Valpo Institute for Leadership and Service Announces Fall 2018 Speaker Series

Valparaiso University’s Institute for Leadership and Service announces its fall 2018 Pathways to Purpose speaker series, featuring speakers and topics focused on the arts and professional development.

The speaker series welcomes field experts and service-based leaders who respond to current issues and help to expand student imagination about pursuing purposeful work.

Speakers include:

Nichole Nordeman: “The Evolving Artist: A Performance and Q&A with Nichole Nordeman,” Sept. 5, 5:30 p.m. in the Duesenberg Recital Hall. Award-winning singer and songwriter Nichole Nordeman discusses the process of incorporating her evolving views on faith, justice and relationships into her music, as well as what it takes to step away from the spotlight and return on your own terms. Interview will be followed by a performance.

Nate Marshall: “Louder Than a Bomb: Hip Hop, Poetry and Purpose,” Sept. 19, 5:30 p.m. in the Helge Center. Director of National Programs for the Louder Than a Bomb Youth Poetry Festival, Nate Marshall is an MC, award-winning poet, author of “Wild Hundreds” and an editor of The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop. He’ll share his story and formation of growing up on the South Side of Chicago and as an artist and citizen, as well as treat us to some spoken word poetry.

Daniel Pieper ’05: “Transforming Systems, Eradicating Poverty: How Values Inform Vision and Action,” Oct. 3, 5:30 p.m. in the Helge Center. Daniel Pieper ’05 is the executive director of InspirAction, a sister organization to Christian Aid, a UK-based international NGO with more than 70 years of experience working with local communities, organizations and individuals. Pieper will share his professional journey through sustainable development, social justice, political advocacy and humanitarian responses, as well as highlight some of the current work of InspirAction.

Steven Lehmann ’09: “Invest in Innovation: Funding Ideas for Lasting Impact,” Oct. 17, 5:30 p.m. in the Helge Center. Steven Lehmann ’09 is the assistant director at the University of Chicago Innovation Fund, a multi-million-dollar fund that invests in promising start-ups from an ecosystem that includes the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermilab and the Marine Biological Laboratory. He’ll discuss his experience in starting an international start-up as well as how he supports researchers in turning their innovations into ventures that advance cutting-edge technologies, generate significant financial returns and create lasting impact for humankind.

Anuradha Bhagwati, Mike Espinda and Jason Gehrke: “Redeployment: Finding Meaning after Armed Service,” Nov. 7, 5:30 p.m. in the Helge Center. A small panel of women and men who have served in the Armed Forces will discuss the ways that experience impacted the work they do now that they are home.

Anuradha Bhagwati is an activist, yoga teacher, Marine Corps veteran and founder of the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN), a nonprofit organization that played a major role in dozens of historic policy reforms within the United States Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs between 2009 and 2014, including overturning the ban on women in combat.
Mike Espinda honorably served within the Indiana Army National Guard for more than 27 years of service including 26 years on Active Duty. He retired in the rank of Sergeant Major. He is a disabled veteran who enjoys serving those who have served alongside him and fought for our country’s freedom. As the training and recruiting manager for Central Indiana, his primary focus is recruitment, coordination and implementation of the Veteran Employment Transition Seminar (VETS) in Indianapolis and the surrounding regions.
Jason Gehrke, Ph.D., is part of the 2018–2020 cohort of the Valparaiso University-based Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts, focused on religious studies. In 2010 — three years after he completed his master’s degree — Gehrke joined the Army Reserve. In 2013 he was awarded the Bronze Star for his service providing direct support to combat operations in Afghanistan. In 2016 he was awarded the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award.

All events are free and open to the public.