Dr. Joshua Z. Rappoport received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Brown University, and then went on to earn a Ph.D. from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Rappoport performed postdoctoral work at The Rockefeller University in New York City in the Laboratory of Cellular Biophysics. Subsequently he was recruited as a faculty member in the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham in the UK. In 2014 Dr. Rappoport returned to the United States to serve as the Director of the Center for Advanced Microscopy and Nikon Imaging Center at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and as a faculty member in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology. In March 2019, Dr. Rappoport took on the position of Executive Director, Research Infrastructure at Boston College.
Dr. Rappoport is interested in understanding the broader impacts of exciting developments in science and technology. His first book, The Cell: Discovering the Microscopic World that Determines Our Health, Our Consciousness, and Our Future, came out in 2017, and his second book Mapping Humanity: How Modern Genetics Is Changing Criminal Justice, Personalized Medicine, and Our Identities, was recently published.
Books by Joshua Rappoport
Deaf since age six after contracting spinal meningitis, Brandi Rarus could speak and read lips, but felt caught between the deaf and hearing world–fitting into neither. When she realized you don’t need to hear to live a fulfilled life, she became empowered and was chosen as Miss Deaf America. From signing the National Anthem at a Chicago Cubs game to speaking at corporate conferences, Brandi traveled the country speaking out for deaf children and building awareness of what it means to be Deaf.
She married Tim Rarus, an advocate for Deaf people whose work inspired the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act. Together, they have paved the way to bring new technologies that promote equal access in communication. Brandi and Tim live in Austin, Texas, with their four children: three hearing boys and the youngest, Zoe, a Deaf girl they adopted. Today, Brandi and her family are tirelessly dedicated to ensuring all children find their rightful place in our world.
Frequent Associated Press freelancer Melissa Rayworth’s feature stories appear in many newspapers, including the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. In 2004, she helped launch Life & Style Weekly, serving as associate editor before fleeing the world of celebrity journalism. Before that, she spent three years in Beijing as a writer/actress on the TV series “Modern English” and appeared in two miniseries (including a bizarre turn as a young Margaret Thatcher). In 2002, her play “The Welcoming Committee” made the NY Fringe Festival’s top ten. She’s writing a book about celebrity culture, viewed through the lens of her experiences in China and New York, where she spent the 1990s doing theater and indie films and making blink-and-you-miss-me appearances in soap operas, “Law & Order,” and films such as “The Thomas Crown Affair” and “Mickey Blue Eyes.” Melissa lives in New Jersey with her husband and two sons.
Terrence Real has been a family therapist and teacher for more than 20 years. Terry’s work has been celebrated in venues from “Today” and “20/20” to Oprah and the New York Times.
Emily Reardon received her M.F.A. from New York University. Most recently, she has had her poems published in NYArts Magazine, The Comstock Review and Southern Poetry Review. Emily has also been a guest editor for NYArts Magazine, and she recently finished a stint as the first writer-in-residence for the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. She lives and writes in New York City.
Storms Reback is the author of three books: All In: The (Almost) Entirely True History of the World Series of Poker; Farha on Omaha: Expert Strategy for Beating Cash Games and Tournaments; and Ship It Holla Ballas!: How a Bunch of 19-Year-Old College Dropouts Used the Internet to Become Poker’s Loudest, Craziest, and Richest Crew. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and children.
Elizabeth M. Rees is a writer and visual artist living in Greenwich Village in New York City. She has published numerous young adult books, including The Wedding, a novel set in fifteenth century Bruges featuring the painter Jan Van Eyck. She is currently working on a series of short stories about the afterlife and is continuing to weave a tale of an often elusive fat fairy named Maeve. For more information, visit Elizabeth at www.reesart.com.
Byron Reese is an Austin-based entrepreneur with a quarter-century of experience building and running technology companies. He is a recognized authority on AI and holds a number of technology patents. In addition, he is a futurist with a strong conviction that technology will help bring about a new golden age of humanity. He gives talks around the world about how technology is changing work, education, and culture. He is the author of four books on technology, his most recent was described by The New York Times as “entertaining and engaging.”
Bloomberg Businessweek credits Byron with having “quietly pioneered a new breed of media company.” The Financial Times of London reported that he “is typical of the new wave of internet entrepreneurs out to turn the economics of the media industry on its head.” Byron and his work have been featured in hundreds of news outlets, including New York Times, Washington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, USA Today, Reader’s Digest, NPR, and the LA Times Magazine.
Scott D. Reich is a practicing attorney at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in New York. In 2010, he was appointed by the Governor of New York to serve on the College Council of SUNY College at Old Westbury. He serves on the national board of the Union for Reform Judaism, the board of directors of the School for Language and Communication Development, and the board of trustees of Temple Sinai in Roslyn Heights, New York. He has done pro bono work for the Brooklyn Family Court and the New York Legal Assistance Group. Reich earned a B.A. in history and communication from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was president of his class.
