Soul Consciousness: A New Vision of Community Empowerment and Cultural Transformation (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781543467956)

Stephen M. Vick has worked for over twenty-five years as an educator, social worker, clinician, and administrator in the City of Chicago and larger Chicago metropolitan area. He has partnered with the Chicago public schools, various nonprofits, and other community organizations utilizing his bilingual skills, specifically as an advocate within the Latino community. Stephen founded and has directed a Chicago-based consulting company for over fifteen years, working in organizational development, leadership management, and implementation of diversity and inclusion initiatives. Stephen received his BA in political science and African American studies from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1992 and his MA in June 1999 from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. He focused on organizational development, nonprofit administration, and community capacity building. Most recently, Stephen has focused much of his work on community advocacy, adolescent mentoring initiatives, residential program design, parent engagement, and innovative approaches toward youth and family empowerment in early childhood education. He taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration and is currently in the role of executive director of the Infant Welfare Society of Evanston, which is focused on early childhood education, parent and family support, as well as community collaboration and systems change impacting educational equity. In addition to his social work background and community empowerment efforts, Stephen has also been studying traditional Chinese martial arts and qigong meditation for over twenty-five years. He holds his fifth Dan or title of Sifu and continues to teach children and adults. He recently opened a Taoist martial arts school and spiritual training center in the Evanston community. Stephen resides on the West Side of Chicago with his wife, Marlene, and their three children, Camila, Alex, and Olivia. The issues of community development, poverty, violence, and growing inequality are not only issues in the United States but also around the globe. Certainly, in the American experience, we have seen tremendous awareness and concern about issues that have dominated our political, cultural, and economic discourse. A discussion that engages these issues is needed now more than ever, as there is not only an economic and political crisis but a cultural and spiritual crisis as well. There is increasing interest in this topic, as it is more and more evident that there has been a deep disconnect of communities on racial, ethnic, and economic lines. Through the lens of nine stories of community change agents from around the United States, the reader will be drawn in to a compelling case for why our spiritual connectivity and deeper soul consciousness must play a role in our change efforts. In fact, this deeper consciousness is inextricably linked to our future success and growth as individuals and communities.