After a year-long retreat from public life, Phyllis has decided to resume a limited schedule of speaking engagements beginning in June, 2010. She looks forward to once again dialoguing with audiences about some of her deepest humanitarian concerns.

Phyllis will carefully limit the number of bookings on her calendar, reserving ample time for her personal life and her creative work.

While she regards her public speaking primarily as an act of service, in most cases Phyllis will require a modest honorarium and reimbursement of all travel expenses associated with her appearance.

Speaking Engagement Topics

 
"The Emptiness of Our Hands." Despite more than ten years having passed, most audiences still want to hear Phyllis speak about the 47 days she spent in 1999 living voluntarily with her friend James Murray on the streets of Columbus, Ohio, the nation's fifteenth-largest city and their home at the time. Phyllis and James didn't go out on the streets to satisfy idle curiosity or experience a strange new world. They didn't go out to save anyone or fix anything. They went out for one primary reason: to be as present as possible to every person they met. Doing so, they were reminded just how difficult the practice of compassion can be.

After recovering from their time on the streets, Phyllis and James co-authored The Emptiness of Our Hands, a powerful (for some readers, "life-changing") chronicle of their experiences. Over the years thousands of copies of this book have been sold and a portion of the proceeds returned to programs benefiting homeless persons in Columbus.

When speaking on this subject, Phyllis focuses on "the practice of being present," the core discipline of her life that led her to the streets in the first place. She also favors a lengthy question & answer session at the conclusion of her remarks.

Additional topic possibilities. Phyllis would also be happy to speak on a variety of other topics, either one listed below or another of your choosing (if she believes that she would have something useful to say):

• The practice of being present


• The inseparability of personal spirituality and social conscience


• The significance of the "insignificant"


• Living compassion


• Songwriting, spirituality and social concern

Fees & Other Requirements for Speaking Engagements

If you're interested in having Phyllis speak, please contact her as soon as possible to discuss the possibility. (She can also put you in touch with James Murray, if you'd like him to be involved.)

Fees and expenses. Phyllis asks for a modest honorarium as well as transportation and (if necessary) lodging. If you don't think you can afford to cover her expenses, contact her anyway. You never know what might be possible. For example, she might be able to stay with one of her friends or relatives in your area, thereby reducing costs.

Scheduling. Because Phyllis carefully limits her public appearances, please contact her about a possible booking well in advance of your desired date. A lead time of at least several months is advisable.

Visual presentation option. Phyllis is comfortable speaking with or without an accompanying visual presentation. Just let her know your preference. Please note that if you request this option, you would be responsible for providing an LCD projector appropriate to your venue and either a large screen or bare wall, easily viewed by an audience, on which to project the program.

Piano performance option. If you'd like, Phyllis could perform some of her original piano music in connection with her speaking engagement. Please note that the piano at your venue should be in good working condition (i.e., in tune, all the keys play, all the pedals work).

Book and CD sales. Phyllis asks for the opportunity to sell her books and CDs at all events. For this purpose she will need a table, a helpful assistant and possibly a cash box. She would be only too happy to mingle with your event's participants after her speech, selling and signing her work.

Food drive. When appropriate for your event, Phyllis would suggest holding a food drive for a local community food bank in connection with her appearance.

Publicity Materials

To help promote the success of your event, Phyllis makes the following publicity materials (PDF and JPG files) available at no charge. Just contact Phyllis to request what you need:

• Press bio


• General publicity photo (black and white or color)

• Sample press release


• Interviews on request

Please contact Phyllis soon regarding a possible speaking engagement. If you don't receive a reply from her within a couple of days, please call her at (605) 692-7001, as your e-mail message (or her response) might have gotten caught in a spam filter.