James A. Autry, a former Fortune 500 executive, is an author, poet, and consultant whose work has had a significant influence on leadership thinking. He is the author of thirteen books, and his writings have appeared in many anthologies and magazines. Autry received considerable national attention when he was one of the poets featured in Bill Moyers’ special 1989 series, The Power of the Word, on PBS, and in Moyers’ 1995 book, The Language of Life. In 2012 Autry appeared on Moyers & Company on PBS, and his work has been featured on Garrison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac on National Public Radio. Autry serves on the national advisory board of Poets & Writers, Inc., and was a founder of the Des Moines National Poetry Festival. He holds four honorary degrees and is the recipient of a lifetime achievement award for service to the humanities from the Iowa Humanities Board. Autry lives in Des Moines, Iowa, with his wife, former lieutenant governor of Iowa Sally Pederson, and their thirty-four-year-old son. He has two sons by a previous marriage and is a grandfather of two.

Rick Autry has been a lawyer working for the state of Iowa for more than thirty years. For seventeen years he was an Iowa assistant attorney general representing the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. He is a frequent speaker on employment law at legal seminars and author of Word Origins for Lawyers, published by the American Bar Association. He and his wife, Lyn, have been married for thirty-five years. Their two sons have graduated college and are both pursuing post-graduate education.