HAROLD KOODEN is a clinical psychologist in private practice, a graduate of the University of Chicago, and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA). He was a founder and Board Member of the National Gay and Lesbian Health Foundation, a Board Member of the New York State Martin Luther King Jr. Institute for Nonviolence, and National Co-Chair for Psychologists for Social Action. Since 1985, he has worked extensively with the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) and the American Psychological Association. He lives in New York City, where he has been openly gay and active in local, national, and international communities for more than three decades.

J. Marcelo Baqueroalvarez was born in San Francisco de Quito, Republic of Ecuador. After moving to the United States in 1995, he enrolled and graduated Fort Lauderdale High School and subsequently college at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale with Magna Cum Laude in 1999. Simultaneously, he worked in video production and multimedia with his family until 2003 when he enlisted in the United States Navy. During his tenure in uniform, he traveled the world and was stationed at several commands, including USS SEATTLE (AOE-3), USS LAKE ERIE (CG-70), USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN-72), USS COLE (DDG-67) and additional commands on shore and overseas. He rose to the rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer. During his time in the Navy, he met his wife, Alicia, and they welcomed to the world their daughter, Samantha. Marcelo is an avid lover of the arts, particularly in music, graphic art, photography, videography, and writing. He uses his unique leadership style to nurture his peers, subordinates, and seniors, hoping to inspire and bring team cohesion. In 2013, he founded BeeZee Vision, LLC™ as an opportunity to expand his artistic acumen. He also started the Half Life Crisis™ project where he shares his unique points of view for posterity, doing what he loves the most which is stating facts.

Rev. Michael H. Lavery graduated of Midwestern Baptist College in 1979. He is currently pastoring Tabernacle Baptist Church of Maywood Illinois, where he has served for the past forty-three years.

Sarah Gourd, 85, grew up in Connecticut and now lives in Florida. She is a retired teacher.

Chris Cochrane, an author gifted with an incredibly active imagination, has completed his new book “The Dinglehopper Blueberry Belly-Button Snooter”: a charming story centered around two young sisters who believe a friendly creature has been doing their chores for them, and set off with their dad to thank him for being such a helpful friend.

Fond of nature, sports, and fantasy and sci-fi movies and TV shows, author Chris Cochrane draws his writing inspiration from the world around him but most especially from his family: his wife Stephanie and their four children. A salesman with a bachelor’s degree in business, Chris writes to entertain and amuse and loves inventing weird and wacky words, phrases, and creatures with which to delight his children. At his wife’s suggestion, he began to write his stories down so that other children could enjoy them too.