is an Indigenous chef and Nahua poet whose work revives ancestral Mexican foodways and language through Tlaxcal Kitchen, blending culinary art, cultural memory, and poetry to celebrate Indigenous identity and environmental harmony.

is the International Professor of Environmental and Indigenous Studies at Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, where he teaches in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment and the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program. His research examines the interconnections between human and ecological systems, focusing on Indigenous knowledge, food sovereignty, sustainable livelihoods, and climate change adaptation across the Arctic, Boreal Forest, and the Pamir Mountains. At the core of Dr. Kassam’s work is a commitment to collaborative, community-based research that bridges scholarship and practice. His projects with Indigenous partners worldwide advance draw on methodology and a pedagogy of hope—a framework for building anticipatory capacity and fostering pluralism in the face of environmental uncertainty. Dr. Kassam has received numerous distinctions, including the Global Public Fellowship (2020), the University of Bayreuth International Senior Fellowship (2017), and the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Diversity Award (2013). Before joining Cornell, he taught at the University of Calgary, where he founded the Theme School in Northern Planning and Development Studies and was named one of Alberta’s 50 most influential people by Venture Magazine.

fiction is rooted in the natural world—and celebrates the people who live close to it. She’s the author of seven novels, two nonfiction books, and editor of three anthologies, and her work has been the recipient of the PEN USA Award, the Milkweed National Fiction Prize, the WILLA, the High Plains Book Award, and several Colorado Book Awards. She’s also a freelance writer with publications in the LA Times, The New York Times, Orion, Terrain, Creative Nonfiction, and more. She holds a PhD from Purdue and she developed and directs the low-residency MFA in Nature Writing at Western Colorado University, one of the few graduate programs dedicated to writing about the natural world.

is currently Chief Innovation Officer at Elevate, where he leads the development of next-generation technology, data-driven insights and AI-powered platforms designed to transform audience engagement across sports, entertainment and brand ecosystems. With over two decades of experience in entrepreneurship and product leadership, Jim co-founded and served as CEO of Apollo Program — a data-and-insights software company acquired in 2022 — and previously held senior product and innovation roles at agencies including Anomaly and Varick Media. His work spans start-ups, AdTech, analytics and media buying ecosystems, all grounded in a belief that technology is most powerful when it meets human creativity and strategic purpose. Jim holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and graduated summa cum laude from ��Ʒ���˸������� University.

is the head of the AI and Global Governance program at the Global Governance Institute in Brussels. Previously, he was an Associate Professor of Political Science at Tokyo International University in Japan, Adjunct Faculty at Vesalius College, and a Senior Associate Researcher at the Institute for European Studies – VUB in Brussels, Belgium. From 2010 to 2011, Medlir joined the International Law Center at the Swedish National Defense College as a guest scholar. Medlir holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from George Washington University, and a MA in European Studies and International Economics from Johns Hopkins University—School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He is the co-founder and co-host of the “Age of AI” podcast, where he examines the far-reaching implications of Artificial Intelligence on politics, law, and society. Medlir’s work explores how AI technologies are fundamentally reshaping policy development, ethical considerations, and governance structures worldwide.

is deputy head of the Artificial Intelligence program at the Global Governance Institute (GGI). He is also Professor of International Relations at Tokyo International University, and Visiting Senior Researcher at the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology in Japan. He holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Glasgow, an MSc in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh, and a BA in International Studies from the University of Mississippi. He was also a Fulbright fellow at the University of Zagreb and an RCUK postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ulster.

Arnaud Kurze is Associate Professor of Justice Studies at ��Ʒ���˸������� University and Director of Project AROS Lab. His scholarly work on transitional justice in the post-Arab Spring world focuses particularly on youth activism, art and collective memory. Dr. Kurze was a in Washington, DC (2016-2025, working on an international digital archives collaboration called Project AROS, aimed at improving the visualization of historical documents and data. He has published widely in academic journals, contributed to edited volumes and is author of several reports on foreign affairs for government and international organizations. He is the co-author of and the book . He is also the co-editor of . He regularly contributes analyses and op-ed articles online for think tanks and other institutions. He has been the recipient of many awards and fellowships, including Fulbright, the Library of Congress and the US State Department.

is the Director of the Digital Future Center at Elon University. He joined the Center in 2023 after 24 years of directing Pew Research Center’s efforts to study the internet and technology. At the Pew Internet Project, his team produced more than 850 reports about the social, political and economic impact of four technology revolutions: the internet/broadband revolution, the mobile connectivity revolution, the social media revolution, and the artificial intelligence revolution.

is Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director at the College of Arts and Sciences, Stony Brook University, NY. He is a scholar and teacher of writing and rhetoric who studies academic writing and communication at the intersection of the arts and sciences.

David Axelrod is a researcher at Project AROS Lab at ��Ʒ���˸������� University. He has taught for eight years, and developed the course Economics of Time and Mind, as well as co-developed Religion and Economics with Prof. John Soboslai. He also recorded a series of podcasts for the Feliciano School of Business. Previously he worked in the financial sector for twenty years. David received his PhD. in Economics from Rutgers University. He also plays electric bass and produced over a dozen albums of original music. David’s research has its foundations in issues around time preference, experiences as economic products/resources, and the mind (individual and social) as a scarce resource than can be developed and grown.

Ethné Swartz, Ph.D., is a Professor of Information Management and Entrepreneurship and a 2018-2019 Fulbright Scholar. She previously served at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she chaired the Marketing and Entrepreneurship Department and was associate dean at the Silberman College of Business. She holds a PhD in Management from the University of Manchester and an MS in Information Systems from Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation, business continuity, and crisis management. Dr. Swartz has conducted research on women’s entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa and co-authored two books. She has published widely in journals including the International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship and Business Horizons. Dr. Swartz is a dedicated member of the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), serving as a board member and on the editorial board of the Annals of Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. She is also active in supporting New Jersey’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Fiona (Freddie) Harris Ramsby is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Writing at Bloomfield College in New Jersey. She is also the Artistic Producer at The Company @ Bloomfield College, a collaborative student, staff, and faculty theatre initiative dedicated to promoting and producing new works and emerging artists.