From a financially-strapped Irish-American upbringing, to Peace Corps Service in Botswana, to the the trade-offs of life, family, and finances, and, now, to deeply engaged activism with Global Warming and environmental responsibility, Renewable: One Woman’s Search for Simplicity, Faithfulness, and Hope is Eileen Flanagan's story of wrestling with the big issues and putting her life in service

Annie Patterson & Peter Blood have been encouraging group singing for the people, a la Pete Seeger, for almost 40 years, first with Winds of the People, then with Rise Up Singing, and now with 1200 more songs in Rise Again. They and other musicians are touring to share the music with their world premiere in Madison, WI, on 8/27/15, followed by a sing-along workshop on 8/29/15, 11am at the Great River Folk Festival, then off to Northern CA.

Tieraona Low Dog has lived Integrative Medicine, learning both practical & spiritual wisdom, including herbalism, from her Native American grandmothers, working as a massage therapist and midwife, and then becoming a Medical Doctor. With laser-focused intelligence and ocean-wide heart, Tieraona teaches healthful lives in simple, inspirational, and compelling ways.

Tieraona is the author of several books including, Healthy At Home and Life is Your Best Medicine.

Nicolas Boulerice was a founding member of Le Vent du Nord, a group from Québec playing progressive folk music, mixing a traditional repertoire with their own originals. Reinterpreting, energizing, and conveying the power of songs, old and new, the band aims to both please and motivate listeners to make a difference.

One of the best companions you could have at a protest, around a campfire or in a song circle is Bruce O'Brien. With his banjo and guitar (and sometimes mandolin or even violin), Bruce is completely in his element holding his ground or under a shining owl moon.

Tom Small found a way to take on species extinction on the local level, and he tells about it in his book, Using Native Plants to Restore Community (In Southwest Michigan and Beyond). By converting his grass-lawn into native flora, creating habitat for native fauna, Tom found a way to make a difference, locally.

Tom co-founded the Kalamazoo chapter of Wild Ones, and you can find a chapter near you.

Jillian Rae says that she's got music genre ADD, unable to stay focused on any one genre of music. Trained in classical music on the violin, she's likely to be on stage singing and playing pop, cosmic country, old-school folk, hard rock and anything else in reach. You can see her in person at the Great River Folk Festival, August 28-30, 2015.

Don't know about the planned (and underway) Nicaragua Inter-oceanic Canal? Tere Campos, Nicaraguan native, and her husband, Brad Stocker, are working to put out the word about this potentially disastrous plan which would put at risk the 9th largest lake of the Americas, and much more. Tere & Brad are deeply steeped in environmental concerns, SEYM's Earthcare Committee, and ProNica, and Brad has a Post-doc certificate in ecology & human spirit.

While there are many roots to the global environmental crisis we face, some of the most important emerge from our concepts of ownership, especially of land. Howard Vogel is an emeritus professor of law at Hamline University, having taught constitutional law, restorative justice, international human rights, and a seminar in ethics after having done extensive public interest litigation in environmental law.

Sandy Weisto has been a part of Milwaukee's folk music scene for 30 years, in front of and behind the spotlights. Having done organizing and sound for Milwaukee's The Coffee House and at The Miramar Theatre, and performed individually and with groups like Sweet Diversity, The Silver Linings, and, currently, Green Sails, Sandy puts a beautiful voice to great music.