Kennedy Odede, one of Africa’s best-known community organizers and social entrepreneurs, is the co-author with Jessica Posner Odede of the New York Times bestselling book Find Me Unafraid: Love, Loss and Hope in an African Slum. Founder and CEO of the nonprofit Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) based in Kenya, he is a member of

Louie Cronin, author of the novel Everyone Loves You Back,  is a writer, radio producer and audio engineer. For ten years she served as NPR’s “Car Talk” traffic cop, producing the show and ensuring that every call was entertaining.  A graduate of Boston University’s Masters program in Creative Writing and a past winner of the

Matthew McKay is the author of Evolved (November 2016), a transformative work of fiction that blends science and spirituality. A former financial analyst turned proud stay-at-home dad, Matthew is highly involved in his local Wellesley, MA community.  During his years as an analyst, he held positions at prominent investment banks in Boston and San Francisco

Elizabeth Birkelund is author of the novels The Dressmaker (Henry Holt & Co., 2006) and The Runaway Wife (Harper Collins, July 2016). Formerly the “Money Talk” columnist at Cosmopolitan, Elizabeth worked as a freelance magazine journalist, writing at such outlets as Self, Glamour and Working Woman, among others. She currently serves as a trustee on

Connie Hertzberg Mayo’s debut novel, The Island of Worthy Boys (She Writes Press, October 2015), won the 2016 Independent Publisher Book Awards “IPPY” Gold Medal for Best Regional Fiction.  A veteran of numerous creative writing classes and workshops at Grub Street, Inc., Connie has had essays featured in Writer’s Digest, The Broad Side, The Portland

Mark Fins, author of the novel Imagine That (Old Farm Press, 2016), is a lifelong entrepreneur and the owner of two corporations — Diversified Biotech and New England Country Pies. He is a supporter and provider of remedial reading scholarships for at-risk children and is active in philanthropy, particularly in local food banks. A tournament