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Ellen Kushner is a novelist, performer and public radio personality who unites her talents as host of WGBH Radio's series, *Sound & Spirit*. A weekly series of hour-long radio programs produced by WGBH Radio Boston and distributed by Public Radio International, *Sound & Spirit* explores the human spirit through music and ideas. Bringing an intellectual openness, a keen ear, a lush voice and a genuine enthusiasm to each show, Kushner has deftly crafted *Sound & Spirit* into what Bill Moyers calls "the best program on public radio, bar none." *Sound & Spirit* weaves history, myth, and spiritual traditions together with music to take listeners on a journey around the world and through the ages. Ellen Kushner as a fiction editor for New York publishing houses and later as a freelancer. She relocated to Boston and joined WGBH Radio in 1987, creating an eclectic music mix for *NightAir*, keeping overnight audiences entertained with an unusual blend of classical and contemporary music. On Sunday afternoons she hosted *Caravan*, a mix of folk and world music. Ellen's national radio debut came when she was cast as the irreverent host of the *Nakamichi International Music Series* of classical concert music. Ellen then created three award-winning Jewish radio specials for PRI that quickly became listener favorites. In April 1996, Ellen and her team first launched *Sound & Spirit* on the national airwaves.

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.