Veselin Kesich is professor emeritus of the New Testament at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, N.Y.

Annie Van Avery is executive director of Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere, based in San Francisco.

Aristotle Papanikolaou is Archbishop Demetrios Professor of Orthodox Theology and Culture and Senior Fellow and co-founder of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y.

Kenneth Roth is executive director of Human Rights Watch. Read the organization’s 2001 report “Hatred in the Hallways: Violence and Discrimination Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students in U.S. Schools.”

Judy Shepard, whose son Matthew was murdered in an anti-gay crime, established the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which has offices in Casper, Wyo., and Denver. She supports anti-discrimination programs in schools and legislation against hate crimes.

Jody M. Huckaby is executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians & Gays, which has a program for safe and inclusive schools.

James Esseks is litigation director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & AIDS Project, which has a schools section. The ACLU has been defending the right of Gay-Straight Alliance chapters to meet in schools.

Tim Sweeney is President and CEO of the Denver-based Gill Foundation, which says it is the largest U.S. financial backer of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights. It provides grants through the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado.

Carolyn Laub is executive director of Gay-Straight Alliance Network, based in San Francisco, Calif. The network is made up of student-run, school-based organizations that talk about issues involving sexual orientation and harassment.