Keynote
Session
Sponsored by:
Wells Fargo
Monday,
April 18
Dr. Bertice Berry
"Finding Your Purpose"
In this presentation, sociologist and best selling author, Bertice Berry PhD. will present information and tools for
becoming the highest version of yourself.
Berry points out that we are all unique beings with
unique journey. This journey allows us to live a life of purpose
while illuminating the path for others to learn and live well.
By striving to evolve to a higher version of ourselves in
spirit, mind and body, we are never in competition with anyone
else.
Utilizing her unique style of blending storytelling,
research findings and humor, Berry will enable the audience to
laugh and learn at the same time.
ABOUT DR. BERRY
Nobody defies
stereotypes, generalizations or clichés more than Dr. Bertice
Berry does. Growing up poor in Wilmington, Delaware, the sixth
of seven children, Bertice was told by a high school teacher
that she was “not college material.”
Fortunately, she
chose to listen to the inner voice that had always told her she
was destined for more, and applied to several schools without
any idea how she would pay the tuition if she were accepted.
The day her application arrived at Jacksonville University in
Florida, a wealthy benefactor called Admissions Department
looking for a potential student “who could swim if they had the
right backing,” and might sink without it.
Bertice not only
graduated magna cum laude from Jacksonville where she was
awarded the President’s Cup for leadership, she subsequently
earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Kent State University. Dr.
Berry taught sociology and statistics at Kent, and demonstrated
that she knew a few things about humor as well. She became one
of the most popular teachers at the university; so popular, in
fact, larger lecture halls had to be found to accommodate the
ever-increasing number of students. “A colleague said to me,
“You’re funny,” and I said, “No I’m not, I’m a scholar,”
recounts Dr. Berry. It was then that she realized by using
humor in her lectures to address such difficult subjects as
racism and sexism she was making a more profound impact.
Shortly thereafter,
Dr. Berry left Kent to become an award-winning entertainer,
lecturer and comedienne. From 1991 through 1994 she won the
coveted National Comedian of the Year Award, and was also named
Campus Lecturer of the Year and Campus Entertainer of the Year.
She had created a niche as both gifted speaker with a comic edge
and a comic with a serious message. Her busy schedule included
over 200 appearances a year.
Dr. Berry was the host
co-executive producer of her own nationally syndicated talk
show, “The Bertice Berry Show,” and hosted “USA Live,” a
four-hour live interview and entertainment show in the USA Cable
Network. She’s been featured on numerous other television
programs, including appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,”
“The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” and “BET Live” with Travis
Smiley.
Dr. Bertice Berry is
also the best-selling author of an inspirational memoir, I’m
On My Way, But Your Foot is on My Head, and the hilarious
bestsellers Sckraight From the Ghetto , you Might Be
Ghetto If and the sequel You STILL Ghetto. Her first
work of fiction, Redemption Song, published in 2000, is now in
its 6th printing and has been praised by critics,
including USA Today, which called it “fun and entertaining but
also enlightening.” Her second novel, The Haunting of Hip
Hop, was published by Doubleday Books in 2001.
Despite all of her honors and
achievements, Dr. Berry is most proud of becoming the “instant
mother” to her sister’s three children. She lives in San Diego,
California, where she is active in the community working with
At-Risk Youth and speaking at area prisons and schools.
Dr. Berry’s background
as an educator has enabled her to work with staff and faculty
members of academic institutions to help them define their
mission and institutional goals. She has worked with corporate
executives and potential executives to help them identify and
overcome obstacles as they work to achieve their greatest
aspirations. She has facilitated conferences, hosted awards
ceremonies, and even sung the National Anthem at ballgames.
