Archives: Events

It All Starts with YOU—and How You Come Across to Others
How do you look and sound? We’ll examine the seven essential communication components that create your unique “you-ness,” and you’ll learn some easy (and instant) tweaks to project yourself with accuracy and self-assurance.

Personal Response Styles: Passive, Aggressive and Assertive
Are you passive, aggressive or assertive—or perhaps all three? We’ll take a look at the response styles of ourselves and others, discuss how your style affects your life (and your relationships), and how you can make simple changes that create big results!

Denise M. Dudley, PhD, is a psychologist, communication and relationship coach, professional trainer and keynote speaker, author, business consultant, and founder and former CEO of Skill Path Seminars, the world’s largest public training company, which has trained over 12 million people worldwide. Denise holds a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology, a hospital administrator’s license, a preceptor for administrators-in-training license, and is licensed to provide continuing education training to medical professionals in the U.S. and Canada. She’s also a certified AIDS educator, a licensed field therapist for individuals with agoraphobia, a regularly featured speaker on the campuses of many universities across the U.S., and the author of Simon and Schuster’s best-selling audio series, “Making Relationships Last.” Denise speaks all over the world on a variety of topics, including management and supervision skills, leadership, assertiveness, communication, personal relationships, interviewing skills, and career readiness. Denise’s latest book, Work it! Get in, Get Noticed, Get Promoted, currently in its third printing, is available on Amazon.com, and is used as a career-search textbook on numerous college campuses.

It All Starts with YOU—and How You Come Across to Others
How do you look and sound? We’ll examine the seven essential communication components that create your unique “you-ness,” and you’ll learn some easy (and instant) tweaks to project yourself with accuracy and self-assurance.

Personal Response Styles: Passive, Aggressive and Assertive
Are you passive, aggressive or assertive—or perhaps all three? We’ll take a look at the response styles of ourselves and others, discuss how your style affects your life (and your relationships), and how you can make simple changes that create big results!

Denise M. Dudley, PhD, is a psychologist, communication and relationship coach, professional trainer and keynote speaker, author, business consultant, and founder and former CEO of Skill Path Seminars, the world’s largest public training company, which has trained over 12 million people worldwide. Denise holds a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology, a hospital administrator’s license, a preceptor for administrators-in-training license, and is licensed to provide continuing education training to medical professionals in the U.S. and Canada. She’s also a certified AIDS educator, a licensed field therapist for individuals with agoraphobia, a regularly featured speaker on the campuses of many universities across the U.S., and the author of Simon and Schuster’s best-selling audio series, “Making Relationships Last.” Denise speaks all over the world on a variety of topics, including management and supervision skills, leadership, assertiveness, communication, personal relationships, interviewing skills, and career readiness. Denise’s latest book, Work it! Get in, Get Noticed, Get Promoted, currently in its third printing, is available on Amazon.com, and is used as a career-search textbook on numerous college campuses.

It All Starts with YOU—and How You Come Across to Others
How do you look and sound? We’ll examine the seven essential communication components that create your unique “you-ness,” and you’ll learn some easy (and instant) tweaks to project yourself with accuracy and self-assurance.

Personal Response Styles: Passive, Aggressive and Assertive
Are you passive, aggressive or assertive—or perhaps all three? We’ll take a look at the response styles of ourselves and others, discuss how your style affects your life (and your relationships), and how you can make simple changes that create big results!

Denise M. Dudley, PhD, is a psychologist, communication and relationship coach, professional trainer and keynote speaker, author, business consultant, and founder and former CEO of Skill Path Seminars, the world’s largest public training company, which has trained over 12 million people worldwide. Denise holds a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology, a hospital administrator’s license, a preceptor for administrators-in-training license, and is licensed to provide continuing education training to medical professionals in the U.S. and Canada. She’s also a certified AIDS educator, a licensed field therapist for individuals with agoraphobia, a regularly featured speaker on the campuses of many universities across the U.S., and the author of Simon and Schuster’s best-selling audio series, “Making Relationships Last.” Denise speaks all over the world on a variety of topics, including management and supervision skills, leadership, assertiveness, communication, personal relationships, interviewing skills, and career readiness. Denise’s latest book, Work it! Get in, Get Noticed, Get Promoted, currently in its third printing, is available on Amazon.com, and is used as a career-search textbook on numerous college campuses.

It All Starts with YOU—and How You Come Across to Others
How do you look and sound? We’ll examine the seven essential communication components that create your unique “you-ness,” and you’ll learn some easy (and instant) tweaks to project yourself with accuracy and self-assurance.

Personal Response Styles: Passive, Aggressive and Assertive
Are you passive, aggressive or assertive—or perhaps all three? We’ll take a look at the response styles of ourselves and others, discuss how your style affects your life (and your relationships), and how you can make simple changes that create big results!

Denise M. Dudley, PhD, is a psychologist, communication and relationship coach, professional trainer and keynote speaker, author, business consultant, and founder and former CEO of Skill Path Seminars, the world’s largest public training company, which has trained over 12 million people worldwide. Denise holds a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology, a hospital administrator’s license, a preceptor for administrators-in-training license, and is licensed to provide continuing education training to medical professionals in the U.S. and Canada. She’s also a certified AIDS educator, a licensed field therapist for individuals with agoraphobia, a regularly featured speaker on the campuses of many universities across the U.S., and the author of Simon and Schuster’s best-selling audio series, “Making Relationships Last.” Denise speaks all over the world on a variety of topics, including management and supervision skills, leadership, assertiveness, communication, personal relationships, interviewing skills, and career readiness. Denise’s latest book, Work it! Get in, Get Noticed, Get Promoted, currently in its third printing, is available on Amazon.com, and is used as a career-search textbook on numerous college campuses.

The Functionality of Your Eye-Brain Connection Integrating Periphery and Affecting Balance and Movement
Vision is learned, and 75% of all sensory input is vision. Based on these two facts, learning how to use your eyes and brain together in a different conscious way will allow you to elevate and expand your learning potential and maintain your aging visual process. Come and experience hands on  how you can  expand the way you see, think and  move, all inspired by enhancing your new found  vision, and learn to  integrate your eye brain and conscious connection.

How to Expand Visual Memory for the Aging Brain:  A Hands-on Experiential Class
As we become aware that vision is learned, our visual memory is what will support us during our aging years but only if we know what it is and how we can access it. We are surviving on rote learning which is not serving us.  Come and learn how you can truly expand your visual memory capabilities that will serve you outside the Ranch and show you that as you tap more into the awareness of vision, your memory can expand and can support you more than you realized. Don’t wait to train your eyes and brain to have an enhanced visual memory.

Computer Vision & the Effects of Blue Light and Sleep
Come and learn how to enhance the comfort of your eyes in the ever-increasing world of computer exposure, the artificial light from screens, and the effects on our sleep. Enjoy an experiential lecture on learning how to increase comfort for your tired burning eyes, and how you can optimize good sleep during these times.

Dana Dean, OD, is a behavioral optometrist who specializes in holistic optometry and vision intelligence. Dr. Dean has had a private optometric practice in San Diego for the past 15 years. Originally from South Africa, she completed her studies in San Diego as well as attending the New England College of Optometry in Boston. She treats her patients holistically performing vision therapy on both children and adults. Her patients also include brain injuries, stroke victims and adults who want to achieve maximum success in life and reach their true potential.  Not only does she see patients performing eye-brain-body connection and building visual efficiency, she also lectures on the topics of vision and brain integration, vision and the aging eyes, vision and spirituality, vision with balance and coordination, as well as vision intelligence. Dr. Dana Dean is also a passionate advocate for educating teachers on the importance of vision and learning in a school setting.

Learning to Live with Less and Why it Matters
What are the financial and psychological costs that clutter can have on your personal and professional life? Leave this session with solutions to help you declutter and be motivated to discard unneeded ‘stuff.’ Presentation will include group discussion related to struggles with letting go of items in your home.

Identifying the Obstacles on your Path to an Organized Life
Are you stuck?  Don’t know where to start? What are the internal and external impediments to organizing? Learn about the technical errors/mistakes that people face when trying to get or stay organized. Learn strategies to avoid these mistakes in the future.

Too Much Clutter?  How Do I “Let It Go?”
Feeling overwhelmed, too many clothes, piles of paper, photos, bags, spices, magazines, craft projects, China, and antique furniture? Have you inherited boxes of family heirlooms and have let them sit?  Participants will learn the 5-step method of organizing items in your home and office. You will also learn about Brain Organizing to help you declutter your brain so you can declutter your life.

Tips for Downsizing
Do you or a family member need to downsize or right size their life?  Are you ready to move to a smaller place or just live with less?    We will discuss what to do with all those mementos, kids school work, sports equipment,   photos, DVDs, and videos? Participants will leave with a new outlook on your items and be inspired to start downsizing now!

Amy Carstensen, a San Diego based Professional Organizer, started her business “Organizing  with Amy” in 2013. Amy holds a Master’s degree from UCSD in International Relations. She’s taught high school Spanish, worked for the International Community Foundation and was the Founder and Executive Director of Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center.  When she’s not out putting labels on bins, she’s home annoying her husband and two teenage boys reminding them “to never leave a room empty handed.”

Hidden Communication: Why People Hear What We Don’t Say
A world of communication lurks below the surface of our awareness. When we are in conflict, this hidden dimension often catapults us into confusion and mind-bending emotion, thwarting creative resolution and conscious action. Drs. Glaser are former actors as well as award-winning researchers and university professors. They dramatize compelling conflict scenarios to demonstrate what happens when conflict invades our world and how to master seemingly deadlocked moments in challenging business, family, and personal situations.

Power Listening
When interpersonal pressure is on, listening is too often the first casualty. When dialogue turns to criticism, we often revert to unconscious auto-pilot reactions with defensive responses that may damage the relationship and make problems worse. This session provides a five-step model for transforming defensiveness and blame into insight and agreement. Speakers dramatize how trust increases when each person feels heard and understood.

Navigating Challenging Conversations
Why it is that people we care about too often feel defensive when we try to convey suggestions for improving their behavior and our relationship? How can we stop torpedoing our efforts and instead transform conflict into cooperation, discord into harmony, and make good relationships even better? This presentation provides a four-step model for raising issues that renders remarkable results: solving the problem, strengthening the relationship, and deepening trust – without creating a negative reaction.

Peter A. Glaser, Ph.D. and Susan R. Glaser, Ph.D. received their doctorates in Communication from the Pennsylvania State University. Their BreakThrough Communication series won the Gold Award for best hybrid learning of 2022 from the International E-Learning Association. Authors of the internationally acclaimed book, Be Quiet, Be Heard: The Paradox of Persuasion, they have been married business partners and co-presenters for their entire career. Drs. Glaser have published three books and more than 40 research articles. Their research on transforming organizational culture has received the International Association of Business Communication Research Foundation Award for bridging communication theory with practical application. They also received the Pennsylvania State University Outstanding Alumni Award. Feature stories have been written about their work in Business Week, Fast Company, Psychology Today, Newsday, Nation’s Business, National Business Review, Working Woman, Success Magazine, and the Washington Post. The Glasers have served as members of the University of Oregon faculty as well as global consultants working with leaders from Fortune 100 companies such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Facebook, Tektronix, Hyundai, and Sony Corporation. They have worked with leaders and companies throughout the UK, Canada, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. They also have worked with federal, state, and local government leaders – including their ongoing work with the US Congress.

Hidden Communication: Why People Hear What We Don’t Say
A world of communication lurks below the surface of our awareness. When we are in conflict, this hidden dimension often catapults us into confusion and mind-bending emotion, thwarting creative resolution and conscious action. Drs. Glaser are former actors as well as award-winning researchers and university professors. They dramatize compelling conflict scenarios to demonstrate what happens when conflict invades our world and how to master seemingly deadlocked moments in challenging business, family, and personal situations.

Power Listening
When interpersonal pressure is on, listening is too often the first casualty. When dialogue turns to criticism, we often revert to unconscious auto-pilot reactions with defensive responses that may damage the relationship and make problems worse. This session provides a five-step model for transforming defensiveness and blame into insight and agreement. Speakers dramatize how trust increases when each person feels heard and understood.

Navigating Challenging Conversations
Why it is that people we care about too often feel defensive when we try to convey suggestions for improving their behavior and our relationship? How can we stop torpedoing our efforts and instead transform conflict into cooperation, discord into harmony, and make good relationships even better? This presentation provides a four-step model for raising issues that renders remarkable results: solving the problem, strengthening the relationship, and deepening trust – without creating a negative reaction.

Peter A. Glaser, Ph.D. and Susan R. Glaser, Ph.D. received their doctorates in Communication from the Pennsylvania State University. Their BreakThrough Communication series won the Gold Award for best hybrid learning of 2022 from the International E-Learning Association. Authors of the internationally acclaimed book, Be Quiet, Be Heard: The Paradox of Persuasion, they have been married business partners and co-presenters for their entire career. Drs. Glaser have published three books and more than 40 research articles. Their research on transforming organizational culture has received the International Association of Business Communication Research Foundation Award for bridging communication theory with practical application. They also received the Pennsylvania State University Outstanding Alumni Award. Feature stories have been written about their work in Business Week, Fast Company, Psychology Today, Newsday, Nation’s Business, National Business Review, Working Woman, Success Magazine, and the Washington Post. The Glasers have served as members of the University of Oregon faculty as well as global consultants working with leaders from Fortune 100 companies such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Facebook, Tektronix, Hyundai, and Sony Corporation. They have worked with leaders and companies throughout the UK, Canada, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. They also have worked with federal, state, and local government leaders – including their ongoing work with the US Congress.

Intro to Improv…The Power of Agreement
The joy of improvisational comedy lies in its spontaneous creativity and seemingly effortless collaboration. The secret to both aspects is simple:  listen and agree. In this workshop we’ll learn the power of saying “Yes, and…” and “Yes, because….” We’ll sharpen listening skills (useful in all areas of life!) and, before you know it, we’ll be improvising hilarious scenes.

Follow the Fun
Improv can take you anywhere and let you do anything. You can set an improv scene anywhere in the universe and give yourself and your scene partners any traits or powers. BUT you have to clue the audience in, so they can follow the fun. This workshop will focus on quickly conveying the “who, what, where” of a scene, so you can move on to exploring your unique world. We’ll also tackle “character work” and “object work” – i.e., working with imaginary props.

Group Games, Group Mind
There are no wallflowers in improv. Everyone can get in on the fun. Not in a scene? We’ll learn how to tag in and out and provide back line support (like sound effects). We’ll also learn group games where everyone participates in scenes. If your real life includes working with any kind of teams, you will see how improv principles apply.

We’ve Got Your Back!
We’ll review all the techniques we’ve learned and put them together in what is known as a “montage” set. And for those who want to perform Thursday night, we’ll use this workshop as show practice. (You don’t have to be in the show but, hey, what better place to try something new?)

Thursday Night Live!
Move over Kenan Thompson and Kate McKinnon. We are going to give this our best shot! Come one, come all as the RLP Improv Troupe creates a unique and original show based solely on audience suggestions. We’ll also talk about applying the principles of improv to your everyday world…because life today requires lots of improvising!

Arlene Matthews is an improv comedian and humor writer who studied with Groundlings in LA and with Upright Citizens Brigade in New York, where she completed the highly selective Academy graduate conservatory. As part of the improv team, Dad’s New Girlfriend, she performed frequently in NYC. Since moving to San Diego, she’s joined forces with Finest City Improv, where she performs regularly on two teams.

• Understanding Skin Cancer and Sun Protection
• How to Build a Skincare Routine
• Top Ten Anti-Aging Skincare Tips
• What to Look for in a Sunscreen

Dr. Amy Brodsky has earned a reputation as one of the country’s foremost rising stars in the dermatological field. Dr. Brodsky is widely recognized as an artist when it comes to understanding facial anatomy and the nuances of treating aging faces. Her cosmetic acumen and early adoption of skincare innovations quickly gained the attention of top media outlets in Chicago, which resulted in ongoing guest appearances on television networks like ABC, NBC, WGN, Fox and The U. Dr. Brodsky has dedicated her career to the research and practice of innovative dermatologic treatments and the clinical implications of cosmetics. After graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in bioengineering, Dr. Brodsky attended medical school at The University of Chicago. She distinguished herself early on by winning the Women’s Dermatologic Society Fellowship to study clinical trials on Cosmeceuticals before graduating at the top of her class with the highest honors. Dr. Brodsky earned her certification from the American Board of Dermatology in 2002 and opened her own practice in 2007. She is currently affiliated with Advocate Lutheran General Hospital and has been invited onto several pharmaceutical advisory boards. In 2012, Dr. Brodsky founded Pediatric Sun Protection Foundation, Inc. (PSPF), a philanthropic endeavor born out of her passion for skin cancer prevention and desire to educate others about effective sun protection for children. Most recently, Dr. Brodsky founded The Sun Hero Program, and has partnered with Cerave and LaRoche Posay with a mission to raise awareness of the importance of sun safety in childhood, increase adoption of sun safety habits, and to motivate change that will reduce the amount of skin cancer. You can learn more at https://beasunhero.com/ Dr. Brodsky, a mother of two, is based in Chicago.

Are you at a crossroads, contemplating the next chapter of your life, or simply seeking to enrich your life journey with purpose and joy? This workshop helps you develop the art of personal transformation and tap the source of enduring well-being. Discover how ancient teachings and modern science converge to illuminate the path of lifelong learning and adaptability. Engage in reflection and reframing exercises, thought-provoking discussions, and practical growth hacks to spark curiosity, creativity, and connection in your life!  You can attend all of the sessions for a complete guide to sustainable lifetime learning or attend any single session for a self-contained sample of insights and actions you can take to support your personal growth.

The Foundations of a Personal Growth Posture
In this session, you’ll expand your understanding of adult maturity and longevity with a tour of modern adult development frameworks that are anchored with insights from ancient religions. Assess if you are both ready and able. Explore how adopting a posture of insatiable curiosity, a desire for excellence, and an appetite for experimentation puts you in the best position to navigate the path of personal growth.

Radical Self Awareness is Fuel for Growth
When you embrace the power of deep self-knowledge you can break out of common patterns in roles and relationships that hold you back. This session offers introspective exercises based on Transactional Analysis and the Drama Triangle and helps you uncover and understand various aspects of your personality. Success in any journey depends on a sound understanding of where you are in the first place, but due to many psycho-social dynamics, this is a surprisingly difficult location to establish.

Update Your Story and Clarify Your Vision
Self-talk and historical events have a strong grip on our ability to engage and act in almost any life situation. Here we will focus on personal storytelling, core values, and priorities. Drawing from the principles of several leading psychology frameworks we’ll explore the idea of competing commitments and the interaction of your three selves. The activities in this session provide a transformative step toward living a life of purpose, intention, and fulfillment.

Accelerate Your Evolution
This session offers “growth hacks” to spark your growth and move you forward. We’ll experiment with practical and powerful exercises from resilience training, cognitive behavioral approaches, and habit design to give you a toolkit of quick, effective strategies to overcome obstacles, embrace challenges, and make significant strides in your personal growth.

Regenerative Practices for Sustainable Growth
Nurturing long-term well-being and growth is not a one-time treatment. It’s about cultivating practices that ensure ongoing development that expands your heart, mind, and soul to encounter the full potential of humankind. Learn how to establish routines and practices that nourish and renew you, physically, mentally, and emotionally… in concert as a whole person.

John Foster is a leadership coach and organization designer who helps people and organizations perform at their best. He has served many of the world’s most innovative companies helping them through transformation and scaling challenges. He’s held Chief People Officer roles at IDEO, Hulu, Thrive Market, and TrueCar and significant HR leadership roles at Fidelity Investments, Levi Strauss, and Citibank, John founded Gamut HCD (Human Centered Design) as a platform to advise companies and build tools that help people learn and grow. He maintains a variety of relationships from short-term projects to long-term advisory and full-time leadership roles. He has deep expertise in psychology, organization behavior, leadership, and communication; and has spent thousands of hours facilitating workshops and coaching leaders.  John started his career leading outdoor education and team-building programs for schools and community organizations and earned a Master’s degree in experiential learning from Colorado State University and a dual BA in Psychology and Communication from Miami University. He lives in California with his wife and four children and enjoys travel, playing guitar, and adventure sports.