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Thomas J. Hopkins is Emeritus
Professor of Religious Studies at Franklin & Marshall college
(Lancaster, PA, USA) and Director of Academic Affairs for the Oxford
Centre for Vaisnava and Hindu Studies for 1998-99. He is the author
of The Hindu Religious Tradition and has published numerous articles
and encyclopaedia entries on aspects of Indian religious life ranging
from the Indus Civilization to modern Bengal Vaisnavism. His special
interest in the Vaisnava devotional tradition led to his first meeting
with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami in New York in 1966, which focussed
his attention on the newly emerging ISKCON movement and started
a long-term study of ISKCON's history and theology.
Radha Devi Dasi (Rebecca
Corina) obtained her first degree in Economics from the University
of Chicago in 1983. She went on to graduate from Harvard Law School
in 1986. Radha devi dasi spent six years practicing environmental
and insurance law, after which she went on to teach law, first at
San Diego Law School and latter at Chapman University School where
she held the position of Assistant Professor of Law. She is currently
serving as the Legal Director of ISKCON's North American Temple
Support Office and is on the Board of Directors of the North American
Women's Ministry.
Urmila Devi Dasi (Edith
E. Best) joined ISKCON in 1973 in Chicago. Her primary work has
been in the area of education. In 1982-83 in Detroit, Michigan,
she and her husband started an ISKCON primary school, which gradually
grew to include secondary students, where she served as Principal
for eight years. She went on to found another primary and secondary
school in North Carolina in 1990, where she continues to be the
Principal. Urmila devi dasi has compiled Vaikuntha Children, a guidebook
for education in ISKCON and is currently writing and coordinating
the development of a Krsna conscious academic curriculum for primary
and secondary students. She has for many years written on the education
column for ISKCON's Back to Godhead magazine, where she is also
associate editor.
Jan K. Brzezinski completed
his Ph.D at the London School of Oriental and African Studies in
1992, where he researched Jiva Goswami's Gopala-campu. He has since
gone on to publish numerous articles on subjects related to Gaudiya
Vaisnava history and literature. A definitive annotated translation
of Rupa Goswami's messenger poems, Uddhava-sandesa and Hamsaduta,
will be published by Mandala Publishing Group in January 1999, San
Francisco, entiled The Mystic Poetry of Rupa Goswami.
Hari-dhama Dasa (Henry
T. Dom) has been working with the elderly for more than ten years
and with dying AIDS, cancer and Motor Neurone Disease patients for
the last five years. He manages a mental health unit in London in
which holistic care forms part of the care plan for those dealing
with mental health problems. He is currently developing a spiritual
care module for Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mumbai, India, involving
an international doctor/nurse clinical/educational facility between
Bhaktivedanta Hospital and three leading medical institutions in
London. He is one of the founder members of the Masterplan Committee
for the planned ISKCON Vaisnava hospice and residential home for
Vrndavan, India. He is Chairperson of a new London-based charity,
Quo Vadis, which supports homeless people with stress-related illness.
He is presently doing doctoral research into spiritual care.
Dhira-govinda Dasa (David
Wolfe) holds a B.Sc. in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University,
an MSW from Florida State University, and is currently working toward
obtaining a Ph.D. in Social Work from Florida State University.
He has worked for eight years in Pennsylvania and Florida in mental
health and social service fields such as foster care, crisis-intervention,
and medical social work. For the past five years he has provided
counselling and social services, including child abuse investigations,
for the Vaisnava community in Alachua County, Florida, USA, of which
he is the Chairman of the Board of Directors. He was appointed Director
of the ISKCON Child Protection Office in April 1998.
E. Burke Rochford, Jr. is
Professor of Sociology at Middlebury College in Vermont, USA. He
has studied the Hare Krsna Movement for over twenty years. His book
on family, the second generation and the development of ISKCON is
in progress. In addition to his academic studies, he has served
as a member of ISKCON's North American Board of Education.
Nicholas Coote is Assistant General
Secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales.
He has worked in public relations for the Catholic Church for over
twenty years. He has contributed to numerous articles on analyese
or the Chruch's public and social policy especially in the field
of interpreting and using Cannon Law in relation to Secular Law.
He has been Secretary of two Working Parties on Child Abuse and
a member of a third. He has contributed to and written reports on
the child abuse. One of his personal interests is in promoting the
understanding of Catholic Law and Catholic teaching to the lay community.
He has recently been working on a Human Rights statement on the
Catholic Church for the United Nations.
Edwin Bryant is lecturer in Indology
at the Committee for the Study of World Religion at Harvard University.
His areas of interest are Indic Studies and Comparitive Religion.
He working on a number of publications projects, one of which is
a book entitled Indo-Aryan Origins: Contested Narratives (Curzon
Press) which he is co-editing with Laurie Patton and is due to be
published in 1999.
Edward L. Palmer holds a Ph.D. in Educational
Measurement and Research and has taught at the University of Pennsylvania,
Harvard and Florida State University. He has been actively involved
in educational television planning research and advocacy for more
than thirty years. He is among the founders of the Children's Television
Workshop (CTW), where he played a key role in the creation of Sesame
Street. His book Television and America's Children: A crisis of
Neglect (Oxford University Press, 1998) is credited with sparking
the US Congress to create a National Endowment for Children's Educational
Television. He has consulted extensively for UNICEF, and is a consultant
to the non-profit making organisation, Search for Common Ground,
as well as being active in establishing a new educational television
production centre in Pakistan. Edward is Chairman of the Board for
the US Children's advocacy group, Coalition for Quality Children's
Media.
Gavin Flood is senior lecturer in Religious
Studies at the University of Wales, Lampeter. He has published two
books, Body and Cosmology in Kashmir Saivism (Mellen, 1993) and
Introduction to Hinduism (CUP, 1996), while his new book, Rethinking
the Study of Religion (Cassell) will be coming out in 1999. His
interests include the traditions of Kerala, Saivism and contemporary
cultural theory.
Owen Cole has taught at all levels of
education. He held the position of Visiting Professor at Punjab
University, Patiala in 1983. He holds a PhD in Sikh Studies and
currently teaches at Chichester Institute of Higher Education. He
has written or contributed to over 30 books and written over 25
articles, including: Six Religions in the Twentieth Century (Stanley
Thornes 1984); The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices
(co-author) (Sussex Academic Press 1995); Spirituality in Focus
(editor) (Heinemann 1997); Teach Yourself Sikhism (Hodder and Stoughton
1994); Teach Yourself Hinduism (co-author) (Hodder and Stoughton
1995).
Anuradha Devi Dasi (Anne Dooney) joined
ISKCON in 1990 in Ireland, having obtained her BA (Hons) in sociology
from University College Dublin. She helped organised the first Vaisnava-Christian
Conference at Bhaktivedanta Manor, England in 1997 and is active
in interfaith work in the UK and abroad. She was one of the consultants
in the compiling of ISKCON's Interfaith Statement. Anuradha devi
dasi also teaches the Communications and Interfaith courses to members
of ISKCON in the UK and abroad. She is currently working on a programme
of weekend retreats designed to encourage the spiritual development
of the individual.
Arti Kachhia is a life long member of
ISKCON in England. She read History at Trinity College, Cambridge
University. She is interested in interfaith work and has helped
in the compilation of ISKCON's Interfaith Statement and Interfaith
course for members of the Society. She is currently working as an
editor for the ISKCON Communications Journal.
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