"The most violent element in society is ignorance."
- Emma Goldman

Jennifer Osha: Founder and President of Aurora Lights since 1998. Jen received her B.A. in English with Honors from the University of Virginia and her Masters in Forestry from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Jen worked as a volunteer English teacher for WorldTeach as well as an environmental educator for Aurora Lights in Ecuador for two years. Upon returning to the United States, Jen collected the interviews and music, composed an original song, and produced the Moving Mountains CD from 2000-2003. She has taught at the university level since 2003 at Salem International and West Virginia University. She currently is "all but dissertation" in the geography department at WVU. Jen is an accomplished Folk/Celtic musician on Irish whistle, piano, and vocals.

Samantha McCreery: "Sam" is currently a Junior at West Virginia University. Last summer, she interned in the Coal River Valley to support the current cultural mapping and CD projects. She has worked with Aurora Lights since December 2006.

Danielle Henry: Danielle is the treasurer and historian for Aurora Lights. She is a graduate of Salem International University and is currently pursuing her MBA through Colorado Technical University. Danielle is working part time for the production period, full time as the financial coordinator, and will be working full time for the last six months of the music CD project.

Timothy Bielawa: 'Tim' is pursuing his B.S in Computer Science and Mathematics at West Virgina University. His work experience with the WVU Computer Science System Administration Office includes administering Apache 2.0 web servers, and Systems Helpdesk website maintenance. He has a strong background in internet programming and markup languages including HTML 4.01, CSS 2, PHP, and Javascript. Currently Tim also maintains the WVU Sierra Student Coalition website. As technology overseer Tim is responsible for maintenance, upgrades, and additions to the existing Aurora Lights website. Additional tasks include servicing and upgrading the office hardware and network infrastructure. He has been a volunteer with Aurora Lights since December 2006.

Nick Buysse: Nick received his B.S. from Salem International University in 2005 and has been a student and volunteer with Aurora Lights for the last two years. For the current music and mapping project, Nick will be working to "ground truth" specific places in the Coal River Valley. As this position will involve an ability to navigate through the mountains of southern West Virginia, Nick's connections with local residents and his backcountry skills will be essential.