About Us - Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Jim Garrison

Jim Garrison founded and served as President of the Gorbachev Foundation/ USA, which set the stage for the establishment in 1995 of the State of the World Forum, a San Francisco based non-profit institution created to establish a global network of leaders dedicated to creating a more sustainable global civilization. With President Gorbachev as its Convening Chairman, the Forum convenes leaders from around the world and a spectrum of disciplines to its annual and regional conferences; creates action-oriented strategic initiatives, and has catalyzed the creation of several independent organizations. Garrison was born in China and grew up in Taiwan.

After returning to the US, he began college at Pepperdine University (1969-70), attended the University of Tel Aviv in 1972, and received a B.A. magna cum laude in World History from the Santa Clara University (1973). He then received a double M.T.S. in Christology and History of Religion from Harvard Divinity School (1975); and a Ph.D. in Philosophical Theology from Cambridge University (1982). Garrison published his first book in 1980, The Plutonium Culture (SCM). This was followed by The Darkness of God: Theology After Hiroshima (SCM/1982); The Russian Threat: Myths and Realities (Gateway Books/ 1983); The New Diplomats (Resurgence Press/1984); Civilization and the Transformation of Power (Paraview Press/2000); and America As Empire: Global Leader or Rogue Power? (Barrett Koehler/2004). Jim Garrison also became President and Chairman of Wisdom University on February 2, 2005; remains President and Chairman of State of the World Forum; and is a Founding Partner in Mosaic Networks, a business development company.

James Hickman

Jim Hickman spent 30 years (1972-2002) developing economic, professional and cultural relations between the United States and the countries within the former Soviet bloc. Recently, he has been developing innovative projects in several countries in Latin America. Hickman has 15 years experience in the financial development of small businesses and start-up companies both in the US and overseas. He spent the 1990’s as a telecommunications executive, co-founding the Russian long-distance company, Rustel, in 1992 and serving as its President from 1992-1997. From 1989-1992, Hickman was CEO of AJ Ventures, Inc., a US company that established commercial enterprises in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia. In 1993, as Vice President of the Gorbachev Foundation, he worked with President Gorbachev (and Jim Garrison) on the Foundation’s international programs. Hickman served as the Director of Programs and Business Affairs for State of the World Forum from 2000-2004 before joining the Forum’s Board of Directors. He co-founded, with Jim Garrison, Mosaic Networks in 2003 as a business consulting firm and oversees its telecommunications contract with Polarnet Project Holdings which is installing an undersea cable system beneath the Arctic Circle that will link Europe, Asia, and North America. Hickman serves on the Executive Committee of the Citizen Democracy Corps, promoting and developing enterprises and NGO’s in emerging and transitional economies. He has a special interest in socially responsible investments and is a member of the Social Venture Network. Hickman wrote the Harper-Collins book, Your Y2K Personal Protection Plan, a citizens’ guide to home and business preparedness for large-scale infrastructure and service breakdowns due to natural or human-made disasters. As a certified instructor from the Institute of HeartMath, he is skilled in teaching emotional preparedness tools for emergency and high-stress situations. Hickman has written numerous articles for such publications as the Wall Street Journal Europe, the Moscow Times, and Inc., Magazine. He is currently writing a book on the water crisis in the United States. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona and Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Caroline Myss

Dr. Caroline Myss began her career as a medical intuitive in 1984 when she met C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D., a Harvard trained neurosurgeon with an interest in the science of medical intuition. They began a colleagueship that continues to this day. During their early years together, Norm helped Caroline to develop her skills by having her conduct health readings on his patients. During this time, Dr. Myss developed the field of Energy Anatomy, a science that partners specific emotional/ psychological/ physical/spiritual stress patterns with the specific diseases these patterns create or influence. This analysis proved so accurate that it became the subject of a book co-written by Caroline and Norm, The Creation of Health. In 1996, Caroline compiled her medical intuitive experience with her work in the field of human consciousness for the book, Anatomy of the Spirit, a New York Times bestseller published in 18 languages. Her next book, Why People Don't Heal and How They Can also became a New York Times bestseller, as did her fifth book, Sacred Contracts. In 2003, Caroline founded CMED (Caroline Myss Education), her own educational institute. The Institute draws students from 19 nations and across the United States. In 2004, her sixth book, Invisible Acts of Power, again was a New York Times bestseller. Caroline's latest book, Entering the Castle: Spiritual Direction for Dialoging With Your Soul, published in 2007, has also become a bestseller. Caroline is on the Board of Directors of Wisdom University.