Bradley J. Widstrom is an assistant professor of youth and family ministries at Denver Seminary in Littleton, Colo. The youth and family ministry department offers a master’s degree in youth and family counseling with a focus on at-risk youths.

Don Smarto is chairman of the Juvenile Justice Ministries Network of Texas, an organization of Christian groups and individuals who work with juvenile offenders. It holds statewide roundtables on juvenile justice issues and is based in Dallas.

Sarup R. Mathur is an associate professor at Arizona State University in Tempe and associate director of the National Center on Education, Disability and Juvenile Justice.

Chuck Lawless is founder of LifeChange, a Christian mentoring Bible study program for juvenile and adult offenders. It is based in Midland, Texas.

Rep. Fred Kessler, D-Milwaukee, introduced a bill in the Wisconsin Legislature that would raise the age at which youths are treated as adults in criminal cases from 16 to 17.

William E. Harris is executive director of Restorative Justice Ministry, a program of the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church in Reynoldsburg, Ohio,

Michael Schut is the Seattle-based author of Food & Faith: Justice, Joy and Daily Bread. He leads retreats on the topics of spirituality, sustainability and eco-justice.

Tamera Zivic is executive director of the World Hunger Education, Advocacy & Training (WHEAT) Organization in Phoenix, which works with 5,300 congregations in Arizona. She is a member of the national board of Bread for the World.

Donald E. Messer is a co-author of Ending Hunger Now. A United Methodist theologian, he is now executive director of the Center for Church and Global AIDS, which is based in Centennial, Colo.