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In 1971 he was instrumental in
organizing opposition to violations of civil rights in the arrests of
150 people in Shreveport, Louisiana. This eventually led to a class
action suit filed by the ACLU on behalf of those arrested, and resulted
in changes to police policies related to social profiling. In 1971-75 he was the youngest
independent weekly newspaper publisher in the state of Louisiana. In 1979 he coordinated hairstyling
for the Bill Tice Graffiti Collection at the Arkansas Arts Center in
Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1979 he was elected President of
the Little Rock, Arkansas chapter of the National Hairdressers and
Cosmetologist Association. In 1980 he organized and MCD “An
Academy Awards Night of Fashion” in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1980 he founded the performing
arts group “ The Poets Workshop” in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1981 his poetry was published in
the anthology of American poets, “The Poet.” In 1982 he founded the performance
group “Poetry Experimental Theater” in Shreveport, Louisiana. In 1984 he began doing hairstyling
for the Dallas Press Club Gridiron Show, which he continued to do for
ten years. In 1986 he opened his first
hairstyling salon in Dallas, Texas. In 1987 he was elected Vice-President
of the Dallas Screenwriters Association. In 1988 he wrote and produced the
local production of “Chan and The Secret of the Missing Jade.” In 1988 he served as the Chair of the
Research and Resources Committee for the Dallas Film Commission Task
Force. In that capacity he conducted the only survey of the Dallas film
industry in the last three decades. In 1992 he produced the television
documentary “The Promise” featuring soon to be President Clinton’s
speech at Meacham Field on November 4th. In 1994 he ran for Dallas City
Council in district 14. In 1995 he founded “The Word”
(Now DFW Arts) a magazine dedicated to the arts in the Dallas area. In 1996 he organized the Dallas Arts
Summit at the Sammons Center for the Arts. This roundtable of major arts
organizations included the DMA, DTC, The African American Museum, DART,
and others. In 1999 he became network
administrator for Health IT and was instrumental in the development of
the Texas Health Guide and it’s relationship with the Komen
Foundation. In 2000 he was designated leader of
the Java Development Team at Raytheon, Garland division. In 2001 he was team lead on the
development of Lennox International’s corporate intranet as well as
several other IT projects, including the management of 75 distribution
sub-networks. In 2002 he founded Pro-Salon.Com as a
professional salon and stylist directory with an emphasis on the
development of industry-wide professional standards. In 2002 he served as a volunteer for
the “Act I” gala benefiting the Dallas Performing Arts Center. In 2003 he organized the “Cut for
Consciousness” to benefit educational programs of The Women’s Museum
– Dallas, TX Mr. Van Voorhees was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. He has lived throughout the south,
eastern, and western United States, and traveled extensively in Northern
Europe (England, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France,
Switzerland). He has been married twice and has five children (three girls 8,
15 & 29 and two boys 31 & 13). He holds his
certification in UNIX Administrator from SMU, and is currently the
senior Network Administrator for Access Interactive. Mr. Van Voorhees
also provides personal grooming services on an outcall basis. Mr. Van Voorhees enjoys writing and
has authored a chap book of poetry (The New Barbarians), a text book and
courseware for Javascripting, a book on hair design (The Art of Hair
Design), 3 plays (Chan, The Dream, and Beat Street), 5 screenplays
(Sample and Hold, Beyond Asgard, Run to Freedom, The Warcraft Covenant,
Agents of
Chaos, and Project Clear Vision),
and he is currently developing several screenplays and film concepts. Mr. Van Voorhees has always had a deep commitment to the arts and to combating discrimination issues affecting both men and women of every ethnic heritage. As a publisher his publications have always championed the disadvantaged and disenfranchised. As a leader he has always sought the greater good of those he represented, and as a stylist and salon owner for over 25 years he is personally familiar with the challenges faced by women daily. As a father of two girls he is strongly committed to the empowerment of women in all walks of life. All dates are approximate were derived form personal statements and documents available at the time of publication. |
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