PFLAG Santa Cruz County is proud to announce their first speaker of 2012!

Reverend Deborah L. Johnson
From Inner Light Ministries

Tuesday, January 10, 2012
7:00 – 9:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Santa Cruz
900 High Street, Santa Cruz, 95060

Please join families from around Santa Cruz County as they come together for the first PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians & Gays) meeting to be held in the area in several years. The first hour is dedicated to discussion groups followed by a brief break. The second hour will be dedicated to our January keynote speaker, Rev. Deborah L. Johnson.

Rev. Deborah L. Johnson is the founding minister and president of Inner Light Ministries, an Omnifaith outreach ministry dedicated to teaching the practical application of Universal Spiritual Principles to all of life’s circumstances. She is also the founder and president of The Motivational Institute, an organizational development consulting firm specializing in cultural diversity serving the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Her clients range from Fortune 500 companies to community based organizations. She is a dynamic public speaker, known for her ability to bring clarity to complex and emotionally charged issues.

A life-long social justice activist, Rev. Deborah is the successful co-litigant in two landmark cases in California – one set precedent for the inclusion of sexual orientation in the state’s Civil Rights Bill, the other defeated the challenge to legalizing domestic partnerships. A voice for compassion, equality, and reconciliation, her primary focus has been on coalition building, conflict resolution, public policy development, and cultural sensitivity awareness. She holds a vision of Oneness, beyond creed and doctrine, and feels particularly called to heal the sense of separation between those adhering to conservative and progressive ideologies.

As an advocate for continual and lifelong learning, Rev. Deborah is a faculty member at several institutes of higher learning: UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Business Executive Leadership Diversity Training Institute; Pacific School of Religion; Holmes Institute of Consciousness Studies; and the Agape University of Transformational Studies and Leadership. She is also an Advisory Council member in the Women’s Studies Department at Brandeis University. She holds a BA in economics from USC, an MBA from UCLA, and a ministerial degree from the Holmes Institute.