Susan Rook brings more than 20 years of journalism and public advocacy to her work in photography. Her news background includes CNN and local news in New Orleans and Florida. She is a public speaker and workshop presenter specializing in media relations, public advocacy and health care issues. Her professional awards include: Panelist, 1992 Third Presidential Debate; 1992 National Student... read full bio
For more than 25 years, Renée Loux has been a pioneer in the plant-based food movement and the natural product industry. She has been a prominent specialist in the fields of multi-media communication to a large and diverse audience as a chef, author, restaurant, natural goods entrepreneur, culinary nutrition expert and educator, program and curriculum developer, TV host, journalist, consultant,... read full bio
A breast cancer survivor since 1993, Beverly Kirkhart is the author of My Healing Companion, and the co-author of the revised edition of Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul: 101 Healing Stories About Those Who Have Survived Cancer. Designed to serve as a self-guided journal for anyone facing cancer (or any disease or disability), the book shares Kirkharts experiences coping,... read full bio
A contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone, Rich Cohen's work has appeared in many magazines and newspapers, including The New Yorker, Harper's and The New York Times. As a successful author, he's covered such subjects as the birth of Rock 'N Roll (The Record Men, a.k.a Machers and Rockers) and his own family (Sweet and Low). However, he... read full bio
Marty Makary is a commentator for FOX News Medical topics as well as a New York Times Best-selling Author. His bestselling book Unaccountable", is about how transparency is revolutionizing medicine and empowering patients with knowledge. The book won 2012 Library Journal Book of the Year award. He was the lead author of the original publications on the... read full bio
In 1977, starting with an old Datsun pickup truck and $500 in the bank, George Hedley was able to build a thriving $50 million construction business in just seven years. HARDHAT Presentations is a natural outgrowth of George's business expertise, inspiring leadership style and passion for helping other entrepreneurs, business owners and managers build businesses that work. Today, as a... read full bio
Mark W. Chauppetta is a prominent and highly sought after investigator known for his tireless work ethic and relentless effort. He performs private investigations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and across New England. Author of Happens All the Time - Cheating In The Good Ol' USA, cheating husband investigations is one of his specialties. Mark brings to the speaker's platform his... read full bio
Alli Joseph has been telling stories since she invented Hooper, the narcoleptic diaper truck-driving dog who saved lives and was a prize-winning baker, when she was five. Today, Alli is a TV host, a producer of television shows, documentary films, and a published author. A Native New Yorker, Alli loves a good six-speed transmission and has been to racing school... read full bio
David Rosengarten is a culinary writer. He has recently ventured into TV and co-anchoring on the Food Network. He also was a host of Taste which was nominated in 1996 by the James Beard Foundation as Best National TV Cooking Show, and the New York Times recently praised Taste, noting that Mr. Rosengarten has reconceived the idea of what a... read full bio
Paul Watson is an environmentalist. He has been committed to preserving, sustaining, and protecting marine wildlife and habitats worldwide. He also has been recognized worldwide for his efforts. He also co-founded the Greenpeace Foundation. Watson also founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. He and his dedicated crew have taken to the high seas to attempt to stop Japanese ships... read full bio
Henry Cole is the illustrator of many beloved books for children, including Jack and Jill's Treehouse, written by Pamela Duncan Edwards, and his own Jack's Garden and On Meadowview Street. He lives in Florida. ... read full bio
"Temple Grandin, Ph.D., is the most accomplished and well-known adult with autism in the world. Now her fascinating life, with all its challenges and successes has been brought to the screen with the HBO produced, full-length film Temple Grandin. Among numerous other recognitions by media, Bravo Cable did a half-hour show on her life, and she was featured in the... read full bio
Dr. Sally Downham Miller devotes most of her time to work in the area of grief, loss and dealing with change. Her teaching, workshops, and consulting endeavors are popular with health care and education organizations, hospice programs, and corporate conferences. She is the author of Mourning and Dancing (HCI, 1999) and Mourning and Dancing for Schools (HCI, August 2000). Dr.... read full bio
Jim O'Doherty understands that humor is much more than just telling jokes. Inspired by his brother, who used humor in his fight against brain cancer, O'Doherty delivers a message about the healing qualities of humor that speaks not only to the sick, but also to anyone whose life could be enhanced by a greater understanding of humor. This funny, highly-charged... read full bio
Brandon Webb is a former U.S. Navy SEAL with past combat deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Middle East. He is well-known as Course Manager for the Navy Special Warfare Command, arguably the best sniper course in the world. Webb has received numerous distinguished service awards throughout his career including the Presidential Unit Citation and his SEAL platoon.... read full bio
Joseph Bruchac, the Abenaki Indian author of Skeleton Man. Throughout Joseph Bruchac's short stories, poetry, picture books, and novels are echoes of the writer's Abenaki Indian heritage. In 2005, he was honored with the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award for his efforts to preserve Native American traditions, and bring to light issues of concern to contemporary Native cultures.... read full bio
A writer of lyric free verse, Galway Kinnell is among the post-war generation of American poets including Robert Bly, James Wright, James Dickey and W.S. Merwin. Like them, he incorporated more experimental language in his poetic verse. While Yeats was most notably an early influence, Whitman, Frost, and Rilke also inspired him; Whitman's Song of Myself, seen in The Avenue... read full bio
Antonia Novello was the first female and first Hispanic to be appointed surgeon general of the United States. As a former pediatrician, her focus was on the health concerns of children and youth. As leader of the 6,500 employees of the Public Health Service, she directed the nation's attention to AIDS-infected children, the perils of smoking and teenage drinking, and... read full bio
Midge Cross was in the midst of planning a trek to the worlds most formidable mountains when she found herself facing a challenge more daunting and dangerous than the Himalayas: breast cancer. She didnt go climbing, instead, she underwent a lumpectomy and radiation therapy. She became a mentor for the Navigator Program, a one-on-one support system for newly diagnosed women.... read full bio
Janet Guthrie is the first woman to earn a starting spot in the Indianapolis 500 (1977) and the Daytona 500 (1977), where she was Top Rookie. Her ninth-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 (1978), with a team she formed and managed herself, was the best by a woman until 2005. She set fastest time of day at Indianapolis on... read full bio
