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Mary Casey is a folk musician and recording artist who has been singing and playing Celtic and folk music for over 20 years, performing in coffee houses, folk festivals, and benefit concerts in North Carolina and across New England. She has recorded extensively with singer-songwriter Carolyn McDade, and most recently performed with Gail Rundlett and Dimitri Eleftherakis at folk venues and festivals in the Boston area.

Howard Dean served as governor of Vermont from 1991 until 2003, and was a Democratic candidate for president in 2004. Dean had previously worked as a physician; he earned an undergraduate degree from Yale in 1971 and a medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1978. He then moved to Vermont and opened a medical practice with his wife, Dr. Judith Steinberg.

Sidney Mintz is the William L. Straus Jr. Professor Emeritus and a research professor of anthropology at the Johns Hopkins University and the author of Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom.

In 1961, George Geesey became the first manager of WAMU-FM in Washington, DC. He brought this network experience with him when he became the Director of Operations (and Engineering) at National Public Radio. In 1976, he was assigned to the Satellite Interconnection System Project Office (SISPO) as Radio Coordinator.

Edmund Barry Gaither is the founding Director and Curator of the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA), an organization that he developed from a concept to an institution with collections exceeding three thousand objects and a thirty-two year history of exhibitions celebrating the visual arts heritage of black people worldwide. Gaither is also Special Consultant at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston where he has served as curator for eight exhibitions including a ground breaking show in l970, Afro-American Artists: New York and Boston. A world-wide traveler, Gaither has studied and lectured in Europe, Africa, Russia and the Caribbean. He has published many articles and essays and has been a leader In the Museum field. He was the first president of the African American Museums Association. Gaither headed the national committee that commissioned the bust of Martin Luther King, Jr. for the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. and has consulted to the National Endowment for the Arts. Gaither was educated at Morehouse College, Georgia State University and Brown University. Among his many honors is the Commonwealth Award for Organizational Leadership, Massachusetts’ highest award in the arts. Gaither has received honorary doctorates from Northeastern University, Framingham State College and Rhode Island College.

James A. Baker was appointed Secretary of State on January 22, 1989, and served until August 23, 1992. Baker brought almost two decades of experience in politics, both behind the scenes and in key administration positions with him to the State Department. As Secretary of State, Baker successfully oversaw United States foreign policy during the end of the Cold War, as well as during the First Persian Gulf War. Born in Texas on April 28, 1930, Baker attended prep school in Pennsylvania, and went on to graduate from Princeton University in 1952. Following a two-year active rotation in the United States Marine Corps from 1952 to 1954, Baker received his law degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1957. He practiced law at the firm of Andrews and Kurth, but it was not until the early 1970s that he became involved in politics. Through the influence of his first wife, Baker became involved in the Republican Party and began a long political relationship with George H.W. Bush. Baker chaired Bush's unsuccessful Senate campaign in 1970. In 1971 Baker became the Finance Chairman of the Republican Party and played a significant regional role in President Nixon's reelection. During the Ford Administration he was appointed Under Secretary of Commerce. During the second Reagan Administration, Baker simultaneously served as Secretary of the Treasury and as Chairman of the President's Economic Council. Baker served as Secretary of State in George H.W. Bush's cabinet from January 22, 1989 until August 23, 1992, when he was appointed Senior Counselor and White House Chief of Staff for President Bush. Baker continues to be active in politics and U.S. foreign policy.