Presenter Biographies

Bob Aldridge earned a Juris Doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis and a BA from the University of Idaho. He was admitted to the Idaho State Bar and 9th Federal Circuit in 1970 to practice in the U.S. Court of Claims. He is the founder of Robert L. Aldridge, Chartered and has been awarded multiple community service awards. Bob also founded the Trust & Estate Professionals of Idaho, Inc, a nonprofit that presents bills in Idaho Legislature. As a frequent lecturer on church law both locally and nationally, Bob presents seminars on law and religion. He has done extensive work with foreign missionaries and is a frequent speaker on end-of-life issues including religious and cultural influences.

Erin Anderson is obsessed with improving operations and helping others find innovative ways to solve the tough challenges of any organization. She has over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit world, from program management to fundraising, day-to-day operations, and strategic planning. As the Executive Director at Idaho Botanical Garden, a community benefit organization committed to growing the community by connecting people, plants, and nature, she gets to do it all!

Julie Andrijeski is celebrated as a performer, scholar, and teacher of historical music and dance. She is a faculty member at Case Western Reserve University and Teacher of Baroque Violin and Stage Movement at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She is a Visiting Lecturer at the Juilliard School and is often invited to present workshops at universities nationwide. Her article on historical violin performance is published in A Performer’s Guide to Seventeenth-Century Music. A Grammy Award winner, Julie is Artistic Director of the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra and Co-Director of the New York-based ensemble Quicksilver, and performs with several other ensembles.

Dr. Adina Ardelean is the Senior Lecturer in Economics at Santa Clara University. She teaches courses in international economics and microeconomics. Her research focuses on empirical investigations in international trade, with a special emphasis on product differentiation, variety gains from trade, barriers to trade, and political effects of tariff policies. She received her PhD from Purdue University, and she has published in the Journal of International Economics and the Canadian Journal of Economics.

Suzanne Asha Stone is the founder and director of the International Wildlife Coexistence Network (IWCN). IWCN provides expert interdisciplinary assistance, training, collaboration, and shared research to enable communities around the globe to coexist with wildlife. The Coexistence Council provides interdisciplinary teams of scientists, agricultural managers, researchers, ethicists, economists, government specialists, educators, indigenous leaders, technical engineers and more who are helping to pioneer new ways to live with wildlife. When possible, they connect experts with communities that need help transforming wildlife conflicts into nonviolent, sustainable solutions. Suzanne has spoken at the Smithsonian Institute, Oxford University, the United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity, and more. She is a member of the IUCN Canid Specialist Task Force, the world’s chief body of scientific and practical expertise on the status and conservation of all canid species.

Deana Attebery is a published leather artist of 40+ years. She grew up in Midvale, Idaho feeding calves, riding horses, and being a farm kid. Her leather love affair began when she was a little girl on horseback making simple horse sketches and fixing her Dad’s horse tack. Marriage, children, and life has led to a ranch in Emmett, Idaho where, with her horses, dogs, cattle, and a few barn cats, she works daily on her leather and rawhide art when not dealing with a carousel calf on a water hydrant, enjoying a calf chase a pheasant, or tending to the land and the animals’ needs.

Dr. Richard Bell teaches Early American history at the University of Maryland. He has received several teaching prizes and major research fellowships, including the National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Award. He has published the books We Shall Be No More: Suicide and Self-Government in the Newly United States and Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home.

Dr. John Bieter is a professor in the History Department and co-founder of the Basque Studies Program at Boise State University. He received a BA in Economics/Social Science from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, his MA in History from Boise State University, and earned his doctoral degree in History from Boston College. He is the co-author of An Enduring Legacy: A History of the Basques in Idaho and published Showdown in the Big Quiet: Land, Myth and Government in the American West in 2015. John teaches courses on immigration, Basque Studies, and methods of History instruction.

Ralph Bild is a retired intelligence analyst who served in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1973 to 2000. As an analyst, his primary duties involved providing timely reports and estimates of political and economic developments in key countries of interest to U.S. policymakers. His career spanned assignments in the Agency’s Near East, East European, and East Asian divisions. Ralph also helped guide intelligence collection efforts in the field and worked out of CIA field stations in Europe and Asia. He received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Oberlin College and a Master of Arts in International Studies from The John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Following his retirement from the CIA, Ralph began a new career as a teacher at Borah Senior High School, where he taught economics and world history for 12 years before retiring again in 2014.

General David Bramlett began his career as an infantry lieutenant with the 25^th Infantry Division. He final assignment was as the Commanding General of U.S. Army Forces Command, the Army’s largest organization. He was responsible for training and deploying forces worldwide in support of Combatant Commanders. Key assignments included Division Commander, 6^th Infantry Division (Light); Commandant of Cadets at West Point; Deputy Commander/Chief of Staff, U.S. Pacific Command; and Deputy J5 (Plans, Policy, and Programs), U.S. Central Command. He has been a mentor and participant in international affairs seminars, an adjunct instructor with Hawaii Pacific University, and a Regent of Chaminade University. General Bramlett serves as a volunteer in several community service organizations.

General Bramlett received the 2016 Doughboy Award from the National Infantry Association and was selected as a 2019 Distinguished Graduate of West Point. The 100^th Battalion veterans selected him to be an Honorary Member of Club 100. His commitment to tell the Nisei story is reflected in his volunteer work with the Nisei Forum on Universal Values and the Go For Broke National Education Center. He is married to Nora K. Harmsen, D.D.S., and lives on Oahu.

Gabe Brenner coordinates commercial solid waste programs for the City of Boise, overseeing business, industrial, and multi-family solid waste programs. Gabe is a graduate of Western Washington University where he completed a degree in Business and Environmental Sustainability. Gabe has been with the Materials Management team for two years and has a total of five years’ experience in Solid Waste and Resource Recovery in Boise and Seattle. His current area of interest is working directly with the Boise business community to grow our local circular economy, capture landfill-bound resources, and increase use of Triple-Bottom-Line frameworks.

A native Idahoan with Cherokee heritage, Sherry Briscoe writes paranormal suspense mysteries and urban fantasy. Her childhood heroes were Alfred Hitchcock and Edgar Allan Poe, and she insists that episodes of The Twilight Zone made perfectly fine bedtime stories. With degrees in Journalism, Photography, and Adult Education, Sherry covers all her passions of creativity and teaching others. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, who keeps her well stocked in chai tea lattes and lemon drop martinis, and her Burmese cat, who shares her popcorn, pizzas, and even an occasional beer. Sherry is a world traveler, U.S. Army Veteran, and active member of her writing community. She’s the founder of the Idaho Screenwriters Association, an active board member of the Idaho Writers Guild, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. She has 11 books published with five more on the way. You can follow Sherry for news and specials at sherrybriscoe.com.

Dr. Erick Burns is a Research Hydrologist and is currently the Project Co-chief for the U.S. Geological Survey Geothermal Resources Investigations Project (GRIP). He coordinates the research of approximately 30 scientists who are supported wholly, or in part, by the GRIP and a range of externally funded projects. He is the primary task-leader for: (1) development of updated new resource assessments for conventional hydrothermal and EGS electricity production in the western U.S.; (2) development of local- and national-scale assessment tools for low-temperature and underground thermal energy storage (UTES) resources; and (3) joint-energy and water-resources studies of permeability of the U.S. northwest volcanic terranes. He co-leads multi-center/institution teams on machine learning for geothermal energy assessment and on novel methods of characterizing and evaluating UTES resources with the eventual goal of developing national maps of these resources. Erick is a team-member and subject matter expert on UTES of the USGS Geologic Energy Storage Project. His core skillset includes heat and fluid flow simulations in volcanic terranes and hydrothermal systems.

Charlene is a Public Health Program Manager 2 with Southwest District Health (SWDH) in Caldwell, ID. In this role, she leads the Community Health Team in identifying community needs; implementing programs to increase preventive health behaviors and change health outcomes; and evaluating our health impact across SWDH’s six-county region. Charlene has over 15 years’ experience in healthcare and public health working within systems at the state and local levels. She completed her Master of Health Science degree at Boise State University and is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Public Health Leadership at the University of Illinois, Chicago.  

Dr. Vanessa Crossgrove Fry is Director and Associate Research Professor at the Idaho Policy Institute (IPI) at Boise State University. She also serves as Adjunct Faculty Member at Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. Vanessa has focused both her work and education on utilizing multisector, evidenced-based solutions to address persistent social, environmental, and economic issues. At IPI, Vanessa has led projects focusing on a number of issues including education, workforce development, housing, and homelessness. She has also served as the lead researcher on multiple projects addressing Idaho’s transportation infrastructure. Vanessa holds a BA in Biology and Fine Art from Wittenberg University, an MBA from Presidio Graduate School, and a PhD in Public Policy and Administration from Boise State University.

McKay Cunningham, JD currently directs on-campus experiential learning at the College of Idaho, where he also teaches Reproductive Rights and Constitutional Law. Prior to joining the College of Idaho, McKay was a law professor at Concordia Law School and then the University of Idaho. He taught courses related to property law and constitutional law for over 12 years, during which time he published 12 law review articles, one book, and several shorter publications. He frequently appeared on local NPR to discuss constitutional law issues and drafted opinion pieces for local newspapers. Prior to joining legal academia, McKay practiced law for nine years in Dallas, Texas, including four years as a Staff Attorney on the Texas Supreme Court. He earned his undergraduate degree and his juris doctor degree at Baylor University. He lives in Boise and has four children: Ray, Calvin, Cleo, and Lula.

Laura DeLaney is the co-owner of Rediscovered Books and Once and Future Books in Boise with her husband, Bruce.

Abhilash Desai, MD is a geriatric psychiatrist, medical director of Idaho Memory & Aging Center, P.L.L.C., and an adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at University of Washington School of Medicine, Boise-Idaho track. He is the co-author, along with his mentor Dr. George Grossberg, a national and international leader in Geriatric Psychiatry, of the book Psychiatric Consultation in Long-Term Care: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals, Second Edition published by Cambridge University Press. He was the guest editor for Clinics of Geriatric Medicine special issue titled Healthy Brain Aging: Evidence-Based Methods to Preserve Brain Function and Prevent Dementia. His practice focuses on helping patients with dementia and their family members live the best life possible. He has been in practice for 23 years. Abhilash and his wife, psychologist Faith Galliano Desai, conduct workshops on brain health and wellness for all age groups.

Nynke Dorhout holds a Master of Arts degree from Leiden University and for 10 years was Assistant Collections Manager at Harvard University’s Peabody Museum. As librarian, she assists researchers from around the world, directs inventory and preservation projects, gives specialized library tours and contributes to programs, online content, and exhibits.

Jerry Eichhorst is the long-time President of the Idaho Chapter of the Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA), the nation’s largest organization dedicated to the preservation, marking, and enjoyment of emigrant trails. Jerry developed the Main Oregon Trail Back Country Byway for the BLM. He is an emigrant diary researcher with a collection of over 2,700 accounts of emigrants who traveled in Idaho. Jerry is an author who has received the OCTA Merrill Mattes Award for writing twice, and the Idaho State Historical Society Esto Perpetua Award for his work in discovering and preserving the Oregon Trail in Idaho. He regularly leads tours and trail outings In Idaho and neighboring states.

Ted Epperly, MD is the President and CEO of the Full Circle Health (Formally Family Medicine Residency of Idaho), a large Federally Qualified Teaching Health Center comprised of nine FQHC clinics, four ACGME family medicine residency programs, and five fellowships. He received an undergraduate degree in Biology and Anthropology from Utah State University in 1976. He graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 1980. Dr. Epperly completed his residency in Family Medicine at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, Washington in 1983. He completed a faculty development fellowship at the University of North Carolina in 1986 and achieved an additional CAQ in Geriatrics. He retired July 2001 as Colonel after serving 21 years in the United States Army.

Dr. Epperly served as the past President and Board Chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). He is a past member of the ACGME Board of Directors that has responsibility of all residency and fellowship training for over 125,000 residents and fellows of all specialties in the United States and currently is the vice-chair of the ACGME Policy Committee. He currently serves as the Co-Chairman of the Board for the Healthcare Transformation Council of Idaho that is in charge of helping transform healthcare for the State of Idaho. Dr. Epperly is the Graduate Medical Education Coordinator for the State of Idaho and the author of the State of Idaho’s Ten Year GME Plan to build a vibrant and robust GME system for Idaho. He is a member of multiple other boards of directors and the president of several nonprofit organizations.

Dr. Epperly has published over 50 articles and book chapters and he is a staunch supporter of family medicine education, research, and both rural and underserved healthcare. His award-winning book, Fractured: America’s Broken Health Care System and What Must Be Done to Heal It provides excellent insight to the U.S. healthcare system. He and his wife, Lindy, will celebrate their 49th wedding anniversary in September and have two sons. Outside of medicine, his interests include golf, skiing, fly-fishing, reading, and sports memorabilia.

Jessica Evert, MD is passionate about research, quality improvement, education, health equity, social determinants of health, and critical care. She earned the UCSF Family Health Center Award of Excellence for her approach to teamwork and multidisciplinary practice and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Christopher Krogh Award for dedication to underserved patients at home and abroad. Jessica is a leader in global health, community-based engagement, and asset-based community development, and serves as the Executive Director of Child Family Health International. She provides educational programming for medical, health professions students, and residents.

Terra Feast is the K12 Professional Development Manager for Boise State’s Division of Extended Studies and an adjunct professor of art education for the Department of Art, Design & Visual Studies. She began her career in museum education and has more than 20 years of experience developing and presenting interdisciplinary visual art content for learners of all ages. Terra holds a BA in Fine Arts from the College of Idaho and a Masters of Art in Art Education from Boise State University. She received the Idaho Art Education Association’s Idaho Art Educator of the Year award in 2015 and a Governor’s Award in the Arts for Innovation in the Arts in 2022.

Dr. Daniel Fologea is a Professor of Physics and Biophysics in the Department of Physics and Biomolecular Sciences Graduate Program at Boise State University. He received a PhD in Biophysics in 2001 from the University of Bucharest, Romania. Prior to his current appointment, Daniel was the Chair of Life and Environmental Physics Department at the National Institute of Physics in Bucharest, Romania, and Researcher in the Physics and Biology Departments at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. He moved to Boise State University in 2011, where he became a full Professor in 2020. His research work at Boise State is focused on membrane biophysics, with a special emphasis on the design of lipid-based carriers for therapeutic purposes in bacterial infections and cancer. His work on the development of liposomes capable of delivering anti-cancer drugs inside tumors upon exposure to X-ray during radiotherapy sessions led to numerous presentations, publications, and patents.

Esteban Garcia commenced his passion for stratospheric exploration following a record-breaking high altitude jump program at StratEx that he helped execute with a small group of engineers back in 2014, when Alan Eustace jumped from 136,000 feet and broke the currently standing skydiving world record. Following the StratEx program, Esteban joined World View Enterprises, where he became the Director of Manufacturing for a leading stratospheric ballooning company based in Tucson, AZ. At World View, he works with engineers to solve some of the most complex technical challenges to design and fabricate stratospheric crafts and balloons that can lift thousands of pounds—and eventually people—to the edge of space. Previously, he spent over 20 years working in the aerospace industry designing and fabricating components for both aircraft and spacecraft, which has offered him some of the tools necessary to take on this new challenge.

Joel Gunstream is the owner of and an instructor at Health Solutions of Idaho, a locally owned CPR training company headquartered in Boise. Health Solutions of Idaho is an affiliate of the American Heart Association, National Academy of Safety and Health, and American Safety and Health Institute certifying individuals in adult, child, and infant CPR, along with AED (Automated External Defibrillators) and first aid training. The organization prides itself on making each class fun, quick, and educational for all individuals who wish to learn Basic Life Support techniques.

Aaron Hedges engages modern economic life with a realistic yet values-rich challenge to move from plantation economics (exploitation) to Partnership Economics (mutual benefit). He has lived the organizational life, from first-paid employee of an entrepreneurial start-up to its CEO as the organization has grown to serve families from 49 states. Aaron has consulted for small businesses, served in multicultural ministries ranging from sports camps for urban youth to church planting in Andean Bolivia. Aaron lives with his wife, Allison, and their three (soon to be four!) children in Knoxville, TN.

Aaron and Paul Knowlton, JD, have co-authored the 2021 Amazon #1 new release book, Better Capitalism: Jesus, Adam Smith, Ayn Rand, and MLK Jr. on Moving from Plantation to Partnership Economics.

Dr. Randall Hudspeth has worked as an acute care hospital nursing administrator either as a Chief Officer or Clinical Director for more than 36 years. He is board-certified in both administration and clinical practice areas. He is an inducted Fellow in both the National Institute to Regulatory Excellence and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. In addition to U.S.-based executive experience, he has 17 years of international leadership experience. He served eight years on the Idaho Board of Nursing, including being Chairman, and seven years with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, including five years on the APRN committee and three years on the Board of Directors as Director/Treasurer. He has published multiple peer-reviewed articles on clinical practice and regulation, a book chapter, and co-authored the book Charting Idaho Nursing History. He is on the editorial board of two journals and previously served as adjunct or affiliate faculty at three universities. He holds nursing bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees and an MBA, and is licensed as an RN and APRN in the category of NP. He currently serves as the AANP representative on the national clinical advisory committee for the FDA endorsed program for safe opioid prescribing and is a national CORE faculty.

Bob Inglis is the Executive Director of republicEn.org. He was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1992, having never run for office before. He represented Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina, from 1993-1998, unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings in 1998, and then returned to the practice of commercial real estate law in Greenville. In 2004, he was re-elected to Congress and served until losing re-election in the South Carolina Republican primary of 2010. In 2011, Bob went full-time into promoting free enterprise action on climate change and launched the Energy and Enterprise Initiative (“E&EI”) at George Mason University in July 2012. In the fall of 2014, E&EI rebranded to become republicEn.org.

Dr. Reginald Jayne is a Clinical Associate Professor in Applied Sciences and Multidisciplinary Studies Program at Boise State University. He holds an MA in History and a PhD In Humanities and History. Before coming to Boise State, he was a full professor of History for the College of Western Idaho. Investigating great books is one of his favorite pastimes.

Dr. Laura Jenski is a retired university professor and vice president for research. She received her PhD in Oncology and postdoctoral training in immunology from the University of Wisconsin and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in biology from Northern Illinois University. Her professional research focused on omega-3 fatty acids and immunity to cancer. After decades of authoring original scientific research articles, Laura now writes what she loves to read: mysteries, thrillers, and humorous yarns. Her recent novels include Falling Plaster and the farcical Motorhome Murder Mysteries: Cooked Goose, Spacemen Don’t Camp, and Anger Management.

Dr. Casey Kennington is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Boise State University. He researchers how humans can have more natural dialogues with embodied agents like robots. He is ultimately interested in how linguistic meaning and be learned, represented, and applied on computational devices. Casey grew up in the Treasure Valley on a dairy farm near Ontario, Oregon. He completed his PhD in Linguistics at Bielefeld University, Germany, in 2016.

Lisa Knapp is a graduate of Seattle University’s Civil-Environmental Engineering Program and holds a Master’s of Public Administration from Boise State. Lisa manages the City of Boise’s Compost Program, where she is responsible for collection program outreach, compost use education, and providing oversight to facility operations. Lisa is passionate about diverting organic waste from our landfill and identifying opportunities to utilize compost to build healthy soils in our community.

Paul Knowlton, JD holds a Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Juris Doctorate, and Master of Divinity. He is currently a practicing attorney who has taught at the college and professional levels. A former engineer, seminary-trained and ordained minister, and successful entrepreneur, he brings an interdisciplinary approach to every question. Paul lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife Amy.

Paul and Aaron Hedges have co-authored the 2021 Amazon #1 new release book, Better Capitalism: Jesus, Adam Smith, Ayn Rand, and MLK Jr. on Moving from Plantation to Partnership Economics.

Rebecca serves as the Regional Director of Community Health and Wellbeing across Idaho and Oregon for Saint Alphonsus Health System. She worked for more than ten years for the State of Idaho in both the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s Division of Public Health, and Central District Health Department’s Division of Community and Environmental Health as a Policy Analyst. She also served as the Director of Community Impact at the United Way of Treasure Valley. Rebecca has a strong background leading community assessments, strategic planning, public health policy, and tactics for addressing the social influencers of health with an emphasis on housing as healthcare. She earned Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and English from the College of Idaho, and a Masters in Health Sciences from Boise State University. She serves on the boards of the Boise Public Library, Idaho Voices for Children, and the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children.

Dr. Irving Lubliner is Professor Emeritus at Southern Oregon University (SOU), where his specialty was mathematics education. During his 40-year career, he taught math at all levels, from kindergarten through graduate school; led seminars for teachers in 39 states; and gave over 350 conference presentations, including several keynote addresses. Since retiring in 2014, he has taught math, blues harmonica, and literature classes for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at SOU, where he also served on the Council of Directors. In 2019, he created Felabra Press and published his mother’s writings about the Holocaust, the book that will serve as the theme for this presentation.

Dr. Barry Luokkala is a teaching professor and director of undergraduate laboratories in the Department of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University. He received his BS and MS degrees in Physics at the University of Pittsburgh, where he did experimental research in the physics and chemistry of the ionosphere. He received his PhD in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics at Carnegie Mellon University. He also serves as Program Director for the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Sciences and has been a science consultant for the Sloan Foundation Screenplay Competition in Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama. In addition to teaching laboratory courses in physics at all levels, he also created and teaches a popular course on science and science fiction and is the author of a textbook, Exploring Science Through Science Fiction, which is in its second edition.

Joseph Luzzi received his PhD from Yale University and is the Asher B. Edelman Professor of Literature at Bard College, where he also teaches courses on film and Italian Studies. He is the author of five books: Botticelli’s Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance, a New Yorker’s Best Books of 2022 and Guardian Book of the Day selection; Romantic Europe and the Ghost of Italy, which received the MLA’s Scaglione Prize for Italian Studies; A Cinema of Poetry: Aesthetics of the Italian Art Film, a finalist for the international prize “The Bridge Book” Award; My Two Italies, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice; and In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love, which has been translated into multiple languages.

Joseph’s essays and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chronicle of Higher Education, TLS, Bookforum, and American Scholar, among others, and his scholarly writing has appeared in PMLA, Modern Language Notes, Modern Language Quarterly, Raritan, Italica, and Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century. Among his honors are a Dante Society of America essay prize, Yale College teaching prize, a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholars Award, and fellowships from the National Humanities Center and Yale’s Whitney Humanities Center. The first American-born child in his Italian immigrant family, Joseph was named Cittadino Onorario / Honorary Citizen of Acri, Calabria, in 2017.

A widely sought-after speaker, he has presented worldwide on literature, art, film, and the power of the humanities. Joseph is the founder of the Virtual Book Club, an international online community devoted to exploring some of the best books ever written.

Dr. Steven Maughan is Professor of History and Bernie McCain Chair in the Humanities at The College of Idaho. His scholarly work centers on British Anglican missionaries and cultures of religion and empire in Britain and abroad. Several book chapters on this subject have culminated in publication of Mighty England Do Good: Culture, Faith, Empire and World in the Missionary Projects of the Church of England, 1850-1915. His current research interests focus on race, gender, charismatic faiths, and competitive empires in Africa, India, and the Pacific, particularly in the expansion of Anglican Anglo-Catholic missions from the 1860s through the Great War.

Luke Mayville grew up in Sandpoint, ID. He holds a PhD from Yale University and recently taught political philosophy at Columbia University, American University, and the Boise State University Honors College. He has published extensive writings on the ideas of America’s founding fathers, including a book on John Adams. In 2017, he co-founded Reclaim Idaho and helped spearhead Idaho’s ballot initiative to expand Medicaid coverage to over 120,000 Idahoans. In 2021, Reclaim Idaho won a landmark case in the Idaho Supreme Court that enshrined the ballot-initiative process as a fundamental right in the state of Idaho. Luke was listed by Idaho Business Review among the “Power 25” leaders in Idaho’s healthcare sector, and he received the 2019 Advocacy Award from the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians. Most recently, he directed Reclaim Idaho’s campaign for investment in public schools that was credited with forcing Idaho Legislature to increase public school funding by $410 million a year.

A native Idahoan, Lance developed a love of reading and libraries at an early age. He has vivid memories of happily exploring the library stacks as a child. Lance is a tenured member of the faculty at The College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho, where he works as a librarian and educational technologist. He earned graduate degrees in library science from the University of North Texas and educational technology from Boise State University. He is a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership program at Northwest Nazarene University. Lance is an active library supporter and freedom to read advocate. He is currently serving as the President of the Idaho Library Association.

Ellie McKinnon is the Executive Director of Artisans for Hope and also served as Director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for the first 12 years of the Institute’s life. Ellie got the call to come out of retirement to assume leadership of Artisans for Hope just a year ago. Her academic degrees include a Masters in English, and as a writer she has produced numerous articles for newspapers, local magazines and arts organizations. Though Boise is her chosen home, she originally hails from the Midwest and enjoys enriching her life through travel.

Catherine Milner oversees the Reduce & Reuse Program and Hefty ReNew Orange Bag Program for the City of Boise. Her primary goal is to educate and encourage behavior change around waste generation and disposal in the Boise community. She previously worked on environmental compliance and sustainability projects for the City of Dallas Department of Aviation as well as on children’s nutrition programs for The Idaho Foodbank. Catherine was born and raised in Dallas, TX and graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science.

Detective Mike Miraglia has been an Idaho law enforcement officer for over 23 years and has served as a member of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Boise Police Gang Unit. In partnership with local and federal agencies, he has successfully investigated several local and regional sex trafficking organizations. Mike is currently assigned to the Violent Crimes Unit, where he investigates robberies, homicides, and officer involved critical incidents. He also serves as a member of the Crisis Negotiations Team, where he applies the art of de-escalation to highly charged incidents.

Jesse moved with his family to Idaho following his time as an Air Force officer. He is double-boarded in family medicine and emergency medical services, serving Idaho’s military veterans daily as a physician at the Boise VA Medical Center. He also still serves as a flight surgeon in the Oregon Air National Guard. He loves his wife and the wilderness, and his activities including backcountry hunting, skiing, mountain- and dirt-biking. He is passionate about medical educational and prehospital medical care, as well as mentorship and development for young men looking to grow and develop themselves.

Paul Nelson is retired from a senior engineer position at Micron Technology. While at Micron, he worked in the Dynamic RAM Division on new generations of memory chips and taught Python programming courses as well as other topics related to computer-aided design. Paul received a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Fresno State University and a master of science in electrical engineering from the University of Wyoming. He also worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories designing telecom infrastructure equipment, participated with the future-microprocessor design team at Intel, worked on NASA contracts for science satellites at Ball Aerospace, ran a vocational electronics program for five years at the College of the Sequoias, and was a professor at Fresno State in the electrical engineering department. Paul has been an amateur astronomer since grade school and got his first serious telescope at the age of 11.

Since 2022, Jonathan Oppenheimer has worked with the Idaho Conservation League, the state’s oldest and largest nonprofit conservation organization. As the External Relations Director, he represents ICL in the Idaho Legislature and helps direct communications, marketing, and engagement efforts for the organization. He serves as a member of Idaho Governor’s Roadless Rule Implementation Commission and the University of Idaho’s Policy Analysis Group Advisory Committee. He has previously served as a member of the Western Governors’ Association’s Forest Health Advisory Council, Potlatch Corporation’s Community Advisory Council, Idaho State Fire Plan Working Group, Boise Forest Coalition, Clearwater Basin Collaborative, and Inland Northwest Stewardship Contracting Monitoring Team, among others. He lives in Boise with his wife Beth, and is a proud dad to his two daughters.

Gina was born and raised in Emmett, ID. She spent most of her childhood outdoors camping, swimming, fishing, and playing sports with her younger brother, mom, and dad. She received her Bachelor’s in Therapeutic Recreation in 2004 from Eastern Washington University and worked in long-term care, psychiatric state hospitals, and alternative schools in Idaho, Arizona, and Washington. She earned a Master’s in Public Health in 2011 from Idaho State University and since has worked to implement systems change and promote health access and quality care for Idahoans through program and policy efforts with the Division of Medicaid, Central District Health, and now as the Bureau Chief for Rural Health and Primary Care with the Idaho Division of Public Health. She lives in Boise with her husband and two elementary school-aged daughters.

Dr. Del Parkinson began studying piano at age five in his hometown of Blackfoot, Idaho. He holds a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University and a postgraduate diploma from The Juilliard School. He was the recipient of a Fulbright-Hays grant for graduate study in London. He was coordinator of piano instruction at Brigham Young University-Idaho, where he taught for eight years, and is professor of piano at Boise State University, where he joined the faculty in 1985.

Del’s London debut recital was on the American Bicentennial Series, and his New York debut recital in Carnegie Recital Hall was sponsored by the Idaho Commission on the Arts. He has performed with the Guadalajara Symphony, the Indiana University Symphony, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Utah Symphony, and the Boise Philharmonic. He is featured on four compact disc recordings: The American Piano Quartet and The American Piano Duo’s Mendelssohn Two-Piano Concerto, Rachmaninoff Duo Piano Works, and Celebrating Gershwin. He is the recipient of the Boise State University Foundation Scholar Award for creative activity, the Boise Mayor’s Award for artistic excellence, the Morrison Center Honor Medallion, the Idaho Commission on the Arts Career Fellowship Award, and the Idaho Governor’s Award for excellence in the arts.

Dr. Katie Peterson is the Idaho Botanical Garden Education Director and has over a dozen years of experience in the education field working at zoos, nature centers, nonprofits, and in higher education. She earned a BA in Biology from Gustavus Adolphus College, an MS in Natural Resources (with an environmental education certificate), and a PhD. She has experience developing and teaching content on a wide variety of subject areas including organismal, conservation, and evolutionary biology, ecosystems, and water quality.

Alexis is a Program Manager leading the Western Idaho Community Health Collaborative (WICHC), a ten-county, private-public partnership aligning healthcare, public health, and social services to address the social influencers of health. She is the first shared employee of two local public health districts, Central and Southwest District Health. Raised in Kooskia, ID, and sometimes living without running water or electricity, she learned early on the importance of community, health, and collaboration. A first-generation college student, she is a proud graduate of Walla Walla Community College and Boise State University, earning a BA in English and a Masters in Health Policy. In 2020, she was recognized as one of the Idaho Business Review’s Accomplished Under 40 and was elected to the Ada County Highway District Commission, bringing a public health perspective to Idaho’s largest local transportation authority. As the youngest ACHD Commissioner and Commission President (elected in January 2023), she has fostered and strengthened bipartisan partnerships, led and accomplished policy change, and continues to advocate for safe transportation infrastructure for all.

Adrienne Poppe retired in May 2022, after over 40 years as a real estate paralegal. Despite difficult experiences in her life such as surviving paralytic polio, spending years in a religious cult with an arranged marriage, and being a mother without custody, she has found faith, community, purpose, and love. She enjoys traveling, gardening, cooking, and entertaining, and her greatest passion is quilting.

Dr. Patricia Quinlisk was the Medical Director and State Epidemiologist at the Iowa Department of Public Health for 24 years. She is now semi-retired; continuing to teach at various universities and working on projects such as how to change behaviors to prevent dementia. Her background includes being a hospital clinical microbiologist, a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal, and training as a field epidemiologist in the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service.

Megan serves as the Director of Community Impact for the United Way of Treasure Valley, overseeing the strategy and execution of all impact initiatives for the organization. With a passion for building communities where all members can thrive, the Community School Strategy has been a common thread in Megan’s work history, starting as a Community School Coordinator in South Carolina. She has seen the transformation possible through authentic partnerships and dynamic collaborations. She has a Master of Social Work with a focus in Administration, Planning, and Policy Practice. Prior to joining the United Way of Treasure Valley Team in 2022, Megan served as the Community Partnership School Director for a United Way in Southwest Florida. She is the proud mom of a first-grader, loves conversation over a good cup of coffee, and has a tremendous sweet tooth.

Rebecca Robinson, NP is a nurse practitioner with a primary focus on the care, support, and education of her patients to help them live their best lives in the face of chronic illness. She has a special interest in adult learning in advanced heart failure and has worked previously in the operating room, intensive care unit, and mechanical circulatory support. Rebecca is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in adult-gerontology acute care medicine. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in nursing from Andrews University and her Doctorate degree as a nurse practitioner from the University of Washington.

Filmmakers Betty and Ken Rodgers have produced two award-winning documentaries that bring to light the long-term cost of war on veterans and their families. Betty, a lifelong photographer and impresaria, comes from a long line of military veterans and became the wife of a combat veteran when she married Ken. Ken, who served in the USMC with Bravo Company 1/26, is a Vietnam Veteran who survived the terrible 77-day siege of Khe Sanh in early 1968. He holds a BS in Accounting from Arizona State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of San Francisco. His body of work includes poetry, lyric essays, and short stories inevitably based on his wartime experience. In 2016, he received the National DAR’s highest award, the Founders Medal for Patriotism. Betty and Ken also mentor veterans and their spouses, and are avid birders.

Dr. James Russ is an Emeritus Physics Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, where he taught for 52 years. He is experienced in teaching all levels of classes from freshmen to grad students, plus outreach courses to adults and high school students. He is an experimental particle physicist, using large accelerators around the world, including his current CMS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland. He has been a past spokesman for particle physics experiments involving up to 500 people from 12 countries. James received a BS from Indiana University and an MS and PhD from Princeton University.

Shane Sato specializes in portrait photography and has been photographing Japanese American veterans for almost 25 years. He published a set of hardcover coffee table books, The Go For Broke Spirit: Portraits of Courage and The Go For Broke Spirit: Portraits of Legacy featuring portraits of 160 Japanese American WWII veterans. They are poignant images of Nisei men who fought for America even while the country put their families and loved ones in prison. Shane and his wife live in California.

Bio coming soon

Anne Schuyler is The Mount’s Director of Visitor Services and Interpretation. Anne has produced multiple exhibits and developed online programs such as the book clubs and Library Conversations. She holds a Bachelor’s from the University of Virginia and a Professional Certificate in Public History from Northeastern University in Boston.

Chuck Sheley was a smokejumper for 13 seasons and a wildland firefighter for 34 years. He was a junior high school physical education teacher for 38 years and a high school track and field coach for 53 years. His teams have won over 30 Northern California track and cross-country championships, and one of his girls’ teams was ranked #2 in the nation. He was selected to the Chico and Chico State Athletic Hall of Fame.
Over his career with the USFS, he recruited and trained nearly 4,000 young people as wildland firefighters. Twenty-six of them went on to become smokejumpers. He is the Vice President of the National Smokejumper Association and has been editor of Smokejumper magazine since 1999. Chuck is active in U.S. track and field and heads up the Track Starters Association for Northern California. He is opposed to the current USFS let-burn (managed) wildfire policy and is very concerned about the loss of our forest land to wildfire.

Carole Skinner was born at Fort Lewis and raised in the U.S. Army. Her family traveled to Germany, California, New Jersey, Texas, and back to Germany for her Dad’s work. She attended most of junior high and high school in Tacoma, attended Western Washington University in Bellingham for her freshman year, and graduated from the University of Washington three years later with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature. Carole moved from Seattle to Boise in 1982 and married Rick Skinner in 1983. She has a stepdaughter, Sara, and a daughter, Hayley; they and their families now live nearby and it is the best thing ever to have them near. Carole’s main interests, besides her grandchildren, are literature, films, the arts (including visual arts), dance, and theater. She also writes short fiction.

Dr. Bill Smith is a Clinical Full Professor and the Director of the Martin Institute, Borah Foundation, and Program in International Studies at the University of Idaho, where he has worked since 2000. All three entities consider the causes of war, the conditions necessary for peace, and the international system with a mix of teaching, research, and outreach. Unlike most academic jobs, his requires a little bit of knowledge about everything rather than a specialization in something, making him something of an “expert generalist” about the world and how myriad topics fit together. Bill received his PhD in History from Washington State University, and he has lived in Mexico, Spain, and Portugal.

Rebecca is the Program Manager for Health Policy and Promotion programs at Central District Health. A North Idaho resident most of her life, she had a six-year stint in Alaska to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology and her Master’s degree in Public Health Practice. In 2010, she moved to Boise where she worked in primary care and specialty care settings, refugee resettlement, and education, and in 2016 began work in more traditional public health settings as a Health Educator for Idaho’s Division of Public Health, Suicide Prevention Program, and Tobacco Prevention and Control Program. Rebecca began her work at Central District Health as a Project Coordinator in April 2020 and moved into the role of Program Manager in May of this year. She is passionate about health literacy, health equity, and promoting shared protective factors and upstream prevention practices. She enjoys hiking and backpacking, Bollywood movies, and NERF battles with her son, Phineas.

Sue Stillman Linja, RDN, LD has been a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and business owner as the co-founder of S&S Nutrition Network for the last three decades. Sue is a researcher, author, and sought-after speaker in the area of long-term care and longevity. She has published The Alzheimer’s Prevention Food Guide and presented a TED Talk, “The Road to 100.” Sue employed 60 dietitians in over 10 states, positively impacting the nutritional status of thousands of aging individuals. She hopes to age gracefully, reaching her 100th birthday by maintaining close relationships, eating a mostly plant-based diet, and drinking fine wine.

Dr. Bryan Taylor, JD is the Prosecuting Attorney for Canyon County, a position he has held since 2010. Prior to becoming the elected prosecutor, he was a deputy prosecuting attorney handling violent crimes and special victim crimes. He has been a prosecutor in the state of Idaho since 2001. Dr. Taylor holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Boise State University, Masters of Arts in Theology from Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver, College of Law, a Doctorate of Philosophy in Adult, Organizational Learning and Leadership from the University of Idaho, a Masters of Canon Law from the University of Ottawa, and an Ecclesiastical licentiate from Saint Paul University. He lives in Canyon County with his wife and two children.

Dr. Michal Temkin Martinez came to Boise State University in 2009 and is Chair and Professor of the Department of Linguistics, as well as the founding director of the Mary Ellen Ryder Linguistics Lab. She has a BA and MA in Linguistics from California State University, Northridge and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Southern California. Her research includes theoretical and experimental phonology and language documentation, as well as the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in linguistics. She is currently co-PI of a National Science Foundation grant (NSF #1924593) with Dr. Kazuko Hiramatsu (University of Michigan-Flint) facilitating a faculty learning community whose main goal is capacity building of SoTL work in the field of linguistics with the Linguistic Society of America. She is Associate Editor of the journal Language with responsibilities for the Teaching Linguistics section of the journal.

Dr. Tom Trotter has served as a credentialed practitioner in counseling, school psychology, and leadership, primarily in the public schools and at the university level. He holds a PhD with an emphasis in Counseling and School Psychology, with additional degrees in applied Educational Psychology, Special Education, and Sociology. He has over 35 years of experience in higher education as an instructor, program coordinator, and department head. A professor emeritus from the University of Idaho, Tom has also taught for Indiana University, Gonzaga University, and more recently, Boise State University, where in addition to teaching in the MSW Program, he is an affiliate faculty with the Center for the Study of Aging. Outside of higher education, he is the lead volunteer for AARP Idaho’s statewide Livable/Age-Friendly Communities project.

Amanda Turner is a New York Times bestselling author of eight books, including How to Be Awkward, which was a Publisher’s Weekly Editor’s Pick. Her works have received starred reviews, awards in humor and travel, and inclusion in BookLife’s annual Top 5 Indie Books of the Year. She lives in Boise, travels frequently, and hosts an annual writing retreat in Todos Santos, Mexico. You can learn more at her website, AmandaTurner.com.

David Wagers has been the President of Idaho Candy Company for 23 years. David received a BS in Finance from the University of Idaho and earned a Certified Management Accountant designation. He was given the Idaho School Board Association (ISBA)’s Mastery of Boardsmanship Award and regularly attends the ISBA’s Day on the Hill, Leadership Institute and Annual Convention, and the National School Board Association Convention. He is also a member of Idaho Business for Education. He and his wife, Jill, have four children.

Anne Watson Sorensen has been painting for over 30 years. It was while living in Spain that art became a breathing and meaningful connection worthy of a career course correction. Anne graduated with a degree in Business Management and later from art school. She has studied and been mentored by internationally recognized master painters. Her thirst for learning and evolving as an artist continues today. Anne is a celebrated award-winning Idaho artist with work in galleries and public and private collections worldwide. She was the Idaho 2020 Chairman for the Idaho Western Federation of Watercolor Societies (WFWS). She headed Art Breakthrough Workshops, bringing internationally renowned artist instructors to Boise. She is a Distinguished Signature Member of the Idaho Watercolor Society, a Signature WFWS member, and member of the National Watercolor Society. She has taught workshops and classes for over 10 years statewide.

Thad Webster a retired from a 45-year career in Information Technology and worked with Hewlett Packard in Marketing and Planning. He graduated from Kansas State University in Computer Science, is still an avid Wildcat fan, but has a connection with Kansas that is stronger than just beating Kansas University. The Manhattan, Kansas area is his cultural heart. While feeling a bit of an outsider still, Thad’s work with HP provided an opportunity to move to Boise, a location where most others wanted to go for vacation. Idaho is now his spiritual ground. Thad’s retirement projects include genealogy, woodworking, and researching the train history of the Treasure Valley. Thad still works part-time with the City of Boise Parks & Rec department as a Tour Guide. He and his wife split their days between Boise and McCall. Golfing most of the summer in the mountains is a strong relaxation event for him. Thad and his wife reside in Boise and have two adult children.

Dr. Thomas Weingartner was a professional oceanographer for over 30 years and served on the faculty of the University of Alaska for 25 years. He received his PhD in Oceanography from North Carolina State University. His research focused on ocean physics and its relationship to marine ecosystems. Most of his professional research was conducted in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas surrounding Alaska.

Dr. Kathryn Wilson is a Professor and Chair of the Economics Department at Kent State University. She received her PhD in Economics in 1996 from the University of Wisconsin. She has taught a variety of courses, including Public Finance, Economics of Health Care, Economics of Poverty, and Principles of Microeconomics. Currently, she teaches the Economics capstone course Senior Seminar. Her research primarily focuses on poverty, inequality and social mobility and has appeared in journals such as the Journal of Public Economics, Demography, and Review of Income and Wealth. She became department chair in 2018 and has previously served as Interim Dean and as Interim Associate Dean in the College of Business.

Dr. Shelton Woods is the Associate Dean of Boise State University’s Honors College and a Professor of Southeast Asian History. He spent his first twenty years in the highlands of the Philippines and moved to the U.S., where he earned a PhD at UCLA. He is the author of six books and over sixty articles. His latest book, Early in the Mountains: An American Governor among Philippine Highlanders, is published by Cornell University Press.

Dr. Eric Yensen is a native Idahoan. He received his BS in Biology from the College of Idaho, Master’s degree from Oregon State University, and PhD from the University of Arizona. He is an ecologist and mammalogist with an affinity for all branches of natural history. Eric has published over 75 peer-reviewed scientific publications, 10 book chapters, and three books. He has served as associate editor for the scientific journals, Northwest Science and The Murrelet. He was named “Distinguished Scientist” by the Idaho Academy of Science and received the Charles E. Harris award for Lifetime Accomplishment by the Idaho Chapter of the Wildlife Society. He is currently serving as Adjunct Graduate Faculty at Boise State University, Professor Emeritus at The College of Idaho, and Curator and Board Member of the O.J. Smith Museum of Natural History at the College of Idaho.

Dr. John Ziker is a Professor and the Department Chair of Anthropology at Boise State University. He began his anthropological field research in Siberia in 1992. His research with indigenous peoples in Siberia has been featured in journals including Science, Human Nature, Human Ecology, Nomadic Peoples, and Sustainability Science. His book, Peoples of the Tundra: Northern Siberians in the Post-Communist Transition was published in 2002 by Waveland Press. He has conducted fieldwork in the Taimyr district, the north Baikal region, and the Tuva Republic in Siberia (the Russian Federation). He has been conducting studies of higher education faculty in STEM departments, and in 2019 started a project at Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique with the Sena people on the topic of wealth inequality. Two new projects, including one on Arctic climate change and another on secure and trustworthy cyberspace, were funded by the National Science Foundation in 2022.

Dan Zuckerman, MD is a Medical Oncologist at St. Luke’s Cancer Institute. His areas of interest are gastrointestinal cancers and colorectal cancer. He graduated from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, where he won the Outstanding Achievement Award in Medicine in 2002. He performed his residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where he received the Dunne Award in 2003, and his fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where he received the Clinical Fellows Distinguished Excellence in Teaching Award in 2006. He has been published in Cancer, the journal of the American Cancer Institute, and is Board Certified in Hematology, Internal Medicine, and Medical Oncology.