Her West Virginia childhood might have some bearing on her interest in the paranormal. Sheppard is "Black Dutch," meaning she is descended from the less than 850 Shawnee Indians who remained east of the Mississippi River after the other Shawnee (during the "Trial of Tears" removal) were forced onto reservations out west in the 1830s. Susan, along with others in the Friend family, is a direct descendent of Shawnee Chief Big Thunder through his daughter, Bright Lightning, whose name was anglicized to "Anna Friend."

Susan grew up just a few hills away from the first sighting of the famous West Virginia Mothman. It was during this time that Sheppard's family home underwent a great deal of paranormal activity sparking her interest in the unknown while tapping into her natural psychic talents. However, Sheppard has had direct communications with spirits of her Native American ancestors since around age four when she met the ghosts of two Indian braves on the hillside above her grandparent's house in broad daylight. Though very small, she understood the braves to be both her ancestors and her guides. Ms. Sheppard's adolescence was spent partly doing psychic readings along with school work and sometimes working with local law enforcement on missing person cases. She later grew up with the aspirations of becoming a published author and an artist, both of which she achieved. Sheppard has authored a number of popular books which are sold worldwide and has continued with her art in many venues. Her poetry alone has won many prestigious awards.

Susan has never strayed from her interests in the spirit world and has continued to work in the field as a medium, as well as a practicing astrologer. In the last few years she has worked primarily as a psychic medium and a paranormal investigator on various ghost hunts and investigations. She also leads seances, does clearings and performs platform style readings before the public for which she is the most famous in her area.

Last year, Susan was featured on the ABC Family Channel's popular show "Scariest Places on Earth" as a psychic medium at the Shawnee Amusement Park in Bluefield, West Virginia. She has previously taught "Be Your Own Psychic" classes at the Self-Health & Awareness Center and continues appear before audiences and live television as a psychic medium.

Not only is Susan an exceptional psychic, she is knowledgeable in the field of the unknown. She remains up-to-date on the latest developments in research concerning the paranormal. Contact her at sheppard@wirefire.com.

Dan Mewhinney is the founder of the Southern California Paranormal Research Society. He has been aware of the paranormal since he was a young child. He has a keen sensitivity to natural and spirit based energy. He is also considered an EVP magnet and records an astounding number of class A EVP's. He tends to have no fear when dealing with the paranormal. Instead he respects it and treats it as an equal counterpart. Dan had the idea a year ago of starting a support group for those who are sensitive and dealing with paranormal problems. This group is "The Southern California Paranormal Research Subjects". With the future success of SOCALPRS, we can be better equipped to assist those in need of help as an official extension of the Southern California Paranormal Research Society. Dan is the audio/video/EVP specialist for SOCALPRS. He and Sandi were wed in August of 2007.

Matt is also the founder of United Paranormal, which is a coalition of paranormal groups, enthusiasts, and psychics united as a coalition to help improve the paranormal community. United Paranormal consists of teams across the East Coast such as LIGHT Paranormal Research, NYGHT Paranormal, The Paranormal Investigators, The Eastern Paranormal Research Society, as well as independent investigators like Chris Griffith. LIGHT currently has their very own radio show called Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Radio. The show has listeners from all over the country and other countries such as Australia and England, giving it a World Wide audience. The Long Island Ghost Hunting Team is proud to contribute, educate, and serve the paranormal community.

The Eastern Paranormal Research Society was founded in September of 2006. Based out of Southeastern Pennsylvania, they cover a wide area including southern New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and northern Virginia. They conduct their paranormal investigations using an objective approach and by following scientific methods. The main goal of E.P.R.S. is to understand more about the world around them, as well as to help those who are experiencing paranormal phenomenon.

His area of concentration deals with the scientific explanation of paranormal activity as it relates to quantum science and thermodynamics. Joey’s personal approach to paranormal investigations focuses on the human aspect...which is the importance of managing the investigation process from the human (client) perspective...as an integral part of the overall investigation. Investigators who are successful at understanding, accepting, and working with the emotional, physical, psychological, and religious needs of the client will be far more effective at resolving paranormal issues. Clients need to feel that they are just as important to the success of an investigation as any evidence obtained, and they need to be coached and empowered by the paranormal team to help them regain control of their lives.

Joey is currently active as a guest on Internet and FM paranormal radio across the U.S., having appeared on over 30 radio shows across the United States, Canada, and the UK. He has also been a guest speaker at conventions such as Ghostock in Savannah and OmegaCon in Birmingham, Alabama. His other interests include acting as the Georgia representative for the International Paranormal Investigators Network. His investigative team is working on filming a local cable paranormal series, and he is also currently working on his first book on the paranormal, which will be available to the public sometime around the beginning of 2009.

Jonathan is a co-business owner with expertise in computer programming, electronics and a certified private investigator with a security background. He has been having experiences with the paranormal since he was a child.

Michael is an EMT who also is a certified private investigator with a background in religion and security. He has also been experiencing the paranormal from a young age.

Stephanie Powell is the newest member of the team. She is the sensitive of the group and has been able to sense the presence of spirits since she was 8 years old. Although she became interested in investigating the paranormal in the past 10 years, she has had years of experience sensing and communicating with those that have already passed. She is an aspiring photographer, artist, and published poet. She has a background in the mystical arts and in psychology.

Each of the team members brings a different perspective to an investigation with each one wanting to come to the same conclusion. They hope to help those that seek their insight and be able to provide the homeowner or business owner with evidence that is true and accurate. Our team prides itself in having a self-satisfaction for broadening our already wide knowledge base. If we do not know an answer to a question we will research it until we find it.

In late 2007, WWPRC upgraded its website to include more functionality and more databases. These upgrades included user accounts, a database of investigative groups and organizations, a new data archive, a database of locations with known paranormal activity, an interviews page, and a page for listing articles published by members of WWPRC and researchers using WWPRC's data.

Joab has always been very interested in the paranormal and he recently has used the economic way of thinking to develop a theory regarding the behavior of ghosts and their impact on living entities.

Jess has spent the last two years in a private university studying psychology and recently changed her life path and is now a full-time cosmology student. With a background in psychology, Jess stresses the importance of dreams in the spiritual world and the strong bridge between the two.

Anthony likes to stress the methodology of communication with spirits and explore different methods of handling unwanted spirits. He also enjoys researching different types of divination. His choice method of divination is tarot, which he will be offering at the conference.