DAVID A. WHITEHORN, MBA, CPC

I have always loved being with people who are of different backgrounds than I.  That could mean people of different countries, cultures, languages, ethnicities, age and experiences.

Following this “attraction” I set out on a path that would enable me to maximize the opportunities to live what I most enjoyed.  This translated into very specific actions that took me to Brazil, Asia and the South Pacific, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Sweden. It also led to a myriad of jobs where I worked with employees from all five continents.

After graduating from high school while living in Brazil, I learned to play soccer which enabled me to have friendships with other equally passionate Americans and players from around the world.  I played and socialized with world class players from Brazil and other countries.  To be clear, even when I was at the top of my game, I was not a good soccer player. But I was just good enough to be part of the teams and I loved the social interaction.

After retiring from 2 global companies, I now coach business leaders from around the world. I am also active in my community through the Kiwanis and Boys and Girls clubs, and Sister Cities of Tempe, Arizona.

 I am blessed with my wife Silvia from Monterrey, Mexico, who shares my passion for cultures, languages and cuisines from around the world.  We raised our three sons Patrick, Christopher and Sean Eric with a global mindset. They are also bilingual (English/Spanish).  We love getting together with our sons and their families - including our beautiful granddaughters who live just ten minutes away.

Silvia and I find time to go to our cabin in Pine, Arizona and travel the world when our schedule permits. Travel has taken us on safari in Kenya, the ice hotel in the arctic circle in Sweden, the Great Wall in China, the pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal in India, the fjords of Norway, the Aztec and Mayan ruins of Mexico, and the samba filled streets of Rio among many other locations around the world.

I have been able to live a fulfilled life by simply living my passion.  For this reason I wrote the book, BE.DREAM.DO, Living by Design, to share my story.  If my story only inspires one person to take action, it will be worth the effort.

PEG THOREN, M.Ed, BCC

Helping people discover what brings out their best is what makes me tick. Guiding someone through self-discovery, helping them clarify their direction puts a smile on my face.  This desire to help others comes from the struggle of finding myself. While I may have presented like I had it together, I resonated with “Little Miss Much Afraid”, a character from the book Hinds Feet on High Places. I was afraid to be me, to expose myself to the world in fear of judgement … I felt I wouldn’t measure-up, so I often lost my identity in others and what they thought.

I grew up in a military family, moving around every 3-5 years. While this taught me how to be adaptable, it wasn’t fun leaving friends and familiarity to start over; however, it did contribute to my sense of adventure. Our family dynamic was one where "children were seen and not heard” and we couldn't really express ourselves, which contributed to my becoming a people pleaser. In my teenage years I operated out of a sense of guilt.  I would buy my mother flowers every time I would argue with her... she had fresh flowers on her table almost every week!

My confidence began increasing as I started growing as an adult. Many lessons were learned and I found my own voice as my journey began through schooling, getting a Master’s Degree in Counseling, with an emphasis in Career Development (again wanting to help people). These were hard years as I struggled with trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life, and how I was going to find a job within the “Helping Profession” that would pay the rent! (simple issues, don’t ya think!) I began my work life living away from my support systems in another state. This experience was one of the hardest, yet one of the most rewarding as it forced me out of my comfort zone. I was exposed to an environment that was very different than what I grew up in (not dealing with conflict). I had to learn how to stand up for myself and learned in the process that if I expressed my opinion that I was still accepted. Confidence began building and I was on the road to becoming my own person. I subsequently moved and took a job as the new supervisor of day treatment programs for behaviorally challenged students, k-12. My staff was an experienced team that had calculated they collectively had 100+ years of experience over me. Needless to say … personal growth, sometimes painful was in the cards. I quickly realized if I was smart I would not try to take a “top down” leadership approach, rather utilize a collective approach to leadership. This experience again stretched me beyond where I thought I could go. Many nights were spent driving home frustrated, even shedding a few tears, yet over time a highly effective team and program emerged.

Of course new roles were added to my repertoire when I married and then became a mother, and as we all know developing relationships, whether it is marital or parental gives us plenty of opportunity to grow as an individual. My focus shifted to my family and meeting their needs which I enjoyed wholeheartedly, but somewhere in there I lost track of who I was outside of being a wife and a mother. I had defined myself and gained self-value through my profession, and without that I felt … lacking. It took several years, but I did manage to learn to become comfortable with “me” rather than being defined by a professional title. In recent years, I have enjoyed putting my college degree to use, once again, helping college students clarify what it is they would like to do in the world of work, and high school students maneuver their road to college or further education.

In looking back, my story has been one of learning to let go of what I thought others wanted me to be, and embracing who I want to be. Bottom line is that I have grown, become more confident, and shed most of the “Little Miss Much Afraid” persona (every now and then she raises her head). As I continue to become stronger and step into being the best person I can be, I would like to invite you to join me in discovering more about you … BE who you are … DREAM who or what you want to be … then, DO it - take action!