Mark Birnbaum's documentary credits include films for The Discovery Channel and public television, and a prestigious Peabody Award. His most recent productions include ¡Salsa Caliente!, Polar Opposites, The Faithful Revolution: Vatican II (a five-hour series for PBS), Of Two Minds; Las Mujeres del Valle, and The Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta. He is currently developing three projects, Before the Fall: Riding the Wave of Cuban Art, an untitled biopic on blues great Howlin' Wolf, and seven short films for a new, state-of-the-art museum of Dallas history. Birnbaum, a Baltimore native, lives in Dallas.
Jim Schermbeck has been a community organizer in Texas since 1977, working with Public Citizen and the National Toxics Campaign. From 1996-99, he was Executive Director of Downwinders at Risk, and has written and produced several short films, including Danger Downwind, on the environmental and health risks of burning hazardous waste in cement plants. He is a Fort Worth native and currently lives in Slaton, Texas.