James P. Buchanan is University Professor and Executive Director of the Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue at Xavier University. Prior to founding the Brueggeman Center in 2003, he held the Besl Family Chair in Ethics/Religion and Society at Xavier, the Carolyn Werner Gannett Chair in Humanities at the Rochester Institute of Technology, The Endowment for the Humanities Chair in Ethics at Hamilton College and was professor and part of the founding committee for the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He studied at Yale and has a PhD from the University of Chicago. He lived in China for 8 years. The Brueggeman Center Research Fellows have done work in 64 different countries.

Deborah E. Schultz is a change agent and President of Trans-Borders Solutions, a global consulting firm specializing in the development of never-done-before/new-to-market global projects in both private and non-profit sectors., most recently in South Africa, Indonesia and Turkey. Early in her career, she founded Middfest International while working in the City Manager’s Office in Middletown, Ohio, and she continues to serve as a consultant to the forty-year old non-profit. Through innovative programs working directly with foreign country leaders in a different country each year as well as regional immigrants, Middfest International has brought the world to millions of U.S. citizens through the in-depth lenses of trade, diplomacy, the humanities, foreign guest home-stays, sports, arts and more.

Ms. Schultz is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Miami University with an M.A. in Public and International Relations from The Elliot School at George Washington University and an M.P.A. from the University of Kansas, Stene Graduate School of Public Administration.

Currently she is on the Advisory Committee of the World Affairs Council of Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky , the Ohio Committee for the U.S. Global Leadership Council in D.C. and the World Affairs Committee of the Cincinnati Rotary Club . In Rotary she is a key partner in developing an on-going six-year-old program which has installed solar lighting in twenty-seven schools, two medical clinics, and solar powered pumps in three new wells. Ms. Schultz has been honored by the Ohio Humanities Council (Bjornson Award), the International Trade Division of the State of Ohio, and the South African American Organization as a “Woman Who Changes Lives” among other awards. Her work with FPLC includes bringing distinguished international speakers to SW Ohio audiences.

Catalin Macarie is Assistant Professor of Management and Director of Freshmen Experience at Carl H. Lindner College of Business, University of Cincinnati (UC). He joined the higher academics ranks coming from 25 years span as a successful leader and operational manager in the corporate world with demonstrated achievements in executive leadership & management, marketing & creative services, business development, customer relations and large projects administration. During his prior tenure working on three continents (Europe, North America and Asia) with several renown national and international companies, Catalin successfully directed business turn-around marketing, creative and business development efforts, complex Web systems implementations and deployment, and profit improvement/cost reduction programs.

Catalin is the immediate past Chairman of the Midwest USA Chinese Chamber of Commerce, is the faculty advisor for UC’s Alpha Kappa Psi Student Business Organization and PandaCats International Student Organization and is part of the strategic advisory team for UC’s International Programs and Department.

For more information and contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmacarie

Joe Dehner is an attorney at Frost Brown Todd, where he led the firm’s international practice for more than 30 years. He’s involved in many international civic and international organizations and was founding chairman of the Foreign Policy Leadership Council. An honors graduate of Princeton University and the Harvard Law School, he has lectured, consulted and done business in 80 countries.

Peter Williams has been a principle of Osborn, Williams & Donohoe, LLC since 1977. He has participated in numerous financial industry trade organizations as a member and officer and participated in founding the President's Council of the Association of Investment Management and Research, and has served as a director and officer of public and private corporations. Following a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management from Purdue University he has earned additional professional credentials from the University of Chicago, Princeton, Northwestern University, and Harvard.