Gary Price is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He is the co-founder and editor of Library Journal’s infoDOCKET. He is a nationally-known leader in the world of libraries, research and information science. What he really wants to talk about, though, is his experience being the father of an autistic child, his son, Matthew. We had an informative and moving conversation about autism and its effects, the trials and tribulations of finding the right services for a child with special needs, and, of course, the challenges and profound joys of simply being Matthew’s dad.

Dr Emmanuel Joshua Stokes—E.J.—wants to spread Beloved Community everywhere he goes. In this deep, meaningful and joyful conversation we discuss how to build beloved community, how to lift up those who bring light to our lives—the life lanterns as EJ calls them—and how EJ has promoted all of this through his work as the Director of Bera College’s amazing Black Music Ensemble. EJ discusses the impact that bell hooks had on his work and his thinking and how the intentional creation of beloved community is his, and hopefully everyone’s, life’s work.

Katie Startzman is the founder and owner of Native Bagel and Night Jar, two very successful eateries in Berea KY. She went from operating a food cart to running an amazing brick and mortar restaurant in spectacular fashion She is a member of the Berea City Council and a Business Coach with the Kentucky Small Business Development Center. She is also the author of the Knitted Slipper Book, an everything-you-need-to-know guide to making this exciting variation on the sock. But what she really wants to talk about is gardening and the magic of public gardens. We discuss the perennial movement, the transformative power of beautiful public green spaces, and we even begin to plan a garden tour of England.