David Sloan Wilson, keynote speaker, is a groundbreaking evolutionary biologist who publishes in anthropology, psychology and philosophy in addition to his biological research.  His books include Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives (2007); Darwin's Cathedral: Evolution, Religion and the Nature of Society (2002); Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior (with Elliott Sober, 1998).  Wilson also directs EvoS, a campus-wide program that applies evolutionary theory to different academic disciplines.

Alan Charney is the program director for USAction.  He has overall responsibility for shaping and implementing USAction’s issue and electoral agenda.  He will analyze the 2008 elections and discuss how we can advance a progressive agenda for change in 2009 and beyond. He brings more than 30 years of experience leading non-profit and political organizations and has expertise as an econometrician and statistical analyst. He also has broad experience as a communicator through public speaking, training and media outreach.

2008 Florida Humanist of the Year: Nadine Smith has been the executive director of Equality Florida since its inception in 1997.  She has led advocacy efforts in Florida at the state level at a time of unprecedented attacks on the LGBT community, serving as Equality Florida’s lead lobbyist in Tallahassee and heading efforts to stop discriminatory legislation and ballot measures and to overturn Florida’s ban on adoption by gay and lesbian parents. Nadine has been recognized for her national and state leadership by organizations around the nation, including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum and others. 

Alan B. Grindal, M.D. is a board certified neurologist and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. He received his education and training from Northwestern University, the University of Illinois College of Medicine and the Medical College of the University of Virginia.  Dr. Grindal has been a neurologist in Sarasota since 1978 and has been chosen by his peers to be among “The Best Doctors in America” for eight consecutive years. His primary interests are the aging of the brain and human consciousness and its alterations. 

Ronald A. Lindsay, J.D., Ph.D., by training and experience both a lawyer and a philosopher, is Legal Director for the Center for Inquiry. He has submitted amicus briefs in several prominent Supreme Court cases addressing constitutional law issues. With respect to philosophy, Dr. Lindsay received his Ph.D. from Georgetown University, specializing in bioethics. He is known for his articles on cloning, preserving the secular state and the integrity of science, and the politics of medicine in Oregon.  Presently he is working on the case CSH brought against the state of Florida for providing tax dollars to religious organizations working with former convicts.