Linda managed & co-authored the hands-on, highly practical CWG Guidebook Series. Linda co-developed this series of companion books to Neale Donald Walsch's Conversations with God books with a 14-member SNS Co-Author's Team from 2006-2009.  Linda wrote the HtG Guidebook to Neale's book, Happier than God, a lifeskills, body-mind-spirit companion guide to an empowering way to live life happier!  

 

See:      Happier than God Guidebook     and   "Search Inside" for Linda's HtG Table of Contents for full content information

 

--------------                        --------------------

 

LLR Leadership History

Linda served as a

Co-founder, Director of Schools, Corporate Executive Board of Directors 

2000-2010

for the formerly named: 

HeartLight International, HeartLight Education, School of the New Spirituality, Inc.

Renamed in 2011:    CWG4KIDS    --   www.cwg4kids.com

USA 501(c) 3 Nonprofit Education Corp

Learning Programs & Schools opened :

~ America ~ Canada ~ South Africa ~ England ~ France ~ Italy ~ Australia ~ Brazil ~ Mexico ~ 

 

 

   =============================================================

Nonprofit Background - Professional History

 

Linda Lee Ratto, Ed.M.

 

Executive Director ( SNS, Inc 2006-2010  ~  HeartLight Co-Founder 2000-2006 )

 

2011 -- see new websites:  www.cwg4kids.com  +   www.cwg.org 

 

Author, Educator, former Principal, and CEO of her own education company, Linda came to the School of the New Spirituality (SNS) via HeartLight International and HeartlIght Education, Inc., (HLE) where she served for five years as a co-founder, board of directors member, daily operations manager, and site development director to establish schools and learning programs in the USA and South Africa.  Initially, contracted by Recreation Foundation to write grants and gel the definition of HeartLight back in 2000-01, Linda co-created the HeartLight/CwG Model of learning with the HLE  team from 2001-2006. She was HLE’s first board secretary and school development director. She facilitated the opening of three HLE international non-profit umbrella organizations (USA, Australia and South Africa) and three learning communities, five obtained their own independent 501C3 or charitable trust status. In response to Neale’s pledge to open the School for the New Spirituality, in March 2006 the HLE board voted unanimously to gift back the HeartLight non-profit to Neale in order to empower the School of the New Spirituality into immediate existence.

 

The HLE Model manual was compiled by Linda and was a grounded-in-CwG basis for the School of the New Spirituality’s initial programs sold in the form of kits, downloadable lessons and the complete manual of  New Spirituality how-to steps. These materials guided families in opening their own SNS enrichment programs from homeschooling groups, book clubs, retreats, camps, Saturday fun days and after school/after work classes.  During these years, 2006-2010, SNS offered knowledgeable assistance to those wishing to open an SNS program. Customized working weekends were available and many youth programs were launched independently and in conjunction with SNS; especially active were SNS Atlanta, SNS France and SNS/CWG Dallas.  For more history read the early years background below and you may contact Linda atRatto@mindspring.com

 

When not working with the CwG material in practical applications for children and their leaders, Linda writes and keynotes as “The Un-Labeler”. Her out-of-the-box counsel processes for empowering children of all talent levels to reach their highest potential are her hallmarks.  She has served on numerous boards and guest professorships in such respected institutions as: Northwestern University, UCLS/Shriners, University of Munster, Germany, Emory University, Georgia State University and NYU, to name a few.  See the story about two Middle East Tours with the US Embassy, World Vision, UNICEF, and Atlanta-based Coca-cola co-sponsors.   Note...See Linda's book: (dis)ABILITY

 

In 2004-2006, besides the Heartlight /SNS nonprofit work, Linda's children's book was featured as the flagship document for a campaign to educated and ultimate establish a Ministry of Education in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

 

Her children’s book, WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE, was translated into Azeri (a Turkish-Russian dialect) and is on that nation’s required reading for all public school fourth graders, spanning 4,000 schools with 200,000 copies in children’s hands to date).

 

The accompanying Where Dream Come True Leader Guide and 3-CD audiobook were featured as the primary public relations documents for the non-profit World Vision program “The Integration of Children with Disabilities in Society, Culture and School.”  In 2005, Azeri children with disabilities were mainstreamed into ten public schools for the first time in Azerbaijan.  As part of a government task force to help establish a education avenue for children with challenges, a combined effort ws spearheaded by the USA-Azeri Ambassador Reno Harnish’s wife, Leslie, who was World Vision’s Children Program Director.  This program was a life purpose journey in the fundamental daily application of the premise “We are all one and there is not separation between us,” a tenet of Neale's work,as well.

 

Linda is known for her organizational skills and relationship-building talents that absolutely bring dreams into this reality.  Her five years interlacing CwG messages into daily life for children and adults uniquely equips her to open programs and guide people innumerous types of organizations and businesses.  The closing of not only her own school for the gifted, but some HeartLight learning communities, has taught her key self-sustainment processes, which are implemented in her consultant work today.

 

Her knowledge, applied, directly affects the next generations and their adult leaders through her 2010-2013 public school work developing a nonviolent communication, restorative practices program in six high schools in Atlanta's Rockdale Cunty Public Schools via her partnership with Civil Services LLC.

 

If Saddam could so affect the world in just a few years – what can we do together ? Now is the time, the leader you are looking for is YOU. Check-out the new website... www.cwg4kids.com.   

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Dalai Lama, is quoted in Violence and Compassion: Conversations with the Dalai Lama, by Jean-Claude Carriere. His Eminence states, "I believe deeply that we must find, all of us together, a new spirituality. This new concept ought to be elaborated alongside the religions in such a way that all people of good will could adhere to it. We need a new concept, a lay spirituality. We ought to promote this concept with the help of scientists. It could lead us to set up what we are all looking for -- a secular morality."

 

 'New Spirituality' Definition:                                                                                                                               

 "The "New Spirituality" is a way of honoring  our natural impulse toward the Divine without making others wrong for the way in which they are doing it."     ~ Neale Donald Walsch

 

=========================                                               ============================

 

Back in 2000...

Spiritual Education expanded with and through Neale Donald Walsch...

 

A Little HeartLight History...

 

Background Information about

Linda Lee Ratto, Ed.M.

HeartLight Education (HLE) Co-Founder

and former Education Director

 

 

The Initial Visionary

The word “HeartLight” was coined by Neale Donald Walsch in many of his best selling Conversations with God books. (1)  In his books, Neale questions the content of standard schooling throughout the world and poses to his readers the challenge of creating a different way of educating our young. He suggests building an out-of-the-box curriculum centered around awareness, honesty and responsibility, through classes and experiences that encourage learners and leaders to discover and create answers for themselves.

 

The Vision and 1st Founding Teams

Neale and his non-profit foundation staff put their heads together and produced numerous brochures and beginning guides that included the concepts written in Neale’s books. Parents and educators flew from across the globe to Ashland, Oregon,  Neale’s home base, to help with the new HeartLight concept. The materials and collaboration in the first two powerful HeartLight conferences, in the summers of 2000 and 2001. Hundreds of educators and parents gathered together to define a new way to “school.”  These founding groups quickly discovered that words such as “school” and “curriculum” did not accurately explain the full HeartLight concept.

 

 

2000-2001 HeartLight Angels Arrive

Neale hired Linda Lee Ratto, Ed.M. to write a series of grants to jumpstart the HeartLight concept throughout 2000-2001.  And out of the first HeartLight Conference in August 2000, a team of four angels volunteered – yes without pay – to dedicate their time, talent and expertise to open the first HeartLight  in Ashland.  Brian Davis of Toledo, Ohio and a seasoned public school principal was the first director. He co-teamed with three teachers who moved across the country to be HeartLight Lead-Learners: David Sherwin of South Carolina, Kelly Tisdel of Chicago and Tom Shelstad of Minnesota. On the second floor of the ReCreation Foundation building, close to a dozen children of all ages lived learning together.  However, without a written framework, guide and no capital, the team came together under HeartLight co-director Lisette Larkins and announced at the August 2001 HL conference that the first school was closing unless funding and deeper guidance became available.

 

Conscious Competence

molded teams with

Creativity, Collaboration and Compassion !

As it happened, a world renown education reformist was driven by the HeartLight Vision written in Neale’s books, to also attend that second HL conference in August 2001.  Five time author Dr. William G. Spady, of Colorado and South Africa, stepped up to rally the HL conference attendees into an understanding of his core work “The Five Cs” (2) as it could be placed into the HeartLight learning vision. A new leadership team was born out of that conference. This group gathered in a HeartLight Leadership team workshop in Portland, Oregon in January 2002. Nineteen souls over three days created the first “HeartLight Inverted Pyramid” framework which was to eventually guide four teams into action by opening HeartLight Learning Communities (HLCs). Learning is deeply personal and difficult to place into words. Yet through heart-felt vision, hard work and numerous years of dedication, HeartLight Education’s paradigm-shifting learning system has developed into a framework dynamic in Purpose, Premises, Principles, Priorities, Practices, and Processes.(2)

 

 

Enthused by the newly evolved leadership team that was grounded-in decades of child-centered, person-honoring education, administration and out-of-the-box reformation experience, Neale gifted “HeartLight” – its name, vision and concepts – to the new HeartLight founding team. Based on Neale's core New Spirituality principles, HeartLight International was born in 2001 then incorporated as a non-profit education leadership service organization in March of 2002. HeartLight’s co-founders were: Bill Spady, PhD,  Linda Lee Ratto, EdM,  James Colen, Shaktari Belew, Scott Kiere, Deborah Oliff, and Pam Spady, with special service leadership by Ken Miller, MD. Bette Moore  joined the team as curriculum specialist as we launched days schools .

 

 

First “Domino” of the HL Non-Profit Organization

As reported by the first HeartLight teachers in Ashland, salaries and expertise were needed to open learning communities and sustain them. James Colen, a Harvard graduate and heart-centered philanthropist, pledged millions to see the HeartLight Vision in practice. A single man, he wanted to build HeartLight Learning Communities so his own children would one day attend an HLC.  Three schools were born in 2002.  Under HeartLight International and HeartLight Education’s (HLE) leadership, HeartLight South Africa (Port Elizabeth), HeartLight Toledo (Ohio, USA) and HeartLight Chicago (Illinois, USA) were opened and received their independent charitable status as non-profit learning environments in 2003.

 

 

Another Phase

However, as you most probably are aware if you have read this far, traditional school systems throughout the world are not eager to make room for independent privates schools. Yet we persisted.  Parents, grandparents, teachers, and administrators in local, state, regional, and country systems see the overwhelming need for a different way of learning for children whose needs are not met in current programs. In the United States alone, some two million families homeschool their children. This is one way to create a individualized learning environment for our young.

 

 

Another hard fact is that opening a full day school is not only costly and time-encompassing, but often times regulations do not permit and may eventually stop private school creation in its tracks. Given the red tape labyrinth, numerous families who had been poised to give their children a chance for a different way of learning chose not to take the leap and register. This weary community environment, along with limits in self-sustained funding via critical number of students, caused the Toledo and Chicago programs to close. Yet kids are still looking for alternatives.  For example, there are two million homeschooling families in the States, so there is a context for education systems shifting. Candidly, it is challenging to walk alongside mainstream education systems that have existed for centuries -- both public and traditional private school systems.

 

 

Presently, HeartLight Port Elizabeth is still a learning community, though it encompasses all ages rather than their original teen focus in 2003-04.  The HeartLight South African Trust remains viable and numerous new spirituality, community-needs programs are underway in HLSouth Africa various parts of the world, though not exclusively under the HeartLight/SNS name or its non-profit corporation umbrella. 

 

 

New Spirituality Programs Renamed

Late in 2005, Neale refocused again on education for the next generations. Wishing to boost his efforts and allow a New Spirituality education to lace the planet further, the HLE board members votedunanimously to combine their 501(c)3 non-profit with Neale's renewed education vision. HeartLight was renamed the "School of the New Spirituality, Inc." and became specifically focused on new spirituality kits and materials,and youth enrichment learning programs honoring the spirit and heart+mind+ body of each child.  SNS programs built grassroots, community-based groups in Europe, Canada, and across the USA.  There was a new professional SNS Board of Directors and Neale Donald Walsch, as Founder, became Director Emeritus. Linda was the Executive Director of SNS, appointed by Neale.

 

Please see www.CWG.org for numerous current expanded programs, workshops and events, since the 21st century began! There are dozens of opportunities, which can inspire and guide any one who desires to start a new spirituality group -- from a book club centered on one of the 11 SNS Guidebooksto joining the learning memberships on the www.cwg4kids.com website.  There are free downloadable materials and some modest products for your personal and professional use.  Navigate these websites and see how your Heart can Light-up! Keep visiting because CWG (Conversations with God ) messages are always blossoming and evolving as millions of CWG readers are inspired to serve... 

 

 

(1)   NDW’s books may be viewed & researched via:   www.cwg.org   and    www.nealedonaldwalsch.com

 

(2) The Five Cs are within the fifth level of the HLE "V" Vision and are HL's Intentions and Priorities, also found in Dr.Wm.G.Spady's books,  Contact Dr. Spady directly for more info.

==============================================

William G. Spady, PhD -  HLE & HLSA Co-Founder, President & Advisor

 

          After a thirty-five year career as a professor, author, lecturer, researcher, editor, international consultant, and leader of major change efforts in education, Dr. William Spady joined the HeartLight Education team as its Director and leader of its Learning System Development team.  Bill’s five books and numerous published articles all reflect his incisive outside-the-box approach to educational change.  They contain many original concepts, frameworks, models, and practical strategies that present significant learner-centered, future-focused, personally empowering alternatives to traditional practice.  He joined the HeartLight family at the August, 2001 Symposium and served on a three-person leadership team until February, 2002 when Neale Donald Walsch asked him to lead the HeartLight initiative.  Bill’s wife Pam is currently coordinating the HeartLight effort in the country of South Africa with HLE Advisor John Ryan.  Bill's major enjoyments include listening to classical music, skiing, bicycling, scuba diving and reading anything that expands his awareness and deepens his spirituality.