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Lisa Simmons is the founder and president of The Color of Film Collaborative, Inc., (TCOF), an organization of actors, producers, directors and others with an interest in creating and supporting positive images of people of color in film, theater, and other media. The Color of Film Collaborative co-produces the Roxbury Film Festival, a festival that celebrates the vision and the voice of independent filmmakers of color. Lisa has been producing independent films in the Boston area for over 10 years and serves on the Board Filmmakers Collaborative and The League of Women for Community Service, and is a former member of Women in Film and Video/New England for which she served for two years. She has received the Image Award from Women in Film New England, the Diversity award from Our Place Theater Project and a leadership award from the Urban League Guild of Eastern Massachusetts. Currently Lisa spends most of her time behind the camera producing, mentoring and creating more and better opportunities for filmmakers of color. In addition to producing other filmmakers' work, Lisa is also an independent producer and is currently producing and writing a documentary on the history of Boston's Black theatre during the WPA. She has also produced live theater in and around the Boston area.

American producer/director/cinematographer George Stevens made his professional acting debut at age five in the company of his actor-parents. Developing an interest in photography as a hobby, Stevens became an assistant movie cameraman at the age of 17. From 1927 through 1930, he was principal cameraman at Hal Roach Studios, shooting such classic two-reelers as Laurel and Hardy's *Two Tars *(1928) and *Below Zero* (1930), as well as a handful of feature films, including the 1927 Western *No Man's Law*. Stevens was elevated to director in 1930 for Roach's *Boy Friends* series. Stevens' directorial style displayed the same acute sense of visual dynamics that had distinguished his earlier work as a cameraman; the director refined and improved upon that style through sweat and persistence. Once he reached the "A" list, Stevens became one of the most meticulous and painstaking directors in the business, commencing production only after extensive research, filming take after take until perfection was achieved, and then spending as much as a full year editing the finished product. During World War II, Stevens was made an officer in the Signal Corps, filming vivid color footage of such historical milestones as the D-Day maneuvers and the liberation of the death camps; much of this footage was incorporated into the 1984 documentary *George Stevens: A Filmaker's Journey*, assembled by George Stevens Jr. After the war, Stevens produced and directed his final RKO assignment, *I Remember Mama* (1948), then moved to Paramount for what many consider his crowning achievement -- 1951's *A Place in the Sun*, a brilliant filmization of the Theodore Dreiser novel *An American Tragedy*. *A Place in the Sun* won Stevens his first Oscar for best directing in 1951. The more time and effort Stevens expended on his individual projects, the fewer he produced. His output between 1953 and 1959 consisted of *Shane* (1953); *Giant* (1956), in which he put the awkward Cinemascope screen to superb artistic use, winning his second Oscar in the process; and *The Diary of Anne Frank* (1959). While George Stevens' reputation was tarnished by the disappointments of his last years, critics and fans alike have taken a "forgive and forget" stance since his death in 1975, preferring to cite his huge manifest of hits rather than his final faltering misses.

Since 1994, Anne Brengle has brought her considerable management and curatorial skills and her far-reaching vision to her position as Executive Director of the New Bedford Whaling Museum. She received her B.A. from New York University and completed coursework for an M.A. in Museum Studies at Lesley College Graduate School. She holds certificates from the Getty Leadership Institute, the Museum Management Program, University of Colorado; Project Management, Harvard University Graduate School of Design; Executive Summer Institute and Center for Creative Leadership, Jessie Ball duPont Fund Institute; Summer Institute-American Arts and the American Experience, Boston University, Museum of Fine Arts, and Yale University. Ms. Brengle served as Executive Director of the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum, New Bedford, 1991-94. Her awards include: New Bedford Standard Times Woman of the Year, 1999; Official Citation, State Senate of Massachusetts for Bringing a sense of dignity and culture to the city of New Bedford, 1998; Community Leader of the Year, New Bedford Chamber of Commerce, 1997; Official Citation, City of New Bedford for Significant contribution to the city's arts and culture, 1996. Ms. Brengle currently is Vice President of the Council of American Maritime Museums, and serves on the boards of the New Bedford Historic Commission, Waterfront Historic Area League, and the Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities.

Chaisson's major interests are currently twofold: his scientific research addresses an interdisciplinary, thermodynamic study of physical, biological, and cultural phenomena, seeking to understand the origin and evolution of galaxies, stars, planets, life, and society, thus devising a unifying cosmic-evolutionary worldview of the Universe and our sense of place within it writ large. His educational work engages experienced teachers and computer animators to create better methods, technological aids, and novel curricula to enthuse teachers and instruct students in all aspects of natural science.

Andrea Mitchell, the veteran NBC Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, is also the host of MSNBC'S "Andrea Mitchell Reports," an hour of political news and interviews with top news makers that airs each day at 1pm ET on MSNBC. Mitchell covered the entire 2008 presidential campaign, from the kickoff in February 2007, broadcasting live from every major primary and caucus state and all the candidate debates for NBC News and MSNBC programs, including Today, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Hardball, Morning Joe and Meet the Press. She also covered Barack Obama's trip to Iraq, the Middle East and Europe during the presidential campaign. Mitchell currently covers foreign policy, intelligence and national security issues, including the diplomacy of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for all NBC News properties. As a featured political correspondent in 2004, Mitchell was a regular panelist on MSNBCs Hardball and was the first reporter to break the story that Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry had chosen Sen. John Edwards as his vice presidential running mate. In September 2005, Mitchell authored Talking Back, a memoir about her experiences as one of the first women to cover five presidents, congress and foreign policy. That year, Mitchell also received the prestigious Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. In 2004, the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) honored Mitchell with the Leonard Zeidenberg Award for her contribution to the protection of First Amendment Freedoms.

Nancy Kranich served as President of the American Library Association in 2000-2001, focusing on the role of libraries in democracies. A tireless champion of the public's information rights, Nancy has led the library community's efforts to promote civic engagement, open access, and free expression. Prior to her presidency, she spearheaded ALA's telecommunications advocacy, formed the Coalition on Government Information, and established the James Madison Awards honoring champions of the public's right to know. Since leading ALA, Nancy has continued to promote democratic participation, launching ALA's civic engagement membership initiative, moderating public forums, participating in Kettering's US/Russia dialogue, and teaching about civic engagement. In 2004, she moved to State College, PA where she now chairs of one of the oldest National Issues Forum groups in the country.

As Director of Libraries, Ann J. Wolpert is responsible for the MIT Libraries and MIT Press. The MIT Libraries consist of five major collections, a number of smaller branch libraries in specialized subject areas, a fee-for-services group, and the Institute Archives. The Institute Archives and Special Collections preserve the historical records of MIT and the personal papers of many faculty members. The MIT Press publishes about 200 new books and more than 40 journals each year in fields related to or reliant upon science and technology. The Press is widely recognized for its innovative graphic design and electronic publishing initiatives. Ms. Wolpert's Institute responsibilities include membership on the Committee on Copyright and Patents, the Council on Educational Technology, the Deans' Committee, and the Academic Council. She chairs the Management Board of the MIT Press and the Board of Directors of Technology Review, Inc.

Eli Pariser is Executive Director of MoveOn.org Political Action and interim Executive Director of MoveOn.org Civic Action. Eli joined MoveOn in 2001, and directed MoveOn's campaign against the Iraq war, tripling MoveOn's member base in the process, which now includes over 3.3 million members. Eli was one of the co-creators of the Bush in 30 Seconds ad contest, and as Executive Director of MoveOn PAC raised over $30 million from over 350,000 small donors to run ads, develop a powerful field program, and support progressive candidates from John Kerry on down. Eli graduated summa cum laude in 2000 with a B.A. in Political Science from Simon's Rock College. He lives in Portland, Maine.

Fred Spier is Senior Lecturer in Big History. As of 1994, he has organized the annual big history course at the University of Amsterdam, while since 2003 he has also taught the annual big history university lecture series at the Eindhoven University of Technology. First trained as a biochemist with research experience in plant genetic engineering and the synthesis of oligonucleotides, Spier subsequently became a cultural anthropologist and social historian. In this quality he performed a ten year study on religion, politics and ecology in Peru, which led to the publication of two books. Developing an overarching explanatory paradigm for Big History. In his article "How Big History Works: Energy flows and the rise and demise of complexity" (published in 2005 by the journal *Social Evolution & History*), the outline of an historical theory of everything is proposed, which should help to explain history at all levels as well as guide further research. An elaborated version of this argument will be presented in his upcoming book tentatively titled *Big History and the Future*.

Lynn Rothschild is responsible for the overall management of Investigation 6 - Planetary Pioneers, and participates in efforts to identify new model organisms, performing the initial tests for UV and desiccation resistance, and mechanisms of resistance. She will also be involved in various EPO activities and co-organizing the Stanford Astrobiology and Space Exploration course.