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Dante Gibbs is a graduate student at Case Western Reserve University. He is also a staff member of the East Cleveland Partnership, a collaboration between the City of East Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University’s Social Justice Institute.

Sushil Alimchandani, PhD, (aka Chandani) is a Research Scientist in the Department of Biology at Boston University. He is an experimental biologist whose extensive research includes the computer modeling of processes involved in DNA repair, the mechanism by which carcinogens cause mutations, and the differences between normal and malignant cells. He has also worked on the factors that ensure the transparency of the human eye lens and on the causes of age-related blindness.

Whitney Munn is the Associate Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, a full-service, international law firm with nine offices across the eastern United States and in Europe. In 2004, she created the firm’s award-winning community involvement initiative, “IMPACT,” and now is currently responsible for managing all aspects of the firm’s corporate social responsibility efforts which include the employee volunteer program, charitable contributions, board placement and training, diversity & inclusion and sustainability. Whitney is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is an alumna of LEAD Atlanta and United Way VIP. She is Past President of the Board of Directors of the Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta and currently serves as a Member at Large on their Board. She also serves on the Board of VOX Teen Communications and the Advisory Board for GivingPoint.

First elected to office in 2001 to serve District 29; House Minority Whip 2003-2004; Assistant Minority Leader 2005-2006; Current committee assignments are Appropriations( B); Health; Rules; Joint Legislative Budget Committee; CPS Oversight; and the Governor’s Commission on Reforming CPS. Linda has and will continue to have a positive impact at the House of Representatives. Linda serves as Community Relations Coordinator for La Frontera Center, Inc., Tucson. She has been employed and worked for the center since 1991 and is responsible for pursuing funding opportunities for programs, collaborating with other agencies and providers to ensure optimum services for children and adults, and for promoting La Frontera Center to the community. Ms. Lopez has also served as a Clinical Supervisor for Child/Family Center, responsible for overseeing all aspects of daily operations of the Child/Family Center to include personnel management, program development and implementation for a variety of children with special needs, provision of counseling services for children and parents/guardians, and review of financial operations. Prior to this she served as Child/Family Specialist which required direct contact with a variety of special needs children, including developmentally delayed and emotionally and behaviorally disturbed. She developed treatment plans, maintained client records, counseled children and parents/guardians, conducted home visits, and collaborated with staff of cooperating agencies. She was a foster parent for 10 years for 44 foster children who had been abused and neglected. Many of the children had special needs, including schizophrenia, learning disabilities, depression, developmental delays and behavior disorders.

Consuelo Hernandez is the sister of congressional intern Daniel Hernandez

The Honorable Leah Landrum Taylor is an elected State Senator for District 16. Senator Landrum Taylor serves on the K-12 Education, Natural Resources and Rural Affairs and the Public Safety and Human Resources Committee. She has previously served on the House Ways and Means and Environment Committees as well as Adoption and Foster Care, Homelessness, Governor’s Brown Cloud Summit, and Federal Mandates committees during interim. Leah is also an Alumna of American Council of Young Political Leaders, serves on the YMCA Youth Initiatives Board and is the Arizona Caucus chair for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. She is also an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow of Emerging Political Leaders in America and was recently featured on the cover of the Arizona Woman Magazine . Senator Landrum Taylor attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University through the Fannie Mae Foundation with the focus on affordable housing. Landrum Taylor is well known for championing Foster Care and Adoption issues as well as Kinship Care Legislation. Additionally, she is a founder and vice-president of the Landrum Foundation, a non-profit organization, designed to afford financial support and preparation for students throughout their post-secondary education. During her spare time she is an Adjunct Faculty Member for the Maricopa Community College. Leah is also the senior advisor for the Arizona Children’s Association. Senator Landrum Taylor is a third generation native Phoenician, educated at Xavier College Preparatory and Arizona State University where she received a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Political Science. Leah is happily married to Gregory Taylor, a mechanical engineer specializing in research and planning. They have one son, Greyson Elijah Taylor.

Chad Campbell is a Phoenix native and lifelong Arizona resident. A graduate of Moon Valley High School and Northern Arizona University, Chad is in his second term as a State Representative for District 14, which covers parts of central and west Phoenix. He currently serves as the House Democratic Whip, is the Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee and also serves on the Government Committee. Chad has been an active community member for many years. As a community leader and nonprofit director, some of the key issues he has worked on over the years include improving the Maricopa County transportation system, protecting state shared revenues for cities, advocating for renewable energy and smarter growth, protecting critical services for children, and diversifying and strengthening Arizona’s economy. As a legislator, Chad has led the fight in improving and strengthening the Clean Elections system, protecting consumers from fraud and predatory lending, and working to clean up our neighborhoods by cracking down on graffiti and gang crimes. He has also been recognized for his work on economic development issues, being named one of the “Tech Ten” Legislators of 2008 by the Arizona Technology Council, and receiving an Eagle for Enterprise Award from the AZ Small Business Association. In addition to his duties at the legislature, Chad is a private consultant and also serves on the Phoenix Environmental Quality Commission, the Board of Directors for Communities in Schools of Arizona, and the Advisory Board for the Arizona Latino Leadership Institute. In October 2009 Chad was selected to be part of the White House CLEAN Coalition, a national group of state leaders working with the White House to advance federal clean energy legislation in Congress.

Albert A. Hale is the former President of the Navajo Nation. He served as the President from 1995 to 1998. He also served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Navajo Nation and special counsel to the Navajo Nation Council. He is also the former President of the Navajo Nation Bar Association. Senator Hale is the former Chairman of the Navajo Nation Water Rights Commission, a commission established by the Navajo Nation Council to oversee and coordinate the Navajo Nation’s water rights, litigation and negotiation efforts. He served as the Commission Chairman during the Negotiation of the New Mexico and the Navajo Nation San Juan River Basin Water Right Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement was signed on April 19, 2005. He served as a Judge Pro Temp for the Laguna Courts, Laguna Pueblo, Laguna, New Mexico. He is one of the lawyers who filed a lawsuit in 1999 against the tobacco companies on behalf of a number of Indian Nations requesting compensation for injury to tribal members from use of smoking and chewing tobacco. Senator Hale is now in private law practice with offices located in St. Michaels, Arizona. He represents Navajo and non-Navajo clients in federal, state and various tribal courts which include Navajo Nation, Taos, and other tribal courts. His clientele include Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority, an enterprise of the Navajo Nation, the Fort Defiance Housing Corporation, the Bishop Piaute Tribe of Bishop, California, regarding the Tribe’s land and water rights claims, and companies doing business on the Navajo Nation. He is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation; born and raised in Klagetoh, Arizona. He is Ashiihi (salt), born for Todichiini (Bitter Water), Hanaghani (Walk About clan) are his maternal grandparents and Kiyanii (Tall House clan) are his paternal grandparents. He is a 1969 graduate of Fort Wingate High School, a Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school located east of Gallup, New Mexico. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (1973) and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University Of New Mexico School Of Law, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1977). He is a member of the New Mexico State Bar Association and the Navajo Nation Bar Association and admitted to practice in U.S. Federal Courts, New Mexico State Courts the Navajo Nation Courts, and various Indian Nation’s Courts. He has been practicing law for over 27 years, mostly in private practice. His law practice concentrates on representing businesses on Indian Nations. On January 20, 2004 Senator Hale was appointed to the Arizona State Senate to fill the District 2 Senate seat vacated by Senator Jack Jackson, Sr. Senator Hale was elected to the Arizona State Senate in November, 2004. Committees Senator Hale serves on are: Appropriations; Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Welfare; Judiciary; and Rules.

Daniel Hernandez is a congressional intern for rep. Gabrielle Giffords and is credited with helping to save her life by administering fist aid to her at the scene of the shooting.

Kyrsten Sinema serves as the Assistant Leader to the Democratic Caucus in the House of Representatives and represents central Phoenix in the Arizona Legislature. Now in her third term, she is the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee and the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. Kyrsten holds both a law degree and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Arizona State University, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in the School of Justice and Social Inquiry at ASU. She is an adjunct professor in the School of Social Work at ASU and practices law when not in session. Kyrsten also serves as faculty for the Center for Progressive Leadership, teaching tomorrow’s community leaders about the political process. Kyrsten has worked on initiatives in Arizona and around the country for a number of years, and in 2006 chaired Arizona Together, the first and only successful effort in the country to defeat a same-sex marriage ballot initiative. In 2008, she chaired Protect Arizona’s Freedom, the coalition that defeated Ward Connerly’s effort to place an initiative on the state ballot to eliminate equal opportunity programs. She continues to consult with political groups around the nation on electoral and legislative strategy. Kyrsten serves on numerous community and national boards, including as Board President of Community Outreach and Advocacy for Refugees, the YWCA of Maricopa County, Center for Progressive Leadership, and theYoung Elected Officials’ Network. Kyrsten is the recipient of awards for her political leadership, including the NAACP Civil Rights Award, Az Hispanic Community Forum Friend of the Year, Planned Parenthood Legislative CHOICE Award, Sierra Club’s Most Valuable Player, and the Az Public Health Association Legislator of the Year. Kyrsten’s first book, *Unite and Conquer: How to Build Coalitions that Win and Last*, was released in July 2009 by Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Steve Farley is a 46-year-old small-business owner married to Kelly Paisley and father of Amelia, 14, and Genevieve, 10. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams College (Mass.) in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He was elected to the Arizona Legislature as State Representative from District 28 in November 2006. He now serves as the Ranking Democrat on the Government and Ways & Means committees, as well as Member of the Transportation committee. Steve is well-known to Tucsonans as the artist who gathered personal photos from the Tucson community and turned them into those historic photographic tile murals around the Broadway Underpass, at the eastern gateway to Downtown Tucson, using a tilemaking process he invented. Steve has been actively involved in City politics for the past seven years, in particular as a strong advocate for neighborhoods, downtown revitalization, and sustainable transportation improvements. "He can make things happen, and it's not in the traditional political way," said Tucson attorney and political activist Clague Van Slyke III in an article in the Tucson Weekly. "He has great ideas; he has a lot of vision, and he can get things done by bringing people together. And he’s not hidebound by traditional political ties." He is founder of the transit advocacy group Tucsonans for Sensible Transportation. In that role, he motivated hundreds of grassroots volunteers and donors to gather more than 18,000 signatures from city voters to place on the ballot a Citizens’ Transportation Initiative (that would have boosted transportation alternatives) in November 2003, and won over 70% of the vote in much of the central city, although it was defeated overall. He didn’t give up. He went on to work with conservationist Carolyn Campbell alongside former rivals from the business and development community as a key member of the Citizen Advisory Committee that created the multimodal Tucson Regional Transportation Authority sales tax and plan on the ballot on May 16, 2006. He was instrumental in convincing an initially anti-transit committee to raise the portion allotted to public transit from $200 million to $532 million in the final plan. He served on the Executive Committee and was a chief spokesperson for the Yes!! for Regional Transportation campaign for approval of the tax and plan. That initiative won 60% of the vote, and was the first transportation tax and plan to pass in Tucson history, after four previous tries. Farley has been Vice-Chair of the Pima Association of Governments Regional Transportation Plan (PAG-RTP) Task Force, a member of the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) Citizens Advisory Committee, and a member of the City of Tucson Major Transit Investment Study Citizen Advisory Group. The Arizona Transit Association honored him with the statewide 2006 Friend of Transit award. He is also a Board Member of the central-city Blenman Elm Neighborhood Association and the Tucson Downtown Alliance. He has collaborated with a broad range of Tucson environmentalists and government officials on various livability issues ranging from the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan to alternative modes of transportation to organic gardening to smart growth to water harvesting to urban design. He has been named “Conservation Hero” by the Arizona League of Conservation Voters, “Legislative Champion” by the Arizona League of Cities and Towns, and “Arts Hero” by Arizona Citizen Action for the Arts.

On November 4, 2008, Gabrielle Giffords was re-elected by the people of Arizona’s Eighth Congressional District - a diverse area that covers 9,000 square miles including a 114 mile border with Mexico. For almost ten years, Giffords has dedicated herself to public service as an elected official. A third generation Tucsonan, she represented her hometown in the Arizona Legislature from 2000-2005 where she was the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona State Senate. Upon entering Congress, Giffords quickly became a leading champion of solar energy, immigration reform, and the needs of military families and veterans. Consistently ranked as one of the most centrist legislators in Congress, she is a strong supporter of fiscal responsibility, bipartisanship and government accountability. Involving southern Arizonans in shaping policies and strategically solving community problems is the cornerstone of her work. Giffords’ inclusive and collaborative approach allows her to bring all viewpoints to the table and the best ideas to Washington. Before entering public office, Giffords took over her family’s tire and automotive business. As the President and Chief Executive Officer of El Campo Tire, Inc, she faced the struggles that many small business owners in Arizona and America face. In Washington, Giffords works hard to be a voice for small businesses and is a tireless advocate for spending restraint and honest budgeting. Representing thousands of military families and veterans in southern Arizona, Giffords proudly serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Subcommittees on Air and Land Forces and Military Readiness. She works closely with Army and Air Force officials at Southern Arizona’s outstanding installations: Fort Huachuca, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and the 162nd Air National Guard. Bringing their interests and concerns to Washington is one of her top priorities. On the House Science and Technology Committee, Congresswoman Giffords promotes an agenda of energy independence and solar initiatives in an effort to make Southern Arizona the “Solar-con Valley" of the nation. She is also Vice Chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition. In her district, Giffords launched a Community Solar Energy Initiative to mobilize support and action for the increased use of solar energy. It includes an advisory council of university researchers, business leaders, elected officials and interested citizens to make recommendations on how solar energy could be advanced in Arizona. This effort also led to the introduction and passage of legislation to encourage research and development and the training of a solar energy installation workforce. Giffords also fought for an eight-year extension of the Investment Tax Credit for commercial and residential solar projects. In January of 2009, Congresswoman Giffords was selected to serve as Chair of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee. In this new role, she is leading the conversation around future space exploration, including the University of Arizona’s Phoenix Mars Mission; expanding aviation research; and working to inspire the next generation of math and science pioneers. Combining her work on the Armed Services and Science Committees, Giffords is taking the lead in Congress to promote increased use of renewable energy at military installations throughout the country. On the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Giffords is focused on conditions in Mexico and Central America concerning national security, economic development and immigration. In particular, she helped reform a State Department initiative aimed at reducing drug trafficking and cartel violence along the U.S. - Mexico border. Her legislative effort ensured coordination with state and local law enforcement officials. Giffords also serves as Vice Chair of the U.S.-Mexico Interparliamentary Group. Giffords holds a Master’s Degree in Regional Planning from Cornell University and a B.A. from Scripps College where she was awarded a William Fulbright Scholarship to study for a year in Chihuahua, Mexico. She is married to Captain Mark Kelly, a Navy Pilot and NASA astronaut, and is the only U.S. Representative with an active duty military spouse.