Gabriela is the President of AIESEC, the international student platform for young people to discover and develop their potential. AIESEC is located in over 800 universities in over 100 countries and territories with over 22,000 members and is recognized by the United Nations as the world's largest student organization. Each year, AIESEC runs more than 350 conferences, provides 4,400 work abroad opportunities, and offers over 6,500 leadership positions to their members. Together with a focus on building personal networks and exploring the direction and ambition of their future, AIESEC has developed a highly innovative approach to engaging and developing young people globally to be agents of change for the past 60 years. AIESEC is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2007 and 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.aiesec.org.

Dave is the CEO of BzzAgent, Inc., an international word-of-mouth media network that helps companies to organize and manage honest, real-world conversations among everyday consumers. BzzAgent's innovative process, platform and programs enable the acceleration and measurement of word of mouth as a marketing medium, generating awareness and shaping perceptions about their products and services via the company's growing community of nearly 400,000 trained consumer volunteers. Since 2006, BzzAgent participants have spread honest word of mouth to more than 60 million friends and family members around the world. BzzAgent is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.bzzagent.com.

Jennifer is co-founder and Executive Director of TakingITGlobal, a non-profit organization fostering cross-cultural dialogue, strengthening youth leadership and increasing awareness and involvement in global issues through the use of technology. In 2007, Jennifer was named as one of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women's Executive Network. TakingITGlobal was recognized by the 2007 Tech Museum Awards as a winner in the Education category. In 2003, Jennifer was a member of the Official Canadian Government Delegation to the World Summit on the Information Society. She has presented and supported civil society engagement at events including the World Urban Forum, International AIDS Conference, World Summit on Sustainable Development, Youth Employment Summit and Global Knowledge Partnership International Forum. Jennifer has been a youth engagement strategy consultant for a range of organizations including Microsoft, TD Bank, VanCity Credit Union, Ontario Science Centre and the Canadian Government. TakingITGLobal is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2007 and 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.takingitglobal.com.

Mark is the Founder and CEO of Brainpark, a groundbreaking peer-to-peer resource recommendation system for organizations that enables workers to benefit from networked collective intelligence to become smarter and more productive at work. Brainpark works similarly to how Amazon.com does when it recommends a book to a customer except that Brainpark utilizes the social intelligence of an organization to recommend resources individuals will to help complete their work. Brainpark increases awareness, transparency, and reduces bureaucracy by enabling a collaborative community to emerge with a democratic voice, therefore putting the company back into the hands of its people. In addition to being the CEO of Brainpark, has worked with a range of clients over the years, including Amex, Royal Bank of Canada, Rogers Communication, Youth Specialties, CIBC, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and has helped over 50 new businesses move from concept to reality. Mark is originally from Ireland and sits on the Board of Directors for the Ireland Fund of Canada and Give Meaning Foundation.

Learn more at www.brainpark.com.

John is the Co-Director and Co-Founder of Beyond Borders, a non-profit organization that seeks to build bridges of justice and understanding that span the growing economic gaps in our world. Its principle focus is in Haiti, where it promotes democracy and grassroots change through education, leadership development, and advocacy for child rights. Over half of Haiti's 8.7 million people live on less than $1 per day. Beyond Borders' work reaches hundreds of thousands of Haitians through training, books, videos, conferences and seminars, radio programs, and other campaigns. Founded in 1993, Beyond Borders works in close partnership with its Haiti-based sister organization, Limyè Lavi. Both organizations feature nonhierarchical staff structures, consensus-based decision-making, and flexible working environments that allow staff to pursue their individual callings and passion. Beyond Borders' emphasis on participation, democracy, and shared leadership stems in part from its relationships with grassroots groups in Haiti who make use of these approaches in working for social and economic justice. Beyond Borders is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2007 and 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.beyondborders.net.

Traci is the Founder and CEO of WorldBlu, Inc. As a leading expert in organizational democracy, she is recognized as one of the business thought-leaders of her generation as well as of the next generation of business. Traci has spent over a decade developing methods and tools for designing and building democratic organizations and pioneered the groundbreaking WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™. She has been published or featured in the Wall Street Journal, US News and World Report, Boston Magazine, BusinessWeek, The Christian Science Monitor as well as dozens of other publications. Traci frequently addresses audiences in organizations ranging from Yahoo! to Fox Interactive Media to Harvard University to the CIA and has shared her message with individuals from over 100 countries. She is currently working on her first book highlighting innovative case studies in organizational democracy. Prior to becoming Founder and CEO of WorldBlu, Inc., Traci founded the WorldBlu Foundation, worked for the NASDAQ Stock Market, a FORTUNE 500® company and was a social entrepreneurial consultant. She has traveled throughout Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, North America, and Europe. Traci earned a BA in global studies and entrepreneurship from Principia College and a master's degree in international development from American University's School of International Service in Washington, DC.

Learn more at www.worldblu.com.

Mike is CEO of Great Harvest Bread Company, a multi-million dollar democratic bread company. With over 200 franchises across the US, Great Harvest has used an approach to business and management that they call "freedom-centered" for nearly 30 years. While most franchisors dictate everything about their franchisees' operations to ensure predictability, Great Harvest doesn't require that its franchisees use the same bread recipes, paint their stores the same colors, or use the same promotions. Great Harvest sets its franchisees "free" after a one-year apprenticeship to run their stores how they see best, encouraging franchisees to be unique, be authentic, and experiment. Great Harvest's fundamental philosophy is that command-and-control is wrong and the company's real product is its offer of freedom to run a bakery as the owner sees fit. Great Harvest Bread is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2007 and 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.greatharvest.com.

Alex is the world's leading expert on happiness at work and the author of Happy Hour is 9 to 5 - How to Love Your Job, Love Your Life and Kick Butt at Work. As Chief Happiness Officer, he has long known that happiness at work is the most important factor that contributes to good careers, happy lives and business success. Alex is an international speaker and consultant presenting and conducting workshops on happiness at work at businesses and conferences all over the world. Leaders and employees from companies like IBM, Lego, DaimlerChrysler, Pfizer, PriceWaterhousCoopers and many others - big and small, private and public - are happier at work after using the methods taught by Alex. He is a skilled, insightful and energetic speaker on the subject of happiness at work and why happiness is the major success factor for organizations today. Alex also writes about happiness at work on this blog, which is read by thousands of people every day.

Learn more at PositiveSharing.com.

Dallas is the Founder and CEO of DreamHost, a company that began in 1997 as a small project between four friends in a dorm room at Harvey Mudd college in Claremont, California. Today DreamHost has grown to host nearly 700,000 unique domain names and employ over 70 hard-working individuals united with a singular purpose - to provide the absolute best web hosting experience anywhere in the world. Ensuring that every employee is given a voice in company operations has allowed DreamHost to grow over a decade while still retaining a friendly and flexible work environment typically only seen in startup companies a fraction of its size. Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, DreamHost also maintains offices in San Francisco and Brea, California. DreamHost is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.dreamhost.com

Kory is COO of Continuum, a global design and innovation consultancy with offices in Boston, Milan and Seoul. Continum works with a diversity of clients including American Express, California Pizza Kitchen, Procter & Gamble, HP, Reebok, Samsung, Coca-Cola, Dell, Herman Miller, MIT Media Lab, Sprint PCS and Rollerblade. As COO, Kory oversees the company in its entirety, ensuring quality output, efficient operations and focused implementation of the company vision. Prior to joining Continuum he was Vice President of Brand Equity Associates, specializing in brand development/imaging and packaging system design. In addition, he directed development for Cipriani Kremer, the graphic design subsidiary of Arnold Communications and was Vice President of Trans National Communications. Continuum is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2007 and 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.dcontinuum.com

Chris Mann is the "Chairman of the Gourd" for Sebastopol, California-based Guayaki Sustainable Rainforest Products. Chris originally earned a degree in economics at Harvard University and went to work at the Bank of New York, where he became dissatisfied with business as usual and began a journey of self-discovery that lead to a San Luis Obispo-based vegetarian restaurant in the mid-90's and ultimately Guayaki. Today, Guayaki imports an energizing rainforest beverage called yerba mate selling approximately 500,000 pounds per year of their product in 50 states and Canada at over 7,500 stores and cafes, including Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Trader Joe's. Through the sale of its products, Guayaki sustains and restores 20,000 acres of Interior Atlantic Rainforest, supports various cooperatives and Indigenous communities and demonstrates that money does grow on trees. Guayaki is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2007 and 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.guyaki.net

Bernard is a Co-Founder and Principal at Innovation Partners International, which is a partnership of business consultants specializing in the organizational-change approach known as Appreciative Inquiry. IPI works in over 45 countries to bring out the best in people using a process of full voice engagement in organizational analysis, learning, design and transformation. Bernard himself is a pioneer in the field of Appreciative Inquiry. He is a frequent keynote speaker who has written four books and numerous articles on organizational change. He's worked with a range of clients including AT&T, British Airways, BP, CBC, Coca Cola, Domtar/Georgia Pacific, Exxon, GlaxoSmithKline, Internal Revenue Service, LL Bean, National Defense/Canada, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Novo Nordisk, Pearson Peacekeeping Centre and the University of Maine System. Bernard is a member of the Taos Institute advisory board, a senior faculty in Complex Systems Change at NTL Institute, and a visiting professor at the Universities of Ottawa, Concordia, Dayton and Cornell, as well as the Canadian Centre For Management Development and the Danish Center for Management. Innovation Partners International is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.innovationpartners.com.

Bill is the president and CEO of Tracer, a provider of commercial aviation parts and materials management services. Founded in 1993, Tracer's customers include airlines, aerospace OEMs, repair stations and aviation parts suppliers around the world meeting the needs of aviation professionals. Bill has been in aviation for over 25 years, first as a Major in the US Marine Corps flying Cobra attack helicopters and then in the Marine Reserves. He then went on to found Tracer Corporation in 1992, which now has locations in Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas and Boca Raton. Tracer Corporation is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2008 awardee.

Learn more at: www.tracercorp.com.

Rodney is the Vice Chair and "Answer Man" for Equal Exchange, the 100+ person, $30 million worker co-operative best known for their organic, Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolate. Founded in Boston in 1986, Equal Exchange's commitment to economic and workplace democracy takes many forms, including an egalitarian one person/one share/ one vote approach to governance. With that, plus open books and freedom of discussion, Equal Exchange is governed internally like a small town, with voting citizens (the employees), an elected city council (the Board), and a City Manager (the CEO). The co-operative's model has also been honored by Business Ethics magazine, Fast Company and SBANE. Equal Exchange is also a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2007 and 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.equalexchange.com.

The Grammy® Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is internationally renowned for its fine artistry and distinctive approach to music-making, with a performing and recording legacy spanning 35 years. Founded in 1972 by cellist Julian Fifer and a group of fellow musicians who aspired to perform orchestral repertoire without a conductor, Orpheus is a self-governing organization. Central to its distinctive personality is its unique practice of sharing and rotating leadership roles. For every work, the members of the orchestra select the concertmaster and the principal players for each section. Orpheus has thrilled music lovers on four continents, illuminating works of art both old and new in its profoundly unique manner as a self-governing orchestra. The Orpheus recording legacy consists of more than 70 albums and the centerpiece of each Orpheus season is its celebrated concert series at New York's Carnegie Hall. Accompanying the acclaim for the live performances are numerous distinctions and awards, including a 2001 Grammy Award for Shadow Dances: Stravinsky Miniatures, a 1998 Grammy nomination for its recording of Mozart piano concerti with Richard Goode, and the 1998 "Ensemble of the Year" award by Musical America. Noted by critics and audiences alike for their unsurpassed energy, sensitivity, and connection to listeners, Orpheus is considered one of New York's cultural treasures. Orpheus is also a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2007 and 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.orpheusNYC.org.

Graham is the Executive Director of the Grammy® Award-winning, conductorless Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, based in New York City. Prior to joining Orpheus, Graham held positions with the New York Philharmonic, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and most recently the Brooklyn Philharmonic, where he served as General Manager. He has been a speaker at various workshops and conferences for such organizations as the American Symphony Orchestra League, New York University Schools of Management & Business, and Dartmouth College. Trained in flute and piano and born and raised in London, England, Graham has performed as a singer in choruses and musical theater, and has been a conductor for a variety of orchestras and choruses around the world. Orpheus is also a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2007 and 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.orpheusNYC.org.

Mike is the Co-Founder of MindValley, is an "innovation factory" that takes new ideas and turns them into profitable internet businesses in record time using their philosophy of "Agile Entrepreneurship" and their international team of 25 people from 17 countries. Before MindValley, Mike worked at eBay, where he served as Head of New Venture Strategy and was one of the leading players that drove eBay's expansion into the person-to-person classifieds and communications space. He was also the Co-Founder of iPlayMusic.com. Mike received his MBA from Stanford and a BBA from the University of Michigan. Prior to Stanford, Mike was an Associate Consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. MindValley is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.mindvalley.com.

Philip is the Founder and CEO of Linden Lab, the maker of Second Life® . Linden Lab was founded in 1999 with a mission to "connect us all to an online world that advances the human condition." By building a revolutionary new form of shared experience, where individuals jointly inhabit a 3D landscape and build the world around them. Today this experience, known as the Second Life world, has a rapidly growing population of Residents from around the globe, who are creating and inhabiting a virtual world of their own design. Philip is the former CTO of RealNetworks, where he pioneered the development and deployment of streaming media technologies. Linden Lab has a distributed network of offices with over 200 employees worldwide. The senior management team brings together expertise in physics, 3D graphics, and networking. Team members have previously worked at Electronic Arts, Apple, Midway, Disney, THQ, Acclaim, Hasbro, Mattel, as well as many Web 2.0 companies. Linden Lab is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2007 and 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.lindenlab.com.

Tim Sanders is the author of Saving the World at Work and The New York Times international bestseller Love Is the Killer App. He is also the host of a CNBC television special called "The Human Element" about innovating the way we do business. His business best seller "The Likeability Factor: How to Boost Your L Factor & Achieve Your Life's Dreams" published in April 2005, is the basis for PBS special and numerous national TV ppearances including The Today Show. Tim is former Yahoo! Executive and leadership coach and is a frequent guest on radio and television programs around the country. As an irrepressible advocate for good values in the business world, Tim is one of the most sought after speakers in America. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Learn more at www.timsanders.com.

Bill is the "Chief Wisdom Officer" and Sr. Vice President at DaVita, Inc.®, a FORTUNE 500® company and the largest independent provider of dialysis services in the United States. At DiVita, Bill captures wisdom and passes it along to others based on the company's mission and values, thereby enhancing the DaVita culture and personal and professional lives of its citizens. Bill, known as "Coach," also leads a team who owns and operates DaVita University, which includes The DaVita Academy, which teaches "The DaVita Way." Bill serves in leadership advisory roles as it relates to marketing, public relations and diversity and also teaches frequently throughout the company on topics such as leadership, team dynamics, and service excellence. Prior to joining DaVita, Bill was Executive Director of Service Improvement at the Duke University Medical Center and Health System. Prior to that, he spent seventeen years at the Walt Disney Company in operational and design roles. In 1996 he helped open the Disney Institute which serves companies and organizations in adapting Disney best practices in service, leadership, creativity and people management. While at the Disney Institute, he worked with clients such as Exxon Mobil, Coca-Cola, Cingular Wireless, Lexus, Saturn, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Procter & Gamble. DaVita is a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.davita.com.

Gretchen Spreitzer is a Professor of Management and Organizations at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and is one of the foremost experts in the world on how to design organizations for workplace empowerment. Her most recent research is examining how organizational democracy can enable human thriving as well as sustainable peace which is part of a new movement in the field of organizational behavior known as Positive Organizational Scholarship. Based on extensive field research, she has authored many articles on workplace empowerment, leadership and organizational democracy in leading journals such at the Academy of Management Journal, the Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, and the Journal of Applied Psychology. She is the co-author of four books: The Leader's Change Handbook, The Future of Leadership: Speaking to the Next Generation (with Warren Bennis and Thomas Cummings), A Company of Leaders: Five Disciplines for Unleashing the Power in Your Workforce and Leadership. Gretchen serves on the editorial boards of Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Organizational Dynamics and holds leadership positions at the Academy of Management and the Western Academy of Management. Prior to joining the Michigan faculty in 2001 she spent nine years on the faculty at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.

Learn more at www.bus.umich.edu/positive.

Bill is an agenda-setting writer, speaker, author and entrepreneur who has shaped the global conversation about the best ways to compete, innovate, and succeed. His recent book, Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win, is the result of in-depth access to 32 of the world's most creative and disruptive competitors -- organizations that are thriving in the marketplace by rethinking the logic of how business gets done. Just weeks after its release, it became a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and a BusinessWeek Bestseller, and has attracted worldwide attention and acclaim. The Economist called the book "a pivotal work in the tradition of In Search of Excellence and Good to Great and named Mavericks one of its "Books of the Year, 2006." Other accolades include: "Top Ten Business Book of The Year" (amazon.com), "Top Ten Book on Innovation and Design" (Business Week), and "2006 Picks of the Year in Business Books" (The Financial Times). ABC's Good Morning America, NBC's Weekend Today and CNBA all devoted segments to the book. Prior to Mavericks at Work, Bill was co-founder and founding editor of Fast Company, a magazine that won countless awards, earned a passionate following among executives and entrepreneurs around the world. Bill has published numerous essays and CEO interviews in the Harvard Business Review, and his monthly column, "Under New Management," ran in the SundayBusiness section of The New York Times. His new column, "Bill Taylor on Big Ideas," runs in The Guardian newspaper of London.

Learn more at www.mavericksatwork.com.

Travis is the Co-Founder of Gated Community Improvisation (GCI) and the Founder and CEO of Direct Life Coaching. Gated Community Improvisation offers corporate training workshops aimed at helping business leaders become better communicators, more creative, and more unified. Prior to founding GCI, Travis performed for four years professionally in Boston with the famed Improv Asylum Theater. Travis was also the Community Supervisor for www.spirituality.com where he developed the online community for the site and hosted numerous online events featuring well-known authors such as Neale Donald Walsh, Dr. John Gray, and Po Bronson. During his four years with the site, Travis hosted and moderated over 300 live chat, audio, and video events. Travis is passionate about sharing how the ideas of acting and improvisation can be translated to a business context and has worked with profit and non-profit businesses across the US. Known for his sense of humor and comedic timing, Travis kept audiences on their toes at WorldBlu LIVE 2005 in Washington, DC and looks forward to doing the same at WorldBlu LIVE 2008.

Tim is the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Pandora a personalized radio service, available anytime and anywhere on the computer, in the home and on mobile devices. Pandora is based on the Music Genome Project, which began in 2000 and is the most thorough analysis of popular music ever undertaken. Each song in this massive collection is analyzed by more than 50 trained musicians, and assessed against nearly 400 distinct musical attributes. Using this information to build playlists, listeners can simply enter a favorite song or artist and instantly launch a personalized listening experience, which includes discovery of new bands, artists and songs. Today, Pandora has more than than twelve million listeners, a database of some 500,000 songs, and national advertisers such as HP, Microsoft, Toyota, Visa and Nike. Prior to founding Pandora, Tim was an award-winning composer, accomplished musician and a record producer with 20 years of experience in the music industry. A musician's musician, Tim is obsessed with helping talented emerging artists connect with the music fans most likely to appreciate their music. In addition to guiding Pandora's overall strategy and vision, Tim now spends most of his time as Pandora's chief evangelist - traveling the country to meet with listeners to collect feedback, research local music, and spread the word of the Music Genome Project. Pandora is also a WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces™ 2008 awardee.

Learn more at www.pandora.com.