Edward Malloy has been the mayor of Fairfield, Iowa since 2001. He serves on the Citizens Advisory Board of Iowa State University Extension, the Board of Advisors for Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, and the Board of Directors of Iowa for a Better Future. Mayor Malloy was recently recognized as one of the 14 Greenest Mayors of the USA by MSN. He was recognized for his leadership in the implementation of Fairfield’s inspiring and progressive “Green Strategic Plan.”

Malloy is the President and partner of Danaher Oil Company. He hopes Fairfield's ideas and practices will catch on by other cities saying, “We want to create a model community, a virtual template that other small towns can adopt to create the same results."

Irene Schroeder undertook a monumental journey 15 years ago: a 20,000 mile, 16-month-long bicycle trip from the northernmost town in Alaska down to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. During her trip, Irene found herself coming to the realization that what she had previously assumed as necessity was viewed in a different light. Shroeder says, "At first I really missed some of life's pleasures. Music. Movies. Pizza." But after a year of living only with what can be carried on a bicycle, Irene found herself realizing just how little one needs to survive to live a rich and meaningful life. Following her own advice, Irene refuses to own a car, rides in one as little as possible, and uses her bicycle for everyday transportation.

Today Irene lives in Iowa City, where she teaches Bicycle Touring and Wilderness Appreciation classes for The University of Iowa, and owns her own repair and consulting company called “Bicycle Happiness & Snow Fun.” Irene also leads her own band, Irene Rachel & The Mad River Band.

Mark Lakeman is a leading figure and innovator in the development of thriving and sustainable landscapes and communities. He is the founder of Communitecture, a nationally recognized, highly creative architecture and planning firm, and The City Repair Project.

The City Repair Project was born out of a successful grassroots initiative that converted a residential street intersection into a neighborhood public square. This precedent has led to more than 200 built projects, with projects being initiated in more than a dozen other cities across North America. The benefits of these projects for participating communities have included reduced traffic speed, lower crime rates, increased mental and physical health, and stronger social networks.

These two organizations are both committed to empowering local communities to directly transform the places they inhabit through engaging in multidimensional fusions of sustainable or Permaculture design, urban place making, agriculture, community-based public art, direct grass roots democracy, and all forms of celebration. Mark Lakeman seeks to make every design project one that will inspire the self-development of thriving cultures.

Michael Richards is a progressive entrepreneur. He is the founder of Sustainable Ecological Economic Development (S.E.E.D.) that was founded in 2006 as a statewide initiative to foster a paradigm shift for a sustainable society in Iowa. S.E.E.D. is committed to making necessary change for our present generation and has committed to a twenty-year cycle of community conferences in various locations around the State of Iowa.

Michael Richards is President of the Oakhill Jackson Neighborhood ASSN, is the inventor of soy wax replacements for petroleum wax and is President of Soyawax International. Richards is also the author of the book, Sustainable Operating Systems /The Post Petrol Paradigm, published in 2007.

Richard Harnish is the Executive Director of The Midwest High Speed Rail Association that he helped to found in 1991.

The Midwest High Speed Rail Association is a membership-based non-profit organization advocating the development of fast, frequent and dependable passenger trains linking the entire Midwest.

Harnish graduated from Elmhurst College in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in transportation management. After leaving Elmhurst, Harnish was a logistics manager at American President Lines and JB Hunt and managed industrial real estate on Chicago's west side before he became active with the Midwest High Speed Rail Association.

While at The Midwest High Speed Rail Association, Harnish has lead several successful grass roots campaigns including winning a doubling of Amtrak service linking downstate Illinois to Chicago.