Luann Drolc Fortune Author

Valerie Malhotra Bentz, Ph.D., MSSW is Professor, School of Leadership Studies, Fielding Graduate University, having served as Associate Dean for Research. Her interests include phenomenology, somatics, social theory, consciousness development, contemplative research and Vedantic knowledge.  She is engaged in collaborative research leading to publications such as: Deathworlds to Lifeworlds: Collaboration with Strangers for Personal, Social and Ecological Transformation, (with James Marlatt); Handbook of Transformative Phenomenology (with James Marlatt) Expressions of Phenomenological Research (with David Rehorick); Contemplative Social Research (with Vincenzo Giorgino); Transformative Phenomenology (with David Rehorick). She is the author of Becoming Mature: Childhood Ghosts and Spirits in Adult Life and a philosophical novel, Flesh and Mind: The Time Travels of Dr. Victoria Von Dietz. Valerie directs the Doctoral Concentration in Somatics, Phenomenology and Communicative Leadership (SPCL) and co-founded the concentration in Creative Longevity and Wisdom. She is an experienced psychotherapist, yoga teacher, massage therapist, environmental activist and musician. James Marlatt PhD, MBA, P.Eng. is an Institute for Social Innovation Fellow at Fielding Graduate University and is a certified executive coach and leadership and organizational development consultant. Jim studied Transformative Phenomenology with David Rehorick and Valerie Malhotra Bentz and is an applied social phenomenologist and adjunct professor at the University of the Virgin Islands. His publications include the edited volumes Deathworlds to Lifeworlds: Collaboration With Strangers for Individual, Social and Ecological Transformation, and the Handbook of Transformative Phenomenology, both with Valerie Malhotra Bentz. Jim is also a professional geological engineer, with a lengthy career in the mineral resource industry, including applied natural science research with T. Kurt Kyser. He acts as an occasional international education and training consultant to a United Nations affiliate on matters related to global energy supply. He lives on Vancouver Island with his wife Margaret and is the proud father of twin daughters. Jeremy J. Shapiro, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Human and Organization Development at Fielding Graduate University. With a background in sociology, philosophy, information systems, and intellectual history, he has published in the area of critical social theory, with emphasis on the cultural and social impact of information technology and the aesthetics of music. He translated and introduced into the English-speaking world major works by Jürgen Habermas and Herbert Marcuse and has also translated writings of Theodor W. Adorno, Karl Mannheim, and Pierre Bourdieu. As an educator, he has specialized in the teaching of research, critical thinking, information literacy, and music listening as well as critical theory. He has also worked as an information systems professional for 15 years; been active nationally in efforts to use networked information resources and computer networks in higher education; published and presented on information literacy, the virtual university, and the social consequences of the Internet; and been involved in efforts to bring computer technology to community, grassroots, and nonprofit organizations. He has also taught peer counseling. He graduated from Harvard College under Robert Paul Wolff and Barrington Moore, Jr., studied philosophy and sociology with Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, and Jürgen Habermas at the University of Frankfurt-am-Main and computer science with Abbe Mowshowitz at the City University of New York, and obtained his doctorate from Brandeis University under Kurt Wolff and Maurice Stein. His passions are classical music and travel. He lives in New York city with his wife Pamela Walsh and his cat Minou. Luann Drolc Fortune PhD, LMT, is an educator, researcher, and advocate whose orientation and thinking has been fundamentally impacted by her work with Valerie Bentz and the Transformative Phenomenology communities of practice from Fielding University. She believes that context influences contributions and thus discloses that she is a cisgender, heterosexual white female whose cultural identity is influenced by her experience as a second-generation American of Eastern European descent and a first-generation female college graduate.  She is professionally embedded in complementary and integrative medicine through 25 years of practice experience as a massage therapist where she witnessed inequities in the delivery of integrative medicine.  She is committed to addressing diversity-equity-inclusion (DEI) inequities in her work and community, beginning by cultivating her own cultural competency. Luann serves as faculty and coordinates the specialization in Mindful Leadership in the College of Integrative Medicine and Health Sciences at Saybrook University, an institute deeply rooted in humanistic tradition. Her scholarship focuses on mindfulness, integrative healthcare, and holistic wellness practices, as well as somatic awareness and embodiment techniques for research and practice.  She is active in community service and currently serves as the associate editor of the International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (IJTMB). She was personally impacted by the climate crisis when Hurricane Ian destroyed her home in SW Florida.