Speakers Bureau

Lafayette Morehouse is pleased to announce the Speakers Bureau - a new and exciting service offered by our community. Our team of speakers are prepared to offer short presentations based on our 40 years of research on various aspects of pleasurable group living including such topics as communication, sensuality, couple & significant other relationships, money, and power. Each presentation is specifically tailored to address those aspects that are of the greatest interest to the audience. Following our talk, we welcome questions. If you are interested in having us speak to your group, or you know of a group that might like our services, please contact the registrar.

Some of our Speakers

Kassy Shekeloff has been a resident of Morehouse since 1971. As a teacher of More courses for nearly 40 years she is a senior faculty member and collaborates in developing More courses. She holds both a Bachelor degree in Communication and a PhD in Lifestyles from More University.

A Perspective, by Kassy.

Alec Van Sinderen has been a resident of Morehouse since 1971 and is a senior faculty member. He is very active in the social research and course development area of our lifestyle. He is a member of the Sensuality Department. Alec and his wife Jackie met and fell in love at the Stanford University overseas campus in Germany in 1965. Following graduation, they spent two years in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia. Alec holds a Masters in Public Administration from Syracuse University and Phds in Lifestyles and Sensuality from More University.

Marilyn Moohr has been a resident of Morehouse since 1970. She is a senior faculty member and is active in developing and teaching More courses. In addition to being the community's archivist, she is a member of the Lafayette Morehouse web development team. Marilyn recently co-authored an article for the Family issue of Communities Magazine, March 2010. She graduated with Honors from Swarthmore College and earned PhDs in Lifestyles and Sensuality from More University.

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Ilana & Jack Firestone have been living at Lafayette Morehouse since 1981. They are senior teachers of the More courses. Jack is a bodyworker and Ilana is also the community webmaster. Ilana was a co-author of an article for the Family issue of Communities Magazine, March 2010. They both graduated from the City University of NY, he with a Fine Arts degree in Theatre and she with a degree in Mathematics. They later earned PhDs in Lifestyles and Sensuality from More University.

Judy St. John has lived in the Lafayette Morehouse community since 1981. She obtained a degree in psychology from SUNY Buffalo in 1979 and a PhD in Lifestyles from More University in 1990. She had a successful career as a computer programmer, is currently on the teaching staff and the Registrar for Lafayette Morehouse. She married a fellow resident and has a son who was born and raised in the community who now attends college in NY. Judy is an avid tennis player, yoga practitioner, aspiring stand-up comedian and enjoys games of all types.

Colin Selig graduated from Tufts University in 1987 with a degree in philosophy. In 1992 he started a Morehouse in Philadelphia and 7 years later moved into the Lafayette community to further his studies. He is on the teaching staff, has taken responsibility for much of the upkeep, design and development of the 25 acres of communal property, and does metal sculpting in his spare time. Click his name above to check out his sculptures.

Janet Raibaldi has lived in the Morehouse community since 1995. A 21 year business career culminated in her position as vice president of a multi-billion dollar corporation. After living with her husband for 7 years and subsequently living alone after the end of her marriage, she sought out communal living for greater personal satisfaction and fun and moved into the Philadelphia Morehouse. In 1998 she moved to Lafayette Morehouse. In addition to teaching Morehouse courses she is also the Executive Director of Turn On To America, an all-volunteer nonprofit charity that feeds, houses and clothes needy families and individuals in the San Francisco Bay area.

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Sugar Goens-Baranco is Victor Baranco's daughter and was born and raised in the communal nursery at Lafayette Morehouse. Throughout high school and college she has been a straight "A" student. As an adult she decided to take a responsible role in the More community. She is an active and popular leader of communication groups called Mark Groups. Sugar is presently undertaking teacher training for Lafayette Morehouse while also attending Diablo Valley College. She looks forward to attending Cal Berkeley in the fall.

Ruth Perelstein moved into the Oakland Morehouse in 1981 and in 1983, she and her fiance Marty became housemothers and then married there. In 1984, they moved into Lafayette Community. Ruth is on the faculty and a member of the Sensuality Department, holding a Bachelor's degree in Communication, and PhDs in Lifestyles and Sensuality from More University.

Judi Corey has been involved with Morehouse since 1973. She is a teacher in the Sensuality Department. Judi earned PhDs in Sensuality and Lifestyles from More University. She graduated from Rutgers University/Livingston College with a BA in psychology. Judi has a long history in the performing arts, including ballet, choreography, and being the star of the Random Dancers. Additionally, Judi is the drummer of the Random Band.

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Millie and Jonathan Gross met at a Mark Group in 1990 and joined the New York Morehouse in 1991. They moved to Lafayette Morehouse in 2000 and then to the Hawaii Morehouse in 2002. They are in training to teach More courses. Millie has a Bachelor's in Psychology from Kalamazoo College. Jonathan graduated from SUNY Plattsburg with a degree in Sociology. He worked as a technical consultant in the telecommunications industry for 12 years.

Oceana Lott has lived communally in the Bay Area since 2001. She has made Morehouse her home for the last four years, the last two of which she was the housemother of the Oakland Morehouse. Oceana just moved to Lafayette Morehouse. Oceana has led Mark Groups and is currently training to teach More courses. She has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Seattle Pacific University in political science and human resource management. She has done post-graduate work at the California Institute of Integral Studies in the areas of psychology and spirituality.

George Sawyer was introduced to Morehouse in 1992 in Boston, MA and has been living communally since 1993. He lived at Lafayette Morehouse and then on his own for a while after which he shared the role of being the housemother of the Oakland Morehouse with Oceana Lott. He & Oceana are now living at Lafayette. He leads Mark Groups, teaches a number of courses in the Lafayette Morehouse Sensuality Department and is actively training to teach other courses. George attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and enjoys a telecommuting career as a high-tech sales executive.

Sierra Moore was born and raised in the Lafayette Morehouse community. She became interested in the More Philosophy at an early age and by the age of 16, after studying with Victor Baranco, she assisted in teaching the Hexing course. After completing a degree in Sustainable Design at the Evergreen State College she now lives at the Oakland Morehouse. Some of her other interests traveling, yoga, ecology and ceramics.

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Kiva Lindsey Goldstein, a Colorado native, took her first Morehouse course in the early 90's and has been living in the community since February of 2005. It was at Morehouse where she met and married her husband, Michael. Kiva studied at Naropa University in Boulder and was staff member of The World School of Massage in San Francisco where she was certified in Holistic Health Education and massage therapy. She is currently training to teach Morehouse courses, which includes participating in ongoing research in sensuality and pleasurable living. Recently Kiva and Michael spoke at an event in Colorado called Beyond the Bedroom. Kiva leads Mark Groups regularly and enjoys throwing parties, being a foodie, and going to concerts.

Michael Goldstein was born in Boston, grew up in New Jersey, and immigrated to Atlanta, Georgia in 1991. After earning a Communication/Theater degree from Rutgers's University, Michael toured the country with a children's theater and performed in the streets of Europe. Michael has been a self taught, professional children's entertainer since he was 16 years old and continues performing as The Sheriff of Fun to children's groups, corporate picnics and family events. For the last 15 years, Michael focused on performing for children with cancer and other special needs. Michael discovered the Atlanta More Community in 1996. He moved into that community in 1998 and to Lafayette Morehouse in 2004. From there, Michael soon began dating his future wife. In September of 2008, Kiva and Michael were married. Michael is a Mark Group leader and a member of the Speaker's Bureau.

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Jane Hillis has been a resident of Morehouse since 1992 and involved since 1974 in group living. She has a PhD in Sensuality from More University and is a faculty member of the Lafayette Morehouse Sensuality Department. Jane studied psychology at UCLA and later completed her liberal arts degree at Antioch University in Venice, CA. Jane and her husband Joe enjoy living communally and finding ways to have life improve as they age.

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Lynne Goodman lived in the New York Morehouse for 18 years, the last seven of which she and her husband took the leadership position of being the "housemothers." They have led many Mark Groups, introductory social evenings held around the country. Last year they moved to the Bay Area to live at the Oakland Morehouse. Lynne graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in English. She is now a graphic designer.

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Gerry Goodman attended his first Mark Group in 1987. He knew he was hooked when they not only noticed that he viewed women as his highest priority but that they considered this a righteous life devotion. He breathed a sigh of happiness that he'd found a home. Gerry and his wife Lynne have led hundreds of Mark Groups. They were housemothers of the New York Morehouse for seven years before deciding in 2010 to move to California and live in the Oakland Morehouse. Gerry's blog tells the story of their new life on the West Coast. He is currently a member of the Lafayette Morehouse Speakers Bureau.

The speakers tell of their own experiences and research with group living; they do not represent Lafayette Morehouse Inc.