I'm Lauren Speeth and I live in California. I've been associated with Bakke Graduate University since BGU was in Seattle. My first degree was a DMin in Transformational Leadership for the Global City, and I was very excited to return to participate in the Ph.D. program. I work for Elfenworks Productions, which is a media company, and The Elfenworks Foundation, which is a non-profit organization with the tagline "In Harmony with Hope." We are trying to help foster hope through preservation, transformation, and innovation. I came to BGU holding an MBA/DBA, and I have a long history of teaching computer science, mathematics, and statistics at another university.

My BGU DMin in Transformational Leadership for the Global City expounded a seven-pronged methodology I created based on advice I was given by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, my own research, and my experience in social entrepreneurship. Out of that work arose a book, Intelligence and Compassion in Action: The Seven Pillars for Social Entrepreneurs. BGU students can obtain it in our library in multiple translations, including Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, and Ukrainian.

My Ph.D. in Urban Innovative Leadership is built on my original research, this time with an environmental education focus: "A Geographically Diverse Study of Educational Strategies to Foster Environmentally Conscious Global Leaders." I chose to delve specifically into water-related environmental education because that is a prime focus of our work, including in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. I have also been involved in student media, such as the Elfenworks Social and Climate Justice student filmmaker award, offered in association with Campus Moviefest. Student submissions have given me insight into just how much angst and hopelessness they feel. Therefore, the idea of bringing transformational change, when it comes to environmental education, is really exciting to me. I love the idea of empowering students and replacing this sense of sadness and environmental angst with a methodology that's empowering. Working on this Ph.D. dissertation, I realized that I was in possession of wisdom for life and wanted to share it. The result is a second book, entitled Taking the Stairs and Liking It: Seven Steps to an Amazing Life. In case of interest, BGU’s Writers Workshops occasionally cover insights into how to transform academic research into popular works such as the two I have mentioned.

I could not have foreseen all the ripple effects that my BGU education has had for me. Part of it is that I just trust God. It's like prevenient grace: it goes before me and it tells me what I'm supposed to do.