Matthew Fox is a prolific author of books dedicated to renewing the ancient tradition of Creation Spirituality, including Original Blessing... A Spirituality Named Compassion... and Christian Mystics. This earth-based mystical tradition is feminist, welcoming of the arts and artists, honors Indigenous wisdom, works with science, and is committed to interfaith approaches and eco, social, and gender justice.

Matthew’s effort to reawaken the West to its own mystical tradition has sparked awareness of Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, and the mysticism of Thomas Aquinas, as well as the wisdom tradition that nurtured Jesus. Matthew’s work helps reconnect science and spirituality by honoring the sacredness of the Cosmos, and interacting with contemporary scientists who are also mystics. He believes that “by reinventing work, education, and worship, we can bring about a nonviolent revolution on our planet.”

Matthew received his doctorate summa cum laude in the history and theology of spiritualities from the Institut Catholique de Paris. A member of the Dominican Order for 34 years, he established an Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality that operated for seven years at Mundelein College in Chicago, and for 12 years at Holy Names University in Oakland.

He founded the University of Creation Spirituality in Oakland in 1996 and was president and professor until 2005 when he left to create a pilot project to reinvent the educational experience for inner-city teenagers.

Matthew is a recipient of many awards, including the Gandhi King Ikeda Award from Morehouse College, which is awarded for dedication to peace, unity, nonviolence, and justice. He also received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award —other recipients have included the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, and Rosa Parks. He is currently a visiting scholar at the Academy for the Love of Learning in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Brian Thomas Swimme, PhD, is director of the Third Story of the Universe at Human Energy, a nonprofit public benefit organization, and professor of cosmology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He received his PhD from the department of mathematics at the University of Oregon in 1978 for work in gravitational dynamics. 

Brian brings the context of story to our understanding of the 13.8 billion-year trajectory of the Universe. Such a story, he feels, will assist in the emergence of a flourishing Earth community. He's author of Cosmogenesis: An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe… The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos… and The Universe is a Green Dragon. He's co-author of The Universe Story, which is the result of a 10-year collaboration with cultural historian Thomas Berry. 

Brian also created, with Bruce Bochte, three educational video series: Canticle to the Cosmos… The Earth’s Imagination… and The Powers of the Universe. He co-wrote, with Mary Evelyn Tucker, and hosted the 60-minute film, Journey of the Universe, which was broadcast on PBS television stations nationwide and won the Northern California regional Emmy for Best Documentary in 2011.

His most recent media work, created with Monica DeRaspe-Bolles and Devin O’Dea, is the popular YouTube video series, “The Story of the Noosphere.” He lectures widely, and has presented at conferences sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, The World Bank, UNESCO, The United Nations Millennium Peace Summit, and the American Museum of Natural History.