The Author
Meet The Author of
The Habits of Unity.
Author with her wolf friend Logan. Logan visited Berkeley Springs, as a part of a 12 habits March program for the ideal to, “Resolve Conflicts.” Wolf “Educators” gave a program on the habitats of wolves and the fact that they often get along better in their own “packs” than people do.
Elaine Parke, MBA, CS, CM, NSA is the author of The Habits of Unity: 12 Months to a Stronger America….one citizen at a time. For 30 years her scalable and evidence-drive 12 habits social unity model has transformed several million community citizens and youth across the USA’s Midwest and in Rwanda, helping them feel more caring and connected to one another. In 1993, her monthly-branded and colorful habit-forming model was deemed a “Social Invention” by the London Institute for Social Inventions.
Parke spent 25 years fine-tuning her mass-market media skills in corporate America. Then in 1987 she re-directed her focus to helping people get along better. Her first book Join the Golden Rule Revolution - Practice One Habit Each month of the Year was published in 2001. She has won many awards and recognitions for her work.
Parke is certified in public speaking, violence prevention, conflict management, and mediation, as well as meditation, and has been a popular speaker in her field of driving health and positive social and civic engagement with managed media strategies. She been an occasional guest-marketing lecturer at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Carnegie Mellon University.
Elaine Parke, MBA, CS, CM, NSA
“I am now nice to the people I used to be mean to.”
This 2016 survey quote from a 6th grader, sums up the results of Elaine Parke’s life, passion, mission, and work. This is because she knows that motivating even a few more of us to be nice to the people we used to be mean to would go a long way towards unifying and healing America.
For 30 years, her scalable and evidence-driven, 12 habits social unity model, 12 Habits 4 All of Us, has transformed several million community citizens and youth to feel more caring and connected to one another – across the USA’s Midwest, and in Rwanda.
Mrs. Parke is an informed and stimulating media guest and speaker who readily shares her stunningly simple, attractive, and grow-able solution to speed our progress toward a sustainable civilization through mutual respect and kindness. In 1993, her monthly-branded and colorful habit-forming model was deemed a “Social Invention” by the London Institute for Social Inventions.
Elaine is available as an interview guest, a speaker or as a consultant to assist you if you would like to begin a 12 Habits 4 All of Us campaign in your own community or on your media or social media outlet. She can be reached at elaine_parke@yahoo.com or at 814-779-2060
Born in Coshocton, OH, in January of 1942, just a month after Pearl Harbor, Elaine’s life spans the post WWII trajectory of the US culture through industrialization and into the transformative technological whirlwind of mass communications and the internet.
“We smugly praise our civilization as technologically advanced. There is, however, a catastrophic price. Society is collapsing under the massive weight of social and economic inequality, racialism, and the power-enabled and greed-driven greed of corporate, and political, and climate of insensitive
corruption.” – Elaine Parke
In this book’s introductory section, Parke retells the Cherokee parable of the struggle between the two wolves of good and bad that is always going on inside each of us. This struggle is also raging throughout America and around the world, fueled by the massive growth of technology. Sadly, The momentum, so far in the 21st century, is feeding the bad wolf of destruction. Parke is determined to help transform the momentum towards the good wolf.
Parke is a lifelong youth-volunteer. At age 19, TIME Magazine reported on Elaine’s tutoring and mentoring work with Chicago Racketeer, Cobra and Vice-Lord gang kids. Then, a liberal arts student at Northwestern University she asked herself, “How do we expand the scope of positive, connecting, and more humane influence to reach more people more easily?”
First, she spent twenty-five years fine-tuning her mass-market media skills in corporate America. There, her multi-media campaigns for various corporate products reached and motivated the buying behaviors of millions of people with only a small staff.
It was in October of 1987, that Elaine first had a life-changing vision: that the world-wide, and well- known names of the 12 months of the year could become “brand names” for 12 aspects of equitable Golden Rule living, aka the wisdom of the ages.
“Imagine what our country will be like when these monthly unifying action themes become celebrated as “holi-months” and become better known than Coca Cola? Imagine when March is celebrated nationally as the month to RESOLVE CONFLICTS?” – Elaine Parke
By 1994, Elaine Parke had successfully built and piloted a multimedia model in Somerset, PA. There, with university sponsored research, residents reported that because they simultaneously saw and heard the monthly messages throughout the community, they felt more cared about and connected to one another.
In May, 1999, her model was funded by Blue Cross to help what was then one of the worst school districts in Pennsylvania. After just 18 months, the success of the habits’ positive influence on students earned Pennsylvania’s Violence-Free Youth Governor’s Award. Then Governor and Mrs. Tom Ridge became Honorary Chairpersons.
In 2001, Elaine’s first book, “Join the Golden Rule Revolution - Practice One Habit Each month of the Year,” (now out of print) was published. After a 60-city Waldenbooks publicity and speaking tour, the first edition sold out.
In 2006-07, with support from Rotary International Elaine was sent to post-genocide Rwanda to train educators. 12 Caring Habits Rwanda is helping prevent future genocides by promoting peace among Rwanda’s youth. She was awarded a Paul Harris fellow and a Commendation by the Republic of Rwanda and the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission.
In 2013, Elaine moved from Pennsylvania to Berkeley Springs, WV. There a new community-wide model successfully united schools and more than 65 business and organizational “Ambassadors” around the monthly message habits. Once again successful survey results among the population of 18,000, after less than two years, replicated the results in Somerset, PA – nearly twenty years earlier. The annual implementation cost per person was less than 87 cents.
Today, Elaine Parke is a proud member of the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Friends Board of Directors. She is also working with peers, partners and potential liaisons, posting, blogging and speaking out. With this book, The Habits of Unity, her goal is to more quickly expand the potential for the monthly habits model to become a unifying counterforce to the dis-eased divisiveness and selfish individualism that is ruining life for all in America.
Her life’s motto is “Only together will we heal the country we all share.”
Media Interviews, Speaking and Consulting
Elaine Parke has been featured in numerous media outlets and publications.
Mrs. Parke is an informed and stimulating media guest and speaker who readily shares her stunningly simple, attractive, and grow-able solution to speed our progress toward a sustainable civilization with a reliable framework for motivating mutual respect and kindness.
“It’s just common Golden Rule sense,” she says. In 1993, her monthly-branded and colorful habit-forming model was deemed a “Social Invention” by the London Institute for Social Inventions.
Elaine is available as an interview guest, or a speaker. She is popular doing keynotes or workshops with non-profits, educators, and corporate/business audiences. Most recently presented at the National Literacy Education Conference. See her presentation, “Yes, We can Unify America,” on YouTube
She is also skilled and highly experienced as a consultant to assist you if you would like to begin a 12 Habits 4 All of Us campaign in your own community or to create a 12 Habits campaign on your media or social media outlet. She can be reached at elaine_parke@yahoo.com or at 814-779-2060
Some media outlets featuring Elaine Parke include, Time Magazine, KDKA-TV, Journal of the London Institute for Social Inventions, Success Magazine, Vogue, Women's Day, Family Circle, Denver Post, San Diego Times, Rwandan New Times, Entrepreneur, WVPB, Rotarian, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Catholic Sunday Visitor, plus numerous professional articles and articles and interviews in 200+ local community newspapers and media outlets with 12 habits activity over 30 years. etc.
Some interview & speaking topics include:
Rotarian and author Elaine Parke, speaking about her peacekeeping trip to Rwanda to a Rotary Club near Pittsburgh, PA. She is wearing a Rwandan sari, and the Caring Habits logo for Rwanda is on the podium in front of her.
Happy People Don’t Cheat or Lie
Really happy people feel integrated with family and community, knowing that at the very least, they don’t take unfair advantage of others.
Our Forefathers Fell Short; They Failed to Write a Bill of Responsibilities.
As reactive revolutionaries, our founding fathers touted citizen rights at the expense of exhorting citizen responsibilities to honor and dignify one another – the “by the people” part.
DIY – “Do It Yourself” Mental Health
Just one magic minute a day is your gateway to a more satisfied and happier life.
How to lighten up and live happier right now.
Everybody needs dignity. “The fine art of making “suggestions” with appealing call-to action blurbs like, “Help Others,” “Be Grateful,” “Show a Positive Attitude,” and “Resolve Conflicts.”
The one-minute a day mental health diet for everyone
A diet of “Mind minutes” nourishes the soul as a good food diet nourishes the body.
12 Habits of a Highly Effective Business
A harmonious business and corporate climate, that equally respects every employee’s contribution, is really good for the bottom line.
Understanding why America’s culture is so narcissistic?
We were founded on the principle that our rights as citizens overwhelmingly dominate our responsibilities - and that this is the heart of our democracy.
Myth-Busting Our National Blind Spot
We all think making a better America is somebody else’s job AND that everybody else is to blame for whatever goes wrong.
We Buy Insurance From a Lizard.
But we haven’t figured out that the ad pros (like me), who do that – can also motivate us to “buy into” getting along better with one another.
Living the Golden Rule is just plain common sense.
Build better relationship habits with 12 months of one minute magic moments that inspire togetherness just like holidays do.
Try the mental health diet plan to shed stress during holidays
December’s mental health habit is “Celebrate Community Family & Friends. People are priceless, not things – even gifts.
Learn 12 Good Citizenship Habits from a Kid/Puppy MOM with an advertising MBA
“Training puppies, kids, and consumers is exactly the same process. Keep repeating and reinforcing and repeating and reinforcing the desired actions; all with lots of lively LOVE.” EP
