Geoffrey Blainey
Professor Blainey is one of Australia's best-known commentators and historians. He is renowned for his televised history of Australia, "The Blainey View," and for his weekly columns written for a number of Australian newspapers. Since 1954, he has published 24 books, including Triumph of the Nomads, The Causes of War and The Tyranny of Distance. For twenty years he was Professor of Economic History and then Ernest Scott Professor of History at the University of Melbourne. Professor Blainey has also held the chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University.
Lawrence Blair
Sharing a passion for adventure and exotic cultures, Lawrence Blair is a renowned expert on Indonesia. He and his brother co-produced the acclaimed television series "Ring of Fire," and co-authored the companion book of the same title based on their extended travels and experiences in the country. Lawrence Blair is an independent ethno-adventure cinematographer and has written and photographed for major magazines, as well as lectured worldwide.
John Healy
Currently emeritus Professor of Classics at the University of London, John Healy's academic career spans 30 years as a professional archaeologist and art historian, specializing in Mediterranean and Far Eastern cultures. He has served as President of the Windsor Art Society and Honorary Curator of Coins, Manchester University Museum. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts as well as a Member of the Royal Institution of Great Britain. Professor Healy has traveled extensively, lecturing in Europe and the United States.
Sherrod McCall
Retired senior American diplomat, Sherrod McCall, has held positions as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Policy, Director of Intelligence and Research on Asia and the Pacific and Deputy Ambassador to Sweden and the Soviet Union. Over the years he has held diplomatic postings all over the world, including Manila, Taipei and Hong Kong as well as assignments in Peking, Shanghai and Saigon. Mr. McCall is multi-lingual and speaks Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Swedish, Spanish, French and English.
Anbassador Nazareth
Since graduating from St. Aloysisus College in Madras, India, Mr. P. A. Nazareth has pursued a distinguished career in the Indian Foreign Service. His first ambassadorial post was as High Commissioner of India to Ghana, followed by appointments as Consul General of India in Chicago and New York. Mr. Nazareth has also served as Ambassador of India to Egypt and Mexico. His extensive knowledge of international cultural affairs is aided by proficiency in English, Japanese, Spanish and French. Ambassador Nazareth has traveled widely throughout Central America and the Middle East, including remote destinations such as the Siwa Oasis and Mt. Sinai. His published works include a book on India and Mexico, and publications about Indian-Egyptian issues and the cultures of India and Greece.
Stewart Nelson
Dr. Stewart Nelson is a globe-traveling professional oceanographer who is involved in a wide variety of research and ocean-engineering projects. He has worked on ships, submarines and submersibles throughout the world's oceans. In his travels and personal adventures he has "walked twice around the world" at the South Pole, roamed the ancient city of Petra and explored underwater sites off Tonga, Fiji, the Maldives and the Red Sea. Dr. Nelson is an adjunct professor at George Mason University and has more than 30 books and articles to his credit. He is past President of the American Oceanic Organization and a Fellow of the Explorer's Club.
Tom Schornak
On diplomatic assignment to the U.S. Embassy in Burma from 1968-70, Tom Schomak has had an extensive career throughout Southeast Asia. He studied Burmese for a year at the Foreign Language Institute in Washington, D.C. before beginning his post and frequently traveled to Vietnam during the war. In 1974, he became part of the joint Military Commission in charge of resolving Missing In Action cases. In addition to his diplomatic experience, Mr. Schomak is an expert in a variety of fields and has been a frequent expedition leader, naturalist and lecturer.
Frank Tatu
A veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service with 22 years in Asia, Frank Tatu is Senior Fellow on the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council in Washington D.C. After serving most of his diplomatic career in Southeast Asia, Mr. Tatu left the Foreign Service in 1986. In 1989 and 1991, he traveled to the People's Republic of China to confer on U.S. policy toward Cambodia. He had principal responsibility for orchestrating the Washington visit of the first trade delegation from Vietnam and lectures frequently on investment opportunities for U.S. business in Vietnam. Mr. Tatu is also a professional writer, frequently contributing articles to the "Economist" and the "Far Eastern Review."
J. Gordon Vaeth
Formerly Director of Operations at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Mr. Vaeth's career began when he served as a naval officer with the U.S. Navy airships in the Battle of the Atlantic (1942-45). Mr. Vaeth is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the U.S. Naval Institute. He is also Executive Secretary of the FIFTY-FIVES, an organization of individuals who contributed to the achievement of space flight before 1955. He is the author of seven books, including a biography of polar explorer Roald Amundsen, entitled To the Ends of the Earth. Mr. Vactli has published over 100 articles and has a special interest in mysteries and unknowns. Recent projects have included serving as technical adviser to an around-the-world manned balloon flight and helping to identify a "mystery U-boat" from WWII found near Point Pleasant, New Jersey.
Philip Vandiviar
As a former Foreign Service Officer, Philip Vandivier has over 30 years of experience in Southeast Asia, including postings in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. He has held such positions as Indonesian Affairs Officer and permanent representative of the Inter Govemmental Group on Indonesia as well as Deputy Director, Office of Regional Affairs (East Asia & the Pacific) for the Department of State. He has traveled more than a million miles in Asia and has lived in Siam, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Sir Mathew Wilson
Though he inherited his family's baronetcy title in I 99 1, Mr. Wilson prefers to go by Tony. He was bom in England and attended school in Virginia, Florida, Bermuda and Canada. After his obligatory service in the English Army, Mr. Wilson was commissioned into the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, serving in Cyprus, Germany, Malaysia, South Arabia, Pakistan, North Ireland, and Hong Kong. Mr. Wilson was decorated three times for his service in Aden, the Radfan, Northem Ireland and the Falkland Islands. In 1991 he took delivery of a 26-foot catamaran and has sailed it extensively throughout the Mediterranean before crossing the Atlantic and exploring the Caribbean until 1992. Mr. Wilson is a member of the Explorer's Club, holds a Divemaster SCUBA rating and has recently completed a travel book on Peru and South America and a novel set in India and Kenya. He and his wife Janet live in a farmhouse they have restored in Woodstock, Vermont.