This conference and the day-to-day smooth running of the journal couldn't be accomplished without the editorial team at the BIS and the Board of Governors as well as Kommaly Dias and Grace Chuan from my staff.
And, finally, a big thank you to my adviser Jane Ihrig, who does so much for me and who worked very, very hard to oversee the process at IJCB for this past year. And with that, I will step away from the microphone and put the spotlight where it should be, on the scholars presenting their work today.