A writer of lyric free verse, Galway Kinnell is among the post-war generation of American poets including Robert Bly, James Wright, James Dickey and W.S. Merwin. Like them, he incorporated more experimental language in his poetic verse. While Yeats was most notably an early influence, Whitman, Frost, and Rilke also inspired him; Whitman's Song of Myself, seen in The Avenue... read full bio
Ariel Dorfman is a renowned author and playwright who witnessed the coup in Chile in the 1970s, which inspired many of his plays and novels. He combines politics and human rights is most of his works. He has been a literature and Latin American Studies professor at Duke University since 1985. Dorfman has written multiple critically acclaimed plays including Death... read full bio
Through a lively interactive presentation, donors will learn how they might do more financially to benefit themselves, their families and the causes and organizations that they care about.... read full bio
Art Costello is a visionary mind coach who finds joy in uncovering the full potential of others. He can help you shed your limiting beliefs and misguided expectations to become more prepared, more successful, and lead a more joyful life. Art draws from his own immensely varied achievements and experiences as a mental health counselor, psychology student, successful entrepreneur, Vietnam... read full bio
David's most popular keynote is "How to Click with Everyone Every Time!" It is based on his best selling book of the same title which has been called the modern day version of Dale Carnegie's classic How to Win Friends & Influence People. His seminar and breakout presentations are his "Contagious Series." For sales professionals, Contagious Selling (based... read full bio
Alyce Cornyn-Selby is an award winner in many fields. From design to photography to scriptwriting, and just being a total go-getter, Alyce can do it. She is a recognized master of knowing how to end self-sabotage, and has written several books including Why Winners Win, Teamwork & Team Sabotage, Whats Your Sabotage and Take Your Hands Off My Attitude. Selbys... read full bio
Annette Breaux is an author and speaker in the category of education. Her presentations and writings give insight into the relationships between teachers and students. As a former teacher, Breaux learned her techniques in the classroom. Now, she shares her programs with teachers of all kinds. She has developed expertise in student achievement, classroom management, and notably, her FIRST Program... read full bio
Arthur Golden is an American writer that is the author behind the New York Times Best Selling Novel, Memoirs of a Geisha, which has since been turned into an Academy Award winning film. He studied at Harvard University where he graduated with a degree in art history, specializing in Japanese art. He went on to earn his M.A. in Japanese... read full bio
Celia Rivenbark grew up in Duplin County, North Carolina. After attending college for several years, Rivenbark decided to work for her hometown newspaper, the Wallace, NC Enterprise. After finding success at the Enterprise, Rivenbark moved to write for the Wilmington, NC Morning Star. She developed a weekly humor column at this newspaper, winning press awards like the national health journalism... read full bio
Devin Thorpe is an author, educator, and speaker who is founder of the Your Mark on the World Center. He is a Forbes contributor and also has his own YouTube show where he features celebrities, CEOs, billionaires, entrepreneurs who want to change the world. As a speaker, Thorpe has spoken twice at the United Nations and twice at Johnson &... read full bio
Joyce Vedral, PhD has taught in the New York City school system for many years (Kindergarten through 12th grade). Eventually, she came a full-fledged professor of English Literature. She taught for years and experienced a lot of success, but found herself packing on the pounds and that had an impact on her career. Needless to say, she tried diet after... read full bio
John Manzella is an author, speaker, and founder of the Manzella Report, and Manzella Trade Communications Inc. both of which deal with economic issues. Some of Manzellas books include, Global America: Understanding Global and Economic Trends and How To Ensure Competitiveness, and Grasping Globaliztion: Its Impact and Your Corporate Response. His work has been shown all over the world and... read full bio
Michel Neray is a professional speaker, branding consultant, and founder of momondays. Momondays is a variety show thats used to tell stories using comedy and live music and is now seen in over 12 cities. During Nerays speeches he helps his audience craft purposeful stories to help them become better leaders, salespeople, coaches, teachers, trainers, and more. He also uses... read full bio
Mike Peters is one of Americas most prominent cartoonists. He is mostly known for his outstanding work in both political and comic strip cartoons. His began drawing cartoons for his college paper, Student Life at Washington University. After college, Mike Peters began to work for a year on the art staff at Chicago Daily News. After being drafted into the... read full bio
William Kennedy, author, screenwriter and playwright, was born and raised in Albany, New York. William Kennedy brought his native city to literary life in many of his works. The Albany cycle, includes Legs, Billy Phelan's Greatest Game, and the Pulitzer Prize winning Ironweed. The versatile William Kennedy wrote the screenplay for Ironweed, the play Grand View, and cowrote the screenplay... read full bio
Michelle Cameron is a historical author and poet. Her first novel was titles In the Shadow of the Globe, which was published by Pot Press, Inc. Michelles book received a lot of excellent reviews and the novel became the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jerseys Winter Book Selection in 2003-2004. The novel has also come to life and has been performed... read full bio
Lawrence Otis Graham is a nationally-known business author and advisor to companies and organizations on diversity and progressive strategies for managing a changing workplace. He is the author of, Proversity: Getting Past Face Value, a guide to improving the diverse workplace. He is also author of the New York Times bestseller, Our Kind of People: Inside Americas Black Upper Class,... read full bio
John Lescroart (pronounced ""less-kwah"") is a big believer in hard work and single-minded dedication, although he'll acknowledge that a little luck never hurts. Now a New York Times bestselling author whose books have been translated into 16 languages in more than 75 countries he is best known for two series of legal and crime thriller novels featuring the characters Dismas... read full bio
Tough Jews, Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football, Sweet and Low, When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead (co-written with Jerry Weintraub), The Sun & the Moon & the Rolling Stones, The Chicago Cubs: Story of a Curse, and Pee Wees: Confessions of a Hockey Parent are among the New York Times bestsellers authored... read full bio
Josh Kilmer-Purcell is a New York Times Best Selling author, columnist, advertising executive, and star of The Fabulous Beekman Boys, on Discovery's Planet Green network. Kilmer-Purcell moved to New York City, working as an advertising art director. Using his marketing experience, Kilmer-Purcell is dedicated to helping small farms and villages find new ways to survive and thrive. Kilmer-Purcell's story is... read full bio
