Las Positas College Psi Beta Psychology Honor Society and Psychology Club Speakers Programs The Psychology Club and Psi Beta Psychology Honor Society sponsor two speakers programs: 1) psych club meeting guest speakers, and 2) the Distinguished Speakers in Psychology Program. At our weekly meetings, we regularly present guest speakers on a wide range of topics including mental health, mental illness, positive psychology, majoring in psychology, careers in psychology. The Distinguished Speakers in Psychology Program brings world-class speakers to the college.

Las Positas College Distinguished Speakers in Psychology Program

Spring 2012 Dr. Robert Sapolsky World Renowned Scientists and Leading Authority on Stress, Health, and Coping presents Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers A Facinating Exploration of Stress, Health and Coping ROBERT SAPOLSKY is a professor of biological sciences at Stanford University and of neurology at Stanford's School of Medicine. He is also a research associate at the National Museums of Kenya. While his primary research, on stress and neurological disease, is in the laboratory, he makes annual trips to the Serengeti of East Africa to study a population of wild baboons and the relationship between personality and patterns of stress-related disease in these animals. Dr. Sapolsky is widely recognized as one of the finest science writers of our time. He is the best-selling author of several books, including Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, A Primate's Memoir, The Trouble with Testosterone, and Monkeyluv, and is a frequent contributor to such publications as The New Yorker, Discover, and Scientific American. His work has also been profiled on PBS and in the National Geographic special documentary STRESS: Portrait of a Killer. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2012 7 pm Lecture Hall ~ Room 2420 Admission: $10. Parking $2. (tickets will be onsale at the LPC bookstore after Feb 1). Purchase tickets early ~ seating is limited.

Dr. Temple Grandin The world's most well known and accomplished person with autism Subject of the Emmy Award Winning Movie "Temple Grandin" TEMPLE GRANDIN is a professor, scientist, inventor, best-selling author, and is recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on autistic spectrum disorders. She has published numerous articles on autism and is the best selling author of "Thinking in Pictures: and Other Reports from My Life with Autism." Her work in the field has encouraged new directions in research on autism and has inspired thousands.

"The Real Rain Man" Kim Peek Inspiration for the Academy Award Winning move "Rain Man". KIM PEEK possessed one of the most extraordinary minds ever studied. A on-of-a-kind "megasavant" Kim stored a seemingly infinite amount of information and could retrieve it from his mental library as fast as an internet search engine. In 2007, Kim was made an honorary member of the LPC Psychology Club and Psi Beta Psychology Honor Society. Until his death in 2009, Kim and his dad Fran were spoke at LPC each semester.

Dr. William C. Dement The Father of Modern Sleep Medicine A frequent speaker at LPC, Stanford professorDR. WILLIAM DEMENT is the world's leading authority on sleep. Dr. Dement is the founder of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Center, the world's first sleep disorder clinic, the author of the definitive textbook on sleep disorders, and the founding co-editor of the scientific journal, Sleep. He has written or co-authored more than 500 scientific publications and has written the authoritative best-selling book for the general public, The Promise of Sleep.

Jeff Bell KCBS News Anchor Obsessive Compulsive Foundation, National Spokesperson Co-founder: Adversity2Advocacy JEFF BELL is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and radio news anchor. His two books, REWIND, REPLAY, REPEAT (Hazelden/2007) and WHEN IN DOUBT, MAKE BELIEF (New World Library/2009), have established Bell as a leading authority on mental health and motivation. A highly popular speaker, Jeff is a regular LPC Psych Club speaker.

Mel Stuart Award winning director and producer of over 180 films and documentaries, including the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. MEL STUART (right) presents the World Premiere of "The Mystery of Sleep" documentary at LPC.

Las Positas College Psychology Conference 2010 with Dr. William Dement and Mel Stuart

Dr. Ratey speaking at LPC.

Dr. John Ratey Harvard Professor and Bestselling author JOHN RATEY is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and has a private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1986 he founded the Boston Center for the Study of Autism, and in 1988 he founded a new study group of the American Psychiatric Association focused on the study of aggression, which grew out of his research and development of novel drug treatments for aggressive behavior. During this time, Dr. Ratey lectured internationally on aggression and disturbances in the brain that affect social functioning. In the 1980s, Dr. Ratey and Dr. Edward Hallowell co-authored Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood through Adulthood (1994), the first in a series of books that demystify the disorder. Dr. Ratey also co-authored Shadow Syndromes (1997) with Catherine Johnson, PhD, in which he describes the phenomenon of milder forms of clinical disorders. In 2000, he authored the bestselling book, A User's Guide to the Brain which translates how neuroscience affects emotions, behavior and overall psychology. Since 1998 Dr. Ratey has been selected each year as one of the best doctors in America by his peers. Most recently, Dr. Ratey was the recipient of the 2006 Excellence in Advocacy award from the non-profit group PE4Life, for his work to promote the adoption of regular, aerobic-based physical education.