Patrick is a counseling psychologist with an interest in help-seeking behaviors, positive psychology, and psychological measurement. His recent research focused on how social and cultural factors (e.g., stigma, gender role expectations) serve as barriers to seeking out mental health care, and how positive psychological factors (e.g., self-compassion, self-affirmation) could promote seeking help. Recently, Patrick has been working on the development of brief interventions that could reduce the impact of help-seeking barriers. In addition to this work, Patrick examines the reliability and validity of psychological measures across cultures to ensure that these measures can be used in cross-cultural research. Patrick utilizes advanced statistical methodology to examine these topics, like structural equation modeling and measurement invariance testing.

Peg O’Connor is the author of the forthcoming book on addiction and recovery titled, Recovering Character: Knowing How to Belong to Yourself. She is the author of three other books on addiction including Higher and Friendly Powers: Transforming Addiction and Suffering (Wildhouse Publishing, 2022), Life on the Rocks: Finding Meaning in Addiction and Recovery (Central Recovery Press, 2016), and The SoberPhilosopher Workbook for Exploring Addiction and Creating Recovery (Wildhouse Publishing, 2023). 

O’Connor is the author of the popular blog series, Philosophy Stirred, Not Shaken. The title of the series is a wink and nod to martinis. She has written opinion pieces for The New York Times, The Minnesota Star Tribune, USA Today, The Daily Herald, and Dallas Morning Herald. O’Connor has appeared on numerous television, radio, and podcast programs and has been quoted as an expert in publications ranging from The New York Times to Cosmo.

Phala Tracy has been on the Gustavus Adolphus music faculty since 2004. In addition to teaching at Gustavus, Phala also teaches at Studio Fidicina in Minneapolis, MN and at summer Suzuki institutes across the U.S. and Canada as a clinician and Suzuki harp teacher trainer. She has developed a curriculum of Music Theory in Song and Rhyme as well as a collection of Songs for Sight Reading for harp students. She is an active arranger, composer, improviser and performer in the Twin Cities where she plays with Matt Wilson and His Orchestra, Follow the Firefly and The Dust of Suns. BM Oberlin Conservatory of Music, MFA California Institute of the Arts.

Phillip Voight is the Director of the Nobel Conference and teaches courses in new media, reality television, documentary film, argumentation studies, communication research methods and genocide studies. He is the former speech and debate coach and is a member of the Pi Kappa Delta Hall of Fame. He has also served on a number of non-profit Boards, including the GLCAC (Gay Lesbian Community Action Council, Philanthrofund, Outfront Minnesota, the South Saint Paul Educational Foundation, and Pi Kappa Delta.) He is also an avid traveler and has taken more than 175 trips abroad.