Eric Close - actor, director

Eric is currently featured in the hit CBS series Without A Trace playing FBI Agent Martin Fitzgerald, now in it's sixth season. He was seen as Alien Visitor John in Steven Spielberg's Taken on the SciFi channel in December 2002. In 1999, Eric played Michael Wiseman aka Michael Newman on the critically acclaimed series Now and Again and for the two seasons prior to that, he portrayed Vin Tanner in the western drama The Magnificent Seven on CBS. His regular series roles have also included portraying John Loengard in the paranormal drama Dark Skies and starring as Brick McKenna in McKenna. He had a recurring role in the final season of the long-running Sisters.

He has been in the television movies Follow the Stars Home, Without Consent, The Stranger Beside Me, Hercules and the Lost Kingdom, Long Island Fever and Keeping Secrets. Eric also played Sawyer Walker in the Emmy Award-winning daytime drama Santa Barbara.

His feature film work includes portraying a prison inmate in Edward James Olmos' American Me, Taking Liberty, Safe House, an American Film Institute production (short film), Alvarez & Cruz, The Sky is Falling and Liberty, Maine.

Peter Reynolds - author, artist

While Peter H. Reynolds is indeed an artist and author, he would rather be known for his mission: to use media to tell stories that matter and challenge us to reach our full potential.

Peter's best-selling books about protecting and nurturing the creative spirit include The Dot, Ish, and So Few of Me (Candlewick Press). The film version of The Dot (Weston Woods) went on to win the American Library Association' (ALA's) Carnegie Medal of Excellence for the Best Children's Video of 2005 and the film version of Ish was announced as one of ALA's 2006 Notable Children's Videos. His other series of original, animated film shorts, including The Blue Shoe, Living Forever and He Was Me, have won many awards and honors around the globe.

Peter's book, Someday (a collaboration with author Alison McGhee) is a New York Times #1 Best Seller Children's book and was on the list for 4 months. This "storybook for all ages" celebrates the potential we see in our children and the yearning for them to live life to its fullest.

The SugarLoaf book series (Simon & Schuster), My Very Big Little World and The Best Kid in the World are the first of Peter's many books about an irrepressible little girl who sees the world through creative-colored glasses.

His cornerstone work, The North Star (FableVision) has also inspired children of all ages around the world as a book, curriculum and musical. Peter has illustrated the New York Times best-selling Judy Moody series (Candlewick Press) as well as the covers of Judy Blume's Fudge series (Dutton).

Peter has made his mark in many ways, including founding the Emmy award-winning children's multimedia company, FableVision, with his twin brother, Paul. FableVision is a turn-key educational media developer and publisher committed to creating positive programming and products that help all learners navigate their full potential. With offices in Boston, Dedham, Massachusetts, Portland, Oregon, and London, the FableVision team enjoys an international reputation for its unique brand of innovative, technology-delivered storytelling and learning. FableVision's (www.fablevision.com) most popular products include Stationery Studio and Get A Clue, as well as BrainCogs and Essay Express, which were produced in collaboration with the Research Institute for Learning and Development.

In 2007, Peter received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from his undergraduate alma mater, Fitchburg State College, in recognition of his "substantial contributions to education and the arts."

Much of Peter's spare time is spent giving back to the community ~ revitalizing the businesses in his beloved town, Dedham Square, supporting schools, and serving on the board of several non-profit organizations, such as Horizons for the Homeless and Everybody Wins Boston.

Victor Rivas Rivers - actor, athlete, activist and author

As an ACTOR Victor Rivers is the veteran star of more than two dozen films. He may be best known for such roles as Magic Mike from the cult hit BLOOD IN/BLOOD OUT, as Eddie Murphy's sidekick in THE DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN, and as Antonio Banderas' ill-fated brother in THE MASK OF ZORRO. On television Victor has guest starred on such hit shows as MIAMI VICE, JAG, STAR TREK, C.S.I. MIAMI, and 24.

A former ATHLETE, Victor began his career as an offensive lineman at Florida State University-under the mentoring of Coach Bobby Bowden -before being drafted by the Miami Dolphins with whom he was out for their 1978/79 seasons.

In 1999, Victor Rivers became a leading ACTIVIST in the cause of preventing violence against women and children. As the national spokesperson for the National Network to End Domestic Violence, he uses his own harrowing story of surviving a home where abuse took place on the level of torture to raise awareness about what he considers our greatest yet most curable social disease. Victor Rivas Rivers has now become an AUTHOR, with the publication of his memoir, A PRIVATE FAMILY MATTER (Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster).

Victor Rivas Rivers is the national spokesperson and Honorary Chair for the National Network to End Domestic Violence and is the honorary spokesperson for the National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence (ALIANZA)

Adora Svitak - author

Adora Svitak is an eight-year old writing prodigy, a published author and a passionate writer who reaches out to millions of children around the world -- through the internet -- encouraging them to read and write. This young author has appeared on Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, KOMO News Seattle, The Seattle Times and other television shows and print publications. You can learn more about Adora by visiting her website: www.adorasvitak.com.

Erik Weihenmayer - World-Class Adventurer

On May 25, 2001, Erik Weihenmayer became the only blind man in history to reach the summit of the world's highest peak - Mount Everest. And on September 5, 2002, when he stood on top of Mt. Kosciusko in Australia, Weihenmayer completed his 7-year quest to climb the Seven Summits - the highest mountains on each of the seven continents, joining only 100 mountaineers who have accomplished that feat. At age 33, he was also one of the youngest. Additionally, he has scaled El Capitan, a 3300-foot overhanging rock wall in Yosemite; Polar Circus, a 3000-foot ice waterfall in The Canadian Rockies; and a difficult and rarely climbed rock face on 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya.

In September, 2003, Erik joined 320 stellar athletes from 17 countries to compete in the Primal Quest, the richest and toughest multi-sport adventure race in the world: 457 miles through the Sierra Nevada's, nine days, sixty thousand feet of elevation gain, and no time-outs. Averaging only two hours of sleep a night, Erik and his team surged past the finish line on Lake Tahoe, becoming one of the 42 teams to cross the finish line out of the 80 teams that began.

After Erik's Mt. Everest ascent, Braille Without Borders, a school for the blind in Tibet, invited him to teach its students mountaineering and rock climbing. His many climbs gave the teenagers the courage to excel in a culture which affords few opportunities for the blind. Erik and six Everest team members went to Tibet in May 2004 to train the students, then in October led them on a climb to the Rombuk Glacier on the north side of Mt. Everest. Once seen as pariahs, the teenagers ultimately stood together at 21,500-feet., higher than any team of blind people in history. Steven Haft, producer of such blockbusters as Dead Poets' Society, made a documentary on the ascent which opened to standing ovations at the Toronto, L.A., and London Film Festivals. The film will be released theatrically in spring of 2007.

A former middle school teacher and wrestling coach, Erik is one of the most exciting and well-known athletes in the world. Despite losing his vision at the age of 13, Erik has become an accomplished mountain climber, paraglider, and skier, who has never let his blindness interfere with his passion for an exhilarating and fulfilling life. Erik's feats have earned him an ESPY award, recognition by Time Magazine for one of the greatest sporting achievements of 2001, induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, an ARETE Award for the superlative athletic performance of the year, the Helen Keller Lifetime Achievement award, Nike's Casey Martin Award, and the Freedom Foundation's Free Spirit Award. He has also carried the Olympic Torch for both the Summer and Winter Games.

In addition to being a world-class athlete, Erik is also the author of the book, Touch the Top of the World, published in ten countries and six languages. According to Publisher's Weekly, Erik's memoir is "moving and adventure packed, Weihenmayer tells his extraordinary story with humor, honesty and vivid detail, and his fortitude and enthusiasm are deeply inspiring." The book was made into a feature film which aired on A&E in June, 2006.

Erik's second book, The Adversity Advantage: Turning Everyday Struggles Into Everyday Greatness, co-authored with business guru and best selling author, Dr. Paul Stoltz, was released by Simon and Schuster in January, 2007. Through Paul's science and Erik's experience, The book shares seven "summits" for harnessing the power of adversity and turning it into the never-ending fuel to growth and innovation. Steven Covey, author of the best selling business book of all time, wrote the Foreword. Erik has also been published in Time, Forbes, and Reader's Digest.

In 1999, Erik joined Mark Wellman - the first paraplegic to climb the 3000-foot face of El Capitan, and Hugh Herr - a double-leg-amputee and scientist at Harvard's prestigious prosthetics Laboratory, to climb an 800-foot rock tower in Moab, Utah. As a result of their successful climb together, the three formed No Barriers, a non-profit organization with a goal of promoting innovative ideas, approaches, and assistive technologies which help people with disabilities push through their own personal barriers to live full and active lives. Erik also serves as a National Braille Literacy Champion on behalf of the American Foundation for the Blind.