45 Conversations Media & Education Ltd.

Early Learning & Child Care Consulting + Online ECE Workshops

Saying Goodbye to Liz Strauss

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Liz Strauss was a Master Teacher

In September 2020, we lost both a friend and significant influencer of the work we do here at 45 Conversations.  Liz Strauss was an international business strategist, coach and educational product designer. We were very sad when she passed away after a lengthy journey with Cancer.

For over 35 years Liz built educational products for educators, teachers and ECE to adults; mainstream, ESL, GED — for learners both online and off. Liz worked on and guided products used in every English-speaking country in the world.

Her book Anything You Put Your Mind To, which was published by GeniusShared Press, is an incredibly profound story carefully crafted to take readers on a deeply moving personal growth adventure; with Liz’s wit and wisdom as the guide. Additionally, for more than 10 years Liz also wrote on her blog — Successful-blog.com as well as on her writing blog.

The Dean of the College of Education at Bradley University once described Liz by saying, “In my life, I’ve met five master teachers. She is one.”

Without question, Liz was indeed a master teacher. Those who knew her, worked with her or who attended her skillfully designed SOBCon and GeniusShared events can attest to the many ways that Liz was able to make learning and collaboration truly life changing.

Liz’s writing, thinking, wisdom and learning events contributed to the very fabric of what 45 Conversations has grown into as an education company. In recent years, we were honoured to have Liz serve as our Educational & Professional Development Advisor. Her guidance and mentorship impacted virtually every aspect of our ECE Workshops, ECE Retreats and Child Care and Business Consulting Services.

We have immense gratitude to Liz for all that she did to make our learning experiences both inspiring and meaningful. The legacy of her wisdom and thinking will live on through all that we do in the years to come.

Personal Reflections from Jane Boyd About Liz

Liz Strauss was not only an Advisor to 45 Conversations and my business partner in GeniusShared — but she was my wisest mentor and one of my closest lifelong friends.

Our relationship quickly grew out of conversations that began on Twitter almost 10 years ago. In one of our earliest message exchanges, Liz told me “You will know about me long after I leave the planet.” She said those words a few years before she was diagnosed with Cancer. At the time it struck me as one of the strangest, yet most profound things to say.

In the years that followed, I came to understand that Liz intuitively “saw and knew things” in ways unlike others. Her gift was one of her greatest abilities and it was what made her truly who she was. Her insight into others was both uncanny and brilliant. And it was something that she only ever used for good.

Liz was wickedly smart, absolutely direct and truly caring — in a Liz-like way.  She was also one of the firmest teachers I’ve ever had. Her thinking about education and instructional design and about the way people engage in collaborative learning significantly influenced my own thinking.

And Liz’s definition of trust — plus her rigorous application of it — in personal and business relationships as well as in learning environments dramatically changed the way that I think about everything in my own life — both personally and professionally.

Liz and I shared a multitude of incredible moments over our time together. My gratitude to her is both absolute and immense. And I know that her thinking, wisdom and values are with me forever.

I miss Liz so much — but I also know that she was right. I will indeed know her long after she left the planet. She is in me — always.

I will spend the rest of my life striving to be everything that Liz saw in me — as a human being, as a woman, as a teacher and as an entrepreneur.

Goodbye my dear Liz. I love you more than words can say.

Liz and Jane at SOBCon

Celebrating the Legacy of Liz Strauss

After Liz’s passing, many friends and professional colleagues came together to share stories about the legacy of her work and the contributions that she made. Much of the event was captured on video and is available for viewing below.

Exciting opportunities – ECE Retreats, ECE Workshops & Anything You Put Your Mind To

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Dear fellow ECEs,

At ECE Workshops & 45 Conversations we have been busy putting together all kinds of incredible professional development opportunities for you and your colleagues. I’m just so excited about everything that is happening!

As you may be aware, we are running an incredible ECE Retreat, this coming October. It will be held in Tsawwassen at the Cammidge House – which is located very close to the Boundary Bay Beach. We still have a few spaces left — so would love you to join us. You can learn more by visiting ECERetreats.com

We are also have a great ECE Workshop that you can complete online that is worth 6 hours of professional development! You can register at ECEWorkshops.com. Our current workshop — It’s Not About Easy — It’s About Following The Child — receives raves reviews from fellow ECEs. If you have not yet completed this workshop — please do!

In the coming months, we will be releasing a pretty amazing line up of unique online ECE workshops and courses. They will be quite different than anything you currently have access to. And truly — I think you are going to LOVE them! I’m collaborating with colleagues in three countries to put them together!

One of our new ECE Workshop series will be very much focused on ways to deeply reflect on your ECE practice. I’m personally very excited about them because we will be incorporating stories from my dear friend, colleague and master teacher Liz Strauss, who is based in Chicago. As teachers go — Liz is unequivocally one of the very best. She’s worked with 5 year olds through adults for pretty much her whole life. Liz is also an incredible author and for more than 10 years ran some of the most amazing conferences that brought together authors, educators, entrepreneurs and brands — to work together, learn and collaborate. In fact, that’s exactly how I met Liz — by attending one of her conferences.

And so — having said all of that — I want to share with you a very special opportunity. Last year, I worked with Liz Strauss as the Story Editor of her recently published book — Anything You Put Your Mind To. I also wrote the Foreward of the book. It’s an eclectic adventure in remembering that we decide the stories that decide our lives. While it doesn’t directly have anything directly to do with ECE — the reality is that I believe it has everything to do with ECE. You see, it’s very much a story that reminds us how important it is to believe in ourselves, how much the stories we tell ourselves are in fact the stories that shape our lives. Now — if you ask me — that’s exactly what our work is all about with young children. So — if you are looking for a good read this summer, something that will take you on a colourful adventure — I encourage you to buy Liz’s book. And — if you do — and you email or PM me a copy of your purchase receipt from Amazon — before the end of August, I will email you (in September) a discount code that will provide you with $10 off EVERY ECE Reflection Workshop that we release in the Fall of 2017 and the Winter and Spring of 2018 that include stories by Liz! And we plan to release at least 6 (or more) workshops that have Liz stories in them — so this is an opportunity to significantly save on all of these upcoming online ECE Workshops. I expect the prices of them to range between $40-60 for 3-6 hours of professional development.

So — that’s all for tonight. Keep doing the good you do with children and families. I admire you. And I appreciate you. I’m totally focused on a great many ways to support the valuable work you do every single day — through unforgettable professional development opportunities.

Jane Signature