Bill Cleveland is a pioneer in the community arts movement and one of its most poetic documenters. His books Art In Other Places and Making Exact Change and Art and Upheaval: Artists at work on the Worlds Frontlines are considered seminal works in the field of arts-based community development. Activist, teacher, lecturer and musician, he also directs the Center for the Study of Art and Community. Established in 1991, CSA&C works to build new working relationships between the arts and the broader community specializing in the development and assessment of arts-based community partnerships, and training for artists, and their community and institutional partners. The Center works with artists and arts organizations, schools, human service and criminal justice agencies, local and state government and the business and philanthropic organizations. Bill’s 25-year history, producing arts programs in cultural, educational and community also includes his leadership of the Walker Art Center's Education and Community Programs Department, California's Arts-In-Corrections Program and the California State Summer School for the Arts.  He has also been an Assistant Director of the California Department of Corrections and worked as a youth services counselor and resident artist under the auspices of the Department of Labor’s Comprehensive Employment and Development Program.  His current book project Between Grace and Fear: The Role of the Arts in a Time of Change will be published in 2010. His new CD, Songlines, based, in part, on stories from Art and Upheaval, was just released.

Wendy Morris is the Founder of the Creative Leadership Studio, advancing the agility of organizations, communities and individuals through creative approaches to leadership development and systems change. A pioneering educator, coach and consultant, Wendy is on the faculty at premiere leadership venues internationally including ALIA Institute/Shambhala Institute for Authentic Leadership in Nova Scotia, The Banff Centre Leadership Development Program in Alberta, Canada and TMI Malaysia. At home in Minnesota, she facilitates The Forum for the Practice of Leadership Development sponsored by The University of Minnesota’s Center for Integrative Leadership in collaboration with the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and the Carlson School of Management. Wendy also co-convenes Thought Leader Gatherings with Heartland, Inc., and teaches Creative Leadership Development on the master's level at St. Mary's University. As an Associate with the Human Systems Dynamics Institute, she is part of a research and training network that is on the forefront of new thinking about organizational and community change. Wendy is informed by 20 years of experience as a cultural organizer and lead artist for community-engaged art projects and programs. Her work has been recognized by over 25 awards including major fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, McKnight Foundation, Bush Foundation and Jerome Foundation.

Erik Takeshita is passionate about pursuing and promoting the use of art and culture to empower communities of color and develop stronger communities.  He has two decades of experience in the non-profit and public sectors providing strategic planning, program development, project management and leadership development to a wide range of organizations. He directed an art center in Honolulu, HI focused on using the arts to help revitalize downtown/Chinatown and has taught arts-based approaches to community development at the University of Hawaii in the Urban and Regional Planning Department and the University of Minnesota Urban Studies Department. Previously, Erik served as a Senior Policy Aide to the Mayor of Minneapolis and worked in the City’s Neighborhood Revitalization Program.  Erik holds a Masters of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Masters in Management from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. He is currently a Senior Program Officer for Twin Cities LISC and a private consultant.