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Professor Peek Schacht knows the world and its workings quite well. She has had a distinguished career in both political and corporate communication and has influenced and experienced Washington and big business from the top-most levels. In 1979, she was national press secretary and communications director for President Jimmy Carter's re-election committee. In the 1980s, she was director of communications for the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee. She later had a 12-year tenure as VP for communications and public affairs strategy for the Coca-Cola Company. Professor Peek Schacht brings this uniquely keen view to shaping the undergraduate program curriculum as well as her Leadership class. "There has been such a renewed interest in social advocacy and political leadership among this generation," she says. "Our program turns their wonderful idealism into a profession that can impact lives."

J. Gregory Payne is an Associate Professor in Emerson College's Department of Communication Studies. He is Director of the Center for Ethics in Political and Health Communication, which he co-founded in 1996. Payne also started and currently advises the Emerson chapter of the Communications, Politics and Law Association which hosts numerous guest speakers, events and trips for students throughout the course of each academic year.

Dr. Janis F. Andersen, interim deam of College's School of Communication, has been named its new dean. Andersen had served as the interim dean since September. "This is an exciting opportunity for me to bring to my own discipline of communication the administrative skills I have honed in central administration," Andersen said. "Emerson College is an extraordinary institution with talented and dedicated faculty, staff, students and alumni. I am honored to have been asked to stay." Before coming to Emerson, Andersen held several positions at San Diego State University (SDSU.) While at SDSU, Andersen served as a professor of communication, interim dean of the Graduate Division at SDSU, and as an associate vice president of graduate and research affairs. Andersen received undergraduate degrees from Bradley University and an Ed.D. in education psychology from West Virginia University. She has authored or co-authored three workbooks on communications and over 50 scholarly articles which have appeared in publications such as *Communication Quarterly*, and *Human Communication Research*.

John is the Acting Director of the Public Health Preparedness office at the Boston Public Health Commission. In that capacity, he leads all planning and coordination efforts related to bioterrorism preparedness and response, including the Boston Medical Reserve Corps. John joined the Commission in 2003, and has worked in several different areas of emergency preparedness and response. As a Project Manager in the Communicable Disease Control Division, John coordinated all bioterrorism-related planning activities within the division and participated in the development and implementation of the City's ED syndromic surveillance system. As Senior Project Manager and subsequently Associate Director of the Public Health Preparedness Office, John was the central point of contact for all planning activities related to the Cities Readiness Initiative since the inception of the program. Prior to the Commission, John held various positions in the private sector as a project manager and strategic planner.

Roland Barth is an author, consultant, school leader, former Harvard Graduate School of Education faculty member, but foremost he is an educator at heart. A former teacher and principal, Barth is also the founder of The Principals' Center, a professional development program based at HGSE for school principals, assistant principals, and other school leaders. For the past four decades, Barth's work has impacted educators from all over the world. He continues to do so through the many books he has authored including *Open Education and the American School*, *Improving Schools from Within*, *Run School Run*, *Lessons Learned*, and *Learning by Heart*.

Geeta Rao Gupta, PhD, is president of the International Center for Research on Women, or ICRW, a leading global authority on women's role in development, and a passionate advocate for women's empowerment and the protection and fulfillment of women's human rights. She has worked at ICRW as consultant, researcher, and officer since 1988, and has headed the private, non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. since 1997. Rao Gupta is an internationally renowned expert on women and AIDS, and is frequently consulted on issues related to AIDS prevention and women's vulnerability to HIV. She has been recognized for her commitment to quality research, her dedication to educating policy makers and the public on the gender-related aspects of HIV/AIDS, and her abiding commitment and overall contributions to the field. Rao Gupta serves on the advisory boards for the Moriah Fund and the Nike Foundation, has served as an advisor to the UNAIDS Global Coalition on Women and AIDS, and as co-chair of the U.N. Millennium Project's Task Force on promoting gender equality and empowering women. Rao Gupta has a PhD in social psychology from Bangalore University, a master of philosophy degree from the University of Delhi, and both a master's and bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of Delhi.