Chef Richard Barnett - Richard has been an active environmentalist for over 35 years, vegetarian for the last 26 and vegan for the last three. He has worked for most of my career in the UK Public Sector, first in Social Security then in Public Housing. He then moved into Higher Education in 1991 and taught social sciences with an emphasis on housing policy. In 2000 he was appointed as an ‘academic entrepreneur’ setting up business units within the university. Four years ago he and his wife decided to make a huge lifestyle change and leave their 'proper' jobs to set up The Barn Vegetarian Guest House in the New Forest (South Coast of England). They wished to live and work in a more principled way and earn money doing something they both believed strongly in. The guest house has been set up to provide quality accommodation with a small carbon footprint. They have brought the house up to modern standards of insulation, installed energy efficient appliances and now have both solar powered hot water and electricity (the latter giving them around 80% of our needs over a year). They hope it is a business model appropriate to the 21st century. They started the guest house both being vegetarian but after a short while adopted a vegan lifestyle. It seemed to them that the logic of stopping eating meat while continuing to have other animal products was simply not sustainable. Having provided guests with vegan evening meals for the past two years they took the step of making The Barn exclusively vegan from January 2008. They have had great fun learning new cooking techniques and trying new ingredients and they hope to be able to share some of the results over the coming months. You can find out more about The Veggie Barn and Richard at www.veggiebarn.net.

Marty Davey, RD, MS- Marty Davey is a Registered Dietitian and has a Masters degree in Food and Nutrition from Marywood University. She became a vegetarian in 1980 when she discovered that the chemicals in American meat made them unsellable to Europeans. She and her husband have raised their son as a vegan. She teaches nutrition and has a private practice specializing in assisting clients transitioning to a plant-based regime step by step. Her website is www.martydavey.com.

Chef Zel Allen - When a focus on healthy eating opened a new door, the vegan journey led Chef Zel and her husband, Reuben, to publish Vegetarians in Paradise, an online vegetarian magazine. Together, they write and edit articles that provide a wide range of resources for the vegetarian community. Zel quells her curiosity about food history and nutrition by researching and writing food features for the magazine. The publication spotlights her humorous illustrations and her innovative recipes. Visit Chef Zel Allen at www.vegparadise.com.

Eleanor Sampson - Eleanor is the editor for The Vegan Culinary Experience, author, and an expert vegan baker with a specialty in delicious vegan sweets (particularly cinnamon rolls!) You can reach Eleanor at Eleanor@veganculinaryexperience.com.

Chef Mayra "Dr. Flavor" - Chef Mayra has been in the “healthy eating and cooking” industry for over 11 years and has certifications in sports nutrition, macrobiotic cooking, vegan and vegetarian, holistic, and feng shui cuisine. She started her career as a cook by learning and experimenting with French, Caribbean, Southern, Cajun, and West African cuisine. Chef Mayra is a chef instructor and conducts a variety of classes and demonstrations geared towards vegan athletes, personal trainers, and anyone who would like to live a healthier life. “Dr. Flavor” can make healthy cooking easier by becoming your personal chef! Visit Chef Mayra at www.mychefmayra.com or call her at 702-372-4709.

Sharon Valencik - Sharon Valencik is the author of Sweet Utopia: Simply Stunning Vegan Desserts. She is raising two vibrant young vegan sons and rescued animals, currently a rabbit and a dog. She comes from a lineage of artistic chef matriarchs and has been baking since age five. She is working on her next book, World Utopia: Delicious and Healthy International Vegan Cuisine. Please visit www.sweetutopia.com for more information, to ask questions, or to provide feedback.

Liz Lonetti - As a professional urban designer, Liz Lonetti is passionate about building community, both physically and socially. She graduated from the U of MN with a BA in Architecture in 1998. She also serves as the Executive Director for the Phoenix Permaculture Guild, a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire sustainable living through education, community building and creative cooperation (www.phoenixpermaculture.org). A long time advocate for building greener and more inter-connected communities, Liz volunteers her time and talent for other local green causes. In her spare time, Liz enjoys cooking with the veggies from her gardens, sharing great food with friends and neighbors, learning from and teaching others. To contact Liz, please visit her blog site www.phoenixpermaculture.org/profile/Liz.

Chef Philip Gelb - Philip Gelb was born and raised in Brooklyn NY. He ended up in Florida where he received a BA in cultural anthropology and did graduate studies in ethnomusicology. For the last decade he has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area where he works as a professional musician and music teacher as well as a vegan chef. As a musician he has performed all over the United States and in Japan, Europe and Canada. 5 years ago he started In the Mood for Food, a vegetarian personal chef and catering company. He has been vegetarian since 17 and after becoming vegan 4 years ago, he changed his business to strictly vegan cuisine. Although totally self taught as a chef, he is a very popular vegan cooking teacher, hosting monthly classes. His other interests include hiking, travelling, and he is an avid film buff. Of course, he loves cooking, especially for friends as well as professionally. Visit Phil at www.myspace.com/InTheMoodforFood.

Dr. Leslie Van Romer - Dr. Leslie Van Romer is the author of weight-loss, body-best book, "Getting Into Your Pants," chiropractor, weight loss cheerleader, and feel-good-about-you motivational health speaker. For more information contact her: 360-683-8844 or 888-375-3754 or visit www.gettingintoyourpants.com.