Meetings

Speakers' Bureau

Patricia Edmisten

Speaking Topic
The Peace Corps at Fifty: Personal Reflection
Women and their Role in the Church

Dr. Patricia Taylor Edmisten served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru in the early sixties. Before she retired, she served as director of International Education and Programs at the University of West Florida. In her talk, Dr. Edmisten will describe her own work in Peru and how that work influenced the development of values and decisions that affected her future. Given that the Peace Corps today is alive and well, she will also address volunteer opportunities for both the young and those of a "certain age." Dr. Edmisten is the author of Nicaragua Divided : La Prensa and the Chamorro Legacy. She also wrote the translation of, and introduction to, The Autobiography of Maria Elena Moyano; The Life and Death of a Peruvian Activist, and is the author of, The Mourning of Angels, a novel inspired by her two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru. She has written two books of poetry, The Treasures of Pensacola Beach and Wild Women with Tender Hearts which won the 2007 National Peace Corps Writers Award.

Mark Miller

Speaking Topic
Issues relevant to children, young adults and parents

I grew up in Rockville , Maryland and earned a bachelors degree in psychology from Wake Forest University . Over the years, I’ve had the unique opportunity to work with children and young adults who have faced great adversity in their lives. I’ve worked as an elementary school teacher, a children’s case manager for a mental health services company, a primary counselor in a detention facility for teenage boys, and a family services counselor for child protective services working with the child victims of abuse, neglect, and abandonment. I currently work with at risk teens as a teacher in juvenile justice facilities.

I learn something from each and every child I meet as they allow me to share in their experiences. My students love reading books about kids who have also faced adversity growing up. They have inspired me to write novels based on the real life situations children and teenagers face as they struggle with the challenges in their lives. My novels bring to light crucial issues such as drug and alcohol use, relationship problems with parents, boyfriends, and girlfriends, date rape, teen pregnancy, depression, parental neglect, and self harming behaviors. My experience working with troubled children and teens has given me the unique opportunity to gain an understanding of the trials many young people encounter and develop clear insight into their wants, needs, and dreams. I enjoy speaking about these and other issues that are relevant to children, young adults and parents. I hope to bring awareness to the adversity many young people endure.

When I’m not grading papers, working on lesson plans, or writing my next novel, you’ll find me hanging out on Navarre Beach , “ America ’s Best Kept Secret”. I moved to Northwest Florida several years ago and have been enjoying the beautiful beaches, fishing, and laid back atmosphere every since.

Harold (Hal) Malt

Speaking Topic
City Planning and Design

Hal Malt is a former consultant, Professor Emeritus Architecture and Director of Urban Planning Program, University of Miami, President, Center for Design Planning, Washington D.C.

Malt was consultant to more than 50 cities (including Pensacola), many of whose urban revitalization studies were supported by the US department of Housing and Urban development, Washington D.C.

Malt received numerous awards: American Planning association, National Endowment of the Arts, even "Keys to the city!"

Carol Malt, Ph.D.

Speaking Topic

Dr. Carol Malt is a museum consultant, writer, Adjunct Professor at the University of West Florida, and newspaper columnist for the Independent News. She was twice a Fulbright Senior Scholar, as well as a PARC and AIMS Fellowship recipient; former US representative and editor for Arts & the Islamic World magazine, former Executive Director and Curator for three US art museums and author of Women’s Voices in Middle East Museums, many articles in journals on women and the arts in the MENA countries, and the historical novel, The Free Woman. She resides in Tangier six months of the year, is a Fellow of the Explorer’s Club and a private pilot.