A Bahá'í Perspective

Carole has an MS in Environmental Management and Policy from RPI in Troy, NY. She has taught sustainability and environmental science at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD and was a team member designing and implementing a new environmental policy and science program there. She has worked for The Nature Conservancy mapping endangered species and ecological communities; and has built cob and strawbale structures. She holds a permaculture design certificate and has spent several years using permaculture and edible landscaping to design her yard. She started a Northwest Earth Institute discussion circle in Carroll County, MD, which has evolved into the Sustainable Carroll County Community. She helped facilitate the first Wilmette Institute course on sustainable development and the prosperity of humankind. We talk about her work with the Wilmette Institute and the Baha'i perspective on the environment in the interview.

During Gary's 45 years of working life, he did biological research; worked for the US National Park Service in the areas of lawenforcement, search and rescue, and emergency medicine. He was also involved in biological/resource management planning in central California, mostly in Yosemite National Park and other areas of the Sierra Nevada mountains. He holds a bachelor's degree in Field Biology and a masters degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and Human Ecology. Gary's now retired. Starting soon after retirement, Gary began focusing on climate change by organizing community meetings and interfaith study groups on the issue. Gary is a faculty member of the Wilmette Institute; teaching classes on the relationship between spirituality and the issue of climate change. We talk about the Wilmette Institute and the classes he teaches during the interview.

Hussein, in collaboration with Hillary Chapman, is the author of href="http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-History-Bahai-Faiths-Nayri z-ebook/dp/B00KYDPLIO/ref=sr_1_1?s=booksie=UTF8qid=1435353371sr=1-1keywords=Awakening%3A+A+History+of+the+B%C3%A1bi+and+Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD+Faiths+in+Nayriz+English" target="_blank"Awakening: A History of the B#225;bi and Bah#225;'#237; Faiths in Nayriz, an inspiring chronicle of the bloody birth of the B#225;bi movement in Nayriz Persia and its trying evolution into that city's Bah#225;'#237; communitymdash;a community that has grown to be the world's second most widespread religion. Hussein is also working on publishing two other books. One on Tahireh, a renowned 19th century Persian poetess that became a force to be reckoned with for the B#225;bi Faith. She was ultimately killed for her outspoken proclamation of the B#225;bi Faith. And finally, Hussein is working on publishing a book on 'Abdu'l-Bah#225;, the son of the prophet founder of the Bah#225;'#237; Faith, Bah#225;'u'l

Hoda is the president of href="http://leadingedgeconsultingandtraining.com/"Leading Edge Training Company in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a subject matter expert in the areas of leadership training, strategic planning, technology training, team building, curriculum development, and diversity. Her interest in marriage and families has allowed her to discuss these issues on various platforms. Hoda has been facilitating marriage courses at various permanent and seasonal schools and communities in United States for over fifteen years. Through her efforts a "preparing for marriage" course has been approved by the state for a Minnesota marriage license discount. Hoda has a degree in Training and Organizational Development from the University of Minnesota, and has completed graduate level course work at the University of St. Thomas executive program.

Sandra is the author of two books, href="http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Brushstrokes-Stories-Sandra-Hutchison/dp/0888012098/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8amp;qid=1424535343amp;sr=8-1amp;keywords=Chinese+Brushstrokes+Sandra+Hutchison"Chinese Brushstrokes, a memoir of her time in China in the prelude to and aftermath of the Tiananmen Incident; and href="http://www.amazon.com/Art-Nesting-Sandra-Lynn-Hutchison/dp/0853985324/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8amp;qid=1424535391amp;sr=8-1amp;keywords=Art+of+Nesting+Sandra+Hutchison"The Art of Nesting, a book of poems. Sandra holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Toronto and has taught at universities around the world, including in mainland China and Hong Kong. She currently lives in Maine with her husband and her twelve year old daughter. In addition to writing books, she teaches at the University of Maine and holds the position of Maine Studies Research Associate. For the past three years, she has served as poetry editor of a Maine literary journal. Her research and writ

Christopher is an attorney and independent scholar. Prior to becoming an attorney he taught at Michigan State University, Quincy University, Millikin University, and Carleton University. He is the author of various book chapters, encyclopedia articles, journal articles, and books. His notably works related to religion include " href="http://www.amazon.com/Religious-Myths-Visions-America-Redefined/dp/0313359598/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8amp;qid=1419696699amp;sr=8-1amp;keywords=Christopher+Buck+Religious+Myths+and+Visions+of+America%3A+How+Minority+Faiths+Redefined+America%E2%80%99s+World+Role"Religious Myths and Visions of America: How Minority Faiths Redefined America#39;s World Role"; " href="http://www.amazon.com/Alain-Locke-Philosophy-Studies-Religions/dp/189068838X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8amp;qid=1419696769amp;sr=8-1amp;keywords=Christopher+Buck+Alain+Locke%3A+Faith+and+Philosophy"Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy; " href="http://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Paradigm-Symbols-Christianity-Religions/dp/0791440621/ref=sr_1_1?

Phyllis is President and creator of Skylark Publishing Company ( href="http://www.skylarkpubl.com/"www.skylarkpubl.com), which has offered materials to Family Violence Shelters across the United States since 1989. Phyllis has conducted workshops internationally on Anger Alternatives, Protective Behaviors for Children, Stories of Women and Girls as Heroes, and How Acknowledgement Heals Families. She is also an illustrator and author of several books including: ldquo; href="http://www.amazon.com/Assisting-Traumatized-Soul-Healing-Talisman/dp/0877432740/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8amp;qid=1419093615amp;sr=8-1-fkmr0amp;keywords=Assisting+the+Traumatized+Soul+Phyllis+Petereson"Assisting the Traumatized Soulrdquo; and ldquo; href="http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Wounded-Soul-Phyllis-Peterson/dp/1931847258/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8amp;qid=1419093659amp;sr=8-1amp;keywords=healing+the+wounded+soul+phyllis+peterson"Healing the Wounded Soulrdquo;, ldquo; href="http://www.amazon.com/Heroic-Female-Spirit-Collection-Tales/dp/1931847290

Leona is a musician and an author. She has written and illustrated two children's books. One is a picture book titled Kamal's Day, that hasnbsp;been produced by the US Baha'i Publishing Trust and is available on href="http://www.bahaibookstore.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=10440"www.bahaibookstore.com. The other is a book titled href="http://www.onevoicepress.com/content/babysitter-blues"Babysitter Blues for older children of junior youth age, which was also produced as an ebook by href="http://www.onevoicepress.com/content/babysitter-blues"One Voice Press last year and made available through href="http://www.amazon.com/Babysitter-Blues-Leona-Hosack-ebook/dp/B00DZ6O8V8"amazon.com. We talk about these works and her music in the interview. Leona's website is href="http://www.leonahosack.com/about/4576670034"LeonaHosack.com.

Sherlock grew up in Jaimaca and graduated from Williams College with a BA im Moral Philosophy and he got his Masters Degree in Human Development and Psychology at Harvard. He has developed a program called href="http://www.slideshare.net/miles_lane/the-rose-garden-forum-and-the-five-shifts-the-work-of-sherlock-grahamhaynes"Rose Garden Forum. The Rose Garden Forum was initially designed as an education and community development program to close the academic achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students in US high schools. It accomplished this by addressing the root causes of this gap, namely by working to bridge the more fundamental ldquo;gapsrdquo; between students of different ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds, between teachers, parents and students, and between schools and communities. The Rose Garden Forum intentionally brings together diverse groups of students, later joined by parents, teachers, school administrators and community members, for guided conversations to establish a n

Baharieh is the author of the work href="http://www.amazon.com/Leaves-The-Twin-Divine-Trees/dp/0853985774/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8amp;qid=1414250638amp;sr=8-2-fkmr0amp;keywords=Baharieh+Rouhani+Maani+Asiyijh+Khanum"Leaves of the Twin Divine Trees, an In-depth Study of the Lives of Women Closely Related to the Bab and Baha'u'llah, central figures of the Baha'i Faith. She also wrote the book href="http://www.amazon.com/Against-Incredible-Century-Iranian-Bahai%C2%AD/dp/0853985049/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8amp;qid=1414250506amp;sr=8-1amp;keywords=Baharieh+Rouhani+Maani+Against+Incredible+Odds"Against Incredible Odds, Life of a 20th Century Iranian Baha'i Family which is the story of her own life; and co-authored the book href="http://www.amazon.com/Kitab-i-Aqdas-Baharieh-Rouhani-Maani-Sovaida/dp/0853984751/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8amp;qid=1414250590amp;sr=8-1amp;keywords=Baharieh+Rouhani+Maani+Laws+of+the+Kitab-i-Aqdas"Laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Tracing Their Evolution in Religious History a book about the Laws of the Baha'i

Justice has been a Baha'i since 1974, and started href="http://www.bahairesources.com"Special Ideas in 1981 after working at the Baha'i Publishing Trust and then going on Baha'i Pilgrimage in Haifa Israel. Special Ideas is an on-line market place devoted to creating materials to spread the Baha'i teachings. He has written several books, including " href="http://www.bahairesources.com/falling-into-grace.html"Falling Into Grace - The Trials and Triumphs of Being a Baha'i," href="http://www.bahairesources.com/why-me.html""Why Me - A Spiritual Guide to Growing Through Tests," " href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Bahai-Faith-Personal-Teachings/dp/1888547154"My Baha'i Faith," and " href="http://www.bahairesources.com/love-lust-and-the-longing-for-god.html"Love, Lust and the Longing for God."

Stephen is a physicist living in the Silicon Valley and working in the semiconductor industry. He has done pioneering experiments in quantum optics, optical telecommunications, and photonics, and is author of 46 technical papers, seven patents, and numerous scientific conference presentations. He has written and spoken frequently on science and religion and its relationship to the Bahaacute;#39;iacute; teachings, and is cofounder of the Science and Religion Special Interest Group of the Association for Bahaacute;#39;iacute; Studies. He also is a cofounder of href="http://www.commongroundgroup.net/"Common Ground, a blog devoted to faith, reason, science, and religion, and Japan#39;s Association for Bahaacute;#39;iacute; Studies.

Ed holds a BA and MA from California State University. He also holds the Credential of Bilingual Education, Spanish-English, (1980) from the California State Board of Education. He served in various educational positions in California, Central America and South America over the years. He was formerly the director of the Bosch Baha'i Retreat and Conference Center. Most recently, he served for six years on the Advisory Board assigned to collaborate with the Center for Baha#39;i Studies in Beijing, where he presented various papers correlating Chinese philosophy with the Baha#39;i teachings. He has been to 26 countries as a consultant on developing human resources for the Baha#39;i Faith. He is the author of the book, href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/179-2832748-4192844?url=search-alias%3Dapsamp;field-keywords=Heros%20of%20the%20New%20Age%20Edward%20DiLiberto"ldquo;Heroes of the New Agerdquo; published by George Ronald Publications.

Lisa joined the Baha'i Faith the day her daughter,Zoe, was born in August of 2007. She has an M.S. and Ph.D. in biology from the University of South Carolina where she specialized in population genetics and molecular biology. She has worked with three international biotech companies since 2002 specializing in training and technical support for academic, government, clinical and forensic laboratories. She loves to engage in discussions about the intersection of science and religion and participates in interfaith events, one of which is an organization called Sinai and Synapses.

Bharat is one of the most prominent senior journalists of Nepal with a professional career of over four decades. He started his career in journalism as the chief reporternbsp;for the first english daily in Nepal called The Rising Nepal in 1965.nbsp; He stayed with the Rising Nepal for 19 years becoming its chief editor.nbsp;nbsp;He then became editor of the parent newspaper and then ultimately the executive chairman and general manager of the newspaper corporation. Afterwards he joined the World View International foundation as Regional Director for Asia for two years, promoting video as a development tool.nbsp; He is the founder of the Nepal Press Institute, nurturing and developing journalists native to Nepal. He was also instrumental in establishing the way for private, rural radio stations and became chairman of the first rural radio station in Katmandu.nbsp; Now there are 450 such private radio stations in Nepal rivaling other neighboring countries such as India and Pakistan.

Anne teaches a wide variety of courses in the Department of Religious Studies at McMaster University. Her area of specialty is Hinduism, but she also teaches other South Asian religions, as well as courses on gender, nonviolence, and ecology as they relate to religion. She has been an instructor at the Baha'i Wilmette Institute for about ten years.

Lance is a geologist who had the opportunity to travel around the world for his work. We don't talk so much about the Baha'i Faith in this interview,but I do learn alot about quarrying and the use of our rock resources, and an interesting tidbit about Palestian quarrying.

Anne and her husband created the production company Perry Productions and produced the documentary film Luminous Journey: 'Abdu'l-Baha in America, 1912. 'Abdu'l-Baha is the son of the prophet founder of the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah. 'Abdu'l-Baha came to Americal in 1912 to promote his father's teachings. You can find the trailer for the film at href="http://luminousjourney.org/"LuminousJourney.org. Anne tells her story on how she found the Baha'i Faith and how arts is an important aspect of her expression of her faith

Susanne is president of her own marriage educational service company that conducts marriage workshops for singles, prospective marriage couples, and married couples. She maintains two websites. The first is href="http://marriagetransformation.com/"http://marriagetransformation.com/ which is her business website, and her second is href="http://bahaimarriage.net/"http://bahaimarriage.net/ which provides the Baha#39;i perspective on marriage.

Alex grew up in a Baha'i family that left the United States when he was 16 to live in St Vincent in the West Indies. This set thenbsp;stagenbsp;for Alex's lifenbsp;as an international traveler, serving humanity, mainly in South America. We talk about his work with youth and his current career as a href="http://www.familycoachingglobal.com/about-us/bios/"Life Coach.