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.

Brian Shaer obtained a B.S. from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications and an M.A. in Cinema Studies from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. In 2020, he presented research at both the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association conference and the Midwest Popular/American Culture Association virtual conference. Brian is a member of the Popular Culture Association and the Society for Cinema and Media Studies. His first book, “Are We Living in a Disaster Movie? How Genre Conventions Predict the Plot of the COVID-19 Pandemic,” is now available from McFarland & Company and at most online retailers.

Edward Shapiro, Ph.D., earned his doctoral degree in history from Harvard University and taught American history at Seton Hall University for three decades. His books include “A Time for Healing: American Jews Since World War II" (1992); “We Are Many: Reflections on American Jewish History and Identity" (2005), “Crown Heights: Blacks, Jews, and the Brooklyn Riot of 1991" (2006), and "A Unique People in a Unique Land: Essays in American Jewish History" (2022). Shapiro has received awards and grants from the American Philosophical Society, the Oxford Center for Jewish Studies, and the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation and has lectured throughout the United States, Europe, and Israel.