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Biographical Sketch
GREGORY S. SHAFFER, M.A.
Gregory S. Shaffer is the principal of Compulsion
to Create, a consulting business whose tag line is "Writing, Thinking
and Public Speaking." Gregory's vision for himself and Compulsion
to Create is multi-dimensional and focuses on consulting of community
building and asset-based community development, as well as writing
and public speaking. Gregory's previous clients have included:
Calif. Youth Advocacy Network; Food tamp Outreach Planning Committee;the
California Health Promotion Collaborative; California Nutrition
Network for Healthy, Active Families; the Local Programs Unit,
Tobacco Control Section; and the Physical Activity and Health
Initiative, all of the former being part of the California Department
of Health Services. In addition Gregory has worked with Odyssey
(a mass transportation non-profit); Non-Profits United; Paratransit
Inc.; and work as a member of the Sierra Regional Career Partnership's
Evaluation Team. Gregory is currently at work on a novel for young
adult as well as serving as an Communications Studies instructor
at the community college level..
From 1992 to 2001 Gregory worked with California
Healthy Cities and Communities, a project of the Center for Civic
Partnerships, whose parent organization is The Public Health Institute.
California Healthy Cities and Communities is part of a growing
international public health movement which focuses on the city
and its total environment -- including the physical surroundings,
economic conditions, and social climate -- as an arena for health
promotion activities. As the Local Programs Administrator, Gregory
served as a team leader and supervises the Local Program Development
Specialist who, like Gregory, worked directly with cities to build
and maintain participation with the Project. Gregory provided
on-site technical assistance to city representatives and steering
committee members with the development and implementation of their
local projects.
Gregory, a native of California, was born and
raised in Vallejo (Solano County), CA. From his early years in
college, and continuing on today, a serious case of wanderlust
has shaped the way he sees the world. These travels have included
Nova Scotia, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Cook Islands (Rorotonga),
Costa Rica, India, South-East Asia (Indonesia: Bali, Java; Malaysia:
Kuala Lampur; Singapore and Thailand), Great Britain and Europe
(France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy).
Never one to shy away for the unique, Gregory
worked in his youth picking rocks of a race track (so the race
horses wouldn't step on them) and transporting race horse urine
(24 samples were sealed in a large ice chest to be sent to a Southern
California laboratory to be checked for drugs, Gregory was not
involved in obtaining the specimens). While completing his graduate
degree in Communication Studies he worked nights as a bail bondsman,
this particular job still provides some of the most interesting
employee/client anecdotes he tells. Today he has a more conventional,
and rewarding job.
Before beginning his work with the CHCC in 1992,
Gregory served as a Media Specialist/Community Organizer for the
Solano County Cancer Prevention Program (funded by the Henry J.
Kaiser Family Foundation), and as a Field Representative to California
State Assemblyman Thomas M. Hannigan.
Gregory was the recipient of a Rotary Foundation
Scholarship in 1983-84 to study at Victoria University, Wellington,
New Zealand. In 1985, Gregory was selected as a member of a Rotary
Group Study Exchange and traveled to southern India for six weeks
as part of an exchange program designed to share professional
and cultural experiences. Gregory's writings include The Sacramento
Bee, Vacaville Reporter, Santa Rosa Press Democrat,
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the
tip section of American Angler; and Home Waters: Fly
Fishing in Western Canada.
Gregory earned his bachelors in Communications
Studies/Business Administration in 1978 from California State
University Sacramento and a Master of Arts degree from that same
institution in 1988.
Gregory enjoys traveling with his wife, Sheri,
including taking a year off in 1990-91 to travel in the Southeast
Asia and the United States. Among Gregory's other interests are
camping, bicycle treks and writing.
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