The international annual Bridges conference exploring Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, Architecture, Education and Culture was founded by Reza Sarhangi (1952-2016) in 1998 at a private liberal arts college in Kansas, Southwestern College. It is an annual conference, which has provided a remarkable multi-disciplinary model of collaboration between mathematics, arts and other cultural activities. The genuine efforts of many founding members of this organization provided an inspirational model throughout the past 20 years that has shaped the Bridges into one of the premier interdisciplinary conferences in the world. The conference has travelled across North America to Europe, and Asia, and hosts participants from dozens of countries around the world.