Forum Network

As vice president, creative strategy, Matthew leads the Insight, Strategy & Innovation team (ISI) at Marriott International. He is responsible for developing strategies and innovations that deepen guest loyalty, build competitive advantage and drive profitable growth across Marriott’s portfolio of brands. Matthew joined Marriott in 2000 as director, concept design, and was later promoted to senior director, design strategy. During this period, he architected the development of an integrated F&B design and operations strategy called Momentum, as well as a companion concepting tool called C3. In 2005, Matthew was promoted to vice president, restaurants and bars where his focus expanded to global food & beverage operations, beverage program management and the oversight of high profile halo hotel projects worldwide. Born in Hong Kong and raised in the United States, Matthew spent six years in Asia working with Elite Concepts, a restaurant concept development and management company, where he was involved in numerous projects in Hong Kong, Macao, China, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Science Degree with Distinction from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University where he studied restaurant development and marketing. Prior to Cornell, Matthew studied classical French cooking at L’Ecole de Gastronomie Française Ritz-Escoffier in Paris, France.

Considered one of Intel's visionaries charting future directions for industry and computing, Chris S. Thomas directs a worldwide team of solutions architects establishing technology solutions for Intel’s “Next Billion” customers. His team develops strategies and architectures for education, health care, small business and other areas. He engages governments, industry, NGOs and development agencies worldwide in effective use of IT for emerging markets and is an active participant in world economic forum IT, internet and cloud computing activities. Thomas is well known for driving computer industry standardization and next generation solutions, including founding the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF), directing Intel’s Distributed Enterprise Architecture Lab, and architecting core technologies behind the LANDesk™ Management Suite. He is also co-author of the book “Mashup Corporations” providing a very human perspective of the implications of Web2.0 and Services Oriented Solutions. Thomas is a member of the Board of Directors of Agilix Labs Inc. developing the BrainHoney™ Learning Environment for occasionally connected and mobile learning and a member of the advisory board of the Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC). Thomas received a BS in Computer Science and a BA in Spanish from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Michael M. Crow became the 16th President of Arizona State University on July 1, 2002. He is guiding the transformation of ASU into one of the nation’s leading public metropolitan research universities, one that is directly engaged in the economic, social, and cultural vitality of its region. Under his direction the university pursues teaching, research, and creative excellence focused on the major challenges and questions of our time, as well as those central to the building of a sustainable environment and economy for Arizona. He has committed the university to global engagement, and to setting a new standard for public service. Since he took office, ASU has marked a number of important milestones, including the establishment of major interdisciplinary research initiatives such as the Biodesign Institute; the Global Institute for Sustainability; and MacroTechnology Works, a program integrating science and technology for large-scale applications, including the Flexible Display Center, a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Army. Prior to joining ASU, he was executive vice provost of Columbia University, where he also was professor of science and technology policy in the School of International and Public Affairs. As chief strategist of Columbia’s research enterprise, he led technology and innovation transfer operations, establishing Columbia Innovation Enterprises (now Science and Technology Ventures), the Strategic Initiative Program, and the Columbia Digital Media Initiative, as well as advancing interdisciplinary program development. A fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, he is the author of books and articles relating to the analysis of research organizations, technology transfer, science and technology policy, and the practice and theory of public policy.

Jane Milosch was hired as a curator of contemporary craft and decorative arts at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in October 2004. Since April 2008, she has been delegated to the Office of the Under Secretary of History, Art and Culture as a Senior Program Officer for the Arts. Her research interests include American craft, decorative arts and contemporary art. Previously, Milosch was curator of collections and exhibitions at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art in Iowa (2000–2004) and a curator at the Davenport Museum of Art in Iowa (1995–1997). From 1998 to 2000 she worked as a project director and editor at Prestel Publishing in Munich, Germany. Milosch earned a bachelor’s degree in art education with a concentration in art history and studio art/ceramics from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. (1987). In 1987 she received a Fulbright Scholarship to study art history and ceramics at the University of Munich and the Munich Art Academy in Germany.

John Carroll is Assistant Professor of Mass Communications in BOston University's College of Communications. A veteran of both the advertising and journalism worlds, Carroll served as executive producer of news programs at WGBH-TV in Boston and as producer/panelist on the daily show *Greater Boston* and the weekly program *Beat the Press*. He currently serves as media consultant at WBUR. Over the past 20 years he has also written extensively on advertising and the media as a regular columnist for the Boston *Globe* and *Adweek* magazine, and as a commentator on WBUR-FM and National Public Radio. Carroll has won numerous national and regional journalism awards, including the RTNDA’s Edward R. Murrow award for writing, the National Press Club’s Arthur Rowse award for press criticism, and multiple New England Emmys for commentary and news writing. In addition, he spent almost two decades as a creative director and consultant in the advertising industry.

Dr. John Eichelberger is the program coordinator for the USGS Volcano Hazards Program. He has more than 34 years of experience as a volcano expert and was previously the chair of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Department of Geology and Geophysics, professor of volcanology, coordinating scientist with the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), and leader of research and teaching projects on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian Federation, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Russian Academy of Science. Over the last few years, he has worked with Russian colleagues to develop joint projects and opportunities for Russian and American students on volcanoes in Kamchatka and Alaska. Eichelberger graduated in 1974 with a doctorate in geology from Stanford University and in 1971 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with bachelor's and master's degrees in earth sciences.

Robert H. Hirst, Ph.D. is the General Editor and Official Curator of the Mark Twain Project and Papers, housed at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the editor of *Who Is Mark Twain?* (HarperStudio), a collection of 24 wickedly funny, thought provoking essays and stories by Twain, none of which have ever been published before -- and all of which are steeped in contemporary relevance and humor. Hirst began his relationship with the Mark Twain Papers in 1967. He collaborated with Edgar M. Branch on several volumes of *Mark Twain's Early Tales & Sketches*. Since 1980 Hirst has been General Editor of the Mark Twain Project, so-called because it embraced two ongoing editions: the *Mark Twain Papers* in Berkeley and *Works of Mark Twain* (begun at Iowa City). Under his leadership, more than 20 volumes have since appeared, with many more still in the pipeline. The most recent volume of *Papers and Works* has been described as "an unmatched and probably unsurpassable pinnacle of editorial achievement... arguably the single greatest product of modern American editorial scholarship." Hirst is also the Official Curator of the Papers and has continuously added to the collection through both gifts and purchases. Since 1996, he has taught one course a year in the Berkeley English Department, where he is an adjunct professor. Born in New York City and raised in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., Hirst is a graduate of Harvard with an M.A. and Ph.D. in American Literature from University of California Berkeley.

Professor Tereasa Brainerd is the associate chair of the Boston University Astronomy Department and the director of the BU Institute for Astrophysical Research. She received her PhD in Astronomy from Ohio State University in 1992, where her research focused on the use of computer simulations to constrain the growth of dark matter structure in the universe. Professor Brainerd did postdoctoral work at California Institute of Technology from 1992 to 1994 and at Los Alamos National Lab from 1994 to 1995. She joined the astronomy department of Boston University in 1995. She is best known for her work on weak gravitational lensing, faint galaxy clustering, and the locations of satellite galaxies relative to their hosts. Her most recent work involves measuring the degree to which galaxies are intrinsically aligned with each other over large scales in the universe.

Ray Mabus is the 75th United States secretary of the Navy. He leads the American Navy and Marine Corps and is responsible for an annual budget in excess of $150 billion and almost 900,000 people. Prior to joining the administration of President Barack Obama, Mabus served in a variety of top posts in government and the private sector, including governor of Mississippi from 1988 to 1992 and ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 1996. In June 2010, President Obama asked Secretary Mabus to prepare a long-term recovery plan for the Gulf of Mexico in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. After extensive travel and many meetings, his report "America's Gulf Coast: A Long-Term Recovery Plan After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill" was released in September 2010. The report was met with broad bi-partisan support. Mabus has been awarded the U.S. Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award, the U.S. Army’s distinguished Civilian Service Award, the Martin Luther King Social Responsibility Award from the King Center in Atlanta, the National Wildlife Federation Conservation Achievement Award, the King Abdul Aziz Award from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Mississippi Association of Educators' Friend of Education Award.

Alicia is a graduate of Northeastern University; holds a J.D. from the Suffolk University Law School; and received her L.L.M. in International Law, with a Specialization in the Protection of International Human Rights from The Washington College of Law at American University. Alicia has worked on issues of human trafficking since 2006, when she joined the staff of The Protection Project at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (JHU-SAIS) in Washington DC. Alicia has worked on a variety of human rights issues, focusing on child sex trafficking in both domestic and international contexts and other forms of violence against women. Currently Alicia is co-instructing a distance-learning course on international human rights law and is engaged in extensive research on the reintegration of formerly trafficked women. Alicia guest lectures at local Universities and is active in supporting various social causes in Boston and beyond.

Lisa Goldblatt Grace is the Co-founder and Director of the My Life My Choice Project (MLMC). Since 2002, MLMC has offered the only comprehensive prevention curriculum aimed at reaching girls vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation. MLMC also offers services such as prevention groups, training, survivor mentoring, and program consultation. Goldblatt Grace has served as a consultant to the Massachusetts Administrative Office of the Trial Court’s Redesigning the Court’s Response to Prostitution project, and as a primary researcher on the 2007 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study of programs serving human trafficking victims. In addition, she has written in a variety of publications regarding commercial sexual exploitation and offered training on the subject nationally. Goldblatt Grace is Adjunct Faculty at the Boston University School of Social Work. She holds masters degrees in social work and public health from Boston University.

Siddharth Kara is an Affiliate of the Human Rights and Social Movements Program, and a Fellow with the Carr Center Program on Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery. He is the author of Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery, the first of three books he is writing on the subjects of human trafficking and contemporary slavery. Kara currently advises the United Nations and several governments on antislavery policy and law, and he continues to research slavery around the world. He has written an award winning feature film screenplay on human trafficking that is set for production in 2011. Previously, Kara was an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, then ran his own finance and M&A consulting firm. He holds a Law degree from. England, MBA from Columbia University, and BA from Duke University.