Tuesday, August 20, 2024
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. PDT (Pacific Daylight Time)
We are excited to kick off New Student Orientation with you on Tuesday, August 20! Our event emcee, representing the CGU Graduate Student Council, will start us off with a warm welcome followed by an encouraging message from CGU Interim President, Tim Kirley. We will then hear from our keynote speaker, CGU alumnus Barbara Blatz-Stone. We will conclude the hour with an optional Q&A session hosted by New Student Orientation representatives.
2024 Keynote Speaker: Barbara Blatz-Stone
Barbara Blatz-Stone, a CGU alumna, is an ICF-certified executive coach specializing in positive leadership, and the co-founder of Meliora Strategies, LLC. Guided by the mantra, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone,” Barbara’s journey exemplifies a resilient 180-degree career reinvention. From her beginnings on Wall Street to a successful (yet unhealthy!) 25-year career in global fashion management, Barbara went on to transition from an unfulfilling career to align with her true calling: coaching leaders, teams and organizations to “thrive, not just survive.” She holds a Master’s in Positive Organizational Psychology from CGU and a Neuro-focused coaching certification.
As co-founder of Meliora Strategies, Barbara (and her college-roommate partner) drive change from “the inside out” through executive, team, and individual coaching across healthcare, science/tech, manufacturing, academia, government, transportation, and creative arts. Meliora’s “pursuit of better” philosophy serves a diverse clientele, from nurses to CEOs, tech engineers to academic directors, promoting holistic life/work balance and combating burnout. During the pandemic in 2021, Barbara (through Meliora) partnered with a Florida-based nursing college – creating and delivering a resilience group coaching program to several Florida-based hospitals. Meliora’s most recent projects with non-profits, academic leadership teams, and a life science organization involve solution-focused programs targeting team cohesiveness and behaviors, navigating conflict and building trust, optimizing motivation and personal growth, leadership skills, career transitions, executive presence and mindfulness, life/work balance, and resilience.
Barbara is a member of the CGU Alumni Board, an Estate Tour Docent at the Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens, mom to two adult (and amazing) daughters, and wife to a brilliant British entertainment creative.
Students will receive a Zoom link for this session in a confirmation email after registering for orientation.
Students who need accommodations to attend or participate in any orientation session should contact the Office of Disability Services at disability.services@cgu.edu as soon as possible.