Thought Leadership Series speakers Laura Sánchez, Gina Rollo White and Cameron Munter.
The Thought Leadership Series at Lesley University returns for the spring semester, kicking off Jan. 26 with alumna, guest faculty and renowned flamenco artist Laura Sánchez.
The season continues on Feb. 9 with alumna and mind-body educator Gina Rollo White, and concludes March 23 with longtime Foreign Service official Ambassador Cameron Munter.
All Thought Leadership Series presentations are being held online as well as in-person in the University Hall Amphitheater, on the second floor of 1815 Massachusetts Ave., near Cambridge’s Porter Square MBTA station. Each event begins at 7 p.m. and is free and open to all. Prior registration is required.
The Thought Leadership Series at Lesley University welcomes guest presenters who engage members of our community and the public in conversation with those who practice the human arts, and through that exchange, encourage us all to act as catalysts for a more connected and just world.
About Laura Sánchez
Sánchez is an award-winning flamenco artist, creator, choreographer and educator originally from Cádiz, Spain. She began her flamenco education as a child and received professional training from the Dance Conservatory of Madrid. Sánchez holds a professional certificate in Expressive Arts Therapies from Lesley, where she developed an emerging therapeutic dance practice, Expressive Flamenco©.
Sánchez facilitates workshops, presents this work internationally, and continues to serve annually as guest professor for the Lesley Expressive Therapies master’s program. Her most recent research was published in the Journal of the American Dance Therapy Association in 2021.
Sánchez actively performs as a soloist in flamenco venues in the eastern United States and placed third at the 2016 Flamenco Certamen USA, an international competition. She works as an independent choreographer for organizations including Boston College of Fine Arts, the Massachusetts government, Bridgewater University and Kingston Theater. She also works as an independent producer and has presented several flamenco shows in Massachusetts.
During the pandemic, Sánchez created the award-winning short film “After Dark” to tell the resilient stories of a community affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. She was granted the prestigious Live Arts Boston grant from the Boston Foundation in 2021 and was honored to be a member of Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana Professional Consorcio Flamenco, a group dedicated to growing flamenco on the national stage in 2020.
Sánchez also has 10 years of experience working as a business marketing manager for several corporations including Loreal, The Walt Disney Company and Santander Bank.
Register for the Laura Sánchez presentation.
About Gina Rollo White
Gina Rollo White is the founder and CEO of Mindful Junkie, a not-for-profit focused on first-responder stress and trauma. She has over 15 years of experience as a mind-body teacher, educator and author. White has a master’s degree in Mindfulness Studies from Lesley. Her graduate thesis was Mindfulness and Law Enforcement: An Effective Approach to Implementing Mindfulness for First Responders.
White has spent the last seven years developing trauma-aware mindfulness programs tailored for law enforcement, fire services, medical professionals, military and other trauma-sensitive communities. She has delivered trainings to hundreds of departments and at numerous professional conferences across the country.
White authored the Justice Department-approved Criminal Justice Mindfulness Training Curriculum, which forms the backbone of her program Tactical Brain Training®: Mindfulness for First Responders. She also authored and delivered the First Responder Mindfulness Journey on the AmDTx mindfulness app. She also authored and delivered Learn To De-Stress, a 15-day mindfulness course with Mindful Magazine.
Register for Gina Rollo White’s presentation.
About Cameron Munter
Cameron Munter is a global consultant based in Prague. He previously worked as a diplomat, academic and executive. He is currently senior fellow at the CEVRO Institute in Prague and non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.
Among his assignments during three decades as a Foreign Service officer, Munter was U.S. ambassador to Pakistan (2010-2012) and to Serbia (2007-2009). He served twice in Iraq (in Mosul and in Baghdad). Munter was also National Security Council director in the Clinton and Bush administrations and served overseas in Warsaw, Prague and Bonn.
After his retirement from the diplomatic service, Munter taught at Columbia Law School and Pomona College. He then became president and CEO of the EastWest Institute in New York, where he led extensive global track-two mediation efforts. He stepped down from that post in 2019.
Munter studied at Cornell and earned a PhD in history from Johns Hopkins University. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomacy, and serves on corporate and nonprofit boards around the world.
Register for Cameron Munter’s presentation.