WMRA's Books & Brews: Samuel Skip Halpern

WMRA’s April 12, 2024 Books & Brews will feature Samuel Skip Halpern, discussing his book, "Wellsprings of Work", at Pale Fire Brewing in Harrisonburg.

Tuesday, March 13, 2024 at 7pm.

Live at Pale Fire Brewing Co., and available later on WMRA's Youtube Channel and on Facebook.

Signed copies of Wellsprings of Work will will be available at the event and online at Stone Soup Books.

WMRA's Books & Brews is made possible thanks to our series sponsor, Gaines Group Architects. The Gaines Group has offices in Charlottesville and Harrisonburg.

About the Book

"I want more from work than just a paycheck. ...What am I looking for?"

Whether you're just starting out, in mid-career, or retired, Wellsprings of Work reveals often-unappreciated sources of meaning and motivation in work. Unlike the many books bemoaning how work brings you down, Wellsprings explores a dozen sources of fulfillment to lift you up.

This book is for anyone concerned with the value of their work as well as its limits and trap doors. These concerns are especially urgent today because of societal forces ranging from Covid to the digital revolution to the gig economy.

For anyone in business, investing, consulting or law-occupations some consider soulless-Wellsprings points the way to values beyond the buck. Samuel "Skip" Halpern found his nearly 50-year career across those fields spiritually rewarding. His far-ranging experiences-from Warren Buffett to legendary fraud Bernie Madoff, from the 2008 Financial Crisis to investment funds covering professional baseball, tennis and hockey players; Inupiat Eskimos, and hundreds of millions of Chinese workers-are springboards for exploring meaning across many types of work.

Wellsprings provides insight into what clicks for a variety of workers... and maybe what clicks for you.

About the Author

Samuel Skip Halpern brings a unique set of perspectives and experiences to the subject of meaningful work.After earning an undergraduate degree at Brown University in an interdisciplinary program of philosophy, psychology, religion, and political science, he graduated from law school and then embarked on a nearly 50-year career in investing, law, and business. His work life haslargely revolved around protecting pension and health benefits for a wide range of workers, from airline pilots to Broadway stagehands, from professional athletes in baseball, hockey, and tennis to steelworkers, teamsters, auto workers, and others. He has advised U.S. governmentagencies, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and investment organizations sponsored by the governments of China, Thailand, Brunei, and Sri Lanka.Halpern began his career as a litigation lawyer, dealing with fiduciary responsibility in investing pension and healthcare fund assets. Shifting gears, he then helped launch an investment consulting subsidiary of the broker dealer and investment bank, Bear, Stearns & Co. He anda business partner eventually acquired the firm, renaming it Independent Fiduciary Services, Inc., and, after 15 years, sold it to a much larger, publicly traded company.Still finding meaning and motivation in his work, he now serves as an expert witness in litigation involving pension and 401(k) investments and provides ongoing advice to the National Hockey League Players Association on their defined benefit pension fund. Visit his site at www.PrudentExpertLLC.com.He earned his undergraduate humanities degree at Brown University, attended the London School of Economics and earned his law degree at The George Washington University National Law Center in Washington, DC. His thinking is influenced by extensive personal and business travel, including East Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Russia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin and South America.He and his wife, Barbara, live just outside Luray, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley, a couple hours' drive outside of Washington, DC. They both are engaged with local, state, and national politics, lots of outdoor activities, and a network of friends and family. You can reach him by email through the website for this book, wellspringsofwork.com, or at skiphalpern@outlook.com.