Speakers

J. Christoph Arnold, Author

As an author, Mr. Arnold has written 11 books on subjects covering education, raising children, suffering, peace, dealing with violence, forgiveness. Mr. Arnold writes simply with young people in mind – he writes in the form of stories, real stories of real people, which children and young people love. Mr. Arnold has a natural rapport with young people. He has an amazing gift of relating to the everyday life issues that confront students and giving them good advice on dealing with them. Having grown up in a third world country, having been active in the Civil Rights Movement (a friend of M.L.King Jr.) and more recently having traveled a great deal, Mr. Arnold has broad experiences to draw from and bring to the table.

Hashim Garrett - Motivational Speaker

Walking down a Brooklyn, New York, street with some older ‘friends’ (gangstas) one day, 15-year-old Hashim Garrett was shot six times by another boy with a semi-automatic rifle. Suffering a spinal cord injury, Hashim was paralyzed from the waist down, yet he has never let his paralysis hold him back from a life of remarkable change and achievements.

Hashim has recently begun work on his Master’s degree in human services at Lincoln University. After spending six years presenting Harvard Violence Prevention Curriculum to more than 15,000 US students, Hashim founded ‘Wisdom and Understanding LLC’, a conflict resolution and life enhancement organization that educates adolescents about the causes of conflicts and the importance of education, and enlightens all people to the consequences of their actions.

Steven McDonald, NYPD Detective

A detective with the New York Police Department, Steven McDonald was questioning three youths in Central Park one hot summer day in 1986 when one of them shot him three times – a brutal attack that he narrowly survived, but which left him paralyzed from the neck down, and dependent on a tracheotomy. He had been married less than a year, and his wife was two months pregnant. Currently, McDonald is speaking to thousands of students in schools up and down the East Coast. Aside from recounting the harrowing events of the day that changed his life, McDonald focuses on his long road to inner and outer recovery – a remarkable journey through anguish and anger to peace that began with a decision to forgive his attacker. He tells audiences why he feels that "the only thing worse than a bullet in my spine would have been revenge." In December of 2003, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly acknowledged his extraordinary contribution to the community with a surprise double promotion to Detective first grade.

Chief Charles Williams (Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY)

Born and raised on Long Island, Chief Williams started his police career in 1985 at the New York City Police Academy assigned to Housing. After a 3-year stint in the South Bronx he came to Cornwall in 1988. After being a patrolman and sergeant for the Town of Cornwall Police 1988-1991 he trans­ferred to the Village Police in 1991 as a patrolman, promoted to sergeant in 1995, and then Chief of Police in 2001. Chief Williams has been teaching "Introduction to Criminal Justice", a senior only elective, at New York Military Academy in Cornwall since 2003. In addition to all this, and his family, which includes three lovely daughters, Chief Williams is a strong advocate of forgiveness, both on a personal and professional level. Like NYPD Detective Steven McDonald, he feels forgiveness is cen­tral to breaking all cycles of violence.

Kareem Maxwell, Speaker and Author

Kareem was born on May 21, 1982 and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He is the youngest of three brothers, raised by two Christian parents. He graduated from Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn in June of 2000. After graduating from high school, he attended college in Orangeburg, South Carolina. At college he started in the fast lane: partying, women, drugs, alchohol. On the way home to a Christmas break, he shared a blunt with a fellow traveler; a questionable character. Several days later he came down with flu-like symptoms, which was diagnosed as Bacterial Meningitis. Kareem survived, one of the one percent, but lost his hands. After his recovery, Kareem had two major goals, which were to write his autobiography, now accomplished, and continuing his college career, which he is now doing. He has a bright outlook for his future. About his book, Kareem says: "I hope this book can bring America’s youth to realize the dangers of the wrong lifestyle and mentality. I never thought that such a tragedy could have happened to me, or was possible. I felt that I was an exception, invincible. None of us can take life for granted."

Sergio Argueta Executive Director, S.T.R.O.N.G.

As a young man, Sergio was an extremely active part of gang life. In one of his recent presentations he told the students: "I loved gangs – I simply love the life, the support, the caring, the protection. But I did NOT join gang violence; I thought I was part of a Brotherhood!" Then the reality – the violence that kills so many, one of them his brother and friend; the violence that put his best friend in prison for 12 years for following on decisions he, Sergio, had made. These things are on his conscience and were the reason for his conversion, change, and his mission to young people now. Sergio founded and is Executive Director of S.T.R.O.N.G. (Struggling to Reunite our New Generation.)

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