Joycelyn Elders entered college at age 15 after growing up in a sharecropper’s shack. She attended medical school on the G. I. Bill and became a pediatrician and professor. In 1993, she was appointed Surgeon General of the United States. Related Themes: courage, hope, politics, public health

In December 1997, Julia Butterfly Hill, then age 23, climbed up “Luna,” a thousand-year-old redwood in Humboldt County, California, and did not touch ground for two years. Her dangerous and inspiring action protected this ancient redwood and the trees around it. Would you put your body on the line for something you believe in? What might each of us do to protect and celebrate the wild world that is our home? Join us as Bay Area writer Rebecca Solnit discusses these and other questions with Julia Butterfly Hill. Related Themes: courage, environment, hope

At the beginning of a new century marked already by war and seemingly intractable conflicts, it is more important than ever to listen to thinkers and leaders with historical knowledge, cultivated insight, and practical approaches to peace. We have invited four such people to Stanford for a symposium on ways and means to improve our prospects for a less threatening future at home and abroad.

Related Themes: courage, Gandhi, nonviolence, prison, public health

First published in 1998 and reissued in a tenth anniversary edition, Parker Palmer’s The Courage to Teach takes teachers of all levels on an inner journey toward reconnecting with themselves, their students, and their colleagues in ways that reignite vocational passion. The book builds on a simple premise: good teaching cannot be reduced to technique but is rooted in the identity and integrity of the teacher. Effective teaching takes myriad forms but good teachers share one trait: they are authentically present in the classroom and weave a life-giving web between themselves, their subjects, and students who must learn how to weave a world for themselves. Join us for a conversation with a teacher’s teacher who has a lifetime of ideas, insights and stories to share. Related Themes: courage, education, vocation