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John Merrow began his career as an education reporter with National Public Radio in 1974 with the weekly series, Options in Education, for which he received the George Polk Award in 1982. He is currently President of Learning Matters and scholar in residence at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching at Stanford. Since 1984 he has worked in public television as Education Correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and as host of his own series of documentaries, The Merrow Report. His work has been recognized with Peabody Awards in 2000 and 2006, Emmy nominations in 1984, 2005, and 2007, four CINE Golden Eagles and other reporting awards. A frequent contributor to USA Today, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and Education Week, he is the author of Choosing Excellence (2001) and co-editor of Declining by Degrees (2005). Merrow earned an A.B. from Dartmouth College, an M.A. in American Studies from Indiana University, and a doctorate in Education and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He received the James L. Fisher Award for Distinguished Service to Education from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education in 2000 and the HGSE Alumni Council Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education in 2006. He is a Trustee of Teachers College, Columbia University.

Rami George Khouri is the Director of the Issam Fares Institute of Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut as well as editor at large of the Beirut based Daily Star newspaper. He is an internationally syndicated political columnist and author. Khouri was a visiting scholar at Stanford University in October 2006, and in November 2006, he was the co-recipient of the Pax Christi International Peace Award for his efforts to bring peace and reconciliation to the Middle East.

Robert Dallek is a historian specializing in U.S. presidents and was a history professor at Boston University. Previously, he taught at Columbia University, UCLA, and Oxford University. Dallek is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Society of American Historians, where served as president in 2004-2005. He is the author of ten books, including *The New York Times* best-sellers, *An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963*, and *Nixon and Kissinger: Partners in Power*. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in history for the latter book. Dallek is the recipient of the Bancroft Prize and numerous other awards for scholarship and teaching.

Jonathan Allen Lethem (born February 19, 1964) is an American writer. His first novel, *Gun*, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. It was followed by three more science fiction novels. In 1999, Lethem published *Motherless Brooklyn*, a National Book Critics Circle Award-winning novel that achieved mainstream success. In 2003, he published *The Fortress of Solitude*, which became a New York Times Best Seller. Lethem is also a prolific essayist and short story writer. After graduating from high school, Lethem entered Bennington College in Vermont in 1982 as a prospective art student. At Bennington, Lethem experienced an overwhelming collision with the realities of class. This, coupled with a growing realization that he was more interested in writing than art, led Lethem to drop out halfway through his sophomore year.He lived in California for twelve years, working as a clerk in used bookstores and writing in his own time. Lethem published his first short story in 1989 and published several more in the early 1990s.In September 2006, Lethem published "The Genius of Bob Dylan," a lengthy interview with Bob Dylan in Rolling Stone magazine; the interview contained Lethem's reflections on Dylan's artistic achievements, as well as revealing Dylan's dissatisfaction with contemporary recording techniques and his thoughts on his own status. In 2005, Lethem had announced that he was planning to revive the Marvel Comics character Omega the Unknown in a ten-issue series to be published in 2006. After hearing of the project, Omega co-creator Steve Gerber expressed personal outrage over the use of the character without his participation, though he later discussed the project with Lethem and admitted that he had "misjudged" him. The revamped Omega the Unknown series was published in ten monthly issues from October 2007 to July 2008; the issues were published in a single volume in October 2008.In early 2007, Lethem began work on *Chronic City*, which will be published on September 15, 2009.

Richard Royce Schrock is an American chemist and Nobel laureate recognized for his contributions to the metathesis reaction used in organic chemistry. Born in Berne, Indiana, Schrock went to Mission Bay High School in San Diego, California. He holds a B.A. (1967) from the University of California, Riverside and a Ph. D. (1971) from Harvard University. At Harvard he studied under J. A. Osborn. In 1971-72, he carried out postdoctoral studies at the University of Cambridge with Lord Jack Lewis. In 1972, he was hired by DuPont, where he worked at the Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware in the group of George Parshall. He joined the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975 and became full professor in 1980. He has held his current post, the Frederick G. Keyes Professor of Chemistry, at MIT since 1989. Schrock is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Sciences and was elected to the Board of Overseers of Harvard University in 2007. He married Nancy Carlson in 1971 and has two children, Andrew and Eric.

Lou Dobbs is the anchor and managing editor of CNN's *Lou Dobbs Tonight*. Dobbs also anchors a nationally syndicated financial news radio report, *The Lou Dobbs Financial Report*, and writes a weekly commentary on CNN.com.

A lawyer, teacher, mother and active member of her community, Mrs. Patrick has brought her extensive and personal experience to her role as advocate against sexual and domestic violence. As a partner at the law firm of Ropes & Gray in Boston, she has been able to combine her passion for education and her background in labor and employment law. Throughout her life and professional career, Diane Patrick has dedicated herself to various communities, and currently serves on the Boards of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, the Posse Foundation and Jane Doe Inc.

Mary Richardson is co-anchor of WCVB-TV's *Chronicle*, the nation's longest running locally produced nightly newsmagazine. She co-anchors the acclaimed program with Anthony Everett. She had previously co-hosted with Peter Mehegan since October 1984. Richardson's work on *Chronicle*, which has been syndicated nationally on the Arts and Entertainment Cable Network and on other cable stations, has taken her from the main streets and back roads of New England to her ancestral Ireland, the Great Wall of China and Castro's Cuba. Richardson joined WCVB in 1980 as a news reporter and anchor. She also served as host for four years of *Five on Five*, a former WCVB weekly public affairs series. For a decade Richardson co-hosted the annual Holiday at Pops! concert from Symphony Hall and the popular Pops Goes the Fourth! celebration from the Hatch Shell on the banks of the Charles River. The concerts were broadcast locally on WCVB-TV and were also enjoyed by millions nationwide on the A&E Network. Richardson came to New England in 1978 to become the first female in Boston to co-anchor an 11 o'clock newscast, on the former WNAC-TV. She quickly established herself as one of Boston's most popular local television personalities. She began her broadcasting career in 1973 at KCRA-TV in Sacramento, CA. By 1975, she was the station's co-anchor for the 5PM and 11PM newscasts. Richardson was raised and educated in California where she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Santa Clara and graduate degrees at the University of California, Davis and at California State University.