In the debate about guest workers and border fences, we often forget the human side of the story. Enrique Morones is determined to help us all remember. He is the founder of Border Angels, a humanitarian organization which provides support and relief to migrant workers on the US-Mexican border. He wants Americans to know the truth about the people behind the immigration policy debates, both migrants and the vigilante Minutemen.

Roberto Suro is a nationally recognized expert on immigration and its economic, cultural and political import on the United States. Director of the Pew Hispanic Center, he is author of several books including Strangers Among Us: Latino Lives in a Changing World. He has appeared on “The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer,” and through his research reports, op-eds, and speaking engagements, he chronicles the growth of the Hispanic population and its impact on the nation as a whole.

Has led the battle for bilingual education and better racial relations. His name has become synonymous with building positive synergy through ethnic diversity. Much more than a lecturer, Betances works to help others learn how adding cultures together can equal the solution to bringing America back to the top - in education, business and society.

An award-winning poet, Martin Espada brings the shared experiences of Latin American workers and immigrants to his work. Political poetry at its best, he brings a dignity to the insulted and injured of the earth. His latest collection, The Republic of Poetry, was recently published.

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who covers Latin American affairs. His insights and ability to gain access to the luminaries who rule offers a unique perspective on political concerns, history, and the future. His books include Castro's Final Hour and Bordering on Chaos.

Essayist Richard Rodriguez discusses how America – and every American - is shaped by the continual interaction of cultures, blurring boundaries between “black” and “white”, Hispanic and Anglo. He is the author of the critically acclaimed books Hunger of Memory, Days of Obligation: An Argument With My Mexican Father and Brown: The Last Discovery of America.
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Arn Chorn Pond is an internationally recognized human rights activist, community organizer and musician who survived the Cambodian genocide.  Arn spent four years in a labor camp, and survived by playing the flute in a music ensemble created by Khmer Rouge leaders to play the regime’s songs. At fifteen, he fled to a refugee camp in Thailand, and later found a new life in the United States. As he struggled with his own suffering, Arn began reaching out to others refugees and orphans. His story is told in the documentary film The Flute Player, and he shares his message of survival, hope, healing and peace to audiences around the world.

Christina Chan stars in the one-woman play “Unbinding Our Lives” which shatters the exotic, subservient, “China doll” image. In this powerful show Ms. Chan portrays three real women from China in the 1800’s and tells their personal stories of being sold into child slavery, prostitution, and abandonment. An unforgettable look at forgotten history.

Winner of two National Book Awards for Warrior Woman and China Men. Maxine Hong Kingston blends her melodic and poetic storytelling ability with her rich Chinese ancestry and her own cultural struggles. The results, partly autobiographical, partly fiction, are masterpieces of literature which have helped recent generations discover the fullness of their own spirit.

We all want to do good while doing well, but how? Consultant and bestselling author of Courage: The Backbone of Leadership, Lee delivers a thought-provoking and inspirational message on how principled conduct under pressure and moral courage are the keys to effective leadership in school, work and life. A voice of uncommon power who emboldens every listener.
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The denial of human rights in North Korea is a terrible injustice that can no longer be ignored. As Executive Director of the US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, Debra Liang-Fenton discusses North Korea's nuclear weapon threat, the politics of famine, the inhumane treatment of political prisoners and its military buildup.

Drawing on the history of her own family and community, See draws her readers into the rich tapestry of life in both China and the United States through her acclaimed novels Flower Net, The Interior, Dragon Bones and, most recently, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Her first book, On Gold Mountain: The One Hundred Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family, was a national bestseller and a New York Times Notable Book.
http://www.lisasee.com

Vaid is an attorney and community organizer, and the author of the award-winning analysis of the gay rights movement entitled Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay & Lesbian Liberation. Formerly Director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's Policy Institute, she remains committed to community-based change through strategic thinking and coalition building.

Linda Hogan is a Chickasaw poet, novelist, and essayist. She is the author of several books of poetry and a collection of short fiction. Her books have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize as well as the National Book Critics Award. Her works include Mean Spirit, The Book of Medicines and The Woman Who Watches Over the World.
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The first female chief of the Cherokee Nation, she took tragedy and made strength. Mankiller tells how she drew inspiration from her people's history and traditions to forge a path towards self-sufficiency. "I want to be remembered as the person who helped us restore faith in ourselves."

Suzan Shown Harjo is a poet, journalist and activist for Native American rights and culture. She is President of The Morning Star Institute, a non-profit cultural rights and arts advocacy group; a columnist for the Indian Country Today newspaper; a School of American Research 2004 Artist Fellow and Summer Scholar; and a founding trustee of the National Museum of the American Indian.

From the rise of Islamic insurgency groups and the promise of democracy, to the myths and realities of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and Asia, author and scholar Hassan Abbas gives an insider view as a former senior security officer in the Pakistan government. He is a frequent media commentator on terrorism and radical Islam in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other nations in south and central Asia.

From Islamic fundamentalists to white liberals to good old-fashioned racists, no one is safe from stand-up comic Tissa Hami's sharp wit. One of the world's few female Muslim stand-up comics, she hopes that her comedy will help break down stereotypes about Muslim women and foster understanding between Iranians and Americans, though she warns that people who disapprove of her act will be taken hostage.
http://www.tissahami.com
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Survivor of 444 days as a hostage in Iran, Colonel Chuck Scott is considered the Pentagon’s leading expert on terrorism, both domestic and in the Middle East. Col. Scott inspires and motivates his audience by discussing the events of his ordeal and the abilities he developed to survive it.

The first Afghan woman to publish an English language memoir, Searching for Saleem: An Afghan Woman’s Odyssey, Professor Farooka Gauhari's story reflects the harrowing encounters of countless Afghan families, their sufferings and their struggles to maintain their identities under totalitarian rule. Her experience creates a particularly touching and powerful memoir of the Afghan peoples.

Traveling for years with Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and other diplomats, Wright brings her experience as Senior Diplomatic Correspondent for the Washington Post to bring light to the rise of freedom in the Middle East, the continuing challenge of Islamic extremism, and America's relations with the rest of the world. She is the author of four books including the critically acclaimed The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran.
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