Anne Basting, is the Founder and CEOÂ of Time
Slips, 2016 MacArthur Fellow, and author. Basting is a theater artist and educator who developed an alternative concept of aging, one that focuses on its possibilities as well as its challenges and views sustained emotional connections as critical to our well-being as we age. Her breakthrough project, Time
Slips, uses the art of improvisation to engage older adults with cognitive impairment in imagining stories, poems, and other forms of creative expression in response to inspiring cues. Basting’s perspective on aging and the power of stories is changing the perceptions of caregivers, family members, and policy makers around the artistic and creative capabilities of older adults, regardless of age or cognitive status. Anne Basting received a B.A. from Colorado College (1987), an M.A. (1990) from the University of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. (1995) from the University of Minnesota. She is currently a professor of theater in the Peck School of the Arts at the
University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee (UWM).
Charlene O’Rourke, Taoyewakanwi-Her Ways Are Sacred, is an Oglala Lakota woman who follows the spiritual and cultural beliefs of her ancestors. Currently working as Native Consultant for Native Connections Inc. She has served as a ceremonial musician and singer for different types of events and ceremonies over a span of 40 years. Charlene is also a professional composer and performer. She is working with NASA on a project studying the Indigenous Lakota Star Constellation. A motivational speaker and an International Certified Addictions Counselor and Community Specialist and Consultant, she serves both rural and urban Native communities including in federal and state prisons.
Host
Liz Warren, a fourth-generation Arizonan, is a storyteller, teacher and writer. She directs the South Mountain Community College Storytelling Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, which received the 2014 New Times Best of Phoenix award for “Best Place to Learn to Tell Tales.” Her textbook, The Oral Tradition Today: An Introduction to the Art of Storytelling is used at colleges around the nation. She serves as storytelling coach for the monthly Arizona Storytellers events produced by the Arizona Republic. In July 2014 she received the Oracle Award for Service and Leadership from the National Storytelling Network. In September 2014 she was named to the New Times list of 100 Creatives in Phoenix.