Read an October 28, 2009, story on CNN.com about President Obama signing a bill that makes it a crime to assault someone based on their sexuality or gender.

Constance Flanagan is a professor of interdisciplinary at the University of Wisconsin. Her research concerns youth civic development, the transition to adulthood and opportunities for civic participation. She can discuss the role family and personal values play in the development of young people’s political views.

Shane Claiborne is a Philadelphia-based Christian activist and author. He is a co-founder of Red Letter Christians, a Christian group that focuses on people at the economic and social margins.

Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer is senior pastor-teacher of Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood., Calif. Most of the more than 13,000 members of his congregation are single. The church has a You Are Not Alone single parent ministry. In 2011, he was named as a member of the commission for Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Denise Eger is the rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood, Calif. She is a well-known activist, most specifically with organizations devoted to fighting AIDS as well as on LGBT issues. The synagogue’s religious school has LGBT students and children of LGBT parents, and the rabbi runs a teen support group at the synagogue twice a […]

Bishop Noel Jones is pastor of the Los Angeles-area City of Refuge Church, which has more than 10,000 members. He has established the FaithMate.com dating Web site for single Christians.

Valerie Jenness is a professor of criminology, law and society at the University of California, Irvine. She is the co-author of two books on hate crimes, including Making Hate a Crime: From Social Movement to Law Enforcement.

Art Gorman is pastor for single adult ministries at Bethel Church of San Jose, Calif.

Carmen Sirianni is the Morris Hillquit Professor of Labor and Social Thought at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. He is an expert on the role social networks play in youth civic engagement.