Liya Kebede

Liya Kebede is a supermodel, actress, and philanthropist recently touted as a “Cover Model with a Cause” by Vogue, and Forbes named her one of the Top 10 Highest Earning Models of 2007. A native of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Kebede has graced the covers of magazines worldwide. In 2004, Kebede captured Hollywood’s attention and has since appeared in films like The Good Shepherd with Matt Damon and Lord of War with Nicolas Cage. She will next be seen in the title role in the independent film Desert Flower. The story is an adaptation of Waris Dirie’s bestselling autobiography, which recounts her rise from childhood in the Somali desert to the catwalks of the international fashion business. Offscreen, Kebede is a UN Goodwill Ambassador with the World Health Organization, working to raise awareness of the difficulties women and children face in the developing world. In her efforts to make a difference, she founded The Liya Kebede Foundation, which aims to improve the health and well-being of mothers and children around the world. In July 2007, Kebede launched lemlem, a children’s clothing line handmade in Ethiopia. Lemlem, which means “to bloom” or “to flourish” in Amharic, embodies African traditions and culture with the hopes of positively impacting its economy.

Jay McInerney

Jay McInerney is the author of seven novels, including Bright Lights, Big City, his best-selling 1984 debut, which was cited by TIME Magazine in 2006 as one of nine generation-defining novels of the 20th century. Translated into more than 20 languages, Bright Lights has achieved the status of a contemporary classic. McInerney wrote the screenplay for the 1988 film version of the novel along with several other screenplays, including Gia. Among his other novels are Ransom, Story of My Life, Brightness Falls, The Last of the Savages, Model Behavior, and The Good Life. McInerney has written for numerous publications, including New York, The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Book Review, London’s The Guardian, and Milan’s Corriera della Serra. From 1996 to 2007 he wrote a monthly wine column for House and Garden. Many of those columns were collected in Bacchus and Me and A Hedonist in the Cellar. McInerney won the 2006 James Beard MFK Fisher Award for Distinguished Writing. His novel The Good Life received the Grand Prix Litteraire at the Deauville Film Festival in 2007. He is the father of two children, Barrett and Maisie, and divides his time between New York City and Water Mill, New York.

Esther Robinson

Esther Robinson has a film and television degree from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her critically acclaimed film A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory won awards from top film festivals, including Berlin and Tribeca. She has received grants from The New York State Council for the Arts, The Women in Film Foundation, and The Experimental Television Center. From ’99 to ’06, Esther was the Director of Film/Video and Performing Arts for the Creative Capital Foundation. She produced the PBS series Alive TV and the coproduction Still/Here, a Cable Ace Award nominee. In ’98, Esther cofounded Wavelength Releasing to address new forms of content production, distribution, and exhibition. Wavelength was responsible for the first fully digital film release of The Last Broadcast, a $900 movie that grossed more than $1 million internationally. In ’98, she produced the feature documentary HomePage with Doug Block. It screened in competition at the ’99 Sundance Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, SXSW, and more. Esther is also the founder of ArtHome, a nonprofit business that helps artists and their communities build assets and equity through financial literacy and homeownership.

Josh Schwartz

Josh Schwartz is perhaps best known as the creator and executive producer of The OC, the hit FOX drama that debuted in 2003, making him the youngest person in network history to create and run a series. Last fall, he served as cocreator and executive producer of two new shows, Chuck for NBC and Gossip Girl for The CW, both now heading into their second seasons. Chuck, an action-comedy, was NBC’s number one new show last year. Gossip Girl, based on the popular book series, follows the lives and relationships of privileged Upper East Side young adults. It has particularly resonated with younger audiences, much like The OC, and is the year’s number one new drama with teens. Schwartz enjoyed four successful seasons of The OC, producing six soundtracks and earning a nomination for a 2004 Writers Guild Award. The son of toy inventors, Schwartz was raised in Providence, Rhode Island with his younger brother and sister. He currently lives in Los Angeles and is an active member in both the Writers and Producers Guilds.

André Leon Talley

André Leon Talley is Vogue’s editor-at-large, regularly delivering a witty, pithy column called “Life with André” and taking charge of many special fashion and celebrity projects. His career at Vogue began in 1983, when he was hired as Fashion News Director and then served as Creative Director. Recently, he was the official voice of fashion at the 79th Annual Academy Awards® and curated a retrospective of Oscar® gowns. André graduated from Brown University with a master’s degree in French studies and went on to work with Andy Warhol at Interview magazine. At MoMA’s Costume Institute, André worked with legendary style authority Diana Vreeland, his professed mentor and—like Bennie Frances Davis, the grandmother who raised him—one of the primary inspirations in André’s life. He released his autobiography, A.L.T.: A Memoir, in 2003, and his latest book, A.L.T. 365+, is his first art monograph. André is a member of the board of the Savannah College of Art and Design, where a lifetime achievement award has been named for him. He is also the 2003 recipient of the CFDA’s Eugenia Sheppard Award for Excellence in Fashion Journalism. André is an active member of Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church and is deeply involved in its many programs.