Author of the memoir Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the U.S. Army, Williams, a former sergeant and Arabic linguist in a military intelligence unit of the 101st Airborne in Iraq, addresses the shifting role of women in society, the changing demands on today’s military, and the treatment/reintegration of veterans.
Diversity/Race
William Lobdell
Award-winning former LA Times journalist, and author of the memoir Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America, Lobdell shares his spiritual journey investigating and reconciling the many oft-conflicting facets of faith in America, which took him from evangelical Christian to reluctant atheist.
Joan Garry
Former Executive Director of GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), Garry is widely recognized as one of the most vocal, passionate and effective civil rights leaders in America. She is a featured blogger at The Huffington Post, and frequently contributes commentary to major news publications and TV networks.
John Bowe
Award-winning New Yorker journalist and author of Pulitzer Prize nominee Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy, Bowe examines how outsourcing, subcontracting, immigration fraud, and the relentless pursuit of “everyday low prices” have created a frightening new market for slavery in America.
William C. Rhoden
Award-winning New York Times columnist, bestselling author of Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Black Athlete, and frequent guest on ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters,” Rhoden uses the metaphors of sports to address crucial issues and conflicts in contemporary American society.
Valerie Boyd
Award-winning author of the acclaimed biography Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, and the forthcoming Spirits in the Dark: The Untold Story of Black Women in Hollywood — a groundbreaking study tracing the history of black women in film and TV from the 1920s to the present.
Gustavo Arellano
Author of the bestselling book and nationally syndicated column ¡Ask a Mexican!, and Orange County: A Personal History, Arellano, also a contributing editor to the LA Times, addresses immigration, integration and the role of stereotypes in American society, and helps organizations to better connect with Latinos.
