John Gray

John Gray was selected as the executive director and chief executive officer of the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in June 1999, and in May 2004 he became the president and chief executive officer of the newly formed Autry National Center. He retired in December 2010. Gray served on the board of directors of the Museums West Consortium, the Community Development Technology Center, the Idyllwild Arts Foundation, and LA INC. Prior to joining the Autry; Gray served as associate deputy administrator for Capital Access of the Small Business Administration in Washington, D.C. He also served on the advisory board of the Community Development Financial Institution Fund and on the finance committee of the North American Development Bank. He has had a long career in commercial banking and was most recently an executive vice president at the former First Interstate Bank of California. Gray was a founding board member of the Los Angeles Community Development Bank and chair of the California Community Development Corporation. Before moving to California, he was with First Interstate Bank, Denver, Colorado. Gray received his bachelor's degree from C. W. Post College and his master's degree from the University of Colorado.

Brian Hardgroove

Brian is a songwriter, music arranger, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, bandleader and video editor that educates and mentors young and beginning musicians in the operation methods of the entertainment business that they will need to have successful and lengthy careers. He is simultaneously expanding into new areas with The Hardgroove Company with such endeavors as touring internationally and producing music with accomplished artists.

Tom Hubbard

Tom’s professional career has covered over 25 years CEO, President and chairman with companies such as High Falls Brewing Company, LLC, Genesee Corp., The Alling and Cory Company, and Chase Lincoln First Banks. He is a current Board member with Rochester Institute of Technology, United Way of Greater Rochester, and Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester. Tom’s educational back ground includes, an MBA from University of Rochester, BA Denison University, and Deerfield Academy.

Stuart C. Kirk

Stuart has had a varied career which included service in the US Air Force, several executive positions in the minerals and energy industries and was the president of The College of Santa Fe. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Claremont Graduate University. He has held faculty positions at the University of Colorado, Rollins College and the US Air Force Academy. For several years he and his wife Fidelia lived in Beijing and Singapore where he led several large scale electric power development projects throughout Asia. He has served on the boards of the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Gas Futures Advisory Board, the National Propane Gas Association, the University of Louisville’s, College of Business Board of Visitors, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Fe, and a Trustee of the College of Santa Fe.

John Liebman

Mr. Liebman is of counsel at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, both in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.  His practice emphasizesinternational trade regulation, technology transfer, and multinational business transactions, advising manufacturers, exporters, importers,international trade service companies, and software developers.

In the area of international trade regulation, Mr. Liebman advises clients on export laws and anti-bribery laws, including clients facingcompliance issues and enforcement actions in these areas.  Mr. Liebman’s clients include aerospace and defense contractors,subcontractors, and academic and research institutions.  He also advises financial institutions offering credit support to exportersand importers, including credit insurance and guaranty programs offered by the Export-Import Bank, and has wide experience ininternational leasing of capital goods.

In addition to his professional activities, since 1980, Mr. Liebman has been a director and a member of the executive committee of the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic, a leading provider of mental health services to children in South Central Los Angeles, and is a past Chairman of that organization.  Prior to entering law school, Mr. Liebman served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

Mindy Magyar

Previously with JP Morgan, Ms. Magyar is an accomplished executive with experience in strategic planning, business development, and financial analysis. Mindy currently manages large-scale capital projects for Smithsonian Enterprises, partnering with the Smithsonian’s nineteen museums to develop the commercial activities of the Institution. Mindy has an MBA from the Wharton school, an MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BS in Chemical Engineering and American Indian Studies. In her spare time Ms. Magyar designs contemporary furniture and objects that incorporate elements of her Mi’kmaq heritage.

Brian Rashap, PhD

Dr. Rashap is the Corporate Services Site Manager for Intel’s facility in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Brian started at Intel New Mexico in 1995, after earning his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and has held numerous Engineering and Manufacturing management positions various Intel Fabrication facilities over the last 16 years. Brian actively mentors both inside and outside of Intel, and is currently the sponsor of Intel NM’s Network of Intel African American employees. Brian has been active in the community, serving in several fundraising roles and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the United Way of Central New Mexico (UWCNM). Finally, Brian and his wife, Krista, are proud parents of two children. In his spare time Brian enjoys reading, cycling and playing soccer. Most of all, he enjoys spending time with his wife and children.

Keith Recker

Keith Recker is the founder and editor of HAND/EYE Magazine, a print and online endeavor discussing the intersections between art, craft, design, philanthropy and enlightened consumption. HAND/EYE profiles forward looking creators, faraway cultures, ancient craft traditions, and cutting edge design innovation. HAND/EYE’s unique mix seeks to strengthen our species’ design DNA – which has been weakened recently by a pattern of global commerce that frequently results in visual and cultural uniformity. Creativity, ancient or modern, is the answer to the challenges of the 21^st-century, and HAND/EYE is on the lookout for hopeful solutions.

HAND/EYE Magazine is a project of HAND/EYE Fund, Ltd, which also operates a small artisan grants fund to assist artisan entrepreneurs address their business challenges. Since the January 2010 earthquake, the grants program has focused on Haiti and has raised nearly $200,000 which is has invested in building workshops and homes, in marketing and design access, and in addressing the human needs of artisans and their families.

Recker currently works with Pantone and London-based WGSN as a color and trends consultant. He is co-author of PANTONE: The Twentieth Century in Color (Chronicle, 2011) which was published in eight languages and is in its second printing.

Prior to founding HAND/EYE, Recker worked as a home furnishings executive, and a non-profit leader. He has had the privilege of working with established entities in both the commercial and non-profit worlds, including CARE International, Aid to Artisans, Art in General, The Quiet in the Land, and the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, and has learned from and contributed to each organization. He currently serves as President of the HAND/EYE Fund and as chairman of Aid to Artisans.

His tenure as Vice President of Direct Response Home Furnishings at Gump’s San Francisco and Bloomingdale’s, as well as Director of Home Furnishings at Saks Fifth Avenue, has given him a deep knowledge of every category in the decorative home world. His work in product development and marketing has created lasting and cordial relationships across the industry.

During a two-year tenure as Director of Product Development at Granet and Associates, Recker helped create relationships between creative brands and manufacturers and marketers serving the retail sector and the design trade. Clients included Clodagh, Jamie Drake, John Barman, Richard Mishaan, Campion Platt, Suzanne Kasler, Pantone, John Varvatos, and many others.

Helena Ribe, PhD

Dr. Ribe is an expert in economic development, labor and human development economics and has over thirty years of experience designing and implementing poverty reduction and social programs in developing countries. She holds a Masters and a PhD in Economics from Yale University and a BA from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. She has recently retired from the World Bank where she was a manager in the Latin America and Caribbean region, and is one of the top experts on Social Protection and Poverty Reduction in developing countries, focusing among other topics on Conditional Cash Transfer Programs such as Bolsa Familia in Brazil and Oportunidades in Mexico, on labor market and employment programs, and on programs to protect the poor and vulnerable from natural disasters or economic shocks such as the recent food and fuel price increases.  Her career has focused on economic development and she has worked with policy-makers, academics, and civil society organizations to find solution to promote poverty reduction, human development, and equity of opportunities in developing countries.

Stephanie Spong

Stephanie has over twenty years professional experience in financial, operating and consulting roles and a deep personal interest in and passion for the creative sector. From her tenure at Goldman Sachs, Citibank, McKinsey and Monitor, she brings seasoned business judgment and financial skills. As Managing Director of Razorfish’s Los Angeles office, she gained valuable operating experience and immersion in the digital media space. Most recently, in over five years at EPIC Ventures, a Salt Lake City-based venture capital firm, she has established a strong reputation as an early stage technology investor. Ms. Spong is currently raising a micro-venture fund, Moksa Ventures, focusing on the digital game industry and related technologies and applications.

Ms. Spong serves as a board member on EPIC portfolio companies Lumidigm, Aspen Avionics, Exagen and Figaro. She is currently the President of the New Mexico Venture Capital Association, and serves as a board member of the Rocky Mountain Venture Capital Association and the Arizona-based Invest Southwest conference.

Ms. Spong earned her Economics and Asian Studies B.S. degree from Brigham Young University and her M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Six years spent working overseas in Japan, Hong Kong and Mexico has given her exposure to global markets and some ability in Japanese and Spanish. On the creative side, Stephanie also completed the competitively selected one year Master Screenwriting Workshop at UCLA, optioning one script and placing as a Semi-Finalist in the Chesterfield Screenwriting competition, as well as the USC Director's Workshop, where she directed and produced a short film, experiences that gave her a personal window into the challenges of creative fields.

Alan Webber

Alan M. Webber is an award-winning, nationally-recognized editor, author, and columnist. In 1995, he launched Fast Company magazine, a fresh, dynamic entry in the business magazine category. Headquartered in Boston, MA, the magazine became the fastest growing, most successful business magazine in history. Fast Company won 2 national magazine awards—one for general excellence, one for design—and Webber was named Adweek’s Editor of the Year in 1999, along with co-founding editor William Taylor.

In 2000 Fast Company magazine was sold to Gruner + Jahr for the second largest amount of any magazine in U.S. history. Last year Webber stepped down from his full-time editorial responsibilities, but has retained his title and contributing role as founding editor.

Prior to founding Fast Company, Webber was for 5 years the managing editor and editorial director of the Harvard Business Review. During his tenure, HBR was twice a finalist for National Magazine awards; he oversaw the journal’s visual redesign and created the architecture for the journal’s editorial performance that continues to this day. Earlier in his career Webber was also active in the world of alternative newspapers: He worked as an editor at Willamette Week newspaper in Portland, Oregon, overseeing that paper’s commentary, editorial, and op-ed section, and helped to found The Oregon Times, a political paper headed by a protégé of I.F. Stone. Webber is the co-author of two business-related books, Changing Alliances, a Harvard Business School study of the competitiveness of the U.S. auto industry, and Going Global, a look at the techniques and tactics needed to succeed in the global economy. His articles and columns have appeared in The New York Times Sunday magazine, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications.

He has also been active at local, state, and national political levels, serving as policy advisor for the mayor of Portland, Oregon, writing speeches for several governors, and working as special assistant to the United States Secretary of Transportation.

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