Frank J. Williams, founding chairman of the Lincoln Forum, is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. He has been a leader in the Lincoln community for 30 years, first as president of both the Lincoln Group of Boston and the Abraham Lincoln Association. In addition, he is a major collector of Lincolniana, a peripatetic lecturer before Lincoln and Civil War groups, and a scholar whose books include Abraham Lincoln: Sources and Styles of Leadership (1994) and Abraham Lincoln Contemporary (1995). He is a member of the U.S. Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. He is also Literary Editor of the Lincoln Herald. His book, Judging Lincoln, is a collection of his lectures and essays published by Southern Illinois University Press. He resides in Hope Valley, Rhode Island. On December 30, 2003, the President of the United States, through the Secretary of Defense, invited Chief Justice Williams to be a member of the Review Panel for the Military Commissions to be held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba with the rank of Major General.

James Tackach, a professor of English at Roger Williams University, is the author of Lincoln's Moral Vision: The Second Inaugural Address (University Press of Mississippi, 2002) and, for young readers, The Emancipation Proclamation: Abolishing Slavery in the South (Lucent Books, 1999). He represents the Lincoln Group of Boston on the commission.

James A. DiPrete was appointed to the board in 1997 and named Chair by Governor Almond in 1999 and again in 2003 by Governor Carcieri. A graduate of Providence College with a BA in Foreign Languages, Mr. DiPrete holds a Master's in Teaching from the University of New Mexico which he attended as a recipient of a National Defense Education Grant. He began his teaching career in 1960 as an instructor of Spanish in the Stratford Connecticut Public Schools and then went on to teach Spanish, Italian and German at his alma mater Cranston High School East. Mr. DiPrete taught English at the University of Pisa, in Italy on a Fulbright Fellowship from 1965-1966 and has chaired several New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) visiting committees throughout New England and Europe. He was a member of that organization's Commission on Public Schools from 1976-1982 and its Overseas Committee. Mr. DiPrete has extensive experience as a public school administrator and has served as principal in many Rhode Island Schools including Coventry High School. He was named Citizen of the Year by the Coventry Chamber of Commerce in 1986, Principal of the Year by the Rhode Island Association of Student Councils in 1993, and in 1996 inducted in to the Cranston Hall of Fame. He was also cited for his professional accomplishments by the National Association of Secondary School Principals in 1984 and by the Rhode Island Department of Education in 1986. Rhode Island College awarded Mr. DiPrete an honorary doctorate in Pedagogy in 2003. Mr. DiPrete has held various leadership positions both educational and civic-including the presidency of the Rhode Island Secondary Principals Association, the Pawtuxet Valley Rotary Club, and also chaired the annual statewide United Way fundraising effort for public school employees. Always interested in the Student Voice, Mr. DiPrete also sat on the National Association of Student Councils Executive Board in Reston, Virginia. Active in the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), Mr. DiPrete served on its Governmental Affairs Committee and has been appointed to chair the Study Group on English Language Learners. In 2006 Mr. DiPrete was presented the NASBE Distinguished Leadership Award for Exceptional Leadership and Dedication. Presently Mr. DiPrete chairs the Academic and Student Affairs Committee for the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education.

Holly Snyder is North American History Librarian at Brown University's John Hay Library, where she has served as Curator of the McLellan Lincoln Collection since July 2004. She received her M.S.L.S. and an M.A. in American History from The Catholic University of America in 1990, and holds a Ph.D. in American History from Brandeis University (May 2000). Prior to joining the staff of the Brown University Library, she taught American history at Bentley College, Northeastern University, Boston University, Hampshire College and Smith College, and worked with archives in Washington, D.C., Waltham, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island.
 

Dr. Morgan Grefe is the director of the Newell D. Goff Center for Education and Public Programs at the Rhode Island Historical Society. Her work at the Society involves interpretation in the RIHS's two museums, creation and implementation of teacher workshops and seminars, development of public programs, and grant writing and administration. Her favorite piece of Lincoln's writing is his Second Inaugural Address.

Representative John J. Loughlin, II (R-District 71, Little Compton, Portsmouth, Tiverton) was born on March 3, 1959. He and his wife Susan have 2 children, Victoria and Carrie. His education includes Lincoln Senior High School, 1977; State University of New York, 1992; US Army Command & General Staff College, 1998. His general background lists: American Legion; Veterans of Foreign Wars; United States Army Reserve(Retired), Lieutenant Colonel, January 1978 - November 2004; Rated attack/scout/utility helicopter pilot; National Guard Officer Candidate School; US Army Armor School, Officer Basic & Advanced Course; US Army Aviation Center, Helicopter Flight School; US Army Aviation Center, Scout Helicopter Qualification; UH-1M Attack Helicopter Qualification; Command and General Staff College; Total Management Course, Allied Signal Technical Services; FAA Commercial Helicopter Pilot; Private Airplane Pilot; USPA Qualified Parachutist; PADI Qualified SCUBA Diver; Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America. Public Offices and Appointments: Elected Representative November 2, 2004; Tiverton Economic Development Commission, 2003-2004.

Randall Rosenbaum is the Executive Director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, a position he has held since January 1995. From 1984 to January 1995 Mr. Rosenbaum served in a variety of capacities at the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, including Deputy Director and Director of the Dance and Presenting Organizations Programs. He has a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, and has managed orchestras and non-profit arts organizations in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Ohio. Mr. Rosenbaum has served as a site visitor and panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, and as a panelist for the state arts agencies of New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Massachusetts, as well as for the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation and the Heinz Endowment of Pittsburgh. He serves on the board of the New England Foundation for the Arts, and has served on the board of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

Sue Gallagher Stenhouse  As a four term Councilwoman in the City of Warwick and as Governor Donald L. Carcieri's deputy director of community relations, Sue is responsible for projects and legislation throughout the state that involves diverse groups of citizens, city and state officials, and others. Most recently Sue spearheaded the state's efforts to provide for the more than 150 Hurricane Katrina evacuees who came to Middletown last fall. She has coordinated each of the three remembrance ceremonies for the Station fire, and was instrumental in the creation of the Rhode Island's Hope Award, which serves as an annual tribute to those whose lives were affected by the fire. Sue has a passion for Rhode Island's rich and colorful history and has actively participated in the WR3 commemorations, Tall Ships, Gaspee Days, and the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. She is also the co-founder of an after-school living history program for elementary school children which highlights the colorful past of Historic Pawtuxet Village.

Zachary S. Farrell
Originally from Cranston, Rhode Island, Mr. Farrell is a graduate of Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, RI. He later received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science from the University of Rhode Island, and a Master of Arts in History from Providence College. He currently teaches History at North Providence High School.
 

Michael Vorenberg grew up in New England and has lived in Rhode Island since 1999, when he began teaching in the History Department of Brown University. At Brown, he teaches courses on the American Civil War and on Legal History, and he also was a member of the university's Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice. He has published one book, Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment, and is currently working on two others: a collection of documents related to the Emancipation Proclamation; and a book about the impact of the Civil War on American citizenship. He also has published and lectured widely on Abraham Lincoln, slavery, and emancipation.

Fausto C. Anguilla is a practicing attorney in Providence, Rhode Island concentrating on civil litigation, alternative dispute resolution and municipal law. He formerly served as a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and previously sat as the Town of Bristol's first Municipal Court Judge. Mr. Anguilla currently serves as legal counsel to a number of municipalities and as a member of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the Georgetown University Law Center.

Walter R. Stone is a shareholder in the Litigation Group at Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C. Prior to joining AP&S, he was a principal with Stone & Clifton and he was also an Assistant Attorney General Criminal Division for the State of Rhode Island. Over the years, he has been selected to serve on three different judicial selection panels. His community and public service experience is quite varied and extensive and includes commitment at all levels, from serving as volunteer, board member, and chairman, including leading Rhode Island Legal Services as chairman and over 20 years as chairman of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the Heritage Harbor Museum and is on the board of The Rhode Island Foundation, Bannister House, the Newport Art Museum and the RI School of Design Fine Arts Committee as well as on the American Lung Association National Assembly. He has been the recipient of numerous awards recognizing his efforts and achievements throughout the community, including the John H. Chafee Community Service Award and the Rhode Island Bar Association's Pro Bono Publico Award for providing equal access to the indigent through the Volunteer Lawyer Program. In May of 2007, Mr. Stone will receive the Roger Williams University School of Law's highest honor with the award of an Honorary Doctor of Law degree.

Clifford R. Montiero was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. He has a 56 year history of "Civil Rights Activism”. As a youth, he lead and taught Community and other Organizational Groups about "Civil Rights”, and the need for their "involvement and participation” in the NAACP Providence Branch. He has had a membership starting in his early teen age years. He has been a "Civil Rights Advocate” for over 50 years, during which time, he participated in "Civil Rights Walks, direct action events and marches”, some of which were organized and lead by the late DR. Martin Luther King jr. His employment is comprised of "diversified” fields, which includes twenty-five (25) years in Law Enforcement; becoming a "Police Officer from the Providence Police Department in Providence, RI; and a retired Deputy Sheriff for the State of Rhode Island. Additionally, he has worked as a Low-Income Housing Developer; A Community Contact Officer for the Rhode Island Council of Churches; a "Co-Founder of the Opportunity Industrial Center (OIC) of Rhode Island; and/or, served in "Official” capacities with The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) the 1960's; the National Rifle Association; and one of founders of Lodge 38 the Fraternal Order of Police of Rhode Land. He is President of NAACP-Providence a volunteer position he has held for eight years.

Senator Kevin A. Breene is the West Greenwich Town Administrator and a dairy farmer who resides in West Greenwich, a rural community in the western part of the state. He is s native Rhode Islander with a long history of activism with agriculture and conservation issues. Before his election to the Senate he was a member of the West Greenwich Town Council, serving as President of the council for twelve years. Senator Breene, a Republican, was elected to the Rhode Island Senate in 1996.

Risa Gilpin, Program Director has been working for the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH) since 2003.  Risa creates, manages, and promotes all RICH Council Conducted programs including the annual Theme Year/Area of Inquiry activities; Arts and Humanities month programming; EnRICHment Opportunities Speaker's Bureau, and Justice Talks - Reflections on Civic Engagement. Prior to working at the Council, Risa was a Board member at RICH for 6 years and was Director of Programming at the Providence Athenaeum, a 250-year-old library with a vital public humanities program, for 23 years.  Her experience also includes 11 years at the Rhode Island School of Design Library.  Risa's interests include literature, world music, dance, gardening, travel, and community building; she is self-taught and has benefited from humanities programming and courses her entire life.  Risa is a member of the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the Carnival Ball event committee at International Institute.  Risa has two grown children, Mikaela Forest and Willie.