Erika N. Witt is a dynamic force in the world of Museology, serving as the Director and Chief Curator of Southern University at New Orleans Museum of Art and Adjunct Professor in Museum Studies. Based in the vibrant city of New Orleans, Louisiana, she is driven by a passion for collections management and museum education, with a particular focus on the arts of Africa and the African diaspora, along with a specialization in Egyptology.

Michael Wallace is a retired military intelligence officer with 20 years of active service. His military assignments included Naval Special Warfare, Defense Human Intelligence, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Office of Naval Intelligence. Post-military, he worked as a senior intelligence analyst in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Intelligence Directorate. He has experience in counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, special warfare, and intelligence collection and analysis.

Doug Thornton, the regional vice president for SMG which manages the Superdome, received the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

He spearheaded the rebuilding and reopening of the Louisiana Superdome following Hurricane Katrina.

“Doug Thornton leaped out at our committee as a wonderful choice for the Dixon Award,”said LSWA president Kent Lowe. “It is a fitting reward, named after the man chiefly responsible for building the Superdome and presented to the man chiefly responsible for rebuilding it.”

Nick Stillman is Executive Director of Prospect New Orleans. Prior to joining Prospect, Stillman was President & CEO of the Arts Council New Orleans. Before the Arts Council, Stillman taught Modern & Contemporary Art History at the University of New Orleans and was Managing Editor of BOMB Magazine. He has organized exhibitions of artists such as Kalup Linzy and Joe Bradley for PS1 Institute of Contemporary Art and has written for Artforum, Flash Art, The Brooklyn Rail, and many other publications. He lives in Austin, TX with his partner Heidi and their daughter Frankie.

Dan Stein is the owner and operator of the famous Stein's Deli on Magazine Street in New Orleans. Formerly a lawyer, Dan became involved in the foodservice industry while working in Philadelphia. He moved to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, eventually opening his eponymous deli in 2007.

Ana Clara Silva is an editor living and working in Miami. With a focus on exhibition catalogues and artist publications, her interest lies in the development of new ideas in order to contribute to a future archive.  

David Julian Shipley is an American journalist, book author, and the editorial page editor at The Washington Post. He is the former executive editor of The New Republic.

Mark Schleifstein is the environment reporter for The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate | NOLA.com, and a member of its Louisiana Coastal Reporting Team. Schleifstein’s reporting is part of the “Polluter’s Paradise” series on the state’s petrochemical industry, published in the paper and online on NOLA.com and ProPublica. The series won awards in 2020 from the National Association of Science Writers, the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Society of News Design.

Michael Sandel teaches political philosophy. His books—on justice, democracy, ethics, and markets–have been translated into more than 30 languages. His free online course “Justice” has been viewed by tens of millions around the world.