ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:

Mark Shields is one of the nation's most respected political analysts. A political columnist for more than 25 years, he has also served as half of PBS' analysis team on The News Hour with Jim Lehrer for nearly two decades, and for 17 years was moderator of CNN's weekly political discussion program, The Capital Gang. The Washington Post called Shields "a walking almanac of American politics.

Peter D. Hart founded Peter D. Hart Associates, a public opinion research firm, in 1971, and since then the firm has conducted more than 5,000 public opinion surveys and interviewed more than 2.5 million Americans. Hart has been the pollster for NBC News and The Wall Street Journal since 1989, and is a frequent guest on major television programs focusing on public policy issues.

The Hon. Kathleen Sebelius is Kansas' 44^th Governor, and was re-elected to a second term in 2006. Her administration is focused on economic development and job growth; providing a quality education for Kansas children; improving access to quality, affordable health care; and developing her state's renewable energy assets. She serves on the executive committee of the National Governors Association, and in January was chosen to deliver the Democratic response to President Bush's State of the Union address.

ABOUT THE GILLIGAN INSTITUTE

The Gilligan Institute was founded by a group of former senior members of the Gilligan administration and members of the Gilligan family to research the former Governor's career and conduct programs focusing on politics, government and public service. Gilligan's term as Governor was highlighted by a major overhaul of Ohio's funding system for education as well as significant reforms in areas including environmental protection, corrections, mental health and mental retardation. The Institute is an Ohio non-profit corporation.

The Gilligan Institute has applied to be a 501c3 nonprofit corporation established to promote political research and discussion in Ohio. Donations will be tax deductible. Corporate contributions are acceptable.

Proceeds from the event will underwrite the cost of a biography of Gilligan, commissioned by the Gilligan Institute and authored by Mark Bernstein, a Washington, D.C.-based writer who has written biographies of the Wright Brothers and famed Ohio entrepreneurs Charles Kettering and John H. Patterson. Bernstein has also written numerous newspaper and magazine articles, many of them with Ohio historical themes.