Doctor Foster went to Gloucester
In a shower of rain.
He stepped in a puddle
Right up to his middle
And never went there again!
-- Poet unknown, England, thirteenth century
I have experience working, inside an academic environment, as a
full-time college sociology professor (specializing in the study of
religions, new religious movements in particular) and college
administrator.
Outside the academy, I have been a career marketer, resume writer,
degreed journalist, and website designer.
As a sociologist, I have taught courses in the classroom for 26
years and over the Internet for a dozen. No matter where in the world
you live, I have the experience to effectively meet your needs.
I have written
extensively on a variety of subjects and can offer you numerous
online and face-to-face services.
As a sociologist, I have a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D. in
sociology) and a Master of Arts (M.A. in sociology).
As a journalist, I have a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (A.B.J.
in magazine journalism) and an Associate in Arts (A.A. in English).
I am a full-time, tenured (full) Professor of Sociology at Johnson County Community College. Located in
the Kansas City bedroom community of Overland Park, Kansas, it is
one of the top-ranked two-year higher educational institutions in
the United States.
My primary research area is in religious studies. In my
approach, I combine nominalism, constructionism (postmodernism),
and post-Marxism (conflict theory)
Macro to Micro, a new sociology text I
cowrote and coedited, has been published by Kendall Hunt. The second edition
is in the works.
I was the first faculty member in the Johnson County Community College
Liberal Arts Division to teach courses over the Internet, which I
continue to the present time. I also developed that college's
academic ranking system. Previously, I served as chair of two
academic departments.
Between my positions at three radio stations, I was news writer,
newscaster, reporter, and producer. I also published the Middle
Georgia edition of Builder/Architect
Magazine. These days, however, as an opinion journalist and a
web publisher, I maintain the SocioSphere webzine and
podcast and sixteen other websites.
I have received numerous certifications and trainings in stress
management, genogramming, neurolinguistic programming, child abuse
treatment, whole brain communication, Reiki and Johrei (energy healing
modalities), hatha yoga, the Yuen Method, and in several techniques of
meditation.
In 1989, I was certified by Slowikowski
& Associates, a leader in the personal growth field, and
qualified by Carlson Learning
Company, now Inscape Publishing, a human and organizational
development firm.
In 1990, I was certified in humanistic counseling by The Harrison Institute (predecessor
to Lewis Harrison's Academy of Natural Healing) after completing an
intensive training program with group practica.
I have been a ventriloquist since the age of eight. I also
completed several years of theatrical coaching at Hal and Ruth
Persons' prestigious Theatre
Academy (the Cambria Heights section of Queens in New York
City), which began in Lee Strasberg's Little Theatre, and at various other
drama schools.
I am a past president of the Kansas Sociological
Association (1995).
While a student, I was inducted into lifetime membership in
three international honor societies:
Phi Theta Kappa (Community College), 1975
Phi Alpha Theta (History), 1982
Alpha Kappa Delta (Sociology), 1983
I was twice a section leader on CompuServe forums (three then two). I
also served as forum manager on America Online.
I was born in the New York City borough of Manhattan and raised
in the boroughs of the Bronx (1956-1961) and Queens (1961-1968). I
subsequently relocated, with my family, to Long Island, New York
(1968-1976). I then lived in Athens, Georgia (1976-1978); White
Plains, New York (1978-1979); Long Island, New York (1979-1980);
Starkville, Mississippi (1980-1984); Long Island, New York
(1984-1985); Wise, Virginia (1985-1989); and Macon, Georgia
(1989-1993). I currently reside in Olathe, Kansas (1993-present),
a Kansas City suburb.
On a personal note, I was born of Jewish parents
(Ashkenazi) and bar mitzvahed. I continue to have
a strong interest in the
Jewish renewal movement. (See the Alliance for
Jewish Renewal and the Tikkun
Community.) However, I formally converted to
the Bahá'í Faith
at fourteen-years old, and I practice a form of Surat Shabd yoga, as taught
by Sri Michael Turner.
