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For most of the summer my staff has been hard at work preparing for our upcoming 2008 Fall Tour, and I’m psyched to say it’s gonna be nuts.  We’ll be capping the tour stops at 30, just for the sake of my personal sanity.  So if your college or business is interested in bringing me as a speaker on this tour, you should contact us ASAP and we’ll send you a speaking packet chock full ‘o information.  All tour stops between August and November will be receving free books, posters and long-sleeved t-shirts.  Long sleeved shirts make me happy. Is this normal? Or are the long sleeves some weird fetish of mine? The logo for the fall tour is what we’re calling the GFB Whimsical Tree.  (Click on icon to see full image) It’s shedding it’s leaves, but they are green and blue.  How on-brand are we?  Also, we’re still open to corporate sponsors for the tour, so if you work for a company that might be interested, contact us and we’ll send you a sponsor packet.

Girls Fight Back has been receiving many requests lately, from young women wanting to start GFB clubs at their high schools and colleges.  My staff is absolutely loving this idea, and we were hoping for your feedback.  First off, if you’re a student, would you be interested in starting a club dedicated to making women’s safety and self-defense available to females on campus?  Would you be interested in holding annual events, fundraisers, speakers and other activities to promote women’s empowerment?  Do you know how to set up a student organization at your school?  Do you have ideas about what these clubs could be, and what great purpose they would serve?  Do you like the name “Club GFB?”  Please comment!

Tonight I got to visit one of my favorite Girls Fight Back supporters, Kelsey Bratcher, at U of Texas.  It was a pretty cool time to be on campus, because the Final Four basketball tournament was taking place there.  Anyway, I spoke to a packed room of women, and let out a good ol’ yee haw!  (I always do this when speaking in Texas – I bet it’s pretty annoying to the natives.)  In attendance were some pretty awesome campus security officers, who do safety programming all year round for the students.  Impressive!  The crowd was really great, and they laughed at all my jokes. (this is rare) After the seminar Kelsey held a pretty cool raffle, and nearly everyone left with some GFB booty.  Me and my homegirl posed by the fun sign they made.  I have to say, it’s a little odd to go to a school you’ve never stepped foot in, and to see your own mug on posters everywhere.  So when this happens, I always pose for a pic with myself.  Doesn’t get much more egotistic than that, huh?   Taking pictures with pictures of yourself?  My homeboy Eckhart Tolle would be shaking his head right now…

Yesterday was a full travel day, and it started with United cancelling my flight from Denver to Chicago.  Oh, the joys of mass flight cancellations for airplane repairs!  The airport was riddled with pissed off people, and while I understand their frustration, do you really want to fly on a plane without the latest inspections?  I’ll take a cancelled flight over a falling, burning death any day…so oh well.  I was re-routed on a flight to Washington DC and then on to Manchester, New Hampshire.  After landing in Manchester I drove 2 hours to western Massachusetts to speak at a boarding school called Deerfield Academy.  So today I spoke to all the junior and senior girls, and we had an absolute blast.  It was my first time speaking at a boarding school, and they were a pretty tight-knit group of young ladies.  I tossed around their Dean on stage, which is always good times.  And in the audience I had a very special guest:  Anne Kuzminsky from the National Women’s Martial Arts Federation!  She lives in Rhode Island, so she came out to see me speak.  I love when I’m able to do a seminar, and then hook up a school with a local self-defense instructor so that they can schedule more intensive trainings with the girls…that’s success.

Women’s personal safety and self-defense organization seeks an incredible intern. Ideal candidates possess excellent communication ability (both written and verbal) and are extremely detail oriented. Must be Internet savvy and have an interest in women’s issues. Ideal position for a college student pursuing a career in education, business, marketing or communications. Internship may lead to future career opportunities.  Intern will work from our office in Colorado - no relocation assistance provided.

Duties include:
*Answer phones and general e-mail inquiries
*Assist with order fulfillment for our online store
*Follow-up calls to past clients to collect feedback & payment
*Make travel arrangements
*Assist with special events, street fairs, etc.
*Manage social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook
*Assist with the monthly e-newsletter and other internet marketing initiatives
*Internet research projects on a wide variety of topics
*Administrative tasks & errands as needed

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*20 hours per week
*Monday thru Friday from 12:30 – 4:30pm
*Position available immediately
*Apply for this position via Craig’s List by clicking here.

This week has been great, since I haven’t had to fly on an airplane since Sunday.  What a treat!  Last night I spoke to some wonderful students, most of them in grad school pursuing a medical degree.  There were many international students as well, many of them whose cultures do not likely embrace women who kick ass!  So we had a great time, as you can see in the pictures.  Since we had a smaller crowd it allowed us to throw down and do some ground fighting!

On February 14, 2008 most people were making plans for Valentine’s Day. But the students at NIU were reeling from the latest act of campus violence - a shooting which took the lives of 5 people and injured 18. My staff had been working with the Greek community there to book a GFB event, so we were especially concerned. Our contact e-mailed us that evening informing us that several members of their community had been killed or shot. This confirmed our worst fears. I remember sitting in my office and watching the news on CNN.com, thinking just how this violence is starting to seem “normal” in America. Just another shooting on a college campus…

So last night I spoke at NIU to a packed auditorium of sorority women. I have been in this situation before, when I speak at a school/college in the aftermath of a violent incident. Sometimes the women are still grieving, sometimes they are angry, sometimes they are numb. Really, it’s all about timing. I mean, you don’t want to be giving self-defense seminars two days after a tragedy. People aren’t ready to fight yet…they are still feeling vulnerable. But a few weeks later…well, bring it on. And this was the case last night. These girls were ready to whoop some ass, and they were tired of crying and feeling small. I taught the crowd how to set a double boundary, by getting into a strong stance and using the phrase: Stop. Leave me Alone. I don’t want any problems. The SBG (scary bad guy Josh) then grabbed my wrist. I asked the crowd what this meant, and some girl in the back shouted, “He has a death wish!” See? These girls are no shrinkin’ violets. They were ready for battle. It was inspiring to see their spirits come alive. Thank you, my new friends at NIU. As I said last night, never back down. Never accept violence as status quo. And never make choices stemming from fear…because then the bad guys win.

Last night I flew to Indianapolis so I could speak at the crack-o-dawn at Center Grove High School today.  Despite having to be up at 5:30 am to speak at the school, it was all good.  Our session was the first thing of the day, so the teen gals were fresh and ready to fight.  Every junior and senior girl was in attendance, and it was quite a good time teaching all 500 or so how to go off to college and be their own best protector.  After the program today, I was approached by several different groups of girls who had the idea to start a Girls Fight Back club.  What a brilliant idea!  If we started a network of clubs at high schools and colleges across the nation, would you all get involved?

Click here to read the E-Newsletter.

Pictured at left is my friend Viviana, who has been shooting film for the GFB documentary.  She recently took a trip to New Zealand and is proudly sporting the Spring ‘08 Tour T-shirt…we’re totally international!  Tomorrow these shirts will be for sale to the general public when the March e-newsletter is sent.  Stay tuned…

So just when I think I’ve had my sole encounter with opera music on this trip, I quickly realize my hotel room is next door to some opera singer. And lets just say the walls were VERY thin at this Comfort Inn in Bethlehem. No offense to her, but it was doing nothing for me, so I cranked up CNN on the TV. At 7pm, I spoke during the Women’s Wellness Week at LeHigh. I was on this campus several years ago, and it’s so gorgeous. It was kinda funny, because ALL of the buildings are old and made from stone. So I parked my car and got out, and was trying to find the building with no success. I called my contact, Nicole, and asked her which building it was…and I told her, “Please don’t tell me it’s the stone one.” I whipped out the GFB program, and we had an excellent time. It was good taking this message to LeHigh, as it’s the source of one of the most proactive organizations about campus safety in America. In 1987 a gorgeous co-ed at LeHigh named Jeannie Cleary was raped and murdered in a residence hall at LeHigh. The Clery family sued the university and used the large settlement to start a national non-profit called Security on Campus. It’s a great resource, because you can log onto their website and find college crime statistics at any funded university. Check it out: www.securityoncampus.org

First I have to start out by sending a huge thank you to Laurie Austin (pictured far left), the police chief at Salem College. My staff has been talking to her for almost a year trying to make last night’s event a reality! Due to her perseverance, it finally happened. And it was good…very good. I arrived on campus at 5pm, so that I could have dinner with athletes and international students to give a short talk about spring break safety and travel security. Then we headed over to the auditorium where I spoke to a very enthusiastic audience, giving the Girls Fight Back program. Afterwards I did a book signing, and answered many questions. As so many violent incidents against women have occurred in the South lately, these young women had specific concerns. An idea I plan to implement going forward was brought up at Salem. At the conclusion of the program, the women had the option of signing a sheet that expresses their interest in taking a full-contact self-defense class. Laurie took the list and is going to arrange this. I love this concept, because one organizer can already have a strong list of women interested in learning more about their safety. It was a real honor to be in Salem, and I hope to make it back soon. On a side note, I was informed Salem College is known for having many ghosts. I’m actually quite frightened of spirits, so I was excited to depart Salem without any “encounters.”

Today was quite the early journey to lovely Ann Arbor. Woke up around 3:30am to drive five hours from Chicago to Michigan since the program time was scheduled for 11:30 am. I got there finally, albeit a tad bleary eyed. Nothing a swift shot of espresso can’t fix! I gotta say, these people take their sports pretty seriously. I actually met a fellow road warrior in the Detroit Airport recently, who was telling me how she can’t wait to get home. I assumed she was rushing home to her man or her dog. But no, she wanted to see some Michigan sports. And she was from Allentown, PA of all places. Interesting. They must put something in the water. Anyways, it was a great program. Thanks for getting out of bed on a Sunday for Girls Fight Back!

I have spent the past two days here in lovely Clarksville. It’s been oddly cold and snowy here in Tennessee, a far departure from hot Arizona! Let me tell you, packing for the wide variety of climates on this two week stint of travel has been quite a challenge. Monday night I spoke to a big crowd of student athletes about how to stay safe on spring break. Then tonight I gave the Girls Fight Back program to a gaggle of female athletes and sorority members. Both were very spirited and awesome crowds, who especially loved the physical self-defense stuff. A huge thanks goes to Lindsay Mazer (pictured with me at left) for organizing all the events. A huge success! Tomorrow I fly to Ohio, so now I must bid my new TN friends farewell…I’ve certainly spent a lot of time in this state so far! (That’s a good thing - but I still haven’t had a chance to get out to Graceland and get me a sparkly Elvis costume…)

We just arrived at the Mid-American Greek Council Association today…and so did our brand new conference exhibit. I’m in love.  This is a great annual conference…one that I have attended since I was a sorority president in 1999.  It brings over 1,000 Greek leaders from midwestern colleges to the conference to learn about issues and to network.  Expect more photos and video from the weekend soon.

WHAT: 7th Annual Girls Fight Back for ShanMac Fundraiser
WHEN: Friday, March 7th 2008 from 8 pm – 12 midnight
WHERE: Slugger’s Bar - 3450 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60657
COST: $30 per person for open bar

This annual event is held in memory of Shannon McNamara, who was a 21-year-old college student murdered at Eastern Illinois University in 2001. Shortly after this tragedy, Shannon’s college friend (Erin Weed) formed an organization called Girls Fight Back. GFB educates young women about personal safety and self-defense through live seminars, books and the educational website www.girlsfightback.org. Every March since Shannon’s murder, hundreds of people attend this fundraiser to raise money for violence prevention programs in Chicago’s high schools in hopes of preventing more tragedies. This year the incredible band, The Charleston Sound Machine, will be performing all night. Check them out at: www.csmband.com. Hope to see you there!

Yesterday I hopped on an early flight from Denver to lovely Birmingham, Alabama.  I gave the Girls Fight Back program to about 400 or so college women, and they were southern belles who were gorgeous AND fierce!  Sometimes I get a little freaked out about speaking in the South, mostly because people from that region tell me I talk too fast.  It’s given me a complex.  You might think that Southern women are more timid than most, but this has not been my experience.  They LOVE Girls Fight Back, and kick booty just like the New York City girls.  So it was a total pleasure to chill in Alabama, and I hope to be back soon.

Beginning in March, I will be embarking on the 2008 GFB Spring Tour, and we’re looking for awesome companies to sponsor us! If your company is interested in supporting a great, educational and empowering tour please contact us at 866-GFB-2423 and we will send you an info packet. During the tour I will be filming a documentary, so all sponsors will have the opportunity to be a part of it.

Just posted today…

After months of planning and preparation, today I am happy to announce the official Girls Fight Back Spring Tour ‘08! At left you will see the official logo of the Spring Tour. Little Gigi, our trademarked stick person, has sprouted butterfly wings! But really, what better way to symbolize spring than the fresh start of a butterfly. So get ready to flap your wings, because this tour is gonna be nuts. Already we have 20 cities (mostly colleges) confirmed, with calls and e-mails rolling in daily. So I got two words for ya…GAME ON.

We have some really fun perks for the Spring Tour, in case you’re interested in hopping on that train. First off, anyone who books a GFB seminar on the tour by February 1st will receive a 10% discount off the speaking fee. And if you pick a date when I’m already in your geographic area, you’ll receive another 10% discount on top of that. Everyone on the Spring Tour roster will receive free GFB books, free 11×17 posters to publicize your event, REALLY CUTE free t-shirts (girly T’s…long & fitted…click to enlarge photo at left) and a step-by-step Event Planning Guide. Want more info about booking a presentation during the tour? Call our Events Coordinator, Michelle Parilla, at 1-866.432.2423.

And check this out…during the Spring Tour ‘08 I’ll be shooting my first documentary called “Journey of a Girlfighter.” It’s going to be a film exploring violence against women in America, and what we can do about it. Scenes will include: Live GFB seminar footage, interviews with some incredible (and famous) people working for a peaceful society, and my own journey back to Charleston where my dear friend Shannon was murdered. It’s going to be a deeper and darker version of anything you’ve seen from me before, but I hope it will be cathartic. Not only will it be an emotional and mental journey as I create this film, it will also be a physical one. Shannon and I were running partners in college, and she was always asking me to do a long distance race with her. My answer was always something to the effect of, “HELL NO.” She was an award winning track athlete, while I’m a 11 minute miler. But to raise money for violence prevention education in America’s schools, I will be running my first marathon. Yes, I said it. Holy crap. And now I’m terrified, because it means I actually have to do it. And you will be able to watch the entire thing unfold in the comfort of your living room…

Creating this film with the permission of Shannon’s family is really a full-circle moment for me. Prior to Shannon being murdered, I was working as a documentary producer in New York City. After she died though, my entire focus became GFB. Now I’m coming back to my roots, and I can’t wait to see what happens.

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