Originally from the U.K., Simon Bruty now lives in Washington D.C.

During his career, Simon has traveled extensively to work on large sporting events such as World Cup Soccer, Super Bowls, and the Olympics. His feature stories are as diverse as golfers in Greenland, soccer in Zambia, and badminton in Indonesia. Somewhere along the way Simon learned how to make people sit still and has created portraits of some of today's most memorable athletes.

His editorial and commercial clients include the International Olympic Committee, Sports Illustrated, the All England Lawn and Tennis Club, ESPN, and Canon. He received a Lucie Award in 2016 for Achievement in Sports Photography. He has also received awards from the World Press Foundation, Pictures of the Year, and the International Olympic Committee. The London Observer chose one of Simon's photographs to be included in their list of the World's 50 Greatest Sports Photographs.

Lori Grace Bailey is a professional photographer who also enjoys chasing extreme weather and extraordinary skies. Lori was featured on CBS Sunday Morning in 2024 in a story about the science of lightning. Her work has appeared in major publications and television outlets including the 2022 Issue 3 of Cosmopolitan Magazine as well as the March/June 2021 issue of Backpacker Magazine.  Her work has been published in several books on weather and lightning. Whether chasing supercells and tornados in the Midwest, giant dust storm in the southwest, or elusive sprites when conditions are right, Lori’s passionate dedication of pursuing extreme weather allows her to consistently capture vivid and evocative imagery unique to her craft.  Lori is also the director of Monsoon Con, an annual convention in Tucson, Arizona that brings together photographers and weather enthusiasts alike with an emphasis on storm chasing with success.  Lori is a lightning strike survivor after being nearly killed by a bolt in 1998 in Arizona. 

Lori now hosts a podcast called “The Storm Before the Calm.” Thrill seeking adventurers, including storm chasers, extreme athletes, and weekend warriors,  who often find themselves pushing the boundaries of life , all share a collective narrative about the surprising tranquility encountered when teetering on the edge.   But many of these individuals fought the bitter battle of of profound adversities, almost losing their lives in the process.   These narratives often remain untold in favor of sensationalized  soundbites that only highlight the thrill of the chase rather than the long, unpaved roads they've traveled.  Lori believes it’s time to tell the rest of their story.  Lori’s podcast can be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as a video version on her YouTube channel.

Dr. William Franklin is an energetic, experienced, and accomplished professional with a proven record of intuitive and insightful leadership that fosters inclusion, team building, fiscal accountability, and dynamic problem-solving. He has been acknowledged throughout his career as a collaborative, transformative, and inspirational leader with a reputation for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Dr. Franklin has the unique experience of serving students as an innovative Assistant and Associate Professor and accomplished Student Affairs administrator. He is a strategic thinker and adept at providing creative solutions to complex problems impacting first-generation students.

Dr. Franklin holds a Ph.D. in Psychological Studies in Education with an emphasis on Child and Adolescent Development from Stanford University. Before transitioning to Stanford, Dr. Franklin completed graduate studies in Educational Psychology and attained his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at California State University, Northridge. His teaching interests include adolescent development, child development, the Black family, early childhood themes and life cycle issues, Black and Latinx males, teenage risk and resilience, juvenile justice, and positive youth development. 

Dr. Franklin is the Vice President for Student Affairs at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and is the former Associate Vice President of Student Success.  Dr. Franklin leads divisional planning, and policy formulation and collaborates with the broader campus community and the South Bay community on issues related to equity, access, student learning, assessment, retention, and graduation.  While at CSU Dominguez Hills, Dr. Franklin has secured over $50 million in federal, corporate, and private grants to design and implement student success initiatives for low-income, first-generation students of color. 

Dr. Franklin served as an Associate Professor in Child and Family Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, and Associate Professor of Human Development at the Center of Collaborative Education and Professional Studies at California State University, Monterey Bay. While there, he was also the Interim Director of the Liberal Studies Institute. He has also served as a lecturer at Santa Clara University and Stanford University. 

Dr. Franklin was honored in 2015 with The Wang Family Excellence Award. The award recognizes four outstanding faculty members and one outstanding administrator who, through extraordinary commitment and dedication, have distinguished themselves by exemplary contributions and achievements. Dr. Franklin was awarded the Outstanding Administrator out of the 23 campuses in the CSU. Dr. Franklin also received the NIMH Family Research Consortium III Post-Doctoral Fellowship and served as a Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Dr. Franklin's research focuses on risk and resilience in young African American and Latinx adolescents. He specifically examines individual variations in response to risk factors and the antecedents and correlates of healthy outcomes in individuals whose "lifespace" in low-income, urban environments pose heightened risks. For his work in this area, he received the Spencer Dissertation Fellowship. Dr. Franklin continues to explore risk and resilience factors in youth of color by examining family, school, and community factors. He is involved with several initiatives to increase college admission, retention, and graduation among youth in Los Angeles. 

Dr. Franklin founded one of the nation's most successful young men of color initiatives, called the Male Success Alliance. Community-based organizations, schools, juvenile justice facilities, and universities often call Dr. Franklin to give motivational talks and conduct workshops to encourage, inspire, confront, challenge, and move youth to a higher level.

OC Rover owner Gerry Barragan is one of a kind. He was raised around an automotive shop. He was working at an early age under his father's tutelage. As his father moved to from shop to shop Gerry followed and picked up more work as he got older. At just 14 years old he was working along side seasoned automotive mechanics. First working on British cars, then Jaguars and later Land Rover. We talk about the learning process, racing, becoming an owner of his very own shop and how he guides workers.

OC Rover owner Gerry Barragan is one of a kind. He was raised around an automotive shop. He was working at an early age under his father's tutelage. As his father moved to from shop to shop Gerry followed and picked up more work as he got older. At just 14 years old he was working along side seasoned automotive mechanics. First working on British cars, then Jaguars and later Land Rover. We talk about the learning process, racing, becoming an owner of his very own shop and how he guides workers.

Tamara Inoue is in her 10th year at the helm of the UC Irvine women’s basketball program in 2025-26.
 
After taking over a team that had two winning seasons in 15 years, Inoue brought a renewed energy and mindset that paid off immediately. In her first year with her own recruits, the Anteaters had the second best turnaround in all of NCAA Division I. Since then, they have won a Big West tournament and regular season title, produced five 20-win campaigns and made four national postseason tournament appearances.
Last season, Inoue became the all-time winningest head coach in UCI women's basketball history. She eclipsed the school record with her 159th victory on February 27. The Anteaters went on to secure their fourth-straight 20-win campaign (21-10), finished second in the Big West standings (15-5), and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the fifth time in her nine seasons. For the third-straight year, UC Irvine was ranked among the top-15 in the nation in scoring defense as they finished 10th at 54.3 points allowed per game. Déja Lee and Hunter Hernandez claimed two of the six spots on the All-Big West First Team, while Summah Hanson was named the Best Sixth Player.
 
In 2023-24, Inoue’s squad won the program’s second Big West Championship and first in 29 years. The ‘Eaters earned a No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and closed out the campaign with a 23-9 overall record (16-4 Big West). For the second year in a row, UCI was ranked in the final College Insider Women’s Mid-Major Poll (23rd) and was among the nation’s best in scoring defense (14th, 55.7 ppg). Déja Lee made history as UC Irvine’s first Big West Women’s Basketball Player of the Year. Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba was also named the Big West Newcomer of the Year, while Diaba Konate was tabbed the league’s Best Defensive Player.
Inoue came to Irvine from New Mexico State where she was an integral member of the women's basketball staff from 2011-16. She spent her last two seasons as an associate head coach and also served as the interim Senior Woman Administrator in 2015-16.
During her tenure as an associate head coach, NM State made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, while capturing the Western Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles both years. The Aggies ended the 2015-16 campaign with a 26-5 overall record, tying the school record for single-season victories.
Inoue joined the New Mexico State staff after a three-year stint as an assistant coach at Santa Clara University. Prior to that, she spent six years playing and coaching in Australia. Inoue's professional playing career was cut short due to injury, but following rehabilitation she returned to coach in Australia's Victorian Basketball League (VBL). Inoue earned VBL Coach of the Year honors in 2006-07 with the Nunawading Spectres. She also guided the Knox Raiders to a national championship the following season with a 27-1 record. In addition to her head coaching duties, Inoue helped run the Melbourne Roos club team, assisting in developing several NCAA Division I athletes who went on to play in the U.S.
Inoue has strong ties to the Orange County area and The Big West as she attended Laguna Hills High School and Long Beach State. She played at LBSU from 2000-02, where she was a two-time All-Big West honorable mention selection and led the league in assists as a senior (5.9 apg). In her first year, Inoue helped the Beach advance to the third round of the 2000 Women's National Invitation Tournament. She went on to graduate with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice in 2002.
Inoue prepped at Laguna Hills High School, and was inducted into the Hawks' Hall of Fame in January 2017. She was a USA Today honorable mention All-American as a senior after averaging 14.0 points per game. A two-time league MVP, Inoue set single-game school records for points (30), assists (12) and steals (12).

Eric Francis is a photographer with over 30 years of experience capturing the truth, emotion, and story behind every image. His work is defined by intention—not trends—and grounded in a timeless style that never distracts from the subject. From editorial and event photography to portraits and marketing campaigns, Eric’s images are powerful in their simplicity and precise in their storytelling. Eric lives in the great state of Nebraska and has covered the College World Series for over 30 years. That's where we might in 2001 when I was working for Cal State Fullerton. He was working every game for two straight weeks. He's seen lots of baseball during that time and has better stories to tell. Check out his work at www.ericfrancisphotography.com and give him a follow on instagram www.instagram.com/erics.pix

John Miessner was born in Germany 1937, raised in the northwest part of the country. John was the middle of 5 children. His father was a naval officer during the World War II. His mother could care of the home, moving the children a couple times for safety. He would listen to the Führer Adolf Hitler on the radio two or three times a week. As a young boy he hoped his country would win the war and his father would come home. After the war he was located on the side that would later become West Germany.

Battleship IOWA is home to thousands of artifacts.  From the ship herself to a chair from NAGATO – the last Japanese battleship, from physical objects to digital images, all of these artifacts must be cataloged and stored.

Dave Way is the ship’s historian and curator. His job is find and present the collection. He is walking encyclopedias who can spout amazing episodes from the ship’s storied past at will. The USS Iowa is one of the largest, most imposing forces in naval history.  Originally commissioned to support land invasions (amphibious assaults) in WWII, this devastating behemoth was also a force to be reckoned with during the Korean War.  It was decommissioned in the 50’s. but then recommissioned in the 80’s during the Regan administration in support of his “600 ship” navy initiative.  Finally decommissioned in the 90’s, this floating fortress was turned into a museum, complete with tours!  I talked to curator David Way about the President Roosevelt almost getting hit by a torpedo, Victory the official canine mascot, and the mysterious Combat Engagement Center.

Dr. Ken Seligson is a anthropological archaeologist studying human-environment relationships in the northern Maya lowlands of the Yucatan Peninsula. Specifically, his research has focused on understanding changing resource management practices related to the production of burnt lime in the hilly Puuc region of the Yucatan. Ken is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at California State University Dominguez Hills. One of the things that he enjoys most about his research is bringing students to the field for hands-on learning opportunities and new cultural experiences.