2011 turned out to be a banner year for Jose Rene “J.R.” Martinez. Not only did he and his dance partner Karina Smirnoff take ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” season 13 coveted mirror ball trophy, he was also named the 2012 Tournament of Roses Grand Marshal. He is an actor, spokesman and retired soldier. Martinez played “Brot Monroe” on the Emmy Award-winning daytime drama “All My Children.”

After high school he joined the army. Martinez was proud to serve, as a way to give something back to a country that had already given so much to him and his family. In March 2003, Martinez was deployed to Iraq, and on April 5, less than a month into his deployment, he was serving as a driver of a Humvee in Karbala when his left front tire hit a landmine. Three other soldiers with Martinez were ejected from the burning vehicle, but he was trapped inside and suffered smoke inhalation and severe burns to more than 40 percent of his body. Martinez travels the country to spread his message of resilience and optimism. He devotes himself to showing others the true value in making the most of every situation.

For more than two decades, Holly Robinson Peete has been a television star with high-profile roles that cross over between comedy and drama. Snagging her first acting gig on the awardwinning children’s show “Sesame Street” at the age of four, she knew her heart belonged to showbiz at an early age but opted to place her education first.

Married for 13 years to former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete, she became an author with her book Get Your Own Damn Beer, I’m Watching the Game: A Woman’s Guide to Loving Pro Football.

Peete believes profoundly in the power of philanthropy and lives by the motto, “Service is the rent you pay for living.” In 1996, the Peetes formed a nonprofit, the HollyRod Foundation, with a mission to help improve the quality of life of people plagued with devastating life circumstances. HollyRod has expanded its mission recently with the formation of HollyRod4Kids which benefits many children’s causes, focusing on improving the quality of life of the children of the Gulf Coast post-Katrina, Kenya and South Africa.

She has received numerous awards and honors for her most recent philanthropic deeds, including the 2005 Girls, Inc. Mentor Award; and the 2006 A Place Called Home Humanitarian Award.

Eric C. Peterson, MSOD is a Senior Consultant with Cook Ross Inc. He is a recognized facilitator and educator in the Diversity & Inclusion space with over 15 years of experience in Unconscious Bias, Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), Learning Strategies, and Organization Development. Eric is certified in the use of both the Predictive Index and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and is a graduate of the Facilitation Learning Partners Program of Healing the Heart of Diversity. He has been published in Profiles in Diversity Journal and Echelon Magazine, and has been sourced as a D&I expert by CNN, National Public Radio, USA Today, The Bloomberg Group, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Los Angeles Times.