Sherry Norfolk is an internationally acclaimed performer, consultant, author, teaching artist, workshop leader, and keynote speaker. Sherry Norfolk combines her belief in the power of story with an inborn talent for teaching. Her infectious enthusiasm and dynamic energy revitalize audiences and empower participants in her classes. Holding a B.S. in Elementary Education and a Masters in Library Science, Sherry Norfolk has been a professional storyteller since 1981. She uses folktales from around the world in a non-didactic way to teach universal values, elevate understanding and acceptance of other cultures, and enhance literacy skills. Sherry's dedication to and deep interest in children and family literacy have been recognized with national awards from the American Library Association, the Association for Library Service for Children, the National Association of Counties, and the Florida Library Association.

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Julie Davis is a musician, storyteller, teacher innovator, performer, organizer, nurturer and guiding light to many in the Denver, CO area. She is at the center of the Denver folk music scene and has long been associated with that city’s Swallow Hill Music Association. Besides having a lovely voice, her musical talents include being an accomplished autoharpist, guitarist and a delightful touch of flute. She has been a featured solo performer and also played with the band, Safe Harbor. In addition she has served as a stage emcee for a number of years. Julie is gaining a great deal of recognition as a storyteller and was the keynote speaker at a recent National Storytelling Conference.

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Harry Tuft grew up singing and playing a series of instruments — from the piano to the clarinet, ukulele, baritone uke, and, in college, a six-string guitar. Philadelphia's lively folk scene provided the setting for Harry's first ventures into public singing. In 1960, needing a break from his studies (preparing for an architectural career), Harry traveled out to the Rocky Mountains for some skiing. He found a job at "The Holy Cat" in Georgetown, as a dishwasher, busboy, waiter, bartender, janitor, and — if there was a lull in the work at night — he could sing in the bar. There he met Hal Neustaedter — owner of "The Exodus," a folk club in Denver — who suggested that he look into starting a folklore center in Denver. With further encouragement from Izzy Young, owner of the first and (then) only Folklore Center, in New York's Greenwich Village, Harry opened the Denver Folklore Center in March 1962.

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Dr. Vincent Gordon Harding is a cofounder of the Veterans For Hope Project:  Stories, Creativity and Citizenship.  The cornerstone of the center is a video collection of over 50 Veterans of Hope who struggled for compassionate social change in the U.S. and Internationally.  These stories, such as  Lessons from The Journey, are used to educate and inspire youth and adults to apply lessons from their own life stories to their lives and communities.  Dr. Harding is an esteemed scholar, peace and justice activist and was the first director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center and the founder/director of the Institute of the Black World, both in Atlanta, Georgia.  He is currently a professor of Religion and Social Transformation at the Iliff School of Theology. 

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The Cleo Parker Robinson Dance

Cleo Parker Robinson Dance (CPRD) has transformed the stage into a sanctuary of healing art by entertaining, elevating and educating for more than thirty years. Guided by the pioneering vision of Cleo Parker Robinson, CPRD continues to uplift and excite audiences worldwide through an explosive body of works inspired by the African American experience and rooted in Black dance traditions. Legendary and emerging artists alike are drawn by the spirit of the company to create works that transcend the boundaries of culture, class and age while unequivocally communicating the complexity of the human condition.

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Opalangas a widely known griot (storyteller), “edu-tainer”, facilitator and keynote of international acclaim. Possessing the unique gift of being able to harness the power of story to motivate, instruct and inspire, she has dedicated her craft to building a tribal community in the heart of the modern world.

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Holly Near is a unique combination of entertainer, teacher and activist. An immense vocal talent, Near's career as a singer has been profoundly defined by an unwillingness to separate her passion for music from her passion for human dignity. She is a skilled performer and an outspoken ambassador for peace who brings to the stage an integration of world consciousness, spiritual discovery, and theatricality.