Lara Love Hardin

COO and Editorial Director of Idea Architects

Lara Love Hardin is the COO and Editorial Director of Idea Architects, a literary agency and media company based in Santa Cruz that represents and works with luminaries such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bryan Stevenson, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Steven Hawking, Jane Goodall, John Gottman, and many other academics and thought leaders. She has an MFA in creative writing and is a 4-time New York Times bestselling writer, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Designing Your Life by Dave Evans and Bill Burnett, and recent Oprah Book Club pick, The Sun Does Shine, which she co-authored with Anthony Ray Hinton. In 2019 she won a Christopher Award for her work “affirming the highest values of the human spirit”. In 2019 she was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award and short-listed for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

http://ideaarchitects.com/

Luc Reynaud

Musician

Social worker, teaching artist, musician and a lover of the earth, Luc was born and raised in a small mountain town in eastern Washington where he grew up humming in the background to the elegant voices of his father and eldest sister. Two years into his film direction studies at college, Luc took to hitchhiking across the western United States and along the way discovered his true passion: music. Since then he’s dedicated his life to music and social service. Luc is driven by the fundamental belief that we all have endless capabilities as long as we do not limit or judge ourselves.

http://www.lucandthelovingtons.com

Dr. David Haussler

Scientific Director, UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute

David Haussler is scientific director of the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute and director of the Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering. His work has spawned a cancer research project, a project to map the genome of 10,000 animal species, and programs in computer science, mathematics, microbiology, and medical research. He is a leader in a global alliance of 70 organizations to fight disease via sharing of genomics and clinical data.

Dr. Bruce Damer

Multi-disciplinary Scientist

Dr. Bruce Damer, a research associate in the UC Santa Cruz Department of Biomolecular Engineering, has 30 years of experience in the design of complex systems from software to virtual worlds, spacecraft missions, and the origin of life chemical models. He’s also CEO of DigitalSpace Research, founder of the Contact Consortium, and curator of DigiBarn Computer Museum.

http://www.damer.com

Ed Reed

Jazz Singer & Health Educator

Ed Reed is a retired health educator who developed a lecture series on “The Art and Practice of Living Well.” He was a heroin addict for 40 years, imprisoned four times and in dozens of treatment programs before he got into recovery. Eight years ago, he released his first jazz vocal CD, followed by three more CDs, and at 86 was voted by online jazz critics as No. 1 Rising Star in the male vocalist category. Ed will by accompanied by Lucas Hahn. Lucas is a 15 year old pianist residing in Santa Cruz. He attends Georgiana Bruce Kirby College Preparatory School and has been studying the piano for 8 years.

Jim Tamm

Author, Senior Administrative Law Judge

Jim Tamm is a former law professor and senior administrative law judge for the state of California. He mediated nearly 2,000 employment disputes and handed down legal decisions that impacted national labor policy. He’s worked for 40 years in the field of alliance building and conflict resolution, and is an expert in building collaborative workplace environments. He’s the author of “Radical Collaboration,” published in 2005.

Matt Beaudreau

Vice Principal & Teacher Trainer

Matt Beaudreau is vice principal at Adventure Christian School in Roseville and a teacher trainer with the Center for Teacher Effectiveness. With his nickname, Education Dude, he has given keynote speeches at education conferences and worked with more than 10,000 educators across the country. He is the lead on a committee to build a state-of-the-art high school in Northern California.

Dr. Barry Sinervo

"Coming Soon to a Neighborhood Near You: The 6th Mass Extinction"

Dr. Barry Sinervo leads a multinational research team of scientists, working from the equator to the polar regions. The UCSC professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology was recently awarded $2 million to study impacts of climate change on California ecosystems at the UC Natural Reserve System, the world's largest system of university-administered natural reserves, featuring examples of most major California habitats.

Dr. Barbara Rogoff

Distinguished Professor of Psychology, UC Santa Cruz Foundation

Dr. Barbara Rogoff is a UC Santa Cruz Foundation Distinguished Professor of Psychology. She studies the cultural aspects of learning and collaboration among children and spent more than three decades researching child development in the Mayan town of San Pedro in Guatemala. She has written four, award-winning books, including her latest, Developing Destinies: A Mayan Midwife and Town.