About the Webinar

America Walks is excited to announce the next webinar of our free 2016 webinar series. In April’s webinar, we will take a take a closer look at the “Walking as a Practice” report that was released in January and can be downloaded here.

This report outlines four categories that identify how individuals and organizations are engaging in the practice of walking. Participants will hear from the author of the report, Jonathon Stalls of Walk2Connect, as well as representatives from several of the case studies. Learn how when we individually or collectively choose to walk, we do more for ourselves, for each other, and for our communities than we could ever imagine.

About the Presenters

Jonathon Stalls is a passionate social entrepreneur and devoted long-distance walker based in Denver, CO. He is the founder of Walk2Connect, a walking cooperative focused on connection-based walking programs with whole health outcomes. He completed a 3,030 mile 8.5 month walk across the USA (Kivawalk.com) in 2010 and the Camino de Santiago with his father in 2012. He is also a student at the Living School at the Center for Action and Contemplation.

Saoirse Charis-Graves loves to be outdoors walking and to share that love with others in the small town she serves as a City Councilmember. With support from Walk2Connect and the City of Golden, she founded Golden Walks, offering community walks for all ages and abilities. Currently, her team of Walking Movement Leaders (trained by Walk2Connect) hosts 3-4 weekly walks in a landscape with “killer views” alongside a mountain creek at the base of the Rocky Mountains.

Dennis Michele, AVA President is a retired naval officer. Diagnosed as a Type II diabetic in 1992. In order to help control this, took up walking as preferred method of exercise. In 1996, discovered Volkssporting and found it to be a fascinating and exciting to see and experience new vistas while still getting the needed exercise and has been involved ever since. Served as a club president, state association president and vice president, SE Region director for 8 years and AVA President for 5 years. Has accumulated over 23000 kilometers and over 2200 events in the US, Canada, England, Austria and Germany. Is a certified Trail Master.

Faye Paige Edwards has more than 30 years’ experience in sales, marketing and training. This includes 10 years as an entrepreneur in the heating and cooling industry. Four years ago her retirement was interrupted when a friend asked her to be on a “virtual” GirlTrek team. It was the beginning of her new career as a walking activist. She has served as GirlTrek’s National Field Director. Now as the volunteer St Louis GirlTrek City Captain she inspires African-American women to maintain the keystone habit of walking and has earned the GirlTrek Harriet Tubman Award for inspiring the most women to join GirlTrek nationwide. Also she was also awarded Trailnet’s 2015 Tom Yarborough Active Living Award. Getting African-American women on bikes and hikes is also part of her advocacy. This year #GirlTrekBikingBuddies – which she started – will partner with the Ferguson Bike Shop for a monthly bike ride and Faye will be the lunch speaker at the first St Louis Women’s Bike Summit. She will also lead GirlTrekkers on hikes this summer.

Her walking activist credentials include being selected as a Walking Fellow for the first class of Fellows by the Walking College (America Walks). She will be advocating for traffic calming measures in St Louis as part of her fellowship year. At the Walking Summit she was inspired to build a coalition to launch a new project to encourage cross-generational family and neighborhood recess – a daily dose of play for families. When the project launches, it will leverage the power of cross-generational play to improve health, strengthen families and increase social-emotional skill development. Her walking activist credentials include being selected as a Walking Fellow for the first class of Fellows by the Walking College (America Walks). She will be advocating for traffic calming measures in St Louis as part of her fellowship year. At the Walking Summit she was inspired to build a coalition to launch a new project to encourage cross-generational family and neighborhood recess – a daily dose of play for families. When the project launches, it will leverage the power of cross-generational play to improve health, strengthen families and increase social-emotional skill development. As part of Trailnet’s Share the Street Party she developed the idea for the City’s first Dance Walk and STL’s largest line dance. Faye serves on the City of St Louis Health Department’s Jump N2 Shape Program Design Committee, which is part of the City’s Anti-Obesity Plan. She is also a walking team facilitator for the HEAL Partnership and is a new board member on the St Louis Parks Foundation. Additionally she and her husband support the children of the St Louis Public schools as volunteers for the Little Bit Foundation. Faye holds an M.B.A. from the Ross School of Business, an M.A. from Occidental College earned as part of the National Urban Fellows Program and a B.A. from Lincoln University (PA). Follow her on Twitter @fayetreks and on Instagram @fayetrekstheword.