Who is Erik Weihenmayer?

Who is Erik Weihenmayer?   The handicap world knows Erik Weihenmayer as the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on May 25, 2001. He also completed the Seven Summits in September 2002. His story was covered in a Time article in June 2001 titled Blind to Failure. He is the author of Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther Than the Eye can See, his autobiography.

Erik is an acrobatic skydiver, long distance biker, marathon runner, skier, mountaineer, ice climber, and rock climber. He is a friend of Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg, the co-founders of Braille Without Borders, whom he visited in Tibet to climb with them and teenagers from the school for the blind. A documentary film based on the project, Blindsight, was released in 2006. Another documentary, Fellowship of the Andes, was produced by Dutch filmmaker Bernd Out. The film shows how Erik inspires a team of blind and visually-impaired students on their mountain trek across the Andes in June 2006.^[1] In addition, Erik is an active speaker on the lecture circuit. He is represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau.
Besides his admirable achievements Weihenmayer gained worldwide notoriety due to a slip-up by Cynthia Izaguirre (then a news anchor at KOAT-TV), who introduced him after climbing Mount Everest as "Erik Weihenmayer, who has climbed the highest mountain in the world - Mt Everest. But" (she paused dramatically) ". . . he's gay! I mean he's gay, excuse me, he's blind.". The clip has become a well known viral video on the Internet, and Weihenmayer has even linked to what he now refers to as "my gay clip" from his own website.

Biography and list of achievements

Erik was born on September 23, 1968,  with a disease called retinoschisis and became totally blind by the age of 13.
In 1987, he graduated from Weston High School in Connecticut. As the school’s wrestling captain, he represented the state in National Freestyle Wrestling Championships.
In 1991, he graduated from Boston College. In the same year, he trekked in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan.
In 1993, he received a master’s degree in Middle School Education from Lesley College. In the same year, he crossed the Batura Glacier in the Karakoram Mountains of Northern Pakistan. The same year he joined the staff at Phoenix Country Day School as an instructor.
In 1995, Erik reached the 20,320’ summit of Mt. McKinley, North America’s highest peak, sponsored by the American Foundation for the Blind. His triumph was featured on Today with Katie Couric and the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.
In 1996, he carried the Olympic Torch through Phoenix and was selected for the first annual Distinguished Arizonan Award by the Governors Council. He was also inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and received its first Medal of Courage.
In 1997, he climbed his second continental summit, Kilimanjaro. He married at the height of 13,000’. Erik and his wife Ellen live outside of Denver, Colorado, United States.
In 1998, he rode a tandem bike from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City with his father, a Vietnam veteran.
In 1999, he attempted Argentina's Mount Aconcagua. Poor weather conditions forced his team to turn around just short of the summit. A subsequent attempt on a separate trip was successful.
In 2001, he climbed Mt. Everest.
In 2004, he led an expedition in Tibet called Climbing Blind project, including blind teens from the Braille Without Borders school for blind at Lhasa, Tibet.
In 2006, helped to lead Global Explorers sponsored expedition, Leading the Way, to Peru. The expedition film, Fellowship of the Andes, premiered in New York City 28th Oct 2006.
In 2007, was the speaker at Lehigh University's spring commencement ceremony on May 21.
In 2009, he was a speaker at the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference on January 19.
In 2009, he was a speaker at the Babson College spring commencement ceremony on May 16 where he was also awarded a PhD in Humane Letters.

Bibliography

• Weihenmayer, Erik, Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther Than the Eye can See, Plume, 2002, ISBN 0-452-28294-2, ISBN 978-0452282940

• Weihenmayer, Erik & Stoltz, Paul, The Adversity Advantage: Turning Everyday Struggles into Everyday Greatness, Fireside, 2007, ISBN 0-743-29022-4, ISBN 978-0743290227

• Receives Honorary Doctorate Degree on 16 May 2009 from the FW Olin School of Business at the Babson College MA

 

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Who is Erin Isabelle Burnett?

Who is Erin Isabelle Burnett?   is an American business news anchor, reporter and interviewer. Beginning in June of 2011 she will be working for CNN television. ^[2] She was the co-anchor of CNBC's Squawk on the Street program and the host of CNBC's Street Signs program. She also appeared on NBC's Meet the Press, Today, MSNBC's Morning Joe, and NBC Nightly News, as well as occasional appearances on The Apprentice as an advisor to Donald Trump. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Burnett has hosted a number of documentaries filmed outside of the United States: "India Rising: The New Empire",^[3] "The Russian Gamble", and "Dollars & Danger: Africa, The Final Investment Frontier.^[4] She has focused extensively on the Middle East as well, reporting live from across the region and hosting documentaries including: "On Assignment: Iraq", "Big Money & the Middle East", "City of Money and Mystery" and "The Forbidden Zone".

Personal life

Burnett was born 1976 and raised in Mardela Springs, Maryland. She attended St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware, graduating in 1994.^[5] Burnett later attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.^[6][7]
At Williams College she studied political science and economics, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in political economy. As an undergraduate, she played lacrosse and field hockey for the Ephs.

Career

Burnett began her career as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs^[8] in their investment banking division, where she worked on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance.
While working as an investment-banking analyst, Burnett was offered a position at CNN as a writer and booker for CNN's Moneyline with Stuart Varney, Willow Bay, and Lou Dobbs.^[9]
From CNN, she moved to Citigroup, where she served as vice president for Citigroup/CitiMedia, and was responsible for all anchoring of the Citigroup online financial news network.^[9]
Burnett accepted a position in 2003 with Bloomberg Television, where she was the anchor of Bloomberg on the Markets, covering the stock market open and newsmaker interviews, and In Focus, where she broke down the day's top business story.
Burnett was the host of CNBC's Street Signs and co-anchor of Squawk on the Street from 2005 to 2011. Since making her debut on Squawk in December 2005, the program's ratings are up 142% over first quarter 2006 in adults 25–54; while Street Signs is up 57% in the adults 25–54 demographic.^[10] On May 6, 2011 she left CNBC after 5 1/2 years.^[11] She was hired by CNN as an anchor of a weekday general news program, yet to be announced, working out of the cable network's New York headquarters. Burnett will start in June 2011 as a contributor to CNN's coverage of national and international breaking news with her new show launching in the summer of 2011. ^[12]
On May 24, 2009, Burnett gave the commencement speech at her alma mater, St. Andrew's School.^[13][14]
On December 7, 2010, Burnett did an investigative report on chemical giant Transammonia^[15] doing business in Iran. In the report, Erin Burnett reported that a Transammonia subsidiary—100% owned by Transammonia in the United States—purchases ammonia from Iran. In the same report, Burnett said according to an economic plan released by the Iranian government, Iran is trying to increase ammonia production by 60 percent in the next five years. She also mentioned that ammonia is used for explosives, including roadside bombs in Afghanistan. On Dec. 13, 2010, as a result of the CNBC report, Transammonia sent a press release to Congressional leaders that Transammonia's Swiss subsidiary will not enter into new contracts with Iranian companies and wind down its business with Iran "as soon as possible."^[16]

Host shows

• Street Signs (2005–2011)
• Squawk on the Street (2005–2011)
• Bloomberg on the Markets (2003–2005)

Controversial comments

During an August 10, 2007 appearance on the MSNBC program Hardball with Chris Matthews, Burnett commented on recalls of Chinese-made goods, stating that "people should be careful what they wish for on China" and that the production of "toys that don't have lead in them or food that isn't poisonous" would lead to higher prices in the United States.^[17] Burnett's commentary was criticized by satirist Jon Stewart on the August 16 edition of The Daily Show.^[18] Burnett addressed the controversy during an August 17 Hardball appearance, stressing that she did not "[want] children to play with toys that are not safe".^[19]
On August 5, 2009, Burnett reported on the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's plans to spend millions of dollars on aerial shooting to cull Australian feral camels in the outback.^[20] Her comments, which included a reference to Rudd as a "serial killer", were reported by the Australian media^[21] and other international news services.^[22][23][24] Burnett stated on an August 6 show that she was making a joke.[2

 

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Who is Jose Alejandro Gomez Monteverde?

Who is Jose Alejandro Gomez Monteverde?  The entertainment and directing world knows him as Alejandro Gomez Monteverde. Monteverde is a Mexican film director. His first film, Bella took top prize at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival by winning the “People's Choice Award”.^[1]
.

Monteverde was born July 13, 1977 in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico. He Attended the University of Texas at Austin.

Ali Landry,

Monteverde met his wife, American actress Ali Landry, at a church Bible study. They got married on April 8, 2006 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.^[2] They have one daughter, Estela, born on July 11, 2007.

Business career

Monteverde co-owns Metanoia Films, a film production company, with partners Sean Wolfington, Leo Severino, Eduardo Verastegui and J. Eustace Wolfington.

Bella

Monteverde wrote and directed Bella,^[3][4][5] a film that took top prize at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival by winning the “People's Choice Award. The director of the Department of Citizenship gave Monteverde the "American by Choice" award for Bella's positive contribution to Latino art and culture in the U.S.

 

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