Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks has earned a reputation as a dedicated and effective leader since she was sworn in as Monroe County's fifth County Executive in January 2004. She is the first woman to hold this position.

Her inclusive, collaborative leadership style has brought about a new era in County
government. Maggie has established positive and cooperative relationships with the
City of Rochester, local towns and villages, and community organizations.

Recognizing that a key to economic strength is community vitality, Maggie has been
the driving force behind Renaissance Square, a unique community project that
combines a transit center, an urban college campus and a performing arts center. It is
the largest development project in the history of Rochester. Renaissance Square will
create a more vibrant and dynamic atmosphere in our Center City and stimulate
additional investment in the downtown area. Maggie has brought an energizing new vision to County government, making it her priority to involve the entire community in shaping the future of Monroe County, a future she believes is now more promising than ever.

Stephanie Brown Clark is assistant professor in the Division of Medical Humanities at the University of Rochester Medical Center. After completing her M.A. in English Literature at the University of Western Ontario, and a Higher Diploma in Anglo-Irish Literature at Trinity College, in Dublin Ireland, Stephanie studied medicine at McMaster University, Canada, and completed her MD degree in 1990. At that time, she and her husband moved to Holland where she received her Ph.D. in medical history and literature at the University of Leiden.

For the past five years, Stephanie has been director of the Medical Humanities Seminars, a curricular requirement comprised of a diverse array of 28 offerings on a range of topics in humanities for first and second year medical students. Additionally, she teaches courses in medical history, and medicine and literature to medical students, residents and faculty at the University of Rochester school of Medicine. She chairs the George W. Corner Society for the History of Medicine, and co-directs a program in art and medicine with the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester where physicians-in-training, and nurses and other healthcare professionals develop their observational skills by looking at artworks. She also directs a Reader’s Theatre Group at the medical center. When she is not working, Stephanie is enjoying life with her two children, Max (10) and Zoe (12), three cats, one husband, David, and a hedgehog named Elvis.

Claire Hopkinson is the Executive Director of the Toronto Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council Foundation. TAC is the arms length funding body of the City of Toronto which adjudicates and delivers over 650 grants to local artists and arts organizations annually. She has come recently to this appointment with a background of over 25 years in commissioning, developing and producing new work, predominantly in music theatre and contemporary opera. Active on many boards in the community, she has served as Founder and President of Creative Trust: Working Capital for the Arts, North America’s largest “arts sustainability project”, Chair of Opera.ca, Canada’s service organization for opera, and Vice- Chair of the Board of OPERA Ame rica. She has received several major awards for her contributions to the arts, and has served on arts panels on both sides of the border.

William and Teresa Cochran are cofounders of Shared Vision: Public Art for Community Transformation. For more than fifteen years they have worked to develop new forms of participatory public art. Shared Vision engages thousands of people of all backgrounds in the creation of community landmarks that become catalysts for economic, cultural, social and educational growth.

Shared Vision’s prototype project, Community Bridge in Frederick Maryland, is nationally recognized for the quality of the painting and the depth of community participation. Sited in a crime-ridden, declining industrial area, Community Bridge engaged residents of all backgrounds from throughout Frederick and around the world in the creation of a new symbol of common ground. The project draws tens of thousands of visitors annually and helped ignite some $50 million in public and private development, bringing jobs downtown where they are most needed. The project has been featured hundreds of publications in the US and abroad and appears in nationally distributed materials for the classroom at all grade levels.

Community Bridge helped Frederick to win the Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, The project also won the Core Values Award from the International Association for Public Participation and the Project of the Year Award from the American Public Works Association.

William and Teresa have created work in a number of cities in the US and are currently developing large participatory projects in Maryland and Washington D.C.

Susan R. Holliday is President and Publisher of the Rochester Business Journal, a weekly newspaper enjoying a readership of 80,000, which specializes in business news and information of interest in the metropolitan Rochester, New York business community.

Under her leadership, the Rochester Business Journal has twice been awarded the General Excellence Award from the Alliance of Area Business Publications, a national trade association. In addition, the paper has received top honors for reporting, photography and design from the National Newspaper Association and the New York Press Association, as well as the Alliance of Area Business Publications.

Susan is involved extensively in the Rochester community. She is a member of the corporate board of directors of Financial Institutions, Inc. She is serving in her fifth year as chairman of the board of the Rochester Museum and Science Center. She serves as a member of the executive committees of the boards of trustees of the University of Rochester Medical Center and Rochester Institute of Technology, and she is a member of the board of directors of the Rochester Business Alliance, and a member of the Rump Group.

Susan has been honored with the 2003 Outstanding Alumni Award from Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Galanis Award for Excellence in Family Business from Alfred University in 2001, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Rochester Institute of Technology’s College of Business in 2000, and the Mother of the Year Award from the March of Dimes in 1999.

Senator Joseph Robach is the New York State Senate representative for the 56 th Senatorial District which encompasses the Towns of Greece, Brighton, Parma and most of the City of Rochester. Before his election to the Senate, Robach served as an Assemblyman for eleven years filling the seat vacated by the unfortunate passing of his father, Roger Robach.

Senator Robach has been a lifelong resident of the Rochester area. Throughout his tenure, he has earned a reputation for being an accessible, community-oriented legislator and an outspoken advocate for a more timely budget process. In 2005, he led the way in overhauling New York’s budget when the Legislature passed legislation which would amend our State’s constitution and permanently change the budget process in New York State. As a result, the Legislature passed the first on-time budget in over 2 decades.

Senator Robach has an exceptional record of community and civic involvement. He has been recognized by many organizations, police departments, healthcare facilities, businesses and not-for-profits both locally and Statewide for his outstanding record in the Legislature. Senator Robach has worked diligently to expand economic development in Rochester, increase funding for education, cut taxes and improve and protect our health care system.

Tom Richards recently completed a term as the volunteer founding Chairman of the Greater Rochester Enterprise, a public/private partnership dedicated to the economic development of the Rochester region. Previously he was the chairman, president and chief executive officer of RGS Energy Group, the parent company of Rochester Gas & Electric from 1998 until 2002. After joining RG&E in 1991 as general counsel, he served as president and chief operating officer, senior vice president for finance and senior vice president for corporate services.

Prior to joining RG&E, Mr. Richards was a partner in the Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle (now Nixon Peabody) law firm. During his 20 years with the firm he specialized in civil litigation and served at various times as the managing partner and chairman of the management committee.

Mr. Richards serves on the Boards of Eltrex Industries, Inc. and Canandaigua Nation Bank and Trust Company. He has been involved in a number of charitable and community organizations and is currently serving on the boards of the United Way, Rochester Institute of Technology, Cornell Law School Advisory Council, Otetiana Council Boy Scouts of America, Greater Rochester Housing Partnership, University of Rochester, University of Rochester Medical Center, Visiting Nurse Service, Strong Partners Health System, Center for Governmental Research, Greater Rochester Enterprise, Rundel Library Foundation, Rochester Health Commission, Greater Rochester Visitors Association, Volunteer Legal Services Program, Monroe County Bar Association Foundation and George Eastman House.