Alan Brody is Professor of Theater Arts at MIT. For ten years he was Associate Provost for the Arts. His plays have won numerous awards and had productions at such theaters as The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Aspen Playwrights Conference, The Live Oak Theater in Austin, Texas, The Berkshire Theater Festival and The Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. His play, Invention for Fathers And Sons, was the first winner of the annual Rosenthal Award at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in 1989. It was subsequently produced at the American Jewish Theater in New York City. The Company of Angels was the recipient of the 1990 Eisner Award from the Streisand Center for Jewish Culture in Los Angeles. It had its world premiere at the New Repertory Theater in Massachusetts in the spring of 1993, and has been produced at the T. Schreiber Studio in New York and Theater Emory in Atlanta. The Housewives of Mannheim had its world premiere at the New Jersey Repertory Theatre after a number of previous developmental workshops in Boston and Indiana. Three of his plays, Five Scenes From Life, Greytop in Love and One-on-One were developed at the Missouri Repertory Theater. Greytop in Love was subsequently seen at the Walnut Street Theater, Philadelphia, in1998, starring Kim Hunter. The dramatic oratorio, Reckoning Time: A Song of Walt Whitman, which he wrote in collaboration with composer Peter Child, had its world premiere at Jordan Hall with the John Oliver Chorale in March of 1995 Mr. Brody is also the author of two novels, Coming To (1973) and Hey Lenny, Hey Jack (1975).

David Bromstad is the season one winner of HGTV's Design Star, and a Ringling College graduate (96).He is currently the host of HGTV's Color Splash, where he is known for his out-of-the-box thinking and approach to design and decorating issues. David started his career as a design student at the Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota, Florida. Throughout his career, David has created works on many platforms, including custom art, furniture building and interior design.

Girvin is the founder of Girvin, Inc., one of the longest-running, continuously operating private brand consulting design firms on the west coast. Their focus is strategy, storytelling, messaging and visualization. Girvin's teams orchestrate developmental workshops on innovation, naming and product creation for companies all over the world. They look for heart, soul and culture. This focus has lead to ongoing projects in motion pictures and entertainment, technology, scientific innovation, consumer products, health, hospitality, foods, beverages, retail, beauty and luxury, as well as an ongoing commitment to the arts and humanitarian and cause-related marketing and positioning.

Girvin’s education includes a degree from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, with additional studies at New College, Sarasota, Florida, the Cooper Union College of Arts and Sciences in New York City and the Imperial College in London. His original academic focus was on marine biology and comparative physiology. Girvin’s lab notebooks were so elaborately designed, though, that a professor recommended he change his course of study. This led to research in type design, fine printing, calligraphy, the history of architecture, and book design – and how these were culturally influenced through the millennia.

Dave Mason was born in England and raised in Canada, where he formed his own design firm in 1984. He and co-founders Greg and Pat Samata formed Chicago/Vancouver-based SamataMason Inc. in 1995. His strategy and design work for clients such as Sesame Workshop, Swiss Army Brands, TRW, Broderbund Software and QLT has been honored in hundreds of national and international competitions and publications. He has served as a guest speaker at design industry functions and schools and has served as a juror for design competitions across North America and in Asia. Dave has also co-founded a number of successful business ventures including OpinionLab, Inc., the leader in web-based VoC (voice of customer) intelligence systems, Cusp Conference LLC, which produces an annual conference about "the design of everything," and documentary producer NoisemakerFilms.

Yolanda 'Yo' Santosa knew in high school that art was her calling when dissecting frogs, factoring prime numbers and interpreting Kafka failed to interest her. Born in Indonesia and raised in Singapore, Yo came to the U.S. in 1995. She graduated from Art Center in 2000 and began working at yU+co designing main titles for projects like 300, Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty. Although she loved storytelling, she couldn't ignore her once dormant curiosity for branding. She founded Ferroconcrete in 2006 with Pinkberry, managing all brand and marketing strategies. Although they are two very different mediums, Yo realized that film and brands are actually quite similar - they both tell a memorable story visually, emotionally and epically. Yo has taught design courses at Art Center, and is an active guest speaker. She's earned several awards, including 3 consecutive Emmy nominations.

During her 17 years as Editor-in-Chief, the magazine has gained international recognition and has won numerous awards. Susan began her career with Interiors magazine, rising from a junior position of editorial assistant to senior editor; then she was named chief editor of Residential Interiors, the short-lived offspring of Interiors. Susan is the author of several books on design and teaches design history and ethics.

Alissa Walker is a freelance writer who can most often be found in Los Angeles. She writes about design, architecture, cities and transportation for publications including Fast Company, I.D., Print, GOOD, Dwell, ReadyMade, Architect's Newspaper, Design Observer, Core77, and LA Weekly, and is the associate producer for the public radio show “DnA: Design and Architecture,” hosted by Frances Anderton. In 2009 Chronicle Books published City Walks Architecture: New York City, a walking guide to the city’s notable architecture, which Alissa researched, wrote and photographed over the course of a sticky New York summer. Alissa is the co-creator, with Casey Caplowe of GOOD Design, an event series where designers present solutions to problems posed by urban leaders. She lives in a royal blue house in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, where she throws ice cream socials, tends to a drought-tolerant garden, writes infrequently on her blog, Gelatobaby, and relishes life in L.A. without a car.