DR. DAVID GRIES, SPEAKER

A native of New York, David Gries received his Doctorate from the Munich Institute of Technology, Germany. Since 1969, except for a few years, he has been a member of the faculty of Computer Science at Cornell University. He served as Department Chair for five years and is currently an Associate Dean of Engineering at Cornell.

Since 1985, Dr. Gries has been associated with the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in Puttaparthi, India, where he generally teaches for two weeks each year. He is also the webmaster of the International Sai Organization website (www.sathyasai.org) and is currently Chair of Zone 1 of the International Sai Organization.

MR. JONATHAN ROOF, SPEAKER

Mr. Jonathan Roof holds a Bachelors degree in Religion from Pomona College in Claremont, CA, and is a Vice President at Washington Federal Savings in Tucson, AZ. He also serves on the Southwest Fair Housing Council as an Executive Committee Board Member.

Mr. Roof is the author of "Pathways to God," a three-book series that draws from the teachings of Sathya Sai Baba. These books are utilized widely by study circles in Sathya Sai Baba Centers worldwide. For the past ten years, he has served as a member of the Sathya Sai Council, USA and is currently the Vice President of the Sathya Sai Organization, USA.

MR. SHYAM KANAGALA, MEETING MODERATOR

Mr. Shyam Kanagala holds an M.Tech. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, India, and an M.S. in Computer Science from Texas A&M University. He has been in the Aeronautical/Airline industry for over 20 years and currently works in the IT Department at the Dallas Headquarters of Southwest Airlines.

Mr. Kanagala has been an active member in the service wing of the Sathya Sai Organization, both in India and the United States and has served as a Seva Dal - a member of the team of volunteers responsible for security, maintenance, and visitor services at Sai Baba's ashram in Puttaparthi, India. He is involved in Sai activities in the Texas region.