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 Acclaimed American author, environmental activist, national speaker and ecological educator Jarid Manos, President of the Fort Worth and Houston-based Great Plains Restoration Council, will present the Keynote Address to Greencorps Chicago at the Professional Development Empowerment Day 2013 panel "Restoration: Self, Community and Environment," Friday, December 13, 2013 during the Lunch and Learn series at 12:30 P.M. at the Center for Green Technology, 445 North Sacramento Blvd., Chicago, IL 60612.
As a leading American voice in the Ecological Health movement, Jarid Manos brings more than a decade of experience in motivating and inspiring young people to care for themselves and the living land to the Chicago audience. The Keynote Address comes as Greencorps Chicago has expanded training in the area of ecological restoration yet has encountered challenges assisting trainees to understand their personal connection to the environment.
"To our great peril, we treat the Earth like it's 'just there,' much like how - if we are honest - we treat our own bodies and lives," says Manos.
During his Keynote Address and subsequent panel discussion to Greencorps Chicago, Manos will share his story of how he came to care - from angry devastated youth and drug dealer to vegan athlete plainsman - and actively engage graduating Greencorps Chicago trainees to connect on a deeper personal level with the ecological issues facing their communities and lives.
"Greencorps Chicago heard wonderful things about Jarid, the work he is involved in and his life's mission," says Monique Ellington, Case Manager of Greencorps Chicago. "We thought he would be a perfect fit to speak with our trainees because there are many synergies between Greencorps Chicago and Great Plains Restoration Council missions."
Manos will share success stories in guiding hundreds of youth of color around the country into paths of self-acceptance and a deeper health through taking care of the Earth, as well as highlight educational and professional careers in environmentally related fields, building the next generation of environmental stewards.
"My entire adult life and work has been guided by the realization that the violence we do to the Earth mirrors the violence we do to each other and often accept into ourselves," explains Manos. "In training ourselves to become unbreakable, we can have the most exhilarating life by getting healthy and giving back."
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