Luis J. Rodriguez is the author of fourteen books in poetry, children's literature, fiction, and nonfiction, including the bestselling memoir "Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A." He's cofounder of Tia Chucha's Centro Cultural and Bookstore in the San Fernando Valley, founder/editor of Tia Chucha Press, and founder of Barking Rooster Entertainment. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Fox News Latino, National Public Radio's Latino USA, U.S. News & World Report, Grand Street, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer magazine, The Nation, the Progressive, and the Huffington Post, among others. His latest book is the sequel to "Always Running," entitled "It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing" (Touchstone Books/Simon & Schuster).

Benita Tsao, Program Coordinator at Prevention Institute, works on initiatives that prevent violence and promote safety and health equity. She primarily supports Urban Networks to Increase Thriving Youth (UNITY) and helps develop training tools for organizations and communities to effectively prevent violence before it happens. Prior to joining Prevention Institute in 2010, Benita oversaw communications for the Asian Pacific Fund, a San Francisco Bay Area community foundation. She has coordinated youth programs and public education projects, and she contributed to the award-winning disaster preparedness handbook Protecting Your Family From Earthquakes, which is available in five languages. Benita is a certified HIV test counselor and interned with the Los Angeles County Immunization Program. She earned a master's degree in community health sciences at the UCLA School of Public Health, and received her bachelor's degree in sociology from UC Berkeley.