Geri Lynn Peak

Lecture: Virtues and Values for Children and Youth in Arts and Spirituality

Expertise

Geri Lynn Peak is Chief Insight Facilitator at Two Gems Consulting Services. She and her associates work to strengthen community-based, regional, national and international programs through evaluation, training and technical support. She seeks to shine light into the dark corners of program practice to promote true understanding by asking critical questions, "listening" to what is learned with openness and detachment and presenting that wisdom back to clients, trusting in and helping them invoke their own wisdom and excellence to continually improve their efforts. As a Virtues Project™ Master Facilitator she leverages the Five Strategies of the Virtues Project to improve organizational quality and measure outcomes as well as share the strategies to help people and programs become their best. Geri serves on eight boards, including WombWork Productions. She also designs jewelry, is a fiber-artist, poet, dancer and avid organic vegetable gardener who lives with her delightful husband, insightful twin teen daughters, 3 mysterious cats, many computers and lots of clutter.Background Dr. Peak holds a Doctor of Public Health from The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and a Masters of Public Health from the University of California, Los Angeles. Formerly, she co-founded and served as the Managing Director of the Center for Applied Research and Technical Assistance, served as the Research Associate for Baltimore City Healthy Start and was promoted into the position of the Director of Evaluation at Advocates for Youth. She promotes racial understanding and healing through the Awareness to Action consulting team and is a Virtues Project(tm) Master Facilitator. She taught Program Evaluation during the Population and Family Health Sciences Summer Institute at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for six years. She serves as an elected member of the local administrative institution for the Baltimore Bahá’í community and as a governing board member of the Waldorf School of Baltimore, Wombworks Productions, Inc., the Feline Rescue Association, Fellowship of Lights, Youth and Community Services and is working to found the Baltimore Youth Initiative High School -- a new independent Waldorf High School in Baltimore City designed to welcome all willing students and families with a funding model focused on funding the programs instead of traditional tuition.

She works directly with young people and adults to provide practical, artistic and spiritual enrichment activities on a volunteer basis,including a youth devotion dedicated to the arts and . Her undergraduate career balanced biochemistry and dance majors—she continues to balance artistic interests with intellectual pursuits through her handcraft business Jamila Designs, as well as through dance and poetry. View a copy of Geri's curriculum vita by clicking here.

Commitment

A mother of middle school-aged children, Geri is committed to the positive development of all facets of young people and their families — spiritual, physical, emotional, intellectual, social — as well as the promotion of their understanding of and contribution towards the collective good. She is committed to the oneness of the human family and to creating a body of work that promotes and assists our best efforts to live in peaceful service to one another, planet-wide. She is committed to unity in diversity and to interdependence as captured in the expression "Harambee", which translates to "we all pull together." She is also committed to bringing universal virtues to her work and life, applying the tools and techniques of the Virtues Project through her professional activities and in learning and sharing how to nurture a vital and dynamic work environment while promoting excellence.

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