Timothy M. Gunn is Chair of the Department of Fashion Design at Parsons The New School for Design. In addition, he serves as an on-air mentor to designers on the Bravo reality television program "Project Runway".
Gunn has been a vital part of the Parsons community for more than 23 years. In August 2000, he was appointed Chair of the fashion design program with the charge of retooling and invigorating the curriculum for the 21st century. Under Gunn's direction, the department has strengthened its position as the indisputable leader in fashion design education in America and as one of only a handful of leading programs in the world.
Prior to his appointment as Chair of the fashion design program, Gunn spent most of his career at Parsons as Associate Dean of the school. In that capacity, he worked closely with the academic departments and helped develop programs and relationships abroad, including the international spectrum of Parsons affiliates in Paris, Korea, Japan and the Dominican Republic.
Gunn has lectured widely on fashion and lifestyle design and Parsons' influential role in putting America on the global design map. His interviews have appeared in publications as diverse as Time and Newsweek, Crain's New York Business, Martha Stewart Living, Elle Magazine and Women's Wear Daily, and his television interviews have appeared on CBS, NBC, and the Metro Channel.
Timothy Gunn holds a B.A. degree from Yale University and a B.F.A. in sculpture from the Corcoran School of Art & Design.
Paul Polak is president of International Development Enterprises (IDE), a nonprofit, poverty alleviation organization he founded in 1981. IDE pioneered the development and marketing of affordable technologies within developing countries. The Technology Museum of Innovation named IDE-International a Laureate for its development of "Easy Drip" a truly affordable micro-irrigation system for the rural farmers in developing countries. In 2004, Paul was awarded Ernst & Young's "2004 Entrepreneur of the Year" award in the category of social responsibility. As a result of technologies like "Easy Drip" and facilitated market entrance, IDE families have increased their net annual income by more than $200 million annually. Recently Polak was honored by Scientific American as one of the Top 50 innovators in 2003 for his work pioneering poverty alleviation worldwide. In 2007, Polak founded D-Rev, an organization created to design affordable technology for dollar-a day customers and developing markets where they can be sold profitably and sustainable at a fair market price. Paul Polak received his MD from the University of Western Ontario and practiced psychiatry for 23 years.
Richard Proctor is the Grocery Buyer at Green Star, a member-owned co-operative grocery store located in Ithaca, NY.
Ramsey Brous is co-owner of Ithaca Bakery and Collegetown Bagels located in Ithaca, NY.
Until June 27, 2008, Christian Renaud was the Chief Architect of Networked Virtual Environments for the Cisco Technology Center. The Technology Center is Cisco's corporate incubator chartered with identifying emerging markets and technologies and developing them into new revenue streams for the company. It supports 'intrapreneurial' efforts of Cisco's Corporate Development organization, providing business rationale and market insight for determining future Cisco emerging technologies.
Renaud is now starting his own company, and is working with other start-ups to design technology strategies.
Jean-Yves Chow is an Industry Analyst at Rabobank. In this position, he acts as an advisor and industry analyst for Rabobank and corporate clients in north East Asia (China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea).
Prior to this role, Chow was an Industrial manager at EVIALIS where he worked in the Animal Nutrition & Health area.
Jean-Yves Chow received a Master's degree in food business & technology from Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs des Techniques des Industries Agricoles et Alimentaires.
Brady Sidwell is the Assistant Manager of Strategic Advisory and Research in the Food and Agribusiness Branch of Rabobank International in Hong Kong. Sidwell worked previously as a student intern in the offices of U.S. Senator Don Nickles in Washington, D.C. and the U.S.D.A. Foreign Agricultural Service at U.S. Embassies in South Korea and Thailand. Brady Sidwell holds a Bachelor of Science degree (cum laude) in Agricultural Economics from Oklahoma State University and a Master of Economics degree from the University of Hong Kong where he studied as a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar to China.
Andrew Tisch is the co-chairman of the board, and chairman of the Executive Committee, of Loews Corporation. Previously, Andrew served as chairman and chief executive officer of Lorillard, Inc., and as president of the Bulova Watch Company and Bulova Corporation, which he helped to transform into one of the most innovative and successful watch companies in the world.
In addition to his responsibilities at Loews, Andrew serves on numerous corporate boards and is a firm believer in giving back to the community. His leadership and support benefit a wide range of organizations and institutions, from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Brookings Institution to Cornell University, Harvard Business School and the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. He is also prominent in Jewish communal affairs, serving as a trustee of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, as founding chairman of the Jewish Leadership Forum, and as the founder of the Jewish Business Leadership Forum.
Andrew Tisch received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and his MBA from Harvard University.
Miles Biggs is the founder of Marshfillows, LLC. He started Marshfillows after taking business courses in college and gaining a patent on placing chocolate into a marshmallow.
Miles Biggs is pursuing an undergraduate degree at Cornell University.