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Stephanie Schorow is a long-time Boston-area reporter and writer. She worked 12 years for the *Boston Herald* as a writer and editor and for three years as a *Boston Globe* freelancer. Her articles have appeared in the *Boston Globe* magazine, the *Harvard Gazette*, *MIT's Tech Talk*, *Bark* magazine and other publications. She also writes and takes photographs for travel features.

Harlan Lane is University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology at Northeastern University and has received the International Social Merit Award of the World Federation of the Deaf, among numerous other honors. He is n internationally recognized advocate for the deaf and the author or editor of nine books on deaf history, language, and culture.

Graham Allison is Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Douglas Dillon Professor of Government at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. As "Founding Dean" of the modern Kennedy School, under his leadership, from 1977 to 1989, a small, undefined program grew twenty-fold to become a major professional school of public policy and government. Dr. Allison has served as Special Advisor to the Secretary of Defense under President Reagan. He has the sole distinction of having twice been awarded the Department of Defense's highest civilian award, the Distinguished Public Service Medal, first by Secretary Cap Weinberger and second by Secretary Bill Perry. He served as a member of the Defense Policy Board for Secretaries Weinberger, Carlucci, Cheney, Aspin, Perry and Cohen. Dr. Allison's first book, *Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis* (1971), was released in an updated and revised second edition (1999) andranks among the bestsellers in 20th century political science with more than 400,000 copies in print. His latest book, *Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe*, is now in its third printing, and was selected by the New York Times as one of the "100 most notable books of 2004."

V. Gene Robinson was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire on June 7, 2003, having served as Canon to the Ordinary (Assistant to the Bishop) for nearly 18 years. He was consecrated a Bishop on All Saints Sunday, November 2, 2003, and was invested as the Ninth Bishop of New Hampshire on March 7, 2004. A 1969 graduate of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, he has a B.A. in American Studies/History. In 1973, he completed the M.Div. degree at the General Theological Seminary in New York, was ordained deacon, and then priest, serving as Curate at Christ Church, Ridgewood, New Jersey before moving to New Hampshire. Clergy wellness has long been a focus of Gene's ministry, and in the nineties he developed the "Being Well in Christ" conference model for The Cornerstone Project, and led clergy conferences in over 20 dioceses in the U.S. and Canada. He initiated "Fresh Start," a two-year mentoring program for all clergy in new positions in New Hampshire, and co-authored the Fresh Start curriculum, now in use in nearly half of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church. Much of his ministry has focused on helping congregations and clergy, especially in times of conflict, utilizing his skills in congregational dynamics, conflict resolution and mediation. Co-author of three AIDS education curricula for youth and adults, Gene has done AIDS work in the United States and in Africa (Uganda and South Africa). He has been an advocate for anti-racism training in the diocese and wider Church. He helped build the Diocese of New Hampshire's close working partnership with the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, advocated for debt relief for the world's most impoverished nations, and lobbied for socially-responsible investment within and beyond the Church. Bishop Robinson has been active particularly in the area of full civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender people. Working at the state, national and international levels, he has spoken and lobbied for equal protection under the law and full civil marriage rights. He has been honored by many LGBT organizations for this work, including The Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force and the Equality Forum. Bishop Robinson was invited by Barack Obama to give the invocation at the opening inaugural ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, 2009.

Richard "Dick" J. Deasy has been the director of the Arts Education Partnership since its founding. He has led AEP's efforts to produce seminal reports and research studies that demonstrate the positive impact of the arts on students, schools and communities and that provide guidance to policy-makers and practitioners on how to create that impact. He co-authored the book, *Third Space: When Learning Matters *with Lauren M. Stevenson. He also commissioned and edited AEP's compendium of studies, *Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development.* Prior to assuming the leadership of AEP, Deasy has been a senior official in two state departments of education, responsible for the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment and legislative relations. He has also served as chief executive of an international and cultural exchange organization, and was an award-winning journalist. Deasy has also taught at the secondary and university levels.

Marilyn Richardson, principal of African-Americana Consultants, is a writer and lecturer on African-American history and culture. Richardson has taught at several institutions including Harvard University, Boston University and MIT and has served as curator of Boston's Museum of Afro-American History and the African Meeting House. She is the editor of *Maria W. Stewart: America's First Black Woman Political Writer *(1987) and the author of *Black Women and Religion: A Bibliography* (1980).

Laura Secor, a journalist, has written on Iran for* The New Yorker*, *The New York Times Magazine*, and *The New Republic*. She has been a staff editor of *The New York Times* 0p-Ed page, a reporter for the *Boston Globe*, acting executive editor of *The American Prospect*, and a senior editor and writer for *Lingua Franca*. While at the Cullman Center, she will be working on a book about the movement for democratic reform in Iran.