About Andrea

Andrea is an award-winning program designer, speaker, and facilitator whose innovations in philosophy create opportunities for personal development, and interpersonal understanding. For almost 10 years, Andrea has been pushing the boundaries of how and where philosophy is done. By returning philosophy to a practice of dialogue, Andrea fosters collaborative inquiry and dynamic outcomes. Andrea has customized philosophical programs for museums, movie theaters, private homes, high schools, historic hotels, artists’ studios, and small businesses. But her favorite place to do philosophy is out in the natural world, on trails and rivers. Whether it is one-on-one or in a small group, Andrea is passionate about advancing philosophy's practical value for everyday life, and helping people understand themselves, each other, and the world.

Andrea earned her PhD in philosophy from Tulane University, and serves on the boards of Benefactors of Red Rock State Park, the Public Philosophy Journal, Sedona XYZ, and the Society of Philosophers of America (SOHPIA). Her past board service includes the League of Women Voters Greater Verde Valley, Sedona International Film Festival, the Verde Valley Forum, and the Verde Valley Regional Economic Organization.

Call or email Andrea

Select Presentations and Creative Productions

• Civic Engagement and the Environment, representing League of Women Voters Greater Verde Valley, Save Our Ancient Red Rocks (SOAR), Prescott, AZ – January 2019
• Coming to America: Who Should We Welcome: What Should We Do? National Issues Forums deliberation, League of Women Voters, Greater Verde Valley – November 2018
• End of Life: What Should We Do For Those Who Are Dying? National Issues Forums deliberation, Compassionate Choices, Northern Arizona – November 2018
• The Fundamentals of Economics and Citizens United, League of Women Voters Greater Verde Valley, Yavapai College, Sedona Center – March 2018
• Doing Philosophy in Nature, TEDx Sedona, The Collective Sedona – October 2017
• Alternative Facts, League of Women Voters Greater Verde Valley, Yavapai College, Sedona Center – August 2017
• A Public Voice, the Kettering Foundation, Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. – May 2017
• The Business of Philosophy, Philosophy Department, University of California, Merced – April 2017
• Doing Philosophy in the Community, Philosophy Department, University of North Carolina, Charlotte – March 2016
• The Nature and Challenges of Communities, The University of Mississippi SOPHIA, Mississippi Humanities Council, and College of Liberal Arts and Honors College – December 2016
• Public Philosophy and Public Political Awareness, By the People: Participatory Democracy, Civic Engagement, Citizenship Education, at Arizona State University; Tempe, AZ – December 2015
• Trust-Based Leadership, Northern Arizona Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Sedona, AZ – September 2015
• Federal Lands and Stewardship of Place: campus and community engagement strategies in Alaska and Arizona, with Kara Dillard, The American Democracy Project, New Orleans, LA – June 2015
• Public Philosophy and Civic Engagement, Public Philosophy Network, University of San Francisco – June 2015
• SOPHIA: Building Communities of Philosophical Conversation, Public Philosophy Network, University of San Francisco – June 2015
• Mind/Body Dualism: Descartes’ Legacy, Sedona/Verde Valley Freethinkers, Sedona, AZ – May 2015
• Philosophy in the Public Interest Overview of Programs, Humanities in Action Showcase, Northern Arizona University – April 2015
• Who is Charlie? Coming to Terms with the Recent Attacks in Paris, Roundtable Discussion, Northern Arizona University – April 2015
• Money and Macaroons, Integral Sedona, Sedona Public Library – April 2015
• Free Speech! Why Free Speech? NAU Summer Seminar Series, Northern Arizona University – July 2014
• On Philosophy for Fun, American Philosophical Association Eastern Division Meeting, Philadelphia, PA – December 2014
• The Role of Campus-Based Centers and Institutions in Expanding Dialogue and Deliberation in Communities, with other Centers. National Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation, in Reston, VA – October 2014
• On Philosophy’s Intrinsic and Practical Value, American Philosophical Association Eastern Division Meeting, Baltimore, MD – December 2013
• Environmental and Economic Value, Shaanxi Normal University, Shaanxi, China, also Hefei University, in Hefei, China – May 2012
• Jack Turner’s: The Abstract Wild, Hefei University, Hefei, China – May 2012
• Hot Topics Café at Northern Arizona University, O’Connor House Advisory Council, Phoenix, AZ – March 2012
• Buddhist Protest in Myanmar and Human Rights, Celebration of Inquiry, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina – February 2008
• Maybe Natural Rights are Nonsense: the importance of social recognition, The John Stuart Mill Bicentennial Conference, University College London – April 2006
• Rheumatoid Arthritis—With Pain or Without—A Patient’s Choice, with Heather Houchard, Journal of Value Inquiry Symposium on Theoretical and Applied Ethics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA – February 2004

Publications

"Remembering Sincerity" Blog post for Ben Franklin Circles. March 13, 2019.

“Foundations for Communities of Philosophical Conversation” (with Sergia Hay, James Lincoln, and Eric Weber). Public Philosophy Journal, Forthcoming, accepted January, 2019.

“Common Ground for Action Software and Professional Development to Support Online Deliberation in Classrooms” (with Kara Dillard & Kara Lindaman). Journal of Political Science Education, Vol. 14, Issue 1. December 8, 2017.

“Film as a Means of Global Exploration.” NAU Global. Spring 2015.

“Indignation Right Response to Racial Injustice.” Arizona Daily Sun. 2014.

“Grown Men Also Need Friends,” Sedona Red Rock News. 2012.

“Film as a Means of Global Exploration.” NAU Global. 2015.

“What Philosophy Can Teach Us About Global Learning.” NAU Global. 2012.