John Seigenthaler

Seigenthaler is a Nashville native who worked as a newspaper reporter at The Nashville Tennessean prior to working with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy on a committee investigating organized crime. In January 1961 he became a special assistant to Kennedy serving as the intermediary between the federal government, the Freedom Riders and white segregationist state officials during the height of the American civil rights movement. His task was to convince the Freedom Riders to cease their direct action and accept a "cooling off" period, while ensuring their physical safety from mob violence. Seigenthaler went on to work on Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign, before returning to journalism. He later became editor, publisher and CEO of Nashville's The Tennessean and the founding editorial director of USA Today. He founded the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in 1961 with the mission of creating national discussion about First Amendment rights and values.

Bryan Thornton

Thornton is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional as well as an EnCase Certified Examiner. Thornton has been highly involved in the areas of high tech investigations, forensic examinations, and disaster recovery and business continuity planning. His specific areas of expertise include auditing the security of technology infrastructure and disaster recovery with an emphasis on post-mortem analysis and application.  Thornton’s experience has included very large IT security projects for several Fortune 1000 companies.   

Brett Flener

Flener is a 2012 graduate of Lipscomb University with a major in law, justice and society.  He is a founding member of Nashville Advocates with the Unhoused, the co-founder of Open Table Nashville and the 2012 recipient of the Mary Morris Award for Exemplary Service to Society.