On Wednesday, Jan. 16, the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University will start their Wheelhouse Talks lecture series at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, located in downtown Grand Rapids.

The Wheelhouse Talks will feature cross-disciplinary local leaders sharing their experiences along with their philosophies on life and leadership, according to the Hauenstein Center website.

The first speaker of 2013 will be Kari Reinbold, the co-founder and owner of the Funky Buddha Yoga Hothouse, which has locations in Grand Rapids’ Eastown and in Holland. Reinbold will take a look at leadership from a health and wellness perspective, being that she is also a Baptiste trained yoga instructor and is “passionate about health, healing and encouraging personal and physical growth in her students,” said the Hauenstein Center’s Victoria Vandragt.

In the hour-long seminar, those who attend will learn that being a leader doesn’t necessarily mean being a world-wide known figure, it’s about being a leader in your own community, Vandragt said.

“Transformational leadership can and does take place throughout the community,” Vandragt said. “The purpose of this talk is to highlight a person in our own community who is demonstrating that kind of leadership.”

Inspired by Ralph Hauenstein’s life of leadership and service, the Hauenstein Center is dedicated to raising a community of leaders with aid of the Cook Leadership Academy which helps students at GVSU become more ethical and take on leadership roles in their community through the help of mentorship programs and positive engagement from professionals such as in The Wheelhouse Talks, according to the Hauenstein Center website.

Kari Reinbold’s Wheelhouse Talk will take place on Jan. 16 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. at the UICA, located at 2 West Fulton in Grand Rapids. Wheelhouse talks are free and open to the public.
For more information about the UICA, visit www.uica.org, and to learn more about the Funky Buddha Yoga Hothouse, visit www.yogahothouse.com.

To view previous Wheelhouse Talks and for more information on the 2013 Wheelhouse Talks and Kerri Reinbold’s seminar, visit hauensteincenter.org/wheelhouse, contact Victoria Vandragt at [email protected], or email [email protected] for direct contact to the Hauenstein Center.

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