Alice Lombardo Maher, M.D., is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in private practice in New York City. She is a graduate of Barnard College and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She received her psychoanalytic training at the NYU Psychoanalytic Institute at New York University Medical Center and was a faculty member of the institute and medical school for 15 years.

Dr Maher believes that the same dynamics which underlie psychoanalytic theory and treatment – among them instinct, defense, self esteem, individual and group trauma, unconscious forces, interpersonal relationships and symbolic meanings – are at work within the greater society. Popular culture tends to dismiss these concepts or use them as weapons to marginalize, trivialize and ridicule the humanity of others. By treating society as the patient and prejudice as the symptom, Dr Maher believes that the psychoanalytic model can be applied in the struggle against stigmatization and hatred and in the service of human understanding. Her goal is no less than a Change in Our Consciousness.

Learn about the genesis of Changing Our Consciousess™ from Dr. Maher.

Susan Dansker, owner of Susan Dansker Design, is a marketing and communications consultant with a passion for crafting words and images into a synergistic whole. For over 25 years she has worked with institutions, corporations, and individuals in fields as diverse as education, health and social services, architecture, and filmmaking. She is a creative problem solver who listens to, shapes, and communicates ideas through web design, graphic design, photography, video, and the old-fashioned written word.

Sheryll Franko is a contemporary artist and filmmaker living and working between New York and Europe. Her company, , Falling Awake Productions, is an award-winning international creative bureau, that utilizes art and technology to create videos and interactive multimedia projects. Sheryll has studied at New School University, Vassar College and The City University of New York. Her work is shown internationally.

Melissa R. Brand, Psy.D. has worked for 18 years in education—teaching students of all ages, from preschool to graduate school. She began her career working with children with autism in the public schools. Six years later, she pursued her doctorate in school psychology with the goal of having a greater, systems level impact on children. Subsequently, Dr. Brand has developed and implemented a number of interactive prevention, social skills, and advisory curricula for schools across the country. Through her work in prevention, she has trained hundreds of faculty members, who, in turn, have taught thousands of children how to effectively articulate their emotions, improve communication, develop self-esteem, cooperate, problem-solve, engage in dialogue, stay healthy, avoid alcohol tobacco and other drugs, self-advocate, prepare for college, and lead with the goal of improving their selves, their schools and their society. Currently, Dr. Brand is a licensed psychologist and consultant in private practice in Philadelphia. She received both her masters and doctorate in school psychology from The Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Writing from Bard College and Post-Baccalaureate in Special Education from Kean University, She is New Jersey Certified in School Psychology, Special Education and Elementary Education.

Bernice Arricale is a special education teacher and literacy specialist whose work with primary-age children and their teachers keeps redefining notions of what it means to be a "special needs" learner. Says Alice Maher, "Bernice has been my 'muse' for the past half century, and everything I've ever done has been filtered through the mirror of her discerning eyes. I know what I look like in large part because of the way she's reflected me back to myself. This project wouldn't exist if not for her."