Alicia McNary Forsey is a research professor at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Calif. She authored an essay, “Attitudes About Money in Theological Schools.”

Gregory Schopen is a professor of South Asian Buddhism in the department of Asian languages and cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has written on the role of money in Buddhism, especially in India.

John Hyde Evans is a sociologist at the University of California, San Diego. He wrote Playing God?: Human Genetic Engineering and the Rationalization of Public Bioethical Debate and The History and Future of Bioethics: A Sociological View.

Michael M. Mendiola was associate professor of Christian ethics for the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. He wrote the article “Human Embryonic Stem Cells: Possible Approaches from a Catholic Perspective” for The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate (MIT Press, 2001). Mendiola passed away in 2008.

Dr. Irving Weissman is head of the stem cell research program at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. He opposes an effort to repeal California’s law legalizing embryonic stem cell research.

Joel L. Kushner is director of Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion’s Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation, which is in Los Angeles.

The Rev. Louis P. Sheldon is chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition and one of the most recognizable names of the religious right.

Deborah Snow is project director for the Corporation for National & Community Service, a nonprofit that works to improve the effectiveness of other nonprofits, including faith-based organizations. It is located in Scotts Valley, Calif.

Tami Heim is president and CEO of the Christian Leadership Alliance in San Clemente, Calif., which works with some 4,500 church and parachurch organizations worldwide. The CLA sponsored a study (see in background section) in April on the effects of the recession on Christian nonprofits.