Staying Human in the Computer Age

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Americ Azevedo is interdisciplinary studies lecturer and Founding Director of the Collaborative Intelligence Laboratory at the College of Engineering, UC Berkeley. Mr Azevedo blends the information technology world with cultural, social, psychological and spiritual studies, focusing on the practical application of computer technology to build a more human world. He is the founder of CalMatrix, a virtual community system for UC Berkeley; co-founder and architect of the CyberCampus at Golden Gate University; and co-founder of TheKnowledgeLab, an international think tank in collaborative cultures and technology. Americ holds degrees in Philosophy from University of California , Irvine and San Francisco State University.

Dr. Ernst Schuberth, from Germany , graduated from the University of Bonn and received his doctorate in mathematics from the University of Tübingen. At the University of Bielefeld he was a professor,and was elected dean. Beginning in 1968, he worked as a Waldorf teacher and teacher trainer. Currently he is a visiting lecturer at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA . In Germany Dr. Schuberth published a book about education in the computer age, and several on the teaching of mathematics. Dr. Schuberth has lectured widely on the nature of human thinking and artificial intelligence, about which he was twice commissioned to present papers to the German parliament.

Dorit Winter has an M.A. in Comparative Literature from SUNY/Binghamton, and is a writer, teacher, translator,painter and flutist. Her articles on contemporary phenomena, especially the computer, have appeared ina variety of publications. She is the author of Because of Yolande, The Art and Science of Teaching Composition, and of a collection of short stories, Sheets of White Light. She began her teaching career as a Waldorf class teacher in 1973. Dorit has been an adult educator for 17 years, including 12 years as Director of the San Francisco Program of Rudolf Steiner College. Since 2001 she has been Director of the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training.

Christiaan Boele, originally from the Netherlands, trained in both trumpet and voice before deciding to dedicate himself to Werbeck singing, also known as Uncovering the Voice. These singing principles and practices were developed by Mrs. Valborg Werbeck-Svärdström under the guidance of Rudolf Steiner. For several years Christiaan offered Werbeck singing courses in different parts of Europe before establishing a singing school at Sylvia-koti, a Camphill Village in Finland, devoted to therapeutic work. He currently conducts various master classes, courses, and sessions in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States. Christiaan continues to perform as a soloist, and directs a performance ensemble of twelve singers.

Christopher Garvey has been principal of Artemis School of Speech and Drama in Sussex, England, for the past 16 years. He began his training in 1973 at the Bristol Old Vic and completed the four year Speech Training in London in 1978. His great loves are Shakespeare and the Romantic Poets, which he has performed and taught throughout his career.

Christopher Guilfoil, artist and educator, was born in Munich, Germany. He is thankful to his painting teachers Robert Grilley and Santos Zingale, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, as well as to Jennifer Thomson at the Atelier House in Harlemville, NY. He directs the Arts Enrichment Project, a center for community education In Eugene, OR, where the arts are studied and practiced within the context of social and cultural renewal. Christopher is a faculty member of the Waldorf Teacher Training Eugene, the Santa Cruz Arts Festival, and the Sound Circle Center Summer Symposium in Seattle.

Van James, painter, illustrator, and graphic designer, holds a B.F.A. in drawing and painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, and from the Goetheanum Painting School in Switzerland. Van is an award-winning author of several books on art and archaeology, including Ancient Sites of Hawai'i and Spirit and Art: Pictures of the Transformation of Consciousness, and he is the editor of Pacifica Journal. For the past 25 years he has been a visual arts instructor at the Honolulu Waldorf School, and he is a faculty member of the Kula Makua Teacher Training Program. Van travels widely and lectures on the importance of art in a technological age.

Americ Azevedo is interdisciplinary studies lecturer and Founding Director of the Collaborative Intelligence Laboratory at College of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley. Americ blends the information technology world with cultural, social, psychological and spiritual studies; focusing on the practical application of computer technology to build a more human world. He is co-founder and architect of the CyberCampus at Golden Gate University (now serving over 2000 students and 90 faculty per semester). Developer of several virtual communities. Founder, CalMatrix, virtual community system for UC Berkeley. Co-founder of TheKnowledgeLab, an international think tank in collaboratvie cultures and technology. Americ holds degrees in Philosophy from University of California, Irvine and San Francisco State University.

Wyliam Holder studied computer systems, mathematics, logical systems, physics, history, linguistics, and philosophy at U.C.L.A. For the past 26 years he has worked in many aspects of the computer industry. He also has a collateral interest in human consciousness and the relationship between ideal and actual systems. Currently Wyliam is a consulting engineer/systems support specialist for Sun Microsystems. He attends courses at the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training.

Afshin Jalalian received a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Illinois , and an M.S. in Computer Science from San Jose State University. For over 20 years he has worked in the computer industry as a software engineer, including at Hewlett Packard for the past 10 years. In 2001 he graduated from the San Francisco Waldorf Teacher Training Program under Dorit Winter. Afshin has been on the Board of the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training since its inception in 2001, and currently serves as its Chairman.

Stefan Klocek is currently Director of Program Development at A.S.K. Learning in San Francisco where he manages an award winning team of eLearning developers.? He is a writer, designer, and group facilitator. He has written on the complexities of the human-technology dilemma, and the need for conscious use of technology. Stefan taught at SFSU, piloting one of the first online journalism publications and has served as an Art Director at Cisco Systems and Meyer Sound Labs. Klocek attended the Sacramento Waldorf School and graduated magna cum laude from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in Communications. He also serves as Director of Technical Development for Network M, an online community to connect socially and spiritually striving individuals.

Kate Kristensen is V.P. of Information Services at Inovant, the technology company of Visa International. Kate graduated from the San Francisco Waldorf Teacher Training Program of Rudolf Steiner College under Dorit Winter in 1995. She has since returned almost every weekend to help the program, and is in charge of the festivals and the yearly summer move to Santa Cruz . Kate teaches anthroposophical studies.

Kevin O’Mahoney has a B.S. in Information and Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology, with a minor in E.E. and Computer Communications. Over the past 20 years Kevin has provided start-ups and Fortune 500 companies in Silicon Valley with computer hardware engineering, software development, and consumer electronics manufacturing management. These include Apple Computer, where Kevin was one of the original PowerMac developers. He has taken some training at the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training, and has a daughter in the Marin Waldorf School.

Robert Schorlemmer holds a Vordiplom in Physics from the University of Munich, Germany, and a B.S. in Business Administration from UC Berkeley. He speaks seven languages, is a licensed CPA, has worked internationally in corporate finance, and served as a foreign expert and college lecturer in China. Currently he runs a business distributing Spanish olive oil, as well as a non-profit organization that supports a village in rural Colombia. Robert is a graduate of the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training, and now serves on its Board of Directors.

Dr. Ernst Schuberth, from Germany , graduated from the University of Bonn and received his doctorate in mathematics from the University of Tübingen. At the University of Bielefeld he was a professor,and was elected dean. Beginning in 1968, he worked as a Waldorf teacher and teacher trainer. Currently he is a visiting lecturer at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA . In Germany Dr. Schuberth published a book about education in the computer age, and several on the teaching of mathematics. Dr. Schuberth has lectured widely on the nature of human thinking and artificial intelligence, about which he was twice commissioned to present papers to the German parliament.

Dorit Winter has an M.A. in Comparative Literature from SUNY/Binghamton, and is a writer, teacher, translator,painter and flutist. Her articles on contemporary phenomena, especially the computer, have appeared ina variety of publications. She is the author of Because of Yolande, The Art and Science of Teaching Composition, and of a collection of short stories, Sheets of White Light. She began her teaching career as a Waldorf class teacher in 1973. Dorit has been an adult educator for 17 years, including 12 years as Director of the San Francisco Program of Rudolf Steiner College. Since 2001 she has been Director of the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training.

Karen Gierlach, conference coordinator, holds a B.A. in German and Spanish from London University and trained as a Waldorf teacher at Emerson College, England. She spent over 25 years working in Waldorf schools throughout the U.S., both as a foreign language teacher, and as a high school administrator. In recent years she has given workshops on human biography in New York, Mexico, and the Bay Area. She learned a great deal about conference organizing by working as co-coordinator and translator for the international Kolisko Conference that took place in Mexico in August, 2006.