Ata Sarajedini, Ph.D., is a professor and the Bjorn Lamborn Endowed Chair in Astrophysics at FAU. Before coming to FAU in January of 2017, he served as associate dean for natural sciences and mathematics as well as associate dean for research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida. Before that, he was Associate Chair and Acting Chair in the Department of Astronomy. After earning his doctoral degree in astronomy at Yale in 1992, he spent seven years as a postdoctoral researcher and a Hubble Fellow at Kitt Peak National Observatory and San Francisco State University. Sarajedini spent two years at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT as an assistant professor before moving to the University of Florida in 2001. His research is focused on resolved stellar populations in Local Group galaxies. These include field stars, open and globular clusters in the Milky Way, M31, M33, the Magellanic Clouds, and the numerous nearby dwarf galaxies.

H.V. Savitch, Ph.D., is a global fellow at the Wilson Center, (Washington, D.C.) and Emeritus Brown & Williamson Professor, University of Louisville. He has written fourteen books and 100 published articles. He earned a doctoral degree in government and international relations and taught courses dealing with the American presidency at New York University and the State University of New York, (Purchase). Savitch’s career touches both sides of the White House/Israeli relationship. On the White House side, his experience dates back to the transition between the Republican Ford and Democratic Carter presidencies. He spent that critical time interviewing both Republican and Democratic policymakers. On the Israeli side of his background, Savitch has been a Lady Davis Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and served as a research rellow at Jerusalem’s Floersheimer Institute for public policy. His work on urban terror comprises a book, “Cities in a Time of Terror”, and a monograph titled, “Trauma and Recovery in Jerusalem”. His published op-ed articles on Israel have appeared in the Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, and The Algemeiner. Savitch has been a consultant to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Israeli-Palestinian issues.

Mark Schneider, Ph.D., , Yale University, taught sociology at Yale, Princeton, and the University of Michigan before finishing his career at Southern Illinois University--Carbondale. He is the author of two books, "Culture and Enchantment," about the factors that allow sciences to separate themselves from the occult, and "The Theory Primer," a practical guide to sociological theorizing, as well as a number of scholarly articles and book chapters. In retirement, he has been active as president of the Palm Beach County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, with the Speakers' Bureau of the League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County, and with the county's Community Remembrance Project, which is memorializing lynchings that occurred in the Palm Beach County. His first book, "Culture, and Enchantment," helps to lay the theoretical groundwork for his current interest in how and why disinformation is created, disseminated, and embraced.

Dr. Seidman is a 30-years holistic medicine practitioner and founder of the Hunyuan balancing system, Tai Chi and Qi Gong teacher, Huai Xuan heart healing advocate, author, educator, innovator of the Hunyuan Fertility Method, a husband, father and a passionate champion of all things promoting health, happiness and longevity. According to Dr Seidman, peak health is achieved through exercising the body, recharging unification, restoring harmony in the heart and cultivating relationships. For 7 years, Dr Seidman was a private student of the late Tai Chi master Feng Zhiqiang and he is a current indoor student of Liu Bogu, lineage holder of the Huai Xuan school and the great grandson of Liu Yuan.

For close to 40 years, Ken Seiter has marketed & built some of the biggest brands in the food and toy industries. He has created successful programs for companies like Kraft, Unilever, Sara Lee, Mattel, Hasbro, LEGO and many others. Prior to his marketing endeavors, Ken has a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology and taught emotionally handicapped and learning disabled children in New York. Play was a vital tool in his educational arsenal. He was an adjunct professor at the University of Bridgeport, for 10 years has been a Mentor for students at Baruch College. He is also college coach for Future 5, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping under resourced students in Stamford realize their full potential and achieve success.

Ilaria Serra is a Professor of Italian and Comparative Studies at Florida Atlantic University. Her research spans from Italian cinema and literature to the history of Italian immigration to the U.S. and has been published in books, articles, and book chapters. At FAU, she coordinates several digital humanities projects, the Italian and Italian American Film Festivals, and the annual International Symposium "Italy in Transit." She founded and directs the summer study abroad program in Venice.