AWC-SB Presents “Deepening Intra-Cultural Connections: From Multi-Cultural to Trans-Cultural
The Association for Women in Communication—Santa Barbara announces the final program in our series Creating Community as Communicators, Deepening Intra-Cultural Connections: From Multi-Cultural to Trans-Cultural. Not only is our world one of many cultures, increasingly our communities and neighborhoods are home to people from diverse cultures. You do not have to travel to meet someone from a different culture; you can do it on State Street. Conversely, you can travel the world, see the sites, and never have an intra-cultural experience. Technology can connect us to people in distant lands, but only people can make human connections. Please join AWC-SB on May 5th (¡Cinco de Mayo!) for a multi-media presentation and discussion about breaking down the barriers that separate us so we can deepen our cross-cultural connections.
Rachel Thurston, is a travel writer, photographer, adventure guide, and owner of R.S. Thurston Photography.
Silvia Uribe, is a translator, interpreter, freelance writer, and owner/president of Transilpro.
Cynthia Stewart, Moderator Director of Strategic Projects, Antioch University Santa Barbara
Date: Monday, May 5, 2014, 5:30- 7:30 PM
Location: Antioch University Santa Barbara, Community Hall, 602 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Free to Members; $20 for Non-members of AWC
Journeying as an intrepid travel writer, photographer, and adventure guide, Rachel S. Thurston (r.s.thurston in the photography world) has traveled to six continents and worked throughout the American West. She’s stalked wombats in Tasmania, swum with flesh-loving piranhas in the Amazon, and courageously faced-off rice wine drinking farmers in North Vietnam.
For half a decade, Rachel worked as a river guide and Outward Bound Instructor in multiple states and on both international borders living the life of a nomad before landing in Santa Barbara nearly 15 years ago. Since then she has focused on freelance writing, her photography business, and music. Passionate about sharing her love of travel and other cultures, she has presented multimedia travel slideshows to public audiences and college classrooms around the country.
She received a Masters in Writing with Honors from U.S.C. Her feature articles and photography have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Santa Barbara Magazine, Women’s Adventure Magazine, Food And Home Magazine, and the acclaimed travel humor anthologies What Color Is Your Jockstrap and More Sand In My Bra alongside award-winning writer Tim Cahill and comedian Ellen Degeneres. She also collaborated on a locally produced book The Beautiful Santa Ynez Valley with award-winning photographer Chuck Place.
Passionate about adventure travel, she and her Mother have spent the last 13 years traveling around the world, spending a month experiencing off-the-beaten-path adventure in a new country every year…specializing in developing world countries that lack good plumbing and stable currencies. 😉 Together they are collaborating on a Youtube Channel and future projects to document their years of adventure in ways they can share with free-spirited people.
Similarly passionate about music and performance, she is also the lead singer of the popular retro rock n’ roll band King Bee.
An avid user of social media, she loves connecting communities of people around the world and locally through their shared passion for the arts and inspirational living. She is also thrilled to be a part of the AWC as their staff photographer. 😉
Silvia Uribe was born and raised in Mexico City, where she studied Philosophy and Spanish Literature, got married and adopted her 2 daughters. From a very young age, Silvia loved languages, and learning them seemed a natural and easy thing for her. Later, languages would become her life career as a certified translator and conference interpreter.
Silvia and her family came to live in Santa Barbara some 20 years ago, where she immediately got connected to individuals, and non-profit organizations in the community. In 1995 she opened her business, Transil Linguistic Services, a translation and interpreting agency working with many local companies, government, community organizations, hotels, and schools including UCSB.
Silvia has also been active in the political arena. Most recently, she sat at the local Democratic Central Committee, and was a Board Member at the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee. In 2012, Silvia was appointed by 3rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr as a Commissioner at the Santa Barbara County Human Services Commission.
In 2012, Silvia opened CCIA – Central Coast Interpreting Academy, providing professional training for those who are interested in becoming community interpreters or medical and legal professional interpreters.
Silvia works at the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s office with victims of crime who cannot comfortably communicate in English.
Media has been Silvia’s life passion, and her way to communicate with large audiences for the last 14 years – She’s been a radio host, a freelance writer for English and Spanish publications locally, in the US and in other countries. Silvia was also a TV host at Univision for 6 years, and now at SBTV Channel 17 for the last two years.
Cynthia Stewart She holds a degree in International Relations from the University of Redlands, and a doctorate in Political Philosophy from the University of Dallas. She is a firm believer in the power of words, spoken, written, read, and heard, to change minds, hearts, lives and, ultimately, the world. This love of words lead her to a career in higher education where she has served in various administrative capacities for the past 11 years. Cynthia found a home at Antioch University Santa Barbara because of its commitment to not only “teaching” students by imparting knowledge, but to helping each student find her voice. Cynthia is a dabbler in languages and a wanna-be traveller.
For more information about the event or to reserve your seat, go to www.awcsb.org