* Philanthropy * Relationship Coaching * Professional Matchmaking
About Us
Deborah Chan
and the Origins of OrganicTrueLove.org
CEO and Co-Founder
In her mid-20s, inquisitive by nature, Deborah often asked people she met in social settings about their most meaningful romantic relationships. She was truly interested in relationships and what made them work and what people learned from their relationships. Without intending to be so bold, she challenged them to learn more about themselves and their nature. They gained a higher level of self-awareness and ultimately grew personally. From these dialogues, Deborah noticed an interesting pattern. Very few people had connections with their romantic partners in 3 key areas. Even in their best relationships, most had only 2 of 3 areas covered. She later identified a 4th and 5th dynamic. Soon she developed her own theory -- a relationship model where a "5 star alignment" is essential to having a happy, successful, long-term relationship. Deborah later was enrolled in a Ph.D. program for Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) and one of her closest friends, a Psychotherapist in private practice, encouraged her to write a book about her theory. Stay tuned. In 1999, Deborah decided to put the Ph.D. program on the backburner to pursue an exciting job in Internet recruiting.
She had fun "matching" job candidates with open positions. Deborah thrived in this position until the market imploded and then she moved into real estate where she again, "connecting" client needs to solutions. After achieving a certain level of financial success, she realized she felt unfulfilled in her career. She wanted deeper meaning in life. Deborah felt there was a higher purpose and calling for her. She always gravitated towards books on relationships, love, psychology, motivation, success, philosophy and spirituality. All her life Deborah has been a prolific reader and intense student of life with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Her dear friend Chuck calls her a “philologist.” Friends often come to Deborah for relationship advice. For fun she's been matching friends up with dates and romantic partners since the early 1990s. To this day, there are several happily married couples, thanks to her introduction. Deborah was inspired by the legendary matchmaker and philanthropist Pari Livermore whom she met in 2001. They were introduced by a mutual friend Kirk, who saw a common thread between the two -- their interests in philanthropy work and in connecting singles. (Deborah won an award in 2001 for raising the most funds for the oldest non-profit in San Francisco history, The Little Jim Club of CPMC.)
Deborah earned her Bachelor's degree in Legal Studies (and minor in Accounting) from UC Berkeley. She took graduate level Psychology courses at Golden Gate University before she got into the Ph.D. Psychology program at CSPP. Deborah is currently enrolled in The Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael. As a native San Franciscan and long time SF Bay Area resident, plus being an extrovert, Deborah has developed relationships with thousands of people in many different walks of life. Many people have called Deborah a "mover and shaker" and "social dynamo" who embodies all three "rare set of social gifts" mentioned in Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point: connector, maven and salesman (charismatic person). Friends often told her she should go into professional matchmaking, but she resisted....thinking that perhaps doing something she loved, would take the fun out of it. With an amazing confluence of factors -- a talented team and worthy non-profit (GC4Vets.org and Life4Vets.org), she decided to take the plunge. Her
philanthropist and Veteran friend Jarom Vahai introduced her to a
friend Emyli Ayn...then weeks later two of her friends were interested
in the concept and wanted to work with them. The timing was just right and OrganicTrueLove.org was born. OrganicTrueLove.org literally came together "organically" with the spirit and tradition of Philanthropy and the passion to help people in the community find and keep True Love and happiness in life.
Jarom VahaiVeteran of the Year in CA, 2011 (see 3 min. video)
Founder and Chief Executive of GC4Vets.org and Life4Vets.org
Jarom Vahai is from a royal family in Tonga. He grew up in Tonga, then later in Hawaii and as a kid, he always felt that he was meant to serve a greater cause. Jarom served in the US Marine Corps for 14 years. He was blown up five times in Iraq. This 33-year old ex-Marine has seen some 80 of his friends killed in wars. As a member of President Obama's Community Leaders Committee, Jarom secured jobs for hundreds of Veterans for companies such as Tesla Motors, Cisco and Nissan. Jarom also founded an electric car training program at Skyline College. In 2011, he was awarded "Veteran of the Year in California" by Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo. Now he further wants to help Veterans, knowing that many of them are emotionally traumatized, experience PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome) and are physically disabled. Jarom's vision is to make the Bay Area a hot spot for Veterans who not only need jobs, but want to fight a new kind of battle: the battle against suicide. "Veterans kill themselves at a rate of one every 80 minutes." http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15 Due to a lack of adequate counseling, Veterans find it difficult, if not impossible to transition back into the social world of civilian life. Dating, marriage and social situations can be highly stressful and many veterans find themselves with nowhere to turn for help. Jarom is dedicated to helping them successfully readjust by providing free counseling and coaching to Veterans. Jarom is launching another non-profit, Life4vets.org http://www.Life4Vets.org to give Veterans the opportunity to work with counselors and coaches they can talk to about these issues without the stress of having to pay fees they can't afford during a time when they most need support.
Rick ParisRocking beliefs. Tapping consciousness. Rick Paris is not your ordinary Enlightenment and Empowerment Coach and Speaker. Don't expect the gentle, demure, spiritual leader dressed in white garb. Prepare to have your beliefs rocked by this Ferrari/Porsche/Harley-Davidson riding, straight-talking, but loving leader of the next wave of enlightenment. Rick Paris speaks from a deep truth, from his heart—one that is sometimes difficult to hear. He knows we are all in charge of our own reality. Be ready to be the conscious creator of your life. Rick believes enlightenment is not easy, nor boring. It is living a vibrant, exciting, creative life--one filled with light, love and wonder. With the right tools and guidance, with some support and caring, we can all work towards enlightenment, and beyond it (a self empowered state free from ignorance, pain and suffering) if we are courageous enough to choose that. Rick shares his talk series, called ShopTalks™ with us in a small intimate gathering and workshop on a regular basis. This takes place downtown San Francisco financial district, bi-weekly on Wednesdays during lunchtime. (Bring your own Brown Bag Lunch.)
Rick Paris grew up in Fremont, CA and has lived in Los Angeles for many years. Luckily for us, he has returned to where he truly feels is his home and that is San Francisco Bay Area. Rick Paris has been coaching since 1996. He completed his training from The Coaches Training Institute in San Rafael http://www.thecoaches.com in 2001. Rick also served in the US Navy from 1981 to 1985. For fun, Rick loves to be physically active and enjoys strolling through beautiful settings, riding on his motorcycles, teaching surfing and always thinking about releasing what stops us or blocks us and manifesting more in life.
Elizabeth CruzChange Agent Coach and Founder of A Tiny Change. In her mid-twenties Elizabeth moved to San Francisco from Cleveland to reinvent herself. Seven years later, she thought she had all of the right things a successful young woman was supposed to have: a blossoming career, a nice steady boyfriend and a "happy" life, except she wasn't happy. She felt stuck and claustrophobic. Elizabeth knew there was more out there for her, but didn't know what it was. She wanted something big, more meaningful and deeper and so she found Coaching.
Elizabeth studied and coached with Landmark Education for four years. She also went through The Coaching Program with Bryan Franklin, the OneTaste Slow Sex Coaching Program, the Co-Active Coach Training Program with The Coaches Institute in San Rafael and The Church of Evolving Consciousness with Deb (Bear) Deans. Elizabeth earned her undergrad degree in Visual Communication from Ohio State University. Before stepping into the work of changing people's lives, Elizabeth worked for 20 years as graphic designer. She worked at small agencies and companies (LeapFrog Toys and CamelBack), as well as running a small graphic design firm. Elizabeth is always evolving as she continues down her own path of self-discovery, transformation and spirituality. Change has been a powerful force in her life. Change is her teacher and her healer. Elizabeth helps her clients identify what beliefs are no longer serving them and help them create more of what they want in their lives. For fun, she loves sitting around relaxing at the spa or spending time helping those she loves. To her friends, Elizabeth has a Galactic heart that just loves to love. If she can help, she will do so. Coaching isn't a job for her. It's just a natural and fun fit for her life.
Nicholas Zaldastini
Advisory Board
Managing Director of Zaldastani Ventures and "Mentor Capitalist"
Nicholas is a Mentor Capitalist leveraging his venture capital and serial entrepreneurial experiences to bring to other companies and organizations. Known for his startup success rate, Nicholas focuses on entrepreneurship and organizations that positively impact the world.
Nicholas’ investments and executive leadership contributed to the growth of companies including Oracle, Ogilvy and Mather Advertising, SABA Software, Salary.com, World Energy, NewReality, Nexus, and CrocPond.com. In addition to Nicholas’ operational leadership, his eleven years as a venture capitalist brought solid returns to his investors.
His professional affiliations have included: World Energy Board of Directors, Allegro Multimedia Board of Directors, The Ivan and Sam Cancer Foundation, Co-chairman of the American Academy in Tbilisi, Georgia, Director of the Georgian Association in the U.S, Chairman, the “Crocodiles not Waterlilies” Board of Managers, Chairman of NewReality Board of Directors, and Chairman of NEXUS payment.
In the development of the Country of Georgia, Mr. Zaldastani has supported Georgia’s economic recovery plans and educational expansion. He was part of the U.S. delegation attending the inauguration of President Saakashvili and on the U.S. Presidential visit of Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Bush, Nicholas welcomed Former First Lady Laura Bush to the American Academy in Tbilisi. Nicholas also contributes to The American Academy in Tbilisi as Co-Chair of the high school. The school is in the country of Georgia and focused on educating Georgian children and feeding them into top American college and universities.
Nicholas received his MBA from Harvard University School of Business, a French Diploma from the University of Paris, and Bachelors of Science degree from Duke University. He was also a team member receiving the CLIO International Award for Advertising. Nicholas and his family live in San Francisco.
Laurence VostiAdvisory Board
As a former Army veteran, Laurence Vosti is very empathetic to the issues confronting our returning veterans and feels that not enough has been done for them in our society. He served in the Army Security Agency and later in the Military Intelligence. A graduate of UC Berkeley in English Literature, Laurence began his career in real estate sales and quickly moved into real estate development and investments. His offices are in California, Idaho and Montana. Along the way, Laurence owned a restaurant, a retail wine business and has been a collector of fine California and French wines for over 20 years. Laurence is the former President of the California Vintage Wine Society. Laurence originally developed his interest in wine while attending school in the Bordeaux region of France. In 2004 he pursued his passion for wine and started making wine in Napa Valley. He co-founded O'Neill Vosti Wines, aka Xtant Wines.
Laurence divides his time between San Francisco and the Napa Valley. He has diverse interests and has been a long time season ticket holder for the San Francisco Ballet and the 49ers. His interests include music, hiking, cooking, gardening, and a variety of sports. Laurence hopes to bring this diversity to bear on the issues confronting our veterans.
Jennifer Gans, Psy.D.
Advisory Board
Dr. Jennifer Gans is a clinical psychologist in private practice in San Francisco trained to work with adults, children, couples, and families to adapt and better navigate the challenges of living. She sees her role as a “witness and companion” to each client’s unique experience. The journey can feel like climbing a mountain (Mt. Everest at times!). Dr. Gans is there to walk “with” her clients as they face, what oftentimes feels like treacherous terrain.
Dr. Gans is also a researcher at UCSF in the Department of Otolaryngology--Cochlear Implant and Audiology Clinic for the past 4 years. Her area of specialty is the psychological impact of deafness and hearing difficulty as it relates to a person's well-being and her current research is looking at Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as a treatment for chronic Tinnitus. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/
She is an experienced teacher of MBSR and runs groups through the UCSF and the Northern California Multiple Sclerosis Society. Dr. Gans earned her Doctorate in Psychology from Georgia School of Professional Psychology.
