Arlene Blum has played a major role in more than fifteen successful mountaineering expeditions. These include Mt. Everest, and the first women's team to climb Mt. McKinley. She led the first American climb of Annapurna (26,500') - the world's tenth highest peak - and the difficult first accent of Bhrigupanth (22,300') in India - both with women's teams. She was the first woman to make the Great Himalayan Traverse, a 2,000 mile, nine-month-long trek across the Himalayan regions of Bhutan, Nepal and India.

A graduate of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, Arlene Blum received her PhD in biophysical chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. She has taught at Stanford University, Wellesley College and UC Berkeley, where her research was instrumental in banning tris, a cancer-causing chemical that was used as a flame retardant on children's sleepwear.

Currently, Dr. Blum gives highly acclaimed motivational lectures and workshops on leadership for audiences ranging from corporate executives to school children. She also teaches her popular Himalayan Trekking Course at UC Berkeley, writes articles and books and enjoys familly adventures with her young daughter Annalise.

Her articles and photographs have appeared in National Geographic, Smithsonian and many other magazines, newspapers and scientific journals. NBC-TV bought the rights to produce a TV miniseries based on her book Annapurna, A Woman's Place (Sierra Club Books).

Arlene Blum's numerous awards include the Sierra Club's Francis P. Farqua Mountaineering Award and a Gold Medal from the Society of Women Geographers, an honor previously given to eight of its members including Amelia Earhart, Margaret Mead and Mary Leakey.

Presentation Topics...

Climbing Your Own Everests: Leadership and Teamwork
High Places Around the World
The Great Himalayan Traverse: Across the Himalaya and Beyond
Travel and Trekking in the Himalayas
Australia: The Great Barrier Reef
Women in High Places: Annapurna and Other Climbs
Damsels on Denali: Leadership Lessons from the Roof of the World
Across the Alps with Baby

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