2006 Presenters

John E. Hamersma

People, Pipes and Players

Wednesday, January 4
Underwritten by: A Friend of The January Series

John Hamersma will speak about the past and future of the organ — the "King of Instruments". This multi-sensory presentation will be dynamic and, John assures us, not just "an old man talking about pipe organs"! 

Eugene Spafford

You're Almost on Your Own: The State of Computer Security

Thursday, January 5
Underwritten by: J.C. Huizenga

Professor of Computer Sciences at Purdue University. He is one of the most senior and recognized leaders in the field of computing. He has an on-going record of accomplishment as a senior advisor and consultant on issues of security, cybercrime and policy to a number of major companies, law enforcement organizations, and government agencies including Microsoft, Intel, Unisys, the US Air Force, the National Security Agency, the FBI, the Department of Energy and two Presidents of the United States.

George Weigel

Revolutionary Papacies: John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and the Future of the Catholic Church

Friday, January 6
Underwritten by: John and Mary Loeks

Senior fellow of Washington's Ethics and Public Policy Center. He is the author of many books including "The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America, and Politics without God" and the definitive biography on Pope John Paul II entitled "Witness to Hope". He reported on the late pope for NBC news and is widely regarded as the most astute observer of the Vatican. He recently had the cover story on Pope Benedict XVI and is personally acquainted with the new pope from his years as Cardinal Ratzinger. In November 2005, Harper Collins Publishers will publish his analysis of the papal transition, under the title "God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church".

Paul Farmer

Public Health & Social Justice

Monday, January 9
Underwritten by: Priority Health

Renowned doctor, specializing in infectious-diseases, and anthropologist from Harvard Medical School, Dr. Farmer is the founder of Partners in Health, a public health charity established to help care for the world's most impoverished communities in Haiti, Russia, Peru, and most recently, Rwanda. Dr. Farmer drew an overflow audience in 2005 and will return to share more about his work and the fight for human health rights.

Tim Dean

Globalization of the Media: Who is Really in Control?

Tuesday, January 10
Underwritten by: Huntington National Bank

Media and communications consultant from Great Britain. Tim Dean has an established reputation in broadcast production, management and strategy for one of the world's leading international and multi-cultural institutions, the BBC World Service. He will be speaking on the topic of who really controls the media worldwide.

Juan Enriquez

As the Future Catches You: How Genomics and Other Forces Are Changing Your Life, Work, Health & Wealth

Wednesday, January 11
Underwritten by: Meijer, Inc. 

The author of the global bestseller “As the Future Catches You,” Juan Enriquez is a preeminent authority on the economic and political impacts of the life sciences. Energetic and articulate, Juan is a fine speaker with a unique message. Juan is also an expert on the dynamics of the knowledge economy and the other trends driving change in America and the world today. His next book “The Untied States of America”, which comes out in November 2005, explores the social and political forces that are threatening to untie the United States. Mr. Enriquez is Chairman and CEO of Biotechonomy.

Philip Jenkins

Reading the Bible in the Global South

Thursday, January 12
Underwritten by: Peter & Pat Cook

Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies at Pennsylvania State University, Phillip Jenkins is the author of many books including "The Next Christendom: The Rise of Global Christianity" and "Hidden Gospels: How the Search for Jesus Lost Its Way". In "The Next Christendom" and in his presentation on The January Series, Jenkins will discuss the ways the Bible is read in the churches of the global South - in Africa and Asia - and how those readings reveal a deep estrangement between the dominant forms of Chirstianity in the global North and South. He states that Southern churches are using the Bible with a freshness and authenticity that simply cannot be achieved by the prosperous societies of the global North.

Lauren Winner

Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity

Friday, January 13
Underwritten by: Barnes & Thornburg

Author of "Girls Meets God", "Mudhouse Sabbath" and "Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity", Winner returns to TJS after a stunning presentation in 2006.

Randal Maurice Jelks

African Americans in the Furniture City

Monday, January 16
Underwritten by: John & Mary Loeks

Randal Jelks is an associate professor of History and Director of the African and African Dispora Studies Minor at Calvin College. He will speak on the topic of his new book (release: December 2005), "African Americans in the Furniture City: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Grand Rapids".

What does the history of African Americans in Grand Rapids tell us about our city's history, our region in the State of Michigan and the conditions of struggling people worldwide? Western Michigan is the fastest growing region in our State and the significance of African Americans and recent immigrants and migrants is key to understanding how our city will fare regionally and internationally through the 21 st century. The past shapes our present.

Linda Silverman

Upside-Down Brilliance

Tuesday, January 17
Underwritten by: Grand Rapids Community Foundation

Dr. Silverman is world-renown as the leading expert on visual-spatial learners, in fact, she coined the term. The VSL is a person who thinks primarily in pictures and includes roughly 1/3 of the population and cuts across racial and ethnic lines. She is a practicing clinical and counseling psychologist and the founder of the Institute for Advanced Development and the Gifted Development Center in Denver, Colorado. She is the author of “Upside-down Brilliance: The Visual Spatial Learner.” Why is this topic so important? Images are the way of the future. Images create reality. The image makers, the visionaries, will be our leaders. The gifts of the visual spatial are vitally needed in the 21st century. However, in school the VSL is often made to feel defective if they lack the reading, spelling, grammar, calculation, memorization, handwriting, word-finding, sequential, organizational and time skills that are so valued in education.

Paul Rusesabagina

Hotel Rwanda: A Lesson Yet to Be Learned

Wednesday, January 18
Underwritten by: Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt & Howlett, LLP

Considered the “Rwandan Schindler,” Paul Rusesabagina risked his life and the lives of his family to shelter more than 1200 people as his country fell into the grips of genocide in 1994. His wrenching story and that of the genocide is now chronicled in the critically acclaimed film, Hotel Rwanda. Through emotionally stirring words, he will share his story first-hand, as a wake-up call to the international community in hopes that future events of this type can be prevented.

Kathleen DeBoer

Gender & Competition: Part Two

Thursday, January 19
Underwritten by: Mercantile Bank

Kathleen DeBoer is a former Senior Associate Athletic Director, University of Kentucky and former player and collegiate coach. She is the author of "Gender & Competition: How Men & Women Approach Work & Play Differently."

James Doyle

CSI: Eyewitness Memory

Friday, January 20
Underwritten by: Spectrum Health

A veteran litigator and writer, whose cases have ranged from death row appeals and murder trials to civil liberties cases. He is an author of "True Witness: Cops, Court, Science, and the Battle for Misidentification". During the late 90's and up to 2000 he was a member of a Technical Working Group which was formed by the request of Attorney General Janet Reno because of the high number of persons on "death row" that were being exonerated because of DNA evidence. The group did research in the area of "eyewitness evidence" and after three years published a research guide for law enforcement. Doyle has continued to expand his research and knowledge in this area over the years.

The Minstrel and the Storyteller

The Minstrel & the Storyteller

Monday, January 23
Underwritten by: Macatawa Bank

Peninnah Schram, recipient of the National Storytelling Network’s “Circle of Excellence Award”, will transport us to different times, worlds and cultures as a fellow traveler through a variety of exciting and memorable stories. The stories will be further enhanced by the expressive folk music of Gerard Edery, who appeared in the Ivory Consort at the 2005 January Series. Experience their storytelling filled with tales of strength, sorrow, sweetness, love, irony and wit in a uniquely memorable way.

Eugene Peterson

Eat This Book

Tuesday, January 24
Underwritten by: Lawrence D. Sr. & Dolores Bos

Peterson, now retired, was for many years James M. Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He also served as founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland. In addition to his widely acclaimed paraphrase of the New Testament, "The Message," he has written many other books. His most recent book is entitled, "Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places", a conversation in spiritual theology.