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Rhoda Perry is a Rhode Island State Senator, Democrat, District 3, Providence. She is a retired health care administrator and part time teacher of English as a second language. She was Deputy President Pro Tempore of Rhode Island Senate from 1994 to 2006, and was elected Rhode Island State Senator on November 6, 1990.

Janet Wu has been the *NewsCenter 5* State House reporter for WCVB-TV since January, 1983. In 2006 she joined WCVB's investigative unit, *Team 5 Investigates*. Wu is a key member of WCVB's political unit and was a member of the team honored in 2001 and 2005 with the coveted Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism. The station was recognized for its candidate-orientated reporting and its effort to cover issues important to its hometown audience. In 1998, Wu was awarded first place in the Associated Press' Investigative/ Enterprise category and the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting for her report entitled "Public Property, Private Lies". In addition, *the NewsCenter 5* political team was honored in 1989 with a First Place National Headliners Award and with a Murrow Award for the best political coverage of any station in the nation. Wu, a native of Bridgewater, NJ, received a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She is fluent in the Cantonese dialect of Chinese. Wu is married and has two children.

Margie Reedy was the host of *NewsNight with Margie Reedy*, an in-depth nightly news program on New England Cable News, and ranks as one of the region's most skilled interviewers. Before joining NECN, she spent five years at WHDH-TV in Boston, six years at WDIV-TV in Detroit and five years at KVUE-TV in Austin, Texas. Ms. Reedy was a fellow at The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University in 2003, where she studied the impact of cable on television news.

An immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Melba Depena is the first member of her family to go to college, attending URI and latter becoming executive assistant to URI's Vice Provost for Urban Programs John McCray. In '98 Depena, developed the first travel program to provide students with an opportunity to travel to Cuba in the company of faculty from the Psychology Department and the Urban Field Center. It comes as no surprise, then, that in December 2003, the Rhode Island Democratic Party chose her as its first female and first Latina executive director. Beyond direct involvement in specific campaigns, Depena impacted Rhode Island's political landscape as president of the Rhode Island Latino Civic Fund. Comprised of two organizations, the Latino Civic Fund and the Latino Political Action Committee, it provides outreach to both the Latino community and candidates. The civic fund promotes the importance of becoming an American citizen and voter participation, while the PAC offers nominal financial support and endorsements to those candidates who show interest in working with the Latino and urban communities.

Ridings was named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council in March 1996 after a distinguished career in the newspaper and communications industries. She has been a newspaper publisher, television producer/host, feature writer, political reporter, consultant/editor in government relations and leader of public policy research projects and organizations. From 1988 until joining the Council, she served as president and publisher of Knight-Ridder's *Bradenton Herald* in Florida. She also served as a Knight-Ridder general executive while based in Charlotte, North Carolina and held editorial and reporting positions at *The Charlotte Observer*, *The Kentucky Business ledger*, and *The Washington Post*. She was president of The League of Women Voters of the United States from 1982 through 1986, and in that capacity was an Akron Roundtable speaker in September 1983. She has been a trustee of the Ford Foundation, a director of the Benton Foundation and serves on the board of Independent Sector. Internationally, she has made speaking tours for the U.S. Department of State led two fact-finding delegations sponsored by NATO and served as a member of the Ford Foundation visitation teams. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a master's degree from the University of North Carolina. Recipient of numerous awards, she holds honorary degrees from Spalding University and the University of Louisville, is listed in the International who be Who of Professional and Business Women and in the Foremost Women of the Twentieth Century.

An advocate of women's issues for more than 30 years, Marie C. Wilson is founder and President of The White House Project, co-creator of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day and author of *Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World* (2004). Over the last thirty years, Wilson's accomplishments span becoming the first woman elected to the Des Moines City Council as a member-at-large in 1983, co-authoring the critically acclaimed *Mother Daughter Revolution* (Bantam Books), and serving as an official government delegate to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995. In 1998, Wilson founded The White House Project in recognition of the need to build a truly representative democracy, one where women lead alongside men in all spheres. Since its inception, The White House Project has been a leading advocate and voice on Women's leadership. Before she took the helm at The White House Project, Wilson was, for nearly two decades, the President of the Ms. Foundation for Women. She is an honorary founding mother of the Ms. Foundation. In honor of her work, the Ms. Foundation has created The Marie C. Wilson Leadership Fund.

Peter Goldmark currently directs the Climate and Air program for Environmental Defense. Previously, he was the Chairman and CEO of the *International Herald Tribune*. Peter has had exceptional careers in the public and private sectors, including serving as executive director of the Port Authority of New York and NJ. Peter also served as budget director for the State of New York during New York City's financial crisis and was an architect of its rescue. He served as President of the Rockefeller Foundation, encouraging involvement in environmental issues, particularly as they related to energy.

John Abele is the co-founder and a director of Boston Scientific since 1979. Mr. Abele was the treasurer from 1979 to 1992, co-chairman from 1979 to 1995 and vice chairman and founder, Office of the Chairman from February 1995 to March 1996. Mr. Abele is also the owner of The Kingbridge Centre and Institute, a 120-room conference center in Ontario that provides special services and research to businesses, academia and government. He was President of Medi-tech, Inc. from 1970 to 1983, and prior to that served in sales, technical and general management positions for Advanced Instruments, Inc. Mr. Abele is the chairman of the board of the F.I.R.S.T. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Foundation and is also a member of numerous not-for-profit boards. He is a member of the President's Council of Olin College and Trustee Emeritus of Amherst College. Mr. Abele received a B.A. degree from Amherst College.

John Buehrens has served as the Minister of the First Parish in Needham since 2002. From 1993 to 2001 he was the President of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Ordained in 1973, he served congregations in Tennessee, Texas, and New York City prior to his election to that office. A graduate of Harvard College and of Harvard Divinity School, he is co-author of *A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism* (1989, 1996) and author of *Understanding the Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious Liberals* (2002). Cited as a scholar, organizer, but above all, pastor, John has been awarded three honorary doctorates. He has taught seminary courses in history, theology, preaching, and the practice of ministry. Long a leader in interfaith cooperation for peace and justice, he currently serves as national co-chair for Freedom to Marry, as Senior Advisor to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, as a member of the Needham Human Rights Committee, as past president of the Needham Clergy Association, and as past President of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association for the Mass Bay District. He has been married since 1972 to the Rev. Gwen Langdoc Buehrens, a priest in the Episcopal Church. They are the parents of two young adult daughters.