DR. BETTY P. SHADRICK:  Conference Director Dr. Betty P. Shadrick has held progressively responsible positions in educational institutions, community-based and state government agencies for nearly three decades. Applying her skills in teaching, counseling, and administration, she has worked to advance the well-being of the under served, economically improvised, and aspiring pre-K, elementary and secondary youths; and undergraduate and graduate students. Currently, she administers the Graduate Student Recruitment, Retention and Intercultural Relations Office and has worked at the University for 19 years. She is also an adjunct professor in the Africana Studies Department, regularly teaches a Black Religion course and Urban Education courses for the School of Education . Her expertise as a workshop facilitator is well-known and she has facilitated workshops locally, nationally, and internationally on diverse topics such as sisterly relations, spirituality and wellness, self empowerment, the graduate application process, effective decision-making, multicultural education, and indicators of academic success for African American college students, to name a few. Her educational preparation includes B. S. —Elementary Education from Grambling State University , M.S. and CAS (Certificate of Advanced Standing) in Counseling Psychology and Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Policy Studies from the University at Albany , SUNY. She is cited in Who’s Who in American, Outstanding Women of the 21st Century, and is a recipient of the New York State Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service.
	DR. JOHN DELANO:  Evening Keynote Speaker As a teacher, John W. Delano, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Chemistry, has a style that comprises enthusiasm, tireless effort, and dedication. A member of the faculty since 1982, his standards for his students are high and unwavering. They are also lively and attractive to students. Delano designs curricula that encourage questions during his lectures and offers frequent demonstrations to emphasize important points. In large classes he has found effective ways to use forums to promote discussion and debate, as well as careful analysis of scientific data. His students remark that Delano creates a contagious excitement for learning, allowing them to think for themselves and to feel respect reciprocated between teacher and student. A highly regarded scholar in the field of geochemistry, he has published seven papers in the last three years and had research funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. His frequent lectures to off-campus audiences on the commitment to science education have established Delano as an ambassador for the University. A NASA Specialized Center for Research and Training (NSCORT) was created by NASA at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University at Albany to study the origin of life (New York Center for the Study of the Origin of Life). Delano is one of six Principal Investigators and is an Associate Director of this Center (http://www.origins.rpi.edu). Delano is investigating (a) the impact history of the Earth/Moon system for its implications on the sustainability of earliest life on Earth, and (b) the oxidation state of the mantle-derived volatiles that would have contributed to the composition of the Earth's early atmosphere. During the 2004-2005 academic year, Professor Delano gave 35 invited talks.  Also, during the current 2005-2006 academic year, he is a member of many committees, including the Tenure and Promotion Committee for the College of Arts and Sciences, Search Committee for University Provost and Academic Vice President, Search Committee for Assistant Vice Provost for Honors, Undergraduate Committee in the Department of Chemistry, and the UAC/UPC Honors College Working Group.  He is also participating in the Faculty Mentor Program, and advises students in the Environmental Sciences program.
	DR. KENNETH J. TAKEUCHI :  Plenary Keynote Speaker Professor Kenneth J. Takeuchi received his B.S. degree (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Cincinnati in 1975 and his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the Ohio State University in 1981. He was appointed assistant professor of chemistry at SUNY at Buffalo in 1983, granted tenure and promoted to associate professor in 1990, then promoted to professor in 1998. An author or co-author of over seventy refereed articles and over one hundred forty presentations at various scientific meetings. Professor Takeuchi has mentored eleven Ph.D. students, six Masters students, seventy-five undergraduates, and ten high school students. For teaching, mentoring or service to socially or economically disadvantaged students, Professor Takeuchi has received several awards, including a Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences from the American Chemical Society (2006), a UB McNair Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award (2006), and a UB Friend of EOP Award (1993). He has also received awards for teaching or mentoring students, including four UB Milton Plesur Awards (2003, 1997, 1989, 1985), a UB Most Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award from the GSA (2002), a UB FNSM Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (1997), a CMA National Catalyst Award for Excellence in Chemistry Teaching (1997), and a SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (1986).
	DR. MARK HERNANDEZ: Keynote Speaker After several years of professional engineering practice, Mark Hernandez joined the University of Colorado faculty in 1996, and was tenured 2001. Dr. Hernandez holds a US patent for wastewater reclamation, maintains a modest consulting practice, and serves as an expert witness for litigation in the bioremediation field. During his tenure at Colorado, he has secured more than $2M in extramural research funding and published over 40 archival journal articles Dr. Hernandez maintains an active environmental microbiology research program, which focuses on the ecology, disinfection and remediation of polluted air and water. He won the Water Environment Foundation's Canham Award to support technology transfer between the US and England, and was a recipient of a National Science Foundation early CAREER award. He currently serves as the director of the Colorado Diversity Initiative, which coordinates major diversity efforts among major science, math, and engineering departments with focus on promoting underrepresented students through graduate schools and intothe professoriate.
	DR. MERANDA BRADLEY:  Workshop Presenter Meranda D. Bradley, Ph.D, is a Guest research fellow in the Oakridge Research Institute for Science and Education program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1993 she received her bachelors’ degrees in microbiology and science education from the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. She was a high school biology, anatomy, and physical science teacher in Morrow, Georgia for six years. As an educator she was actively involved in the student’s academic and extracurricular activities including being a cheerleading coach for several years. She is the second African American female to earn her Ph.D. in the Department of Biological Sciences’ Molecular Cellular Developmental and Neural Biology program at the University at Albany State University of New York, Albany, New York in August 2007. In 2007 she was awarded the teaching assistant of the year award by the Department of Biological Sciences at the University at Albany (SUNY). Her dissertation work with Dr. Robert Osuna involved using DNA microarray analysis to explore gene regulation throughout the Escherichia coli genome by the DNA binding protein Fis. Her current research projects focus on the detection of Bacillus anthracis spores in soil and monochloramine and chlorine disinfection of Burkholderia pseudomallei.
	Dr. Tia Deas: Workshop Presenter Dr. Tia Deas is a recently received her PhD in biomedical sciences from the University at Albany, State University of New York (August 2008).  She obtained a bachelor’s of science degree from Claflin University in Orangeburg, SC in 2002.  She is currently an Emerging Infectious Diseases Postdoctoral Fellow and works in the influenza and coronavirus pathogenesis laboratory of Dr. David Wentworth at the Wadsworth Center division of the New York State Department of Health.
	DR. THOMAS J. DENHAM: Workshop Presenter Many in the higher education and business community regard Tom Denham as a leading authority and popular speaker on career development, marketing and entrepreneurship. His enthusiasm helps him to quickly connect with individuals and make an impact on them to take action. He is the Managing Partner & Career Counselor of Careers In Transition LLC, a private practice in career services he founded in 1995, which focuses on career counseling for individuals and consulting services for institutional clients. Tom has over eighteen years of experience in career services, having held leadership positions at Union College, Harvard, St. Lawrence and Boston Universities. As the Director of the Siena College Career Center, students honored him in 2000 as the “Administrator of the Year.” Tom founded Northeast Public Radio’s award winning talk show, The Career Forum.  He is the contributing writer for three books, has published over five-dozen articles, and has presented at over four-dozen conferences on career management issues. He is a career columnist for About.com. He has served on the Board of Trustees for WMHT Educational Telecommunications and is Co-Chair of the Solo Entrepreneur’s Council of the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce. His company was a finalist for the Albany-Colonie Chamber’s 2006 Microenterprise of the Year Award. In 2006, he was selected as one of the Albany Business Review’s “40 Under Forty” honorees, that recognizes young professionals making a difference in business and in the community. Tom earned his bachelors from St. Lawrence University and his masters from Boston University. Recently, he completed his doctoral dissertation in the higher education program at Nova Southeastern University. He is Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Qualified and has earned the Master Career Development Professional (MCDP) credential. Tom is a former Eagle Scout and New York City Marathon runner. As an accomplished mountain climber, he has summitted over 120 peaks in the Northeast. In 2008, he will be climbing all 11,239 ft. of Mt. Hood. He is also the author of the children's book, Rachel's Adirondack Adventure. Tom lives where he grew up in Albany, New York where he enjoys competitive skiing, ice and rock climbing, mountain biking, softball, museums and raising his 8 year old daughter, Rachel.
	DR. MARIA LOPEZ-CLASS : Workshop Presenter Maria Lopez-Class, Ph.D., M.P.H., a junior faculty/research instructor in the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University with the Latin American Cancer Research Coalition, has worked with minority populations for about 10 years.  She has experience with community outreach services and health-related research that addresses psychosocial factors and disparities among Latinos, Asians, and African-American groups. Her dissertation research was an in-depth multi-variable examination of socio-ecological factors that hinder Latinos from engaging in diabetes self-care.  Her research interests are in the area of acculturation, health disparities, and chronic disease management.
	DR. S. LEE FOWLKES:  Workshop Presenter S Lee Fowlkes is the director of Behavioral Interventions First, a personnel consulting group specializing in human resource needs of small to medium size companies and non-profit organizations. The group provides training programs and seminars to medical and allied health groups who desire creative approaches to enhancing their human resource and educational programs. A graduate of the University of New York at Albany with a Ph.D. in counseling psychology, she has an extensive background in conducting workshops and seminars on a variety of topics including, team building, developing cultural competencies, critical incident stress management, time management, and combating health care disparities. She has presented to both small and large groups including military troops, clinicians in Lithuania, University professors in South Africa and Kenya as well as at Universities and Hospitals throughout the Northeast. Her areas of consulting include but are not limited to sexual harassment prevention, conflict and change management, drug and alcohol substance abuse prevention, understanding sexual orientation and gender, developing diversity teams and mentoring groups. A pioneer in diversity education, and cross cultural communications, she has been trained by both the Military in this capacity as well as by the New York State Department of Mental Health. Dr. Fowlkes is a member of the American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association. Her community involvement includes membership on the Brevard Central Regional American Cancer Society Board; Central Brevard Branch of the NAACP, and the Military Officers Association. Dr. Fowlkes is also an associate consultant with Souder and Betances. Inc., Chicago, Illinois, and trainer for the American Cancer Society.
	DR. GLADYS PALMA DE SCHRYNEMAKERS: Workshop Presenter Gladys Palma de Schrynemakers is the Assistant Provost of Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus. Among diverse administrative contributions to the Campus, Dr. Schrynemakers co-chaired the recent, highly successful Middle States accreditation process and has won nearly $3 million in grants and awards. She serves as director of CSTEP, a student enrichment program to encourage science careers among students of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, and as a member of the Arts Council for the Brooklyn Campus. The organizer of an array of conferences and retreats, she again is planning the annual Discovery Day Poster Conference and other conferences. Among her many conference presentations, she presented, “Jose Marti: the Art of his Writing,” at the African Diaspora Connection Project, held jointly by the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Long Island University. During a 15-year career at Long Island University, she also has taught a range of graduate and undergraduate courses. Currently, she teaches an Urban Studies graduate seminar titled, “Cinema and the City.” Dr. Schrynemakers holds a doctorate from Columbia University and master’s degrees from Columbia, C. W. Post, and City College.