Our Team

Cheryl Svensson has been involved in the field of aging since she graduated from the first Masters in Gerontology program at the University of Southern California (USC) in 1977 and later completed her Ph.D. at the University of Lund, Sweden. She worked closely with Dr. James Birren, founding Dean of the Davis School of Gerontology at USC, and is the Director of the Birren Center for Autobiographical Studies. The Birren Center is dedicated to researching and developing programs to help people write and share their life stories. She has taught Guided Autobiography (GAB) at USC, UCLA, CSUF, libraries, and senior and assisted living centers. In 2009 she created a live, interactive online training course to teach students how to become GAB instructors; there are now nearly 700 GAB instructors in 32 countries. She is the co-author with Richard Campbell of the book, Writing Your Legacy: The step-by-step guide to crafting your life story and Bonnie Bernell, Uncovering the Treasures that Matter. She’s passionate about writing and sharing life stories. Cheryl makes her home bi-continentally - living in the fast lane in southern California and in the bike lane in Sweden. You may reach her at cheryl.svensson@gmail.com.

Leigh Morrow is a former radio and television investigative reporter (CBC, Global, City TV). With a degree in journalism and more than 27 years in media, she helped tens of hundreds of people tell their stories through interviewing, researching and digging deep for many award-winning investigative pieces. When she retired from professional broadcast journalism, she wrote a book for women in their middle years, and wanted to help others tell their Life Stories. Leigh became certified by the Birren Center for Autobiographical Studies in California 2017 to teach and train students in the guided autobiography method, and now teaches both in-person and online courses from several of her favourite places in the world.

Thestoryguides.com

Certified GAB Instructor

GAB Instructor Trainer, Retired Entrepreneur, Journalist

Sheri has been teaching Guided Autobiography since 2011 and is now training and certifying new GAB Instructors worldwide through The Birren Center. She helps people reflect upon their lives and write, share, and preserve the most significant moments of their lives. Her passion for this work was sparked by her time as a paralegal at an estate planning law firm and by a little history book published by her mother’s family in 1929. As an estate planning paralegal, she discovered that inheriting wealth without learning the history and values that created it can often be more of a curse than a blessing and started to search for ways to connect traditional estate planning with personal legacy planning. She found Guided Autobiography and has never looked back. Through classes, workshops, and retreats, she guides people through the meaningful process of writing their life stories and sharing with loved ones and future generations. Sheri and her husband live in Southern California. They have four sons, one daughter and twelve perfect grandkids.

Sarah White is a freelance writer and personal historian who helps people write about their lives and work as a developmental editor, writing coach, and ghostwriter. She teaches reminiscence writing, creative nonfiction, and writing craft. Sarah holds a Journalism degree from Indiana University and an MFA-Creative Nonfiction from the University of King's College. She has taught Guided Autobiography workshops since 2004. Instructor, "Find Your Students, Fill Your Classes" for Birren Center.

Through his long career in the Army Reserve Medical Corps and as a professional fundraiser for charitable causes, Bill Marsella discovered his passion for helping people share their life stories so that they know their lives have made a difference and will be remembered by future generations. Bill is a trainee Legacy Facilitator and certified Guided Autobiography Instructor. Bill now dedicates his time and talent to helping others share their life's legacies and has taught 20 GAB courses in and around Central Minnesota since becoming a certified instructor in 2021.

Certified Legacy Writing Facilitator

Retired Professional Fundraiser

Retired Lieutenant Colonel US Army Reserve

https://www.words-that-last.com/

Heidi began her journey with Guided Autobiography in 2015 when she became certified as an instructor. She launched her GAB career by leading workshops in her home and expanded to include groups at local libraries, churches, retirement centers, family retreats, online, and her favorite - international destination retreats. Heidi is currently an instructor for the Guided Autobiography Instructor certificate program through the Birren Center. Heidi’s lifelong career as an educator, working in both public and private schools and teaching middle school through adult students, laid the foundation for her skills in curriculum development, and teaching and assessment. As a middle school teacher, she often found that when students wrote about significant life events and shared them with the class, they became more eagerly engaged with each other and friendships grew. Today as Heidi leads GAB classes, she continues to see the transformative power of writing and sharing life stories. Aside from her love of sharing the magic of Guided Autobiography, Heidi enjoys culinary adventures and exploration, gardening to support those adventures, reading, traveling, fitness activities and celebrating life with her three young adult children. Heidi’s primary objective as a Birren Center Board member is to support and build on the work started by Dr. James Birren and broadened and enriched by the work and leadership of Dr. Cheryl Svensson. Guided Autobiography has introduced Heidi to many wonderful people and an amazing view of life from many perspectives.

GAB Certified Instructor and Trainer for the Birren Center.

Writing Coach at Through Your Eyes ~ Writing Your Life Stories

EMMA FULENWIDER is a supporting character in the publishing world. In addition to managing the Birren Center's independent literary imprint that produces their annual essay collection, she also provides assisted self-publishing to growing authors, is a literary agent for established authors, and judges the memoir essay competition at Writer's Digest. She believes that physical books and widespread storytelling are essential to connecting as a community and passing on an accurate history. Emma lives in Sacramento where she reads, writes, drinks strong black tea and conspires with her husband to raise the two goofiest kids on earth.

Editor and publisher of the GAB collection.

GAB certified 2017. Book addict fueled by chai and puns.