David Adler is Professor of Political Science at Idaho State University, where he teaches courses on the Constitution, the Presidency and the Bill of Rights. A prize winning teacher and author, Adler has written more than 100 scholarly articles on the Constitution and the Presidency and has published four books. A former journalist, Adler earned a B.A. from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah. Dr. Adler has lectured internationally on the Constitution and is a former President of the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association.

Brian Attebery is Director of Graduate Studies in English at Idaho State University. He is co-editor, with Ursula K. Le Guin, of The Norton Book of Science Fiction and author of two books on fantasy literature and a forthcoming study of gender and science fiction. A native Idahoan (though born across the border in Ontario, Oregon), he graduated from Albertson College of Idaho and then completed a Ph.D. in American Studies at Brown University. He is also Adjunct Instructor in cello for ISU’s music department.

Judith Austin is the retired coordinator of publications at the Idaho State Historical Society and former editor of its quarterly journal Idaho Yesterdays. She received her undergraduate degree in history from Duke University and her master's in the history of education at Columbia University. Austin has lived in Idaho since 1967. She served on the staff of the Society from 1967 to 2002. She is an active member of the Western History Association.

Barton H. Barbour, a transplanted New Yorker who has traveled and lived all over the West, has a long-standing passion for Western North American history. He is the author of five books and several articles about fur traders and Indians, and he teaches US History at Boise State University. Barton’s recent research resulted in the publication of Fort Union and the Upper Missouri Fur Trade, and a new biography of Jedediah S. Smith. An engaging and experienced speaker, Dr. Barbour is eager to share his love of the American West with audiences.

John Bieter graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a degree in Social Science and a concentration in Economics. He completed his Masters degree at Boise State University and his thesis was published as An Enduring Legacy: A History of the Basques in Idaho. John earned his doctoral degree from Boston College where he focused his research and teaching interests on Immigration and Ethnicity, the American West, and American Catholicism. Currently, John serves as an advisor for pre-service educators in the College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs and as Director of the Center for Basque Studies. He is associate professor in the history department as well.

Marsha Bjornn is an adjunct faculty member at BYU-Idaho where she has taught for 22 years. She holds a B.A. degree from Utah State University. Bjornn has performed on both the Piano and Organ through out the western United States and at BYU-Idaho. Mrs. Bjornn resides in Rexburg where she is active in a number of community and civic organizations.

Tom Blanchard received his graduate training in history with emphasis on U.S. and Western history at San Francisco State University. He has worked in local history, doing projects and research in Idaho for the past fifteen years, and teaching U.S. and Idaho and the Pacific Northwest history for the College of Southern Idaho. In addition, Blanchard served three terms as County Commissioner from Blaine County, adding a very contemporary public policy perspective to historical issues which shade our lives.

 Dr. Lisa Brady is associate professor of History at Boise State University. She teaches courses in environmental and world history and conducts research on the environmental causes and implications of warfare. Her book on the American Civil War is forthcoming from the University of Georgia Press (expected publication, 2011). She has published articles on the Civil War and on the Korean DMZ. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Idaho Humanities Council and the DMZ Forum, an international, non-profit organization.

Lynda Campbell Clark is the author of Nampa, Idaho: A Journey of Discovery, published in 1985 during Nampa’s centennial celebration. She also has edited a compilation of oral history interviews for Nampa’s People: Discovering Our Heritage (1986) and contributed a monograph to Religion and Culture (Richard W. Etulain and Raymond M. Cooke, editors; Albuquerque, NM: Far West Books, 1991). She has taught as an adjunct professor for Boise State University and Northwest Nazarene University. Currently, she is Development Officer for Northwest Children’s Home in Nampa and is President of Nampa City Council. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Mercy Medical Center, Boys and Girls Club of Nampa and Nampa Council on Aging. Clark received her B.A. from Northwest Nazarene University, an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Idaho; and additional graduate study at Washington State University.

David Christensen has been an adjunct instructor in the history and the international business departments at Boise State University for the past nine years. He has also taught several international business and economics courses at Northwest Nazarene University. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Geology, an M.A. in History from the University of Nevada and postgraduate work in African Studies at Stanford. He was in the U.S. Foreign Service for 25 years with assignments at American embassies in Europe, West and Central Africa, Iceland, Australia and Indonesia. He subsequently served as Administrator for International Business for the Idaho Department of Commerce and accompanied Idaho business missions to Eastern Asia, Latin America and Europe.

Cort Conley is director of Literary Services at the Idaho Commission on the Arts. He has an extensive background as a writer, editor, and publisher of books. He has been an independent river guide since 1968 on rivers throughout the West. He holds a Jurisprudence Doctorate from the University of California.

Linda DeEulis was a fire-lookout for fourteen years in Central Idaho and has worked for the U.S. Forest Service and the Southern Idaho Protective Association. She is Executive Director of Snowden Wildlife Sanctuary, founded in 1989 to rehabilitate wildlife and educate the public in ways to live in harmony with our neighbors. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Colorado. DeEulis is an environmental interpreter at Ponderosa State Park.

Kathy Deinhardt Hill is a retired teacher living in McCall. Raised in northern Idaho, she received her B.S. degree in journalism from the University of Idaho. Since her first trip down the Salmon River in 1989, she has focused her attention on the history of Idaho. Hill has published several books.

Sara moved to the Pacific NW in l992. For five years she taught Theatre and Speech at Gonzaga. In l997, Sara became the Morning Edition host for Spokane Public Radio for five years. Currently Sara teaches Theatre and Speech at Spokane Falls Community College; In addition, she directs a production for the college once a year. At Whitworth University, Sara is the Faculty Advisor of the Web Cast Station run by students which can be accessed at whitworth.fm. Sara also directs productions for  Spokane Civic Theatre and for the Spokane Children's Theatre.

Gary Eller has played American roots music since he grew up in rural West Virginia.  Following a thirty year career as a nuclear scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, he retired to Nampa and immediately became deeply involved in Idaho history and music. With funding from the Idaho Humanities Council in 2007 and 2008, he compiled almost 200 historically rooted songs of our region and performs them at many events throughout Idaho.  Eller works closely with regional museums and universities to collect, archive and bring to life through performance and interpretation the wonderful windows into Idaho’s heritage that these songs present.

Richard Etulain is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of New Mexico. He taught previously at Northwest Nazarene University and Idaho State University. In 2009 he is serving as visiting Centennial Professor at NNU. He has published widely on the American West and is writing a book on Abraham Lincoln and the American West.

Lauren Fins was born in New York City, earned her B.A. degree at New York University, her M.S. degree at Colorado State University, and her Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley. She moved to Idaho in 1979 where she is a professor of Forestry at the University of Idaho in Moscow.  In addition to more the traditional forestry courses that she has taught over the years, Dr. Fins was one of three professors who developed and taught an undergraduate course entitled “Fire, Myth and Mankind.”  In this course, students wrote and performed plays that integrated themes about fire and myth.  Dr. Fins also developed and taught a course entitled “The Natural History and Culture of Chocolate.”  Her theatrical experience includes the Jewish Children’s Theater in New York, Idaho Repertory Theater, Moscow Community Theater, Washington State University’s Summer Palace, Regional Theatre of the Palouse, and productions sponsored by the University of Idaho Department of Theatre and Film.

Earning M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history at Kent State University, Ron Hatzenbuehler has taught at Idaho State University since 1972. In addition to a teaching career of nearly four decades, Ron also has written and lectured to the general public on Idaho population trends, migration, political history, and the legacies of presidents. Over the years, he has served on the advisory boards for Idaho State University Press, for ISU’s magazine Rendezvous, and for the Idaho State Historical Society magazine Idaho Yesterdays. In 2006, he published ‘I Tremble for My Country’: Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Gentry to much critical praise. In 2008 he received the Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities Award, given annually by the IHC.

Clark Heglar is a noted photographer whose images have been published worldwide. After serving as staff photographer for Oh! Idaho magazine, he started a series of presentations based on his knowledge of Idaho and the West. People throughout the state have praised his presentations. He is a recipient of an Idaho Humanities Council grant to tour his Robert Limbert presentation. He holds a B.F.A. in photography from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.

Because Clark Hegler now resides in Oregon, it is necessary for hosting groups to share in his travel costs.  IHC will pay travel expenses from the state line to the hosting site.  Please discuss this additional expense with Clark before applying.  (Oregon mileage will be paid directly to Clark Hegler by the host).

Kathy Hodges is the oral historian at the Idaho Historical Society. She has a B.A. in anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.A. in history from Boise State University. Hodges is especially interested in the twentieth century American West, the history of immigration and ethnicity, and the effect of economic pressures on individuals and families. CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE

Scholar-librarian Philip A. Homan, M.A., M.L.S., is a catalog librarian and an associate professor at Idaho State University’s Eli M. Oboler Library in Pocatello. Descended from early settlers in Owyhee and Twin Falls counties and a fourth-generation Idahoan, Phil received the Master of Library Science degree from St. John’s University in New York City in 2002 and then returned to Idaho, after fifteen years in The Bronx, where he was a tour guide for The Bronx County Historical Society. He is a member of the Idaho Library Association Executive Board, a frequent presenter at library conferences, and a contributor to Idaho Magazine. Phil received an IHC Research Fellowship and is writing the first biography of Kittie Wilkins, the Horse Queen of Idaho. His research has been supported also by grants from Nevada Humanities and from Colorado Humanities.

Marc Johnson is president of the firm and a partner in the Boise office of the Gallatin Public Affairs, a public affairs/issues management firm. Johnson received a B.S. in journalism from South Dakota State University and has over 30 years experience in public affairs, public policy and the media. Johnson is a veteran broadcast journalist, and developed and hosted “Idaho Reports,” an award-winning public affairs program airing on KAID-TV in Boise. Johnson currently serves as the volunteer president of the Andrus Center. He is the past chair of both the board of the Idaho Humanities Council and the Federation of State Humanities Councils.

A Pacific Northwest native, William Johnson holds a doctorate in Medievel Studies from the University of Denver. He is a former Professor of English at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston. Johnson is the author of What Thoreau Said: ‘Walden’ and the Unsayable (University of Idaho Press, 1991) and Out of the Ruins (poetry) from Confluence Press, 2000. He has won fellowships from the Idaho Humanities Council, the Idaho Commission on the Arts, the University of Montana’s Environmental Writing Institute, and Oregon’s Fishtrap.

Diane Josephy Peavey writes stories about her life on a sheep and cattle ranch in southcentral Idaho - its people, history and the changing landscape of the American west. These pieces have aired weekly on Idaho Public Radio for 15 years and many are collected in her book Bitterbrush Country: Living on the Edge of the Land (Fulcrum Publishing, 2001). Her writings also have appeared in numerous magazines, journals and in anthologies. Diane has been an invited poet at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada and a panelist in discussions on Women in Ranching at this event. She was the first director of the Idaho Rural Council, the Literature Director for the Idaho Commission on the Arts and is the co-founder with her husband John of the October Trailing of the Sheep Festival in the Wood River Valley.

Joanne Klein is Associate Professor of History at Boise State University. Growing up in Kirkland, WA, she earned her M.A. at Brandeis University in Boston and her doctorate at Rice University in Houston. Her research focuses on the everyday life of English police constables with a broader interest in modern British policing. She teaches courses in Modern Comparative European History and a seminar on Women in Middle Eastern History. She is active in the Criminal Justice/Legal History network of the Social Science History Association and has served as network chair for four years. While not teaching and researching, she enjoys running Diplomacy, a semester-long game of strategy and tactics, for students.

Linwood Laughy, a nearly lifelong Idahoan, blends knowledge and passion in his presentations.

A graduate of Harvard College, with master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Montana, Lin has been an Alaskan educator and an Idaho logger, gem prospector, an author, and currently is a tour host with Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic, Elderhostel, and other learning organizations Laughy is often described as a master storyteller. . .  a man with an intellectual mind and a bluecollar heart.

His new novel, The Fifth Generation: A Nez Perce Tale has recently renewed his interest in cultural conflict and collective trauma.

Rob McIntyre is a native of southwestern Idaho. After graduating from Northwest Nazarene College in 1987, he spent four years teaching choral and instrumental music in the public schools of Oregon and Idaho. He received his M.A. in music from the University of Idaho in May of 1993 and is currently pursuing postgraduate work at the University of Idaho. His thesis, A Survey of Musical Activity in the Mining Camps of Idaho Through June of 1865, currently is being developed into a book. He has published articles concerning Idaho’s pioneer musical heritage in Idaho Yesterdays and Idaho Music Notes.

Tim McNeil has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Education from Michigan State University. He is an actor, historian, naturalist, and fine artist. He is an avid outdoorsman and canoeist. He has worked for Michigan State Parks, the National Park Service and the National Forest Service. He is a member of the National Association for Interpretation. He is currently self-employed as a living historian portraying Meriwether Lewis and Benjamin Franklin. He has presented the Lewis and Clark program 400 times in a dozen states in recent years. He believes we gain a new perspective on our own life and times as we view the world through the eyes of historical characters.

Barbara Meldrum is Professor Emerita of English at the University of Idaho. Her extensive research on the life and career of Harriet Beecher Stowe has been supported by an Idaho Humanities Council fellowship as well as by an NEH-sponsored residency fellowship at the American Antiquarian Society in Massachusetts. Dr. Meldrum's area of specialization also includes western American writers.

After teaching for 38 years, Dr. Ronnenberg retired in 2006. His career spanned nearly every level of teaching from elementary school through college.He has degrees from University of La Verne, University of Central Missouri, and his doctorate is from the University of Idaho. Herman has written many articles on brewing in the Inland Northwest and has an extensive collection of "Idaho Breweriana" (brewing antiques) on display at his home for guests to view.

Bill Rossiter spent ten years as an actor and club and coffeehouse entertainer during the 1960s and early 1970s, and then taught literature and folklore for 25 years and chaired the Humanities Division at Kalispell’s Flathead Valley Community College before retiring in 1999. Since about 1980 he has traveled throughout the Northwest, presenting songs and stories from various eras of American history, as well as teaching Elderhostels and short courses for teachers on the use of folklore in the classroom. His wife, Sharon, travels with him, helps research and co-present several programs, and makes use of her experience as director of a Montessori school when she and Bill present children’s and women's programs. Rossiter has a large repertoire of “roots music,” and has performed for western and heritage museums, arts and cultural centers, town festivals, and library series. He has performed and written music for theater and public television. He recently traveled throughout Idaho and Montana with the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibits, “Barn Again!,” Key Ingredients” and “New Harmonies.”

Rossiter makes use of his background in folklore and literature to adapt and create presentations for specific groups and themes, and often writes a song for the sponsoring group or occasion.

Because Rossiter is from Montana, it is necessary for hosting groups to share in Bill's travel costs. IHC will pay travel expenses from the stateline to the hosting site. Please discuss this additional expense with Bill before applying. (Out of Idaho mileage expense will be paid directly to Bill Rossiter by the host).

For over 20 years, Carole Simon-Smolinski has been an instructor and scholar of Pacific Northwest history, specifically the North Central area of Idaho. Her work includes articles, books, talks and videos on topics ranging from the Lewis & Clark Expedition to Idaho’s ethnic heritage and 19th and 20th century transportation, economic, and social histories of the Clearwater Valley and Hells Canyon. She is Asotin County representative to the Washington Governor’s Lewis Clark Trail Committee and a founding member of the Clearwater Snake Lewis Clark Trail Bicentennial Committee. Carole recently concluded 16 years as history instructor at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston to return full time to her private research, writing and consultant work.

Robert Sims is Professor of History Emeritus and former Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs at Boise State University. He received his Ph.D. in American History from the University of Colorado. Dr. Sims received an N.E.H. Fellowship in Ethnic Studies at Columbia University. He served on the Iaho Humanities Council for for four years and has participated in many projects funded by the N.E.H. and the Idaho Humanities Council, including multi-state projects dealing with ethnic groups in the west. He has served as a consultant to the Four Rivers Cultural Center, Ontario, Oregon and now serves on the board of the Friends of Minidoka, a support group for the Minidoka Interment National Monument. In 2004 he received the Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities award, given annually by the IHC.

Susan Swetnam is Professor of English at Idaho State University. She has lived in Idaho since 1979. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. She has been named ISU's Distinguished Teacher, Distinguished Public Servant, and Distinguished Researcher. She researches and writes about narratives ranging from Idaho pioneer life stories to novels, and about Intermountain West history and culture. Her book Lives of the Saints in Southeast Idaho: An Introduction to Mormon Pioneer Life Story Writing appeared in 1991. She is also a freelance essayist who has published in numerous magazines, including Gourmet and Redneck Review of Literature.

Raja S. Tanas is Professor and Chair of the Sociology Department at Whitworth University. He received his Ph.D. degree in sociology from Michigan State University. Dr. Tanas became a member of the faculty at Whitworth University in 1983. He has carried out extensive research in the area of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies.

Betti VanEpps-Taylor is an independent scholar, writer, lecturer, and historian specializing in the multi-cultural history of the Northern Great Plains and the American West. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and an M.A. in history from the University of South Dakota. She taught history at Wayne State College, Wayne, Nebraska. An Idaho resident since 1998, she enjoys an active life of lecturing, study and working on a new book, entitled Shadow Walker: The Life of Joseph Brown Bear.

Janet Ward has traveled much of the Oregon Trail in Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon. These talks reflect her thirty-year interest in the Trail. Janet has an M.A. in Ecology from the University of Colorado. Since moving to Idaho in 1969 she has taught ecology, lobbied for A.A.U.W. and volunteered for the Girl Scouts. Her writing has been published in Timberline, Cabin and Cold Drill.

Priscilla Wegars is an historian and historical archaeologist who has worked on archaeological excavations in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, England, New Zealand, and Belize. She received a Ph.D. from the University of Idaho in 1991 with a dissertation entitled, The History and Archaeology of the Chinese in Northern Idaho, 1880 through 1910. Wegars edited the book, Hidden Heritage: Historical Archaeology of the Overseas Chinese (Baywood, 1993) and wrote a chapter for it on Chinese women. She is the author of Chinese at the Confluence: Lewiston’s Beuk Aie Temple, and is working on several books about Polly Bemis. The Idaho Humanities Council partially funded her research on Polly Bemis and on the Kooskia Internment Camp.

James Woods is the Director of the Herrett Center for Arts and Sciences and Associate Professor of Anthropology at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls. He has a BFA in Ceramics from Boise State University and a Masters of Arts degree in Anthropology from Idaho State University. Woods has worked in the northwest as well as in Guatemala specializing in the study of ancient stone tools. Most recently, he and his students have been conducting experimental studies designed to learn more about ancient stone technology such as the manufacture and use of stone arrow points and the ancient techniques used to fabricated polished stone jewelry. Wood is a recipient of the Idaho Humanities Council's "Outstanding Achievement in the Humanities" and "Professional Achievement Award" from Idaho State University.

Janet Worthington received her B.A. from the University of Chicago, her M.A. from the University of Iowa, and her Ph.D. in English Education from Florida State University. She taught English at West Virginia Institute of Technology, Midwestern State University, Nicholls State University, and is Professor Emerita from Plattsburgh State University of New York. Worthington is currently an adjunct professor at Boise State University. She has been presenting dramatic presentations of characters from history and literature for over 25 years.

Scott Yenor is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Boise State University where he teaches American political thought and the history of political thought.  He received his Ph.D. form Loyola University in Chicago and now lives in Boise with wife and five children.  He has been instrumental in gaining nearly $3 million in grants for teaching American history to Idaho's high school teachers.

Linda Marie Zaerr is a professor of Medieval Studies at Boise State University. She is the author of professional articles about performance in the Middle Ages, and she has produced a number of audio recordings and a video. She plays the vielle and frequently performs medieval tales and music. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington.

Michael P. Zirinsky is Professor of History at Boise State University, where he has taught modern history since 1973. Educated in the public schools of New York State and the Community School (Tehran, Iran), he holds degrees in government (A.B., Oberlin College), international relations (M.A., American University), and modern history (Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). At Boise State he regularly teaches courses on the history of the Middle East and modern Europe, as well as seminars on the history of revolutions, Middle Eastern crises, and genocide. He researches in the general field of western relations with the Middle East in the twentieth century, particularly on British and American relations with Iran.