Futurist Dr. Lowell Catlett is a professor at New Mexico State University. His vast knowledge of technologies - and how they affect our lives - has astounded audiences around the world. Catlett has served as a consultant to Fortune 500 companies and the U.S. departments of Agriculture, the Interior, Defense and Labor.

He has received the Burlington Foundation Faculty Achieve-ment Award for Outstanding University Teaching and twice received the Don C. Roush Award for excellence in teaching. Catlett earned a doctorate degree in economics from Iowa State University.

Rob Atkinson is director of the Technology, Innovation and New Economy Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, a nonpro½t, nonpartisan research and education think tank. Atkinson co-authored The New Economy Index: Under-standing America's Economic Transformation and the State New Economy Index. He also serves as staff director for the New Economy Task Force.

Atkinson previously worked as executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council and as project director at the former Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.

In June 2000, Kirk Watson was re-elected to his second term as mayor of Austin, TX, with 84% of the vote. He has received national and international recognition for transforming Austin from a sleepy, college town to a strong player in our global, knowledge-based economy. Watson has addressed growth with imagination and determination, keeping pace with Austin's 40% population growth over the past decade. He is also a founding partner in the law firm of Watson, Bishop, London and Galow, P.C.

Pete Collins is director of entrepreneurial services for PricewaterhouseCoopers. He develops, edits and publishes the quarterly Trendsetter Barometer, which surveys CEOs of the fastest-growing companies to track changing business conditions and management concerns.

Collins also edits and publishes, Growing Your Business, a bimonthly newsletter with a national circulation of 40,000. He has 15 years of experience in the business incubation industry. Collins currently serves on the National Business Incubation Association's Corporate Advisory Council.

Kathy Humphrey is vice provost for student development at St. Louis University. She is a talented, passionate speaker. Her commitment to helping individuals and organizations improve makes Humphrey one of the most effective and sought-after speakers in North America. She has worked in higher education for more than 17 years.

Humphrey received a masters degree from the University of Missouri - Kansas City. She is currently working on her doctorate at St. Louis University.

Bruce Coventry is plant manager for DaimlerChrysler's Kenosha Engine Plant. Through his leadership, the plant has gained a reputation for outstanding quality, low-cost engines. Named Wisconsin's 1999 Manufacturer of the Year, the plant was recently awarded a $624 million, six-cylinder engine program that will be launched in 2002.

Coventry has thirty years of experience in the auto industry. He has developed global engines and designed and built engine manufacturing facilities for DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors.