Browse the Presenters

Michelle Angel

Angel, Michelle

Michelle Angel, Guide and Consultant for end-of-life, earned her bachelor’s degree in Human Services with a concentration in Thanatology. Author of the book “I Sell Tomatoes, Inspiration and Consideration Before End-of Life,” Michelle has been doing extensive death work for over thirty years. Currently she has a private practice serving the dying and their loved ones. She lives locally, counsels’ clients globally and offers workshops and discussion groups teaching “Death, Dying & Living Fearlessly,” in South Florida and the Northeast.
Aronberg, Dave

Aronberg, Dave

Dave Aronberg was elected State Attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit in November 2012 and re-elected without opposition in 2016 and 2020. He is a former Assistant Attorney General, White House Fellow, and Florida Senator. As State Attorney, Aronberg leads a team of 115 prosecutors and 180 professional staff in five offices throughout Palm Beach County. Aronberg's leadership has led to high state rankings in conviction rates for both felonies and misdemeanors, a decrease in the number of juveniles direct filed into adult court, and a greatly improved working relationship with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. In 2016, he created a Sober Homes Task Force that has made more than 120 arrests for patient brokering and insurance fraud in the rehab industry, and has led to several new Florida laws and regulations that have become the model for other states. Aronberg's efforts also convinced Google to restrict advertisements and improve screening for addiction treatment. The crackdown in rogue sober homes and corrupted drug treatment contributed to a 14% decrease in opioid-caused deaths in Palm Beach County in 2021, compared to the previous year. Dave Aronberg was born in Miami. He attended public schools before going on to graduate with honors from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. After graduation, he worked in the litigation department of a large South Florida law firm while also working closely with Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson to investigate European insurance companies that refused to honor World War II-era policies sold to victims of the Holocaust. In 2000, Aronberg was selected to be one of 15 White House Fellows from across the country. In this nonpartisan position, he served in two presidential administrations as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury Department for international money laundering, including the laundering of terrorist assets. Dave Aronberg was elected to the State Senate in 2002 as its youngest member and served until 2010. Focusing on criminal justice and consumer protection issues, Aronberg passed major identity theft and port security legislation and served as the Chairman of the Military Affairs and Domestic Security Committee. He also served as Chair of the Everglades Restoration Committee, where he advocated for accelerating water storage projects and additional State and Federal support for Florida's "River of Grass." In 2010, Aronberg returned to the Florida Attorney General's Office as a Special Prosecutor for Prescription Drug Trafficking. In his role as the Attorney General's "Drug Czar," Aronberg led an anti-pill mill initiative that helped clean up the pain clinic industry and reduced the record number of people dying each day from oxycodone abuse. His work to save lives from drug overdoses continues as a top priority to this day. Aronberg frequently appears on national television as a legal commentator. He has a passion to speak out on criminal justice issues, adding transparency to our legal system.
Atkins

Atkins, Burton

Burton Atkins, Ph.D., is a professor emeritus of political science at Florida State University (FSU). Currently, he teaches political science at FAU and Penn State University. In his 35-year career at FSU, Atkins taught a variety of courses on and wrote extensively about constitutional law and U.S. politics and served as chair of the political science department. He lived in London from 1992 to 1997 while serving as the director of FSU's London Study Center, and from 1997 until his retirement in 2006, he served as director of the FSU International Affairs Program.
Bard

Bard, Mitchell

Mitchell Bard, Ph.D., is the executive director of the nonprofit American‑Israeli Cooperative Enterprise and an authority on U.S.‑Middle East policy. Bard is the director of the Jewish Virtual Library, the world's most popular and comprehensive online encyclopedia of Jewish history. He earned a doctoral degree in political science from UCLA and a master's degree in public policy from Berkeley. He earned his bachelor's degree in economics from UCSB and has been named one of the "top 100 people positively influencing Jewish life" by the Algemeiner Journal. He has appeared on national and international media outlets and is the author/editor of 22 books.
Bartholomew

Bartholomew, Zachary

Zachary Bartholomew, DMA is an award-winning pianist, composer, and music educator who maintains an active performance career as one of the most heavily sought-after pianists, accompanists, and sidemen in South Florida. He has headlined national and international jazz festivals with his band, toured across the country, and has placed as one of the top three finalists in the highly acclaimed Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition on two separate occasions. He is the pianist in the Gulf Coast Symphony’s Jazz Collective, the Lake Wales Jazz Connection, and regularly performs with professional organizations such as the Naples Philharmonic and Sarasota Pops Orchestra. In addition to his active performance career, Bartholomew is a full-time professor at Florida Memorial University and is actively involved in music education and outreach. One current project is his state-funded “Jazz Access Tour,” an outreach program that aims to provide underserved communities and schools in Florida with world-class public performances and educational programs.
Baxley

Baxley, William

William Baxley, P.E. has more than 30 years of experience in ocean engineering and offshore operations, including 16 years as a U.S. Navy test engineer and diving officer. He has been involved in all aspects of ocean technology, including all class of underwater vehicles, advanced diving operations, and deployment/recovery operations of large complex systems. He is proficient in finite element cable and structure modeling and is active in several design projects for ocean energy and academic research projects. He currently serves as Chief Engineer for Florida Atlantic University’s Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center (SNMREC). He is responsible for the overall planning, operation, and maintenance of an offshore ocean energy test facility, and all technical support for center users.