Tectonic Theater Project
On 6 October 1998 Matthew Shepard was beaten and left to die tied to a fence in the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. He died 6 days later. His torture and murder became a watershed historical moment in America that highlighted many of the fault lines in our culture.
A month after the murder the members of Tectonic Theater Project traveled to Laramie and conducted interviews with the people of the town. From these interviews they wrote the play "The Laramie Project". The piece has been seen by more than 30 million people around the country.
Matthew O. Howard
Matthew Owen Howard (July 21, 1956 – December 15, 2018) was the Frank A. Daniels Distinguished Professor for Human Services Policy Information in the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was also the Associate Dean for Doctoral Education. He was a renowned expert in substance use disorders, particularly inhalant abuse, inert gas asphyxiation, and alcohol dependence among youths. Howard authored nearly 400 publications, which includes more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, book reviews, editorials, government reports, and abstracts. In 2010, he was inducted as a member and fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. Howard was recognized in 2016 as among the "top 40 social work researchers in the United States who contributed a 'high impact' on social and health issues".