Sandra Smith was born and raised in small-town rural South - where nobody had ever heard of television, and only the well-to-do had access to radios and the two stations they might provide when the weather was clear. But virtually every front-porch swing was regularly inhabited by a seasoned storyteller and a glass of cold lemonade usually accompanied the tales of the day. Mostly the stories were funny, and time had a way of morphing even the most tragic events into yet another source of knee-slapping laughter. Sandra went on to graduate from Duke Medical School and has spent most of the past 30 years as a pediatrician here in Tucson. She has also put in stints as a volunteer on the Cambodian border, in Mexico, Brazil, El Salvador, Saudi Arabia, and most recently in Sri Lanka.

While Eric Cuestas-Thompson, LMSW, LISAC is a bilingual psychotherapist, Reiki master, and author of the Stonewall Book Award nominated psychological thriller BURN, his most important and sacred role is father to his 12 year-old son Dante. Eric and his partner Michael live in Tucson.

Deborah Knox is the Director of Community Resources at the Microbusiness Advancement Center, where she rarely gives direct advice to people. She moved to Tucson from Boston 3 years ago where she had a business providing career counseling & training for people and organizations in transition. She helped people make significant life choices without giving them advice. When she moved out here, she took some advice and ignored lots more.

Billye Foster was born in Fort Worth, Texas, her mother was an elementary teacher and her father was a ranch manager. Foster received her BS in Animal Production from Texas Tech University, her MS in Agriculture East Texas State University, and her Ed.D. in Agricultural Education from Oklahoma State University. During a 22 year educational career, she has taught agricultural education and science at the secondary level, and a variety of agricultural classes at the community college level, including training both livestock and meats judging teams. Foster has been a part of the faculty in the Department of Agricultural Education at the University of Arizona since 1995. Women in academic agriculture are the focus of her research. Foster began the Desert Roses Newsletter in 1996. Designed originally as a support letter for women teaching Agricultural Education in Arizona, the newsletter now reaches women nationwide. Wide acceptance of the newsletter led to the development of the Desert Roses Web Site. Recently Foster was appointed as Special Assistant to the Dean for Diversity. Dan Foster has survived 31 years of marriage to Billye and they enjoy three sons, Daniel (26), Chase (21) and Brian (17). Email: billye@ag.arizona.edu

While at first glance you might take Aimee Finkelstein for a Jewish New Yorker, she is really descended from a long line of Russian royalty dating back to the Romanovs. (Rumor has it that she is the granddaughter of the elusive Anastasia.) Due to security issues (i.e. kidnapping) she has not publicized her ancestry, but it you listen very closely you might be able to discern a Russian accent. Aimee has two magnificent children aged 13 and 18, nine pets, and a devoted partner of almost 9 years, and teaches 8 th grade English.

My name is Keon Oliver Bates. I named myself after my maternal grandfather, Robert Oliver Bates. He was descended from Charles the third, which would be impressive, except that he was known as "Charles the Simple." I am descended from the Prophet Muhammad on my father's side. My wife Lizzy and I spend our spare time and money remodeling the home that we share with our two dogs, two cats and the excess flotsam and jetsam of two twenty something daughters who have moved out but continue to inundate us with their dry cleaning and boxes of stuff for an "alleged" yard sale.

ODYSSEY STORYTELLING PHOTOS and BIOS