Stephen Z. Cohen Ph.D., is an author, educator, entertainer, humorist, and lecturer. Retired from the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago, he taught social group work practice and group psychotherapy. An early expert in the field of gerontology and services to the elderly, he co-authored an award-winning book written for the layperson. But his greatest delight has always been in the telling and the analysis of classical Jewish jokes and stories. As a presenter of unique and nostalgic performances, lectures, and courses, he has regaled audiences at prestigious venues across the country.

Rebel A. Cole, Ph.D is the Lynn Eminent Scholar Chaired Professor of Finance in the College of Business at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. He joined the College of Business at FAU in 2016 after more than a decade teaching at DePaul University in Chicago. Rebel received his PhD in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1988, after which he spent ten years working as a financial economist in the Federal Reserve System. After leaving the Fed, Rebel has served as a special advisor to the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other non-governmental organizations, providing training and technical assistance to central banks around the world in more than 60 countries. Rebel has published peer-reviewed articles in many of top academic finance journals including The Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics, and the Journal of Financial & Quantitative Analysis, and his research has been featured in Business Week, the Financial Times, Fortune, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. According to Google Scholar, his articles have been cited more than 12,500 times. His primary areas of research are commercial real estate, corporate governance, entrepreneurship, and financial institutions.

Dr. Branson Collins is a triple board-certified physician who is board-certified in anesthesiology, pain medicine, and anti-aging & regenerative medicine. He has dedicated his medical career to pioneering integrative approaches to pain management. He is a spinal and musculoskeletal interventional expert and applies the principles of integrative medicine to optimize the health and wellbeing of his patients. Dr. Collins received his Bachelor of Arts in Biology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and completed his Doctor of Medicine at UMDNJ- New Jersey Medical School. He was chief resident at Rutgers- Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, where he completed his residency in anesthesiology as well as an advanced fellowship in pain management. He also is an advanced fellowship-trained physician in anti-aging, metabolic, and functional medicine through the American Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Collins has served his country proudly as a veteran in the New Jersey Army National Guard. He is a resident of Westlake, Florida. In his off time, he enjoys spending time with his wife Nicole and two daughters, Tiara and Ariana. He is also a sports fitness enthusiast and actively practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the rank of purple belt.

Véronique Côté was appointed Galleries Director for FAU in August 2022. Côté holds an M.A. in Museum Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Harvard University, an MFA in Photography from the University at Buffalo, and a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi. As an interdisciplinary scholar, French-Canadian immigrant, and Métisse, her multifaceted academic and mixed cultural backgrounds compel her to seek multidisciplinary artistic expression and educational approaches. Her curatorial vision blurs colonial disciplinary definitions by seeking a collaborative dialogue between Humanities, Natural Sciences, History, and Art through a practice called visual anthropology. Before her move to FAU, she was the Executive Director & Chief Curator at the Center for Exploratory & Perceptual Arts in Buffalo, NY. Côté was also employed at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, where she developed the Citi Foundation Leadership Training and Internship Curriculum. This experience fueled her commitment to supporting career development and inclusive professional practices.

Sika Dagbovie-Mullins, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Department of English at FAU where she specializes in contemporary African American Literature and Critical Mixed-Race Studies. She is the author of Crossing B(l)ack: Mixed-Race Identity in Modern American Fiction and Culture (University of Tennessee Press, 2013) and co-editor of Mixed-Race Superheroes (Rutgers University Press, 2021). Her articles have appeared in journals such as African American Review, The Journal of Popular Culture, and Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International.

Lenny Dave is a nationally recognized comedy historian, speaker, author and humorist. He informs and entertains a wide variety of active senior, synagogue, and civic audiences, and he’s been doing so for more than 30 years! Dave is the only speaker to have performed in both the Red Skelton Entertainment Series and at the Oliver Hardy Festival. As a student of comedy and a professional practitioner of humor, Dave’s highly interactive programs focus on the funny people who have made us laugh for decades. In performing successful surgery on the human spirit, Dave invites his audience to recall and relive so many happy memories of a time when the best comedy was funny… and clean!  A two-time "Speaker of the Year" nominee, Dave is co-author of "Infinite Inspirations" and "Let Your Leadership Speak." His credentials also include a two-year term as (international) president of the Association for Applied & Therapeutic Humor.