Michael Atwood has dedicated his life to the principles embodied in Servant Leadership. He is the original host, creator, and executive producer of the popular Across Indiana series, exploring the people, places, and passions of the Hoosier State for 20 years. He won an Emmy Award for his work. Michael later turned his volunteer work with Hospice into a second career as a bereavement care manager. In 2021, he suffered a brain aneurysm and spent many months in rehab and recovery; he is thankful for caregivers and family, and today recognizes each day as a gift. Michael currently volunteers as an advocate for the Indiana Donor Network, promoting the life-giving benefits of organ and tissue donation. 

David Forsell has spent his life helping the natural world and people thrive. That passion was shaped by living with a genetic cancer condition, Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease, which has required numerous surgeries, and by a singular, extraordinary spiritual experience as a young man. His career has included executive stints with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful, along with lifetime achievement recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation. In Indianapolis, his leadership led to the city’s first green building, the development of scores of community-led, artful parks, the planting and care of tens of thousands of trees, and the creation of hundreds of green jobs. He and his wife, Shannon, live in the Arden neighborhood, where he’s most content tending their home’s native gardens. His memoir, On Earth As It Is in Heaven, publishes in September. 

Jan Lucas is the author of My Beautiful Leukemia, a memoir in which she shares her story of navigating cancer and divorce after 30 years of marriage. An actor, writer, and musician, she is also a dog lover and mother of three awesome sons. She can be found a couple times a week walking dogs at the humane society shelter and coming home to her own beloved pup. She recently moved from a house in the country to a small house in town and is finding a whole new way of living in community. A 3-week discussion group will follow.