Ari Berk, Ph. D.
Writer, visual artist and scholar of literature, history, iconography, and comparative myth.
His publications include academic studies on myth and ancient cultures, as well as popular
works on myth for both children and adults. He has collaborated on several books with artist
Brian Froud including the recently released Goblins!, and is currently collaborating
with the artist Alan Lee on a book titled The Moment of Myth.
Deeply dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach to teaching, research and writing,
Dr. Berk holds degrees in Ancient History and American Indian Studies, as well as a Ph.D.
in Comparative Literature and Culture. He has studied at Oxford University in England,
and has traveled widely, making friends in many parts of the world. In the last decade, his
work took him to the University of Arizona in Tucson where he taught courses and lectured
in the areas of Early Modern Ethnography and Literature, Mythology, and American Indian
Literature, History, and Culture. He was appointed to the committee that developed the first
American Indian Studies doctoral program in the United States, and worked as the assistant
to the Pulitzer Prize winning Kiowa author N. Scott Momaday. He is now a professor in the
English department at Central Michigan University where he teaches Mythology, Folklore and
American Indian Literature.
Jeff Dunn
Jeff Dunn is president of Grassy Lakes Partners, and the former president and COO of
Coca-Cola North and Coca-Cola Americas. He is on the Board of Trustees of Morehouse
University, and the Board of Advisors for Emory University's Goizueta School of Business.
He holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of Georgia, and an MA
in Business Administration from Pepperdine University.
Honora Foah
Honora Foah, Creative Director at Visioneering International, was the chief producer and
designer for the UN Pavilions featured in the 1992 World Expo in Genoa, Italy, and the
1993 World Expo held in Taejon, South Korea. As the artistic force behind Visioneering
International, Inc., Honora brings extensive training and professional experience in the fine
arts, including dance, music and theater.
Honora used her love for the arts as well as her flair for audio visual creativity as co-director
of her own dance theater company from 1976 to 1986. Schene/Hill Dancing, one of the
most innovative dance companies in New York City, was known for combining multimedia
images, set design, dance, photography and voice. In 1982, she was awarded a prestigious
grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1987, Honora teamed up with her husband,
Robert, to produce imaginative high-tech audio visual projects that are on the cutting edge of
the industry. Together, they serve as the principal multimedia consultants to the United Nations
and several Fortune 500 companies.
Michael Karlin
Michael Karlin is founder and President of the Mythic Imagination Institute and the Atlanta
Mythological RoundTable. He is on the Board of the National Black Arts Festival, the Board
of the Alliance for a New Humanity, the Board of Visitors of Emory University, the Board of
Trustees of the Greenfield Hebrew Academy, and on the Advisory Board of Comedy for
Peace, an effort to use humor to bridge the gap in the Middle East. Michael is currently
participating in the Wexner Heritage Foundation's National Leadership Institute. He is a
full time philanthropist and part-time investor working with early stage technology and financial
services companies. Michael is on the Board of Directors of Outweb, Inc., a strategic consulting
and technology development company and Magnolia Credit, a South Carolina finance company.
Michael was co-founder of Security First Network Bank, the world's first Internet bank, and S1
Corporation, Inc. (NASDAQ: SONE), the world's leading provider of financial portal solutions.
He was president of Security First Network Bank at its inception, and was responsible for
setting up the Internet operations, defining the original product offering, and receiving all
regulatory approvals.
Scott Livengood
Scott Livengood is the former CEO of Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation. In addition to
leading the company to astonishing success, he uses a degree in industrial relations and
psychology to employ mythology as a strong foundation for his successful company and his
personal philosophy. He developed the Krispy Kreme “mythodology” and runs the company
based on the ideas in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces.
Todd Murphy
Visual artist Todd Murphy's work has been exhibited in museums and galleries across
the United States, Europe and Asia. He has been a visiting artist and lecturer at the
University of Georgia, University of California San Francisco, University of Virginia,
University of South Carolina, and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. His work includes
painting, sculpture, site-specific work and experiential design. His latest initiative, called
"the space between," seeks to blur the gap between commerce, community and art by
working with organizations and corporations to creat inspired solutions to specific problems.
He has be a consultant to Fortune 500 companies, private corporations and non-profits.
Alan Taetle
Alan J. Taetle is a General Partner at Noro-Moseley Partners. Alan evaluates investment
opportunities primarily in the information technology area. He actively works with a number
of Noro-Moseley portfolio companies. Alan chairs the Internet Advisory Board of Choicepoint,
Inc., a NYSE company focused on providing information that helps companies make educated,
intelligent choices to reduce risk and fraud. He serves on the board of the Emerging Venture
Network ("EVN"), a newly formed organization whose mission is to connect minority
entrepreneurs with sources of funding. Alan serves on the Dean's Advisory Council for
the College of Literature, Science and Arts for the University of Michigan. Alan is also on the
board of directors of the Florida Venture Forum.
Prior to Noro-Moseley, Alan was MindSpring Enterprise's fifteenth employee, eventually
becoming the Company's Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development
(MindSpring merged with Earthlink Network in February 2000). Alan received a BA in
Economics from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Business Administration from
Harvard Business School.
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