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Ellen Kaplan has taught mathematics to people from six to sixty, at leading independent schools and most recently at Harvard University. She wrote with her husband, Robert Kaplan, they wrote *The Art of the Infinite*. Ellen Kaplan is also co-author of *Chances Are: Adventures in Probability* and *Bozo Sapiens: Why to Err is Human*, co-written with her son Michael Kaplan.

Mitchell B. Reiss is an American diplomat and president of Washington College, MD. From 2003 to 2007, Reiss served as President George Bush's special envoy for the Northern Ireland peace process, the role in which he attained the rank of ambassador. For his service, the State Department honored him with its Foreign Affairs Award for Public Service. He has also served the U.S. Department of State as director of policy planning, where he reported to Secretary of State Colin Powell and helped develop U.S. foreign policy, with special emphasis on Iraq, North Korea, China, Iran and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Earlier in his career, Reiss helped manage the start-up and operations of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), a multinational organization designed to end North Korea's nuclear weapons program, he was also KEDO's chief negotiator with the North Koreans. Reiss was a Guest Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., where he started the Center's nonproliferation and counterproliferation programs. Reiss has authored three books: *Negotiating with Evil: When to Talk to Terrorists*; *Bridled Ambition: Why Countries Contain Their Nuclear Capabilities*; and* Without The Bomb: The Politics of Nuclear Nonproliferation*. He has served as a co-editor and as a contributing author for more than 20 books, and is published frequently in leading academic and foreign policy journals and in the news media.

Bill Noonan has been a firefighter with the Boston Fire Department since 1971, when he was appointed to Engine Company 3 in the South End. He eventually transferred to the Fire Prevention Division as a department photographer. He has authored four photo books: Flames & Faces: A Photographic Essay of the Boston Fire Department (2004) Wooden Sticks and Iron Men (2000), Jakes Under Fire (1997), and Smoke Showin' (1984). He is a U.S. Army veteran, who served one year in Saigon, South Vietnam.

John Mutter is professor in the departments of earth and environmental sciences and international and public affairs at Columbia University. He teaches a seminar section in a new course called "Frontiers of Science" that all undergraduates are required to take and has worked closely with Columbia's Earth Institute and is a respected voice in the intersection of human rights and environmental action. Author of more than 70 scientific articles, along with many popular articles, Mutter studied at the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney, and Columbia University. He is married to Carolyn Zehnder Mutter, International Research Institute, and has five children.

Ross DeVol is Executive Director of Economic Research at the Milken Institute, leading the Center for Regional Economics, the Center for Health Economics and the California Center. DeVol oversees the Institute's research efforts on the dynamics of comparative national and regional growth performance. He is also an appointee to the California State Controller's Council of Economic Advisors. Since joining the Institute, DeVol has put his group in the national limelight with groundbreaking research on technology and its impact on regional and national economies. He is an expert on the new intangible economy and how regions can prepare themselves to compete in it. He examines the effects of technology, research and development activities, international trade, human capital and labor-force skills training, entrepreneurship, early-stage financing, and quality-of-place issues on the geographic distribution of economic activity. DeVol is ranked among the "Super Stars" of Think Tank Scholars by *International Economy* magazine. DeVol was the lead author of *Jobs for America: Investments and Policies for Economic Growth and Competitiveness*, which tackles the central question of the day: How can the United States jumpstart and sustain job growth? The policy changes analyzed – decreasing U.S. corporate tax rates to match the OECD average, increasing and making permanent the R&D tax credit, and modernizing export controls on certain products – would spur significant economic growth in the medium- to long-term. The report demonstrates that more than 3.5 million jobs can be created in each of the next three years by supporting investment in 10 key infrastructure project categories. DeVol was also the lead author on *North America’s High-Tech Economy: The Geography of Knowledge-Based Industries*, which revised and extended the Institute’s original work to include Canadian and Mexican metropolitan areas. It examined the locations and patterns of growth in 19 individual high-tech industry categories. This is believed to be the most detailed comparative assessment available for understanding North America’s high-tech landscape. In *Greater Philadelphia Life Sciences Cluster 2009: An Economic and Comparative Assessment*, he and his colleagues revised and extended the Institute’s original 2005 analysis of the Greater Philadelphia life-sciences cluster relative to 10 other leading clusters in the United States. In *State Technology and Science Index: Enduring Lessons for the Intangible Economy*, DeVol and his co-author examined how states need to remain strong in many technologies and stay on top in some. This annual index is well-received by policymakers, business executives and investors seeking to identify areas of strength and weakness to better target limited resources. He was the principal author of *An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease*, which brought to light for the first time what is often overlooked in the discussion of the impact of chronic disease – the economic losses associated with preventable illness and the cost to the nation’s gross domestic product and U.S. businesses in lost growth. The study is the first of its kind to estimate the avoidable costs if a serious effort were made to improve Americans’ health. Other recent work involves the study of biotechnology and other life-sciences clusters, and the impact these industries have on regional economies. He was the lead author of *Mind-to-Market: A Global Analysis of University Biotechnology Transfer and Commercialization*, which was released in September 2006. This study looked at the transfer and commercialization of university-developed intellectual property on a global basis, with particular focus on biotechnology. DeVol was the lead author of *Biopharmaceutical Contributions to State and U.S. Economies*, released in October 2004, documenting the large economic impact of the industry and analyzing which states are best positioned for future growth. In *America's Biotech and Life Science Cluster*, he and his colleagues researched leading clusters and San Diego's position among them, and highlighted the key factors determining success. He co-authored *The Economic Contributions of Health Care to New England*, which constituted the first detailed examination of the concentration, innovation capacities, growth, and economic-multiplier impacts of health care in that region. He authored the policy brief *America's Health-Care Economy* in August 2003, providing the first comprehensive benchmarking of the nation's leading health-care clusters. He completed a significant study in July 1999, *America's High-Tech Economy: Growth, Development, and Risks for Metropolitan Areas*, an examination of how clusters of high-tech industries across the country affect economic growth in those regions. It has been translated into Chinese and published in China. His *Best Performing Cities: Where America’s Jobs Are Created*, published in November 2004 (with an updated edition released in September 2008), reveals which cities are creating jobs and economic opportunity and describes the factors determining long-term success. This is a continuation of research that was previously published annually by Forbes. He has authored studies examining how to harness the research and innovation capacity of a region to build high-tech clusters based on new technologies. Prior to joining the Institute, DeVol was senior vice president of Global Insight Inc. (formerly Wharton Econometric Forecasting), where he supervised the firm's Regional Economic Services group. DeVol supervised the respecification of Global Insight's regional econometric models and played an instrumental role in similar work on its U.S. Macro Model, originally developed by Nobel Laureate Lawrence Klein. He was the firm's chief spokesman on international trade. He also served as the head of Global Insight's U.S. Long-Term Macro Service and authored special reports on behalf of the U.S. Macro Group. DeVol was previously director of economic planning at CSX, where he was responsible for U.S. macroeconomic and industry analysis, and worked with former U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow. He was also an economist at Chase Econometrics and an economic analyst at Union Pacific. DeVol appears on national television and radio programs, including CNN’s "Moneyline," “Wall Street Journal Report with Maria Bartiromo,” Fox Business News, CNBC and NPR's "Talk of the Nation." He is frequently quoted in print media, such as *The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Investor's Business Daily, The Los Angeles Times, Forbes, The Economist, Time, BusinessWeek*, and others. DeVol earned his master’s degree in economics at Ohio University and received advanced training in economics at Carnegie Mellon University.

Jeb Bush was governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. During those eight years, he made notable investments to improve Florida’s future. In the area of biotechnology, Bush used public dollars to lure The Scripps Research Institute to expand to Florida. In education, he gave schools a letter grade ranging from A to F and rewarded schools for success with monetary bonuses. For the economy, he supported Enterprise Florida, a business-government partnership that works to diversify Florida’s economy and create businesses in innovative, high-growth industries.

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.

Theodore (Ted) Gerber is an independent insurance and investment broker living in Somerville, MA and Waterford, ME. Born and raised in Boston, Ted is an alumnus of the Boston Latin School. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees and served for many years as an urban planner and public administrator in the Boston area. As a youngster, Ted grew to admire the skill and courage of Boston firefighters, and later gained a great appreciation for the history of the Department. He is a member of several fire service support organizations, a former Chairman of the Boston Fire Museum, and is founder and President of the Boston Fire Historical Society. He is a former Captain in the U.S. Army and served in combat in Vietnam.

Casey Grant is the Program Director for the Fire Protection Research Foundation, an affiliate of the National Fire Protection Association. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a Master’s degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, both in Fire Protection Engineering, and he is a Registered Professional Engineer in the states of California and Tennessee. Casey is a Fellow of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, and has one fire protection related U.S. patent. Prior to joining the Research Foundation in 2007, Casey was the Secretary of the NFPA Standards Council and Assistant Chief Engineer, where his responsibilities include oversight for the approximate 300 NFPA codes and standards.

June Hall McCash is a member of the Georgia Writers Association as well as a board member of the Tennessee Writers Alliance. With her late husband, Bart McCash, she first visited Jekyll Island in 1983 and fell in love with it. As a couple she and her husband, who chaired the Department of History at Middle Tennessee State University, wrote one book together, *The Jekyll Island Club, Southern Haven for America’s Millionaires*, which was ground-breaking in its research and on which many later writers have relied for information about the club. Following her husband’s death in 1991, she published *The Jekyll Island Cottage Colony* in 1998 and *Jekyll Island’s Early Years* in 2005. Three of her earlier books dealt with the Middle Ages, which was her academic research area. She has also published many articles, especially about a 12th-century writer named Marie de France. She has recently published an article on a colorful Savannah figure named Charles Augustus Lafayette Lamar in Georgia Backroads magazine. Her most recent book is her debut novel, *Almost to Eden*, is set at Jekyll Island, Brunswick, and New York and tells the fictional story of an Irish immigrant who becomes a chambermaid at the historic Jekyll Island Club. June McCash has appeared in three A&E film documentaries and on *Good Morning America*. She is also a frequent speaker, having done presentations for the Georgia Humanities Council, various historical societies, libraries and universities, as well as the Georgia Library Association, the Jekyll Island Museum, and the Jekyll Island Club Hotel.

A producer and writer at WGBH, Marilyn Mellowes is known for the popular four-hour series From Jesus to Christ: the First Christians. She developed the ongoing history series AMERICAN EXPERIENCE and served as its first series editor. Additional credits include the award-winning programs Nixon, The Kennedys, Castro's Challenge, Vietnam: a Television History and Julia! America's Favorite Chef. She developed the series God in America and has served as its series producer.

James C. Cobb, B. Phinizy Spalding Distinguished Professor in the History of the American South, is widely recognized as one of the foremost scholars of Southern history and culture—and among the first to write broadly about the South in a global context. Cobb has written more than 40 articles and 12 books, mostly about the impact of changing economic conditions on the South. Two of these, *Away Down South: A History of Southern Identity* and *The Most Southern Place on Earth*, his book about the Mississippi Delta, are considered classics in the field. The latter quickly became a model for studying other regional cultures and subcultures, such as those of Appalachia and New England. Committed to reaching beyond the scholarly community, Cobb has written pieces for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, the New Republic, The Times Literary Supplement, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His new book, *The New America: The South and the Nation Since World War II*, is published 2010 by Oxford University Press. Cobb’s work has won him a string of awards and prizes, named lectureships, offices in professional associations, most notably the presidency of the Southern Historical Association—and a dedicated audience of both academics and lay history buffs who eagerly follow his work.