry began PanRight after leaving New York City in 2001 where she’d lived for 22 years. She experienced the trauma of 9/11 up close as a volunteer for the Red Cross and as someone who lost friends and neighbors.  The event hastened what she knew was an overdue change. At mid-life (45), she left her home and a 10-year relationship to venture West for a new career and life. Through a series of luck and synchronicities, she landed in Santa Barbara after investigating a possible career in the wine industry, one of her many passions. A college friend suggested she try Santa Barbara, and so she did.

“I put it out, and the universe responded,” she said appreciatively, when recounting the people and opportunities she met up with in her journeys.

She started out back east in the DC area where she’d grown up. She’d attended the University of Maryland as a theater major before she  studied and worked in New York City. Perry was heavily involved in music, TV production and media. “I’m a former guitarist (electric) and singer/songwriter,” she mentioned. “I performed in bands at the top NY clubs in the 1980s and fronted my own band before leaving the music scene. Those were some of the happiest, most exciting and creative experiences of my life to date.”

Starting anew in Santa Barbara, she first worked for the Rehab Institute of SB, then for SONOS, a music tech start up.  But the stress from the 9/11 ordeal and other private, very difficult experiences finally caught up with her. Diagnosed with PTSD, she needed to find a less stressful, more controlled environment in which to earn a living.

In 2004, technology and fate converged, and she started her own business with the help of her neighbor who had an at-home music studio he let her use.  By 2005, business was really rolling.  “The digital transformation of everything completely changed the old model/paradigm of the voice-over industry, making it very easy to reintroduce this into my life as a career after a 20 year hiatus,” she explained.

Today, that neighbor is her partner, whose support was key to her making the transition and building a successful business. “Now, I can work from a home recording studio and do all the recording and editing myself.” Her business also affords her more time to do other things she loves, like going to Napa twice a year to attend wine tasting events and festivals.

Another key to her successful transition has been her 4-year membership with AWC-SB, where some of her repeat clients first found her.  Even more than the business, though, she said, “I met all my current friends at AWC and so enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded people. AWC has helped me get grounded in both my business and my social life.”

Perry’s clients include Gallup, NPR, Target, McGraw-Hill, NASA, AT&T, Pfizer, Bank of America, the US Air Force and the American Nurses Association.  She’s been a Producer  (Sci-fi Channel, USA Networks) and Associate Producer (NPR), as well as a Copy Editor for  RiverLee International, MNS Engineers and NPR. Recently, Perry contributed her time to our chapter, working pro bono with Board member Lisa Angle; together they produced a wonderful PSA for AWC-SB’s June 6 Women of Achievement event.

You can hear Perry’s voice samples at www.perrynorton.com and find out more about her services at www.panright.com. In addition to voice-over services, she supplies audio production and editing, remote interviews, podcast production and music supervision for clients across all industries.

Don’t forget to say hi to Perry at the next AWC-SB meeting!

Wednesday, May 2, 5:30-7:30 pm, Blues Jean Bar, 923 State Street

Come socialize and schmooze with your AWC-SB colleagues, and don’t forget your business cards. Bring your friends, too, and introduce them to the opportunities offered by AWC-SB.

Read about the new Blues Jean Bar in the Santa Barbara Independent.

Refreshments & wine provided!

We hope to see you there!

Questions: awcsb@hotmail.com

How does health impact our effectiveness to become better communicators?  This question was answered by an expert panel presenting on February 1 at AWCSB’s bi-monthly meeting.  Making up the panel were Dr. Ellie Corigliano, local private practice owner; Dr. Noemi “Mimi” Doohan, founder and Medical Director of Doctors Without Walls-Santa Barbara Street Medicine; Dr. Kathy Gruver , author of The Alternative Medicine Cabinet and local natural health and medical massage practitioner; and Dr. Lynn K. Jones, personal and executive coach and AWC-SB’s own president.  The panel was moderated by board member Karen O’Hara, who guided the discussion with questions about the stresses women face and must overcome for their own well-being.

O’Hara asked the panelists what they believed to be the biggest challenge women and students face in the field of communications.  Dr. Doohan replied that achieving balance and having courage were the foremost, advising women to “be comfortable with the uncomfortable.”  Building on this, Dr. Gruver suggested that women with strong, “type A” personalities struggle with balance, because of their willingness to help and heal others while sometimes ignoring their own needs. Dr. Doohan agreed and further suggested that by maintaining a healthy diet, exercising, lowering our stress level, finding and enjoying love, and working through cognitive challenges, women can achieve balance and gain control of themselves.  The “super woman complex,” as Dr. Corigliano phrased it, drives women to reach far beyond any limitations and to put their all into everything they do.  She advised the crowd that we need to strive for what we need but also say no to the things we don’t want; this way we will avoid regret and still be a “super woman.”  Dr. Jones explained that women don’t always have the time to balance it all, even if they could.  She added that women tend to weigh the positives and negatives of their accomplishments, and focus only on the negatives and those achievements they have yet to attain, which can hinder their success and effectiveness.

The discussion shifted to some biological concerns when O’Hara asked the panelists what they recommended for screening and relieving pre- and post-menopause symptoms.  Dr. Corigliano reported that women are having problems with PMS at a younger and younger age, and it would be better, she advised, for younger women to avoid the standard solution of going on birth control.  Dr. Gruver informed the group that women’s magnesium levels drop during PMS, which causes some of these issues to surface and why we crave chocolate and other substances high in magnesium during this time.  She advised introducing B vitamins into our daily regimen can help suppress those unwanted symptoms and mood swings. Dr. Doohan added that because health care is so convoluted in its current state, we should be aware and ask our doctors about the risks and benefits of procedures taken in patient care situations.

In recommending how women can lower their stress levels, Dr. Corigliano emphasized that women should not be running themselves into the ground or waiting until their body is “screaming” at them to lower their levels of stress. She suggested getting into a strict vitamin regimen to help with metabolism, doing deep breathing exercises throughout the day, going outside and walking into nature, and simply taking action on what we truly need to get done each day.  Dr. Jones added that working hard during our peak times and allowing ourselves to recoup during the low points of each day (during the later afternoon), can help us maintain a healthy energy level.  Dr. Gruver stressed the importance of being up to date with medical research and taking supplements like Omega 3s into our diets.  All panelists agreed that touch, even a little hug, can be a huge help when our hormones seem unbalanced.

As the night wrapped up, the panelists gave their final recommendations for how we can become healthy and increase our effectiveness.  Dr. Jones suggested that taking the time each night to reflect on the things you did well and accomplished that day can increase positivity in the mind, body, and spirit.  Circular living, or converging the things you want to get done with your actions everyday, is a great way to achieve lower stress and increase productivity.  Lastly, Dr. Gruver left us with essential advice: eat well, think positively, and continue educating those around us as we move forward in life.

By Rachel Cansler, Intern

On February 23rd, UCSB students and local professionals gathered at the Mosher Alumni House on the university’s campus to explore the art of networking and internships. The event began with a lively panel discussion by AWC-SB professionals and their interns about the essentials of interning and networking. Panelists helped encapsulate the daily role and responsibilities of an intern and/or mentor, emphasizing the successes and triumphs they’d experienced. The night then transitioned into individual, around-the-room introductions, followed by an open mixer segment where students and professionals could network.

The panelists included Deborah Hutchison, president of Gutsy Gals Inspire Me, Jina Carvalho, marketing and communications director at Psyche Alive, and Lois Phillips, author of Women Seen and Heard. Jina’s intern, Mary Kate MacFarland, and Deborah’s intern, Brenna Osborn also graced the panel. The panelists discussed how internships truly are a “two-way street,” meaning that mentors’ and interns’ knowledge are equally enriched by one another. Deborah informed the group that internships are not always structured or require a single responsibility; rather, they demand many different tasks that require interns to constantly be on their toes and gain experience in a wide variety of disciplines. Lois suggested that internships be used by students to market their skills, passions, etc., in order to find out what they do and don’t like, career wise. She encouraged interns to always ask questions of mentors to ensure that the field they hope to pursue is the right fit. Both of the intern panelists, Mary Kate and Brenna, described particular skills they had acquired through their internships, including public speaking and communication skills. Mary Kate stressed that it is important for students/interns to be willing to learn and take on new roles and activities, even when they think they can’t.

The two-way street aspect of internship most often surfaces in terms of social media. All of the professional panelists agreed that they have difficulty keeping up with the constant growth of technology and social media, while their younger generation interns do not. It is helpful for mentors to have technologically savvy interns who can help publicize their work in ways the mentors themselves don’t know how.

The panelists shared, through some personal anecdotes, that interns always walk away with achievements and professional connections they can use to network and market themselves in future endeavors. The panel concluded on the note that the relationship between mentors and interns is a reciprocal one that benefits both parties throughout their professional and personal lives.

Your local AWC-SB Board is developing new membership benefits, too!  Dr. Kathy Gruver is our new Membership Chair, and she is coming up with some great perks for our members that you won’t want to miss, such as:

• If you are a member you will now have the opportunity to introduce yourself at our program meetings and be able to give a 30 second update about what you do.
• You can display your materials, books, etc. at our information table.
• You can make your services available to new members in a “new member welcome packet.”
• You will be listed in the “hot-sheet” given out at our program meetings to support your networking and connecting with others that are attending.

Save the Date!!  Wednesday, June 6th, 2012…. We are already making plans for our annual signature event.  Once again, we will be honoring two fabulous women in our community who demonstrate excellence in the field of communication by:

• Contributing to the community via the communications field
• Establishing a higher standard of excellence in the field
• Establishing a track record of reaching out to mentor other women and serves as a role model
• Promoting awareness of the communication field and can form a positive message that is heard in the community

This is definitely an event you won’t want to miss, and we need your help!!  If you are able to support a committed group of women recognize these women leaders in their field through your communication talents, organizational talents, management talents and knowledge of our community, we invite you to join us!  Please send me an email at lynn@lynnkjones.com. Our event committee has always been a prestigious group of women who are recognized for their efforts, and we would love to include you!

I hope to see you at the upcoming BeTweener networking event at the Canary next Wednesday, March 7th (it’s free and it fun!) and our next program meeting in April.  Please let me know if you are interested in becoming a member or if you want to join the fun planning our June event!

Appreciatively,
Dr. Lynn K. Jones
President

Decisive Path offers comprehensive planning, investment management and financial consulting services to help its clients understand their options, navigate challenges and make decisions appropriate to their specific circumstances. “The fee-only structure eliminates commissions and product promotion, and enables unbiased advice,” Telleen-Lawton said.

A registered investment adviser in California, Telleen-Lawton passed the rigorous Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) exam in March 2011 and is working toward fulfilling other requirements as a candidate for certification. She committed herself to the financial planning industry during the 2008 recession with the intention of playing a more influential role in increasing people’s comfort with their finances. She earned a certificate in financial planning from Boston University in 2010 to help Baby Boomers find their way to retirement and young adults establish a firm foundation. She is particularly sensitive to the needs of individuals who face changes in their family, career and financial circumstances.

Telleen-Lawton earned an engineering degree from Stanford University 35 years ago and has since spent most of her time in Santa Barbara. She has experience in manufacturing management, local government, inventing, professional writing. and as an adjunct economics professor. She is particularly interested in sustainability for the betterment of society and the natural environment.

She has served on various governing boards, including four years on the Vestry for All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church and six years as chair of its investment committee. She enjoys outdoors activities, cooking and spending time with her husband David on the Channel Islands as a volunteer naturalist for Channel Island National Park and Marine Sanctuary.

Tickets for the event may be purchased in advance until Monday, April 2 at 3 pm, $10 for students and members, $25 for guests. At the door, $20 for students and members, $35 for guests. Refreshments will be served. No host bar.

AWC-SB Members are invited to bring business cards, flyers and other promotional materials to put out on the new Members’ Table. This is the first in a number of new local membership benefits we will be unrolling in the near future.

PLEASE NOTE a Public Parking lot with 90 minutes free parking is located right behind the hotel, with entrances on Chapala and Canon Perdido streets. Hotel Parking is only validated if you order food from the restaurant, and valet service is $13.

We hope to see you there!

Jude came to Santa Barbara in 1978 and opened a business on State Street called Enlightened Sights. She had begun to meditate in 1972 and gotten steeped in Eastern philosophy, so it seemed natural to graduate from retail to becoming a marriage and family therapist. She earned a BA in psychology from Reed College and a master’s in psychology from Carleton University, and then in 1982 began practicing psychotherapy with an integrated, holistic approach. Her award-winning system, Attitude Reconstruction, was birthed into the world. She also began teaching communication courses through Santa Barbara City College Adult Education. Word spread about the success of Attitude Reconstruction, and it wasn’t long before Jude became a sought-after workshop and seminar leader, teaching her approach to organizations and groups.

About the Attitude Reconstruction approach, Jude says: “Emotions are the core. There are six basic emotions: Joy, love, and peace, sadness, anger, and fear. All of our bad attitudes arise when emotions are not expressed, not because of the emotions themselves. Sadness to joy, anger to love, fear to peace—they all balance each other.” She added, “Underneath everything are the emotions we’re not expressing. If we can learn to express them, we can make choices and live a better life.”

The culmination of Jude’s groundbreaking work can now be found in her new book, Attitude Reconstruction: A Blueprint for Building a Better Life, based on simple principles that have impacted countless clients, seminar participants, and students. The book recently was a winner in the Los Angeles Festival of Books’ how-to category, and earlier was a finalist for the National Indie Excellence Awards in self-help. It also earned two USA Book awards, being a finalist in two categories, self-help and in psychology/mental health. You can buy the book locally at Chaucer’s and Tecolote, or go to her website, www.AttitudeReconstruction.com. It’s also available on Amazon.

Jude will be leading two roundtable discussion on the subject of uprooting old attitudes at the March 10th Women’s Festivals, held at SBCC. Frustration, for example, is an attitude she believes is rooted in the emotion of anger. Through acceptance of how things are—no more shoulds—we learn to handle anger. Jude advises using this mantra to replace old negative thinking: People and things are the way they are, and not the way I want them to be. Her prescription is for 100,000 repetitions daily of this simple statement—advice that is humorous in intent, but nevertheless points to how many times most of us say the exact opposite to ourselves every day!