Speaker Bios

Anthony Brown, II is an associate and Junior Banker with J.P. Morgan’s Long Island Private Bank, serving as a relationship manager for high net worth individuals, families and primarily foundations.

In March 2013, Anthony donated his kidney to his mother, and now travels the country speaking with the American Kidney Fund on the topics of preventative health and donor advocacy.

Originally from Queens, New York, Anthony holds a business degree in finance from Florida A&M University. Brown’s corporate path began when he interned with Procter & Gamble in their corporate sales division in the summer of 2008. He successfully completed the Sponsor’s for Educational Opportunity summer internship program in 2009, and received the offer to join J.P. Morgan as an analyst. Brown was a top performing analyst in the Private Bank’s global analyst program. He successfully completed the three year program in the summer of 2013, and was promoted to associate immediately after.

Anthony also sits on the Leadership Council of both Leadership Foundations, and LeaderComm Foundation. He is also a Founding Board Member of Distinguished Young Gentlemen of America.

Bill Beattie is founder and chairman of Jericho Partnership, Inc. Raised by his mother in North Philadelphia, he was an at-risk city kid mentored by his youth pastor and his high school chemistry teacher. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord at 16.

Following a profound personal experience in 1996, he sensed a calling to serve God among the at-risk youth of his community. He founded Pathways Danbury, which enlists men from several metro-Danbury, Conn. urban and suburban churches to mentor at-risk boys (www.pathwaysdanbury.org). Currently, 50 boys are in the program. Since the founding of Pathways Danbury, about 80 percent of the boys have graduated from high school, and 80 percent of those have gone on to college. In 2005, Bill felt called to assist other Christian agencies serving the Danbury community, and founded Jericho Partnership to serve the youth, homeless and other at-risk populations of Danbury.

Bill majored in metallurgical engineering at Lehigh University, and was awarded an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. He worked for Union Carbide Corp. in various marketing and management positions in the United States and South Africa until 1986, when he formed and became chief executive officer of Strategic Minerals Corp., a privately-owned mining and metals company headquartered in Danbury. He sold his interests in the company in 2006 to the Evraz Group, a Russian steel producer.

Bill and his wife, Kathie, have been married for more than 50 years. They have three children and seven grandchildren. He is a member of the Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, Conn., where he serves on the elder board.

Bill Blezard is a bootstrap entrepreneur who founded Packaging Technology Group, Inc. in 2005.  Today, PTG is a “Kingdom” class developer of thermally engineered, transport packaging solutions for the biotech and biopharmaceutical industries.  PTG is a Christian faith-based company with its core values centered on faith, relationships, courage, and creativity.  The company strives to honor God in the marketplace, holding to biblical values, and impact its employees, vendors, customers, and community.

Prior to founding PTG, Bill served in various sales and leadership roles at Packaging Products Corporation and Source Packaging.

Bill’s crown jewel is his family. He has been married to his wife Lynne for over 25 years and is the father of three wonderful children, Julie 23, Jacob 21 and Jared 18 (who has special needs).  He was happy to serve the community as coach of his children’s soccer and baseball teams for five years.  A devout Christian, Bill has served in several capacities; Youth Pastor, Elder, Small Group leader and has been an invited speaker at both Full Gospel Businessmen’s events and church sponsored men’s leadership events.  Additionally, Bill was a part of the “Nursing Home Outreach” and as a lay minister, offered Sunday service at local nursing homes.

A native New Englander, Bill received his high school diploma from St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont and his BA in Communication from University of Rhode Island.  Bill, a former collegiate rugby player, enjoys boating, fishing and the outdoors. He holds his 50 Ton USCG Captains License and spends much of his free time in the summer with family and friends on the water.

Bill is a member of the national Christian business Owners and CEO organization, C12. Bill served as a Troop Chaplain for BSA Troop 53, Mattapoisett and has served on the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, Narragansett Council, since 2014.

Bill Butterworth’s extraordinary ability to blend humor, story-telling, wisdom and practicality has made him one of the most sought after speakers in venues throughout North America. Through his wit, warmth, insight, and realism, he brings help and hope to his audiences everywhere.

Bill taught at the college level for thirteen years and was a counselor for six years prior to his current passion for motivating men and women in the workplace. Because of his remarkable abilities, Bill was awarded The Hal Holbrook Award by the International Platform Association, whose past and present members include Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt, Bob Hope, and Elizabeth Dole. They consider him one of the select few to be named a Top Rated Speaker.

Since 1988, Bill has traveled full time speaking to hundreds of audiences as small as 18 and as large as 18,000. Including to many Fortune 500 clients.

Plus, Bill has addressed 26 teams in the National Football League, as well as over a dozen teams in Major League Baseball. Bill’s complete client list reads like a Who’s Who of corporations, associations, educational agencies and professional sports teams.

In 2004, Bill established the Butterworth Communicators Institute to train men and women to find their speaking voice and raise their speaking ability to the next level. The overwhelmingly positive response to BCI has been gratifying as students maximize their skills through this intensive, yet intimate three day workshop.

In the writing world, Bill’s latest contribution is a series of business books with the overall title On The Fly. The first two books are called On The Fly Guide to Balancing Work and Life and On The Fly Guide to Building Successful Teams. They are being published by WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House. Besides the On The Fly series, Bill has written over a dozen books including The Promise of the Second Wind and When Life Doesn’t Turn Out Like You Planned.

Recently, Bob Buford launched a new web site (www.ACTIVEenergy.net) that has a free e-mail newsletter service. You can follow the link below to go straight to the sign up page: Sign up for the ACTIVEenergy.net Newsletter.

Until the sale of his company in July 1999, Bob Buford served as Chairman of the Board and CEO of Buford Television, Inc., a family owned business that started with a single ABC affiliate in Tyler, Texas, and grew to a network of cable systems across the country.

In 1995, Buford wrote Halftime, a book that came out of his mind and heart on how to find meaning fulfillment in the second half of our lives. Those who readHalftimeand Game Plan (published in 1997) often want to know more about the endeavors in which Bob Buford is involved as a result of his own “halftime” experience. Buford’s third book, Stuck in Halftime: Reinvesting Your One and Only Life, was released in April 2001.

What follows is a brief description of initiatives that reflect his interests both as an entrepreneur and someone wanting to make a difference through the application of his faith and resources under the general mission of transforming the latent energy of American Christianity into active energy.

Read more about the organizations Bob is involved with on some level. They are all involved with transforming the latent energy of American Christianity into active energy.

Leadership Network
Started in 1984, Leadership Network serves as a resource broker that supplies information to and connects leaders of innovative churches. The emerging new paradigm of the 21st century church calls for the development of new tools and resources as well as the equipping of a new type of 21st century church leader, both clergy and laity. Leadership Network serves the leadership teams of large churches, as well as leaders in the areas of lay mobilization, denominational leadership at the middle and regional judicatory level and the next generation of emerging young leaders.

Leadership Training Network
Believing that one of the hallmarks of a 21st century church is its engagement and deployment of the laity in ministry and mission, the Leadership Training Network (LTN) was created in 1995. It has as its purpose to identify, train, and provide an ongoing peer-coaching network for leaders of lay mobilization in local congregations. Through its training programs, materials and consultations, LTN is making a distinct contribution to the emerging 21st Century church.

The Peter F. Drucker Foundation (now known as Leader to Leader Institue)
In 1988, Dick Schubert, Frances Hesselbein and Bob Buford convinced Peter Drucker to lend his name, his great mind, and occasionally his presence to establish an operating foundation for the purpose of leading social sector organizations toward excellence in performance. Bob serves as the Founding Chairman of the Board of Governors. Through its conferences, publications and partnerships, The Drucker Foundation is helping social sector organizations focus on their mission, achieve true accountability, leverage innovation, and develop productive partnerships.

In the fall of 1999, several people agreed that it is vitally important to preserve the writings and management ideas of Peter Drucker for the future leaders of business and nonprofit organizations. In connection with Claremont Graduate University, Bob is serving as co-chairman of the board with Bill Pollard of ServiceMaster for the newly created Drucker Archives and Institute. Its first Executive Director is Nan Stone, former editor of the Harvard Business Review.

The Halftime Group
In 1998, Bob launched FaithWorks (name later changed to Halftime) to mobilize and equip high-capacity business/ professional leaders to convert their faith into action and effective results. The mission of Halftime is to develop strategy and resources to equip business/professional leaders to achieve maximum leverage and return on the investment of their time and resources measured in changed lives and healthier communities.

Halftime is taking on the challenge of joining two distinct cultures – those of the business/professional leaders and the nonprofit leaders – in partnerships at the local community level where the business/professional leader sees and touches the lives of the recipients the partnership services.

Bob is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and of the Owner Managed Program at the Harvard Business School. He has played active roles in Young Presidents’ Organization and World Presidents’ Organization and serves on the board of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard.

Bob and his wife, Linda, live in Dallas.

Dr. R. Bruce Bickel is the president and founder of Transformational Leadership Group, a company he formed in 2003 to train audiences in character-based leadership. As a dynamic, motivational speaker, Dr. Bickel is committed to transforming the way leaders can achieve both individual and organizational excellence.

Drawing from over 30 years of experience in the military, the marketplace and the ministry, Dr. Bickel presents internationally to a variety of industries on topics such as ethical leadership, team-building, change management and effective coaching.

In addition to his public speaking career, Dr. Bickel also serves as senior vice president and managing director of PNC’s Private Foundation Management Services, which is part of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. He actually designed and implemented this department in 2000, which offers counseling and administration to family foundations, now offered nationwide.

Known for his expertise in family counseling Dr. Bickel also serves as the company’s principal spokesperson on the subject of raising children of affluence. He is a regular guest on business television and radio networks, including CNBC and NPR, and is frequently quoted in national business publications, and newspapers, offering child-rearing advice to wealthy families.

Dr. Bickel is a 1966 graduate of the United States Naval Academy where he received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He received the 1966 Midshipman of the Year Award given by the Annapolis, Maryland Chamber of Commerce as well as the Thompson Trophy, given to the graduating senior who has done the most to promote intercollegiate athletics at the Naval Academy. In 2000, he was the recipient of the H. John Heinz Community Service Award for his work in the Pittsburgh area. He is also a contributing author of the book “The Power of Motivation” and the soon to be published “Blueprints for Success”.

Don Anderson was sworn in on September 14, 2019 as the 11th Chief of Police for the Darien Police Department.  Chief Anderson has been a member of the Darien Police Department since 1983, and prior to being sworn in as Chief, held the position of Captain of the Administrative Services Bureau. Anderson was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1999, Lieutenant in 2000, and Captain in 2013. He has also served as a member of the Detective Division and as a member of the Specialized Accident Investigation Team. Chief Anderson is a state-certified Motor Vehicle Accident Investigation Instructor. Anderson is also a graduate of the 245th session of the FBI National Academy. Chief Anderson holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Sacred Heart University and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Iona College. He is the son of the late Bruce M. Anderson, who also served as Darien’s Chief of Police from February 19, 1988 to July 3, 1993.

Daniel Buttafuoco is a prominent lawyer, collector of Biblical texts, speaker, philanthropist and NCS brudder.  Born in the 1950's, he was brought up in a Christian home of Ministers and Missionaries. With a family history rooted deeply in faith and spending most of his life defending people in a courtroom, it seemed only natural for Dan to pursue a Masters Degree in Theology.  Dan was a founding leader of NCS Western Suffolk on Long Island.

Dan was forever transformed with the acquisition of his very first ancient Bible, the 1560 Geneva. Founder of the Historical Bible Society, he is committed to the task of preserving ancient Biblical texts & manuscripts for both study and reference. To aid in this cause, Dan, founded Several organizations and campaigns: Historical Bible Society, YCL Scholarship (a $500,000 commitment to support the next generation of Christian professionals in every sector of society) and The Five Reasons: Bible Tour presenting the five reasons “Why the Bible is the most Important Book You’ll Ever Read.”

His own path eventually led him to become one of the most respected Personal Injury attorneys in the country as the founding and senior partner of Buttafuoco & Associates. To date, his firm has helped injured victims recover over $500 Million (with record settlements in the tristate area), was voted Best Lawyer several years in a row and received the prestigious Super Lawyer certificate (awarded to the countries top 5% attorneys).

He is a regular guest on many New York City radio stations, (WMCA, STAR 99.1, WLIX) as a legal authority, philanthropist and defender of the faith. Dan has toured the country with a traveling museum of preserved ancient Biblical texts & manuscripts with the mission of making the Word of God as accessible as possible to the people of God.

Dan received his B.A. from Hofstra University in 1978; his J.D. from Hofstra Law School in 1981 and his Masters degree in Theology from Alliance Theological Seminary n 2008.

Dan and his wife Cindi, have 3 daughters, one of whom is an Associate Attorney at Buttafuoco & Associates and the mother of triplets. Dan has five grandchildren.

Dave Blanchard is passionate about encouraging Christian-led entrepreneurship that has a positive impact on society. To this end, he co-founded and leads Praxis, which works to motivate, educate, and resource Christians to pursue redemptive entrepreneurship, to renew the spirit of the age. Each year, Praxis runs its flagship accelerator programs, equipping leaders from 24 early-stage businesses and nonprofits, as well as Praxis Academy, an undergraduate initiative that works with over 50 schools. Previously, Dave was a Principal Designer at innovation firm IDEO and founded two companies in music and technology. The author of From Concept to Scale, he's had the privilege of speaking at varied venues including The White House, Harvard, Q, and The Gathering. He has a BA from Babson College, an MBA & MEM from Northwestern, and lives in Manhattan, where he is part of Church of the City.

David Block is the Founder & CEO of Previnex, a preventive healthcare company that manufactures and distributes pharmaceutical grade, clinically tested nutritional supplements and meal replacement products. The company's corporate mission is to change healthcare through prevention, and Previnex helps healthcare professionals implement turnkey health and wellness programs that tangibly benefit patient/client health.

Prior to Previnex, David was a hedge fund manager and Wall Street research analyst covering the Health & Wellness Industry, where he was named on of the top stock pickers in America by The Wall Street Journal and Forbes magazine. David has appeared in numerous financial publications for his expertise in the Health & Wellness Industry, including The Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, Business Week, Forbes, and Barron's.

David attended UCLA, where he was a scholarship athlete, and received a law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law, where he was a Fellow and Founding Student Board Member of the Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law.

Denis Beausejour has served as the senior pastor of Mariemont Community Churchsince 2004. A native of Canada, Denis graduated from Queen’s University School of Business in 1978. He then spent 22 years in marketing and executive positions with the Procter & Gamble Company. This included assignments in Toronto, Sydney Australia, Kobe Japan, Hong Kong China, and most recently in Cincinnati as the company’s global vice president of marketing.

In 2000 Denis left P&G to pursue a call into ministry. He is a graduate of Trinity Seminary and has served in various local church and ministry assignments, including three years leading the ministry of Dr. Henry Cloud with Campus Crusade for Christ. Denis lives in Cincinnati with his wife, Marianne, and their four children.

Dick Bernal is a refreshing voice on the scene of contemporary Christian ministry. He is the Founder and Senior Pastor of Jubilee Christian Center in San Jose, California, a church of nearly 12,000 members from all nationalities and backgrounds.
Jubilee Christian Center is now implementing the G12 Vision, which trains, equips, and releases believers into their calling in God through the Ladder of Success.
Dick Bernal is a popular conference speaker in the United States and abroad. He is also an Advisory Member of Dr. David Yonggi Cho’s Church Growth International, the world’s largest church with 800,000 members.

Pastor Bernal is also a noted author. As a recognized expert and leading authority on spiritual warfare and city taking, he’s written several books on the subject.“Storming Hells Brazen Gates” helped sparked the great ongoing revival in Pensacola, Florida. “America Spiritually Mapped” provides keen insights on spiritual mapping and helps believers identify the wiles of the enemy. “When Lucifer and Jezebel Visit Your Church” is a first-hand account in dealing with the two most dangerous spirits in the church, Lucifer and Jezebel. It is a shocking expose of Satan’s tactics to diffuse the power of leadership. Other titles on spiritual warfare include “Curses” and “Come Down Dark Prince.”

Pastor Bernal has written several other books including “Don’t Stop! Go Ahead!”which challenges every Christian to live a more successful Christian life and gives them the tools to do it. His book “Lifting Him Up” was co-authored with world-renowned worship leader Ron Kenoly on the interaction between pastors and worship leaders. His own pilgrim’s progress was put into print in the book “Kingdom Journey.”

Pastor Bernal has become a seasoned minister, spending over two decades pastoring, training ministers, and reaching nations through media and missions work. He is a remarkably gifted teacher who has the ability to lead people through the truths and mysteries of the Bible with incisive clarity. His messages are punctuated with humorous anecdotes and is known for his down-to-earth style that allows him to connect with people and speak life-changing truths into their lives.

Admiral Allen’s first career was in the U.S. Navy and he achieved the rank of Rear Admiral. He led six operational commands: an F-14 Squadron, a Carrier Air Wing, an Amphibious Assault ship, an Attack Aircraft Carrier, Naval Space Command and a Carrier Battle Group/Commander NATO Strike Force. He served on the Navy Staff, the Joint Chiefs Staff and the Space/Naval Warfare Systems Command. Ed has a Master’s Degree in International Relations, graduated from the National War College, the Senior Officers Material Readiness Course and completed Graduate Business studies in Information Technology. He was awarded the United States Navy League John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership and the Tailhooker of the Year Award. As a Naval Flight Officer, he accumulated over 3,300 flight hours, and 1285 arrested landings in 9 different types of aircraft.

As a Vice President Business Development for the Oracle Corporation, Ed focused on eBusiness solutions for Department of Defense Agencies, Navy/Marine Corps and Public Sector Health. He was also responsible for Oracle’s Leadership and Executive Coaching initiative.

Ed’s coaching clients include: Oracle, Northrop Grumman, Grant Thornton, Stanley Associates, Hawker Beechcraft Corp, Celanese Corp, CACI Corp, Alliance Systems, a former U.S. Senator and Defense Department civilian and military leaders. He is an Adjunct Professor University of Texas-Dallas Graduate School of Management, a Buford Foundation-Halftime Institute-Leadership Network Consultant and devotes a significant portion of his coaching practice to non-profit organizations.

He serves as Vice Chairman of the Board and Regional Director for Cherry Financial Partners, Inc. and as a Board Member of Xtreme Oil & Gas Corp.

Henry T. Blackaby is president of Blackaby Ministries International, an organization he founded in order to help people experience God.

Born in British Columbia, Dr. Blackaby has devoted his lifetime to ministry. He has served as a music director, education director, and pastor in churches in California and Canada, as well as president of Canadian Baptist Theological College for seven years and president of the Canadian Southern Baptist Conference. He has provided leadership to thousands of pastors and laymen across North America and has spoken to missionaries and other groups in over ninety countries of the world.

Blackaby studied English and history at the University of British Columbia as an undergraduate and earned his B.D. and Th.M. from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds four honorary doctorate degrees.

In 1970, Dr. Blackaby followed God’s call to pastor a tiny church in Saskatoon, Canada. Not only did Faith Baptist Church grow to many times its original membership, but it led to the founding of thirty-eight new churches and became a center for pastoral training.

Dr. Blackaby went on to serve on staff at the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through the Home Mission Board, he led revival and spiritual awakening in the life of the convention. He also served as special assistant to the presidents of the International Mission Board and LifeWay Christian Resources. Although he is now officially retired, Dr. Blackaby continues to provide consultative leadership in the life of the Christian community.

Blackaby has published an array of spiritually influential messages in his lifetime, most notably Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God(1990), which has sold 4 million copies and has been translated into over 45 languages. His books,Experiencing God Together and Experiencing God Day by Day Devotional, both won the Gold Medallion Award.

Henry lives with his wife, Marilynn, in Rex, Georgia. He has five children (Richard, Tom, Melvin, Norman, and Carrie), all of whom are serving in Christian ministry, and fourteen grandchildren. His long-range goal is to encourage revival and spiritual awakening in the United States, Canada, and across the world through speaking, praying, enlisting, writing and mentoring. His hobbies are reading and traveling.

J. Kevin Butcher has been a member of NCS Grosse Pointe and was a lead pastor for 35 years in three very different kinds of churches and communities. First – a small rural church – then an urban/suburban church that became quite large – and finally, a very diverse, urban church located in a tough, gritty Detroit neighborhood.  He now serves as the Executive Director of Rooted Ministries (www.rootedministries.co)

Kevin is passionate about helping believers live in authentic community — across racial, socioeconomic and all lines of division — learning to truly love one another in the chaos of real relationships, learning to celebrate our differences, learning to stay together even when we don't like one another – so that the world will see a living picture of Jesus Christ.

Kevin also is passionate about helping believers find freedom from childhood wounds — the ones that often keep us trapped, living addictively and in deep dysfunction – unable to experience true freedom in Christ.

He has written numerous articles and shared the message of the Father's love in twelve different countries.  Kevin is the author of the recently-published book Free: Rescued from Shame-Based Religion, Released Into the Life-Giving Love of Jesus.

Kevin now lives in Colorado and has been married to his best friend Carla for thirty-eight years.  They love their three grown daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren.

James Anderson joined the New Canaan Society as President in 2015. Prior to this he worked in the Office of the President at Focus on the Family in Public Affairs and Donor Relations, handling the West Coast.

James comes from an entrepreneur background after a career selling high-end real estate in Los Angeles for 10 years. James spent 5 years with Coldwell Banker before leaving to found the Pacific Luxury Group with Keller Williams. While there he earned the Quadruple Platinum Sales Award in four consecutive years as well as national awards from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing for his innovations in sales marketing. Anderson then became a founding partner in the Malibu/Pacific Palisades office.

As the Director of Operations for Lakeshore Entertainment, an independent film production company based at Paramount Pictures, James was involved in many films, including Runaway Bride, Arlington Road and Million Dollar Baby. James left Lakeshore after having scripts optioned by Paramount and New Line Cinema before going on to direct Hometown Legend, a $2 million dollar film sold to Warner Brothers.

Anderson’s life changed in 2010. “I crashed my life with some terrible personal choices. I had an out of control ego, was materialistic and narcissistic, and nothing was ever enough. I was empty.I am a man who has seen his own life radically transformed by Grace . . . I was rescued by a Jesus I did not know before, and He is redeeming my story.”

James attended Biola University and USC in Los Angeles, California, studying Screenwriting, Film Directing, and Marketing. He and his wife Carrie have been married for 17 years and have 2 daughters, Charlie Mae (7) and Lucy (5).

James is especially obsessive about golf and fly-fishing right now. He also loves to oil paint and is a voracious reader.

Jeff Beacham is the founder and director of FIREPOWER MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL (FMI), an evangelistic association founded in Australia at THE HILLSONG CHURCH (a.k.a. Sydney Christian Life Centre) in 1989 and based in America since 1999.

FMI is committed to seeing spiritual transformation through media ministries, evangelistic initiatives and leadership conferences, focusing on imparting a greater passion for Christ into the Church, and to see leaders encouraged and developed according to the model of Ephesians 4:11-12 — “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

As well as conducting an itinerant ministry, Jeff is also the chairman of the Regional Leadership Council for THE CITY COVENANT COALITION, a network of key ministries in NEW YORK CITY, and is also a member of the executive council for FAITH ALLIANCE, a statewide network of ministries in New Jersey.

He acts as a consultant to many churches and ministries concerning leadership issues, staff relationships, ethics, organization and conflict resolution. He also serves on the leadership team of The Church Of Grace and Peace, Toms River NJ (the USA base for FMI) as the overseer of Missions, Church Planting and Evangelism.

Jeff writes regularly for several Christian publications around the world and publishes a monthly e-zine called The FMI Report that goes out to approximately 5000 people in 25 countries.

John Lawrence Allen commenced his profession as a prosecutor in the Los Angeles District Attorneys Office where he quickly established a reputation as a highly skilled litigator prosecuting complex white collar crimes. Mr. Allen served in the Trash Detail as a special prosecutor against the Southeast Los Angeles gangs, the Crips and the Brims. Trash (total resources against southeast hoodlums) was a controversial program that became the centerpiece of the movie Colors. After leaving the District Attorneys Office, Mr. Allen specialized in real estate, business and entertainment law representing television actors, feature film producers and real estate companies. Among the many noteworthy cases Mr. Allen tried were Hilton VS Sheraton, an antitrust case in the Hawaiian Islands and Star Trek VS Paramount in which he represented the original cast of the iconic television and feature film franchise.
After leaving the practice of law, Mr. Allen started a private fund where he pioneered program trading devising a hedging and risk arbitrage system for the S&P 500 Stock Index futures market. Mr. Allen created a software program linking exchange floors with a proprietary trading program prior to the invention of the personal computer. After several highly successful years, Mr. Allen was recruited to manage his trading program for Shearson American Express. After a decade working in the investment community, Mr. Allen returned to the practice of law specializing in securities arbitration involving securities regulation, broker/dealer fraud, securities fraud, customer complaints and employment law.

Mr. Allen was asked to assist the United States Permanent Select Committee on Investigations of micro-capital stock fraud and senior abuse in 1996 and also served as Chairman of the Joint Committee of the State Bar of California and the Royal Courts of Justice for England and Wales. He has served on various National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) forums on procedural reform, seminar speaker and panel member for the NASD, Arbitration Chairman before the American Arbitration Association and is a frequent speaker before professional and lay audiences on recognizing and preventing investment fraud. Mr. Allen has been called upon to provide expert commentary for print and electronic media and has received frequent coverage of high profile cases in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Business Week, Barron Magazine, CNN, CNBC, NBC Evening News, ABC World News Tonight, Blumberg, National Public Radio and other television and radio programs. Mr. Allen is author of Investor Beware published by John Wiley & Sons, wrote a monthly column on investment fraud for Physician Money Digest and was a contributing author for the Practicing Law Institute.

Mr. Allen and his wife of over 30 years raised two children and currently reside in New Canaan, CT. Mr. Allen serves in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary and the New Canaan Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

John D. Beckett was born and grew up in Elyria, Ohio, the oldest of three children. After attending public schools in Elyria, he graduated from M.I.T. in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics & Mechanical Engineering. Following graduation he worked as an engineer in the aerospace industry.

He joined his father in a small family-owned manufacturing business in 1963, becoming president in 1965 upon the death of his father. He is now chairman of the company, and has helped guide the business to worldwide leadership in the manufacture and sales of engineered components for residential and commercial heating. The company, with its affiliates, currently has sales exceeding $100 million, with more than 600 employees.

Mr. Beckett has long been active in both church and community-related activities. He helped found Intercessors For America, a national prayer organization, in 1973 and continues to serve as its Board Chairman. He is a founding board member of The King’s College in New York City and serves on the board of Campus Crusade for Christ International.

His first book, Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul, was published in 1998 by InterVarsity Press. The book is Mr. Beckett’s account of how he has sought to practically integrate his faith and his work. It is currently available in 16 languages. Mr. Beckett’s second book, Mastering Monday: A Practical Guide to Integrating Faith and Work, was released in July 2006.

Mr. Beckett received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Spring Arbor University in 2002 and The King’s College in 2008. He has been named “Christian Businessman of the Year” by the Christian Broadcasting network (1999) and manufacturing “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young (2003.)

Mr. Beckett resides in Elyria, Ohio with his wife, Wendy, to whom he has been married since 1961. They have six children and sixteen grandchildren.

In his first fifteen years of ministry, John Bell worked with Chosen People Ministries as a missionary, evangelist, Regional Director and Vice President. In 1989, he became the senior pastor of Grace Pointe Church (formerly Naperville Bible Church). Grace Pointe Church has campuses in Naperville and Plainfield, Illinois. In addition to overseeing and teaching at Grace Pointe, John has a passion for “helping men be better men.” He leads a men’s ministry in the church (BraveHearts) as well as a resource ministry for men around the world (Pinnacle Men’s Ministry).

John has been married to Linda for 33 years. They have four grown children, a daughter-in-law, son-in-law and three grandchildren.

John Bishop is a 1965 graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy and a former Captain in the United States Marine Corps, having served with the 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam and later in Okinawa.

Since leaving active duty, John has had a successful career in the sales, marketing, and insurance industries. He was Senior Vice President for Institutional Sales at CNL Institutional Advisors, Inc., capping a career with the firm that spanned 23 years, from 1982 through 2005.

From 2005-2007 he worked as a consultant providing real estate investment advise to institutional investors. John’s focus since 2007 had been directed toward helping people gain a better understanding of the relationship they are intended to have with their work and their money.

In 2012 he joined the Sales and Marketing Team of Silver Portal Capital. SPC has specialized in raising capital for large real estate Funds and merchant banking for the real estate industry. Then in 2016 he moved to Colorado Financial Services Corporation in order to expand the number and types of products he could make available to clients.

His current focus is providing educational awareness to financial professionals on the unique benefits of Delaware Statutory Trusts as part of a 1031 Like Kind Exchange transaction.

More recently John has developed a strategy that utilizes the benefits of Delaware Statutory Trusts and 1031 Like Kind Exchanges as a way to increase philanthropy.

Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft serves as Distinguished Professor of Law and Government at Regent University. Ashcroft served as attorney general during President George W. Bush’s first administration. As attorney general, he is credited with overseeing a historic era of safety and security in the United States following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He also led the U.S. Justice Department during his tenure with the Bush Administration, and took an active role in reducing gun crime, targeting illegal drugs and protecting civil rights. Ashcroft served two terms as Missouri’s attorney general and was twice elected governor of the state. While serving as governor of Missouri, Ashcroft was chairman of the Education Commission of the States, an interstate compact created to improve public education by facilitating the exchange of information, ideas, and experiences among state policymakers and education leaders. In addition, Fortune magazine rated John Ashcroft one of the “Top Ten Education Governors.” He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994 and earned a reputation on Capitol Hill as a man of uncompromising principle.

Kalim Andraos is an American businessman who invites marketplace leaders to travel with him internationally to encourage and equip leaders of compassionate ministries that provide aid and comfort to hurting refugees. 

Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Kalim experienced firsthand the bitter civil war that tore his nation apart from 1975-1990. As a teenager in 1982, he joined the ranks of one million Lebanese who ultimately fled their homeland, settling in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to join other family members. 

In 1988, he graduated from North Carolina A&T State University with a degree in electrical engineering and entered the business world. Today he is Vice President of Andraos Brothers Inc., a successful independent chain of self-service gas and convenience stores in Winston Salem. As a result of his business acumen, he has served as guest lecturer at the Bryan School of Business at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro where he shared his knowledge and experience on how to become a successful entrepreneur. 

A sincere follower of Jesus Christ, Kalim has felt a great call on his life to help refugees in the Middle East as well as the oppressed in North Africa. Since 2010, he has taken numerous teams to aid refugees in Lebanon and Turkey as well as visiting like-minded leaders in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Britain and Germany. 

For the past 11 years Kalim has served on the board of NCS Vinebranch, the missional nonprofit arm of New Canaan Society-Winston Salem Chapter. He also serves as Director of International Missions. In addition, he serves on the National NCS Missions Committee. From 2008 to 2012, he was a board member of the National Theological College and Graduate School, an accredited program based in the US that trains pastors in their native countries in the Middle East and Africa. 

When not working or abroad on mission trips, he is a frequent speaker at New Canaan Society meetings and conferences, city-wide prayer breakfasts, and churches. He and his wife, Paula, have four children, two of whom live at home. They frequently open their home to accommodate international visitors and host large dinner parties in their honor. 

Kareem “Biggs” Burke was a co-founder of Roc-A-Fella records with Jay-Z and Damon Dash. He funded the business in 1995 and partnered with Universal in a co-venture for 10 years. In 2005 he and his partners sold the company to Universal. He then began consulting with Def Jam/Universal while starting a new music label called Dash records until 2007.

While in the music business he also partnered with Roc-a-Wear Clothing for cross marketing using the music his company was creating as a launch pad for the clothing line. Roc-A-Wear Clothing line went on to become the biggest urban brand in the market.

In 2012, Biggs was indicted and sentenced to serve five years in federal prison. While incarcerated, Biggs gave his life to Jesus. He began to have fellowship with other Christians in prison and now understands the importance of having a friend in Jesus and looks to encourage others in their journey.

Biggs and Chip Skowron have partnered with the New Canaan Society to launch a national prison ministry called NCS-Inside.   They have also put together a team to develop apparel brands.  Their group's first launch called "Fourth of November," was created in 2015 and is now available nationally through FootAction.  An expanded collection will launch in July.

Biggs presently lives with his wife in New York.

Max Anderson is the author of The MBA Oath: Setting a Higher Standard for Business Leaders (Portfolio 2010). He is also a co-founder of the MBA Oath movement, an initiative to establish a Hippocratic oath for business school graduates. Profiled by the Economist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, The Daily Show, and Newsweek, the Oath has been signed by thousands of MBAs around the world. Max has written extensively and spoken to schools and organizations across the U.S. and Europe about the oath and the need for principled leadership. Originally from Colorado, Max studied history at Princeton. He received his MPA and MBA with honors from Harvard where he was a Catherine B. Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship and a George Family Foundation Fellow for Leadership. His work has taken him to McKinsey, Google, the Charlie Rose Show, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, and Bridgewater Associates, where he manages a team in the client service and marketing group. He currently lives in New York City with his wife and two daughters.

Dove Award-winning songwriter, Paul Baloche, has written hundreds of worship songs. “Open the Eyes of My Heart,”“Above All,” “Hosanna,” “Your Name,” and many others have become church favorites throughout the world. As a respected songwriter and teacher, Paul frequently travels the world teaching and leading others in worship. He developed a series of teaching DVD’s designed to help worship teams increase their skill and confidence (www.leadworship.com).

Besides a demanding worldwide ministry schedule, Paul has also served as the Worship Pastor at Community Christian Fellowship in Lindale, Texas, for over 20 years.

Rear Admiral Alan T. “Blues” Baker currently serves as the Director of Influencer Development at the U.S. Naval Academy’s Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership.

Admiral Baker is a retired officer who served as the 16th Chaplain of the United States Marine Corps from 2006 to 2009.  He was the first graduate of the United States Naval Academy and former Surface Warfare Officer selected as a Chaplain Corps Flag Officer.  Admiral Baker established and served as principal of Strategic Foundations where he taught, coached, and catalyzed organizations valuing the intersection of learning, leadership and faith.  He is a deeply experienced executive with over 20 years of international leadership in complex organizations.  His former public service spanned from Dean of the Chapel at the U. S. Naval Academy to the Presidential nomination and Senate appointment as Rear Admiral where he provided executive oversight to a global team of several hundred professionals.

Blues brings extensive background in ethical leadership, education, organizational development, and strategic planning.

Reinhard Bonnke is best known for his immense open-air evangelistic campaigns, crowds, measured not by the hundreds, nor by the thousands, but by the hundreds of thousands. Acres of humanity gathered together to hear the gospel preached with clarity and sincerity. However, the man who now preaches to crowds, which sometimes exceed a million in a single service, began by preaching to only a handful.

Born in 1940 in war-torn Germany, Reinhard Bonnke gave his life to the Lord Jesus Christ at the age of nine; attended Bible school in Wales in his twenties, and was on the mission field in Lesotho, Africa by 1967. From then on his life was that of a typical missionary… at least until he cried out to God that at the rate he was seeing conversions, it would take millennia to ‘save Africa.’ It was then that he was gripped with a vision of the continent of Africa ‘washed in the blood of Jesus’ and felt a calling to take the gospel from ‘Cape Town to Cairo.’

Following this leading, his ministry began to expand to take up this new challenge, and soon he was filling a 10,000-seater tent to overflowing. A larger tent was purchased. This 34,000-seater structure was the largest in the world, and even entered the Guinness Book of Records, yet it also was to prove to be too small. Open-air crusades began, and have continued to this day.

In the late 1990’s Reinhard Bonnke, consumed with the ever-pressing need to propagate the gospel message to all parts of the world, distributed over 95 million evangelistic booklets to homes across Europe, America and the Far East. On another front over 2.6 million copies of his book Evangelism by Firehave been printed and ‘seeded’ to bible-schools and pastors across the world to inspire them to Holy Spirit evangelism. Today his books have been translated into over 135 languages and 174 million copies have been printed in over fifty countries and distributed worldwide.

In the past 30 years, more than 70 million people have attended these Great Gospel Crusades and since 1999 over 34 million people have signed decision cards committing their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ! Countless thousands press forward to hear the life-changing gospel message, and signs and wonders follow the preaching of the word. From the early days of a single office, CfaN, as it is universally known, has expanded worldwide, and now, with its headquarters in Orlando, Florida, has several offices in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas.

The Rev. Richard Berry is the Sr. Pastor of Trinity Evangelical Free Church and Shelters by Jesus, Inc. in Skowhegan, ME.  Richard has over 30 years in ministry and holds Ordinations with the EFCA and the ABC.  Richard published his first book, Sheltered by Jesus, A Voice for the Homeless, in 2016 and since then has released three additional books chronicling the miracles he has witnessed.  A fifth book is expected to be released in 2023.

In 2007, Richard was approached by a longtime acquaintance who would be homeless in just a few short days. Richard provided a couch in a church Sunday School room and the influx of those in need of shelter began crossing the threshold of TEFC. Through the process of housing the homeless in the church, Richard saw 80% of his congregation leave, including immediate family members, because they couldn’t worship “with those kind of people.” Facing closure from state officials, a dwindling congregation and dwindling finances, Richard simply dropped to his knees and prayed.

Today, through faith and the power of the Living God, with thousands being provided shelter, food, and spiritual nourishment in the small, rural landscape of central Maine through the ministry of Richard and Shelters by Jesus. The operation is run solely on in-kind donations and the hand of God. The shelter, with a volunteer staff of homeless volunteers, continues to provide shelter to all in need. Those cared for in the ministry have direct access to a free medical clinic, social and behavioral health services, addiction counseling services, employment services, job opportunities and an opportunity to gain a seminary level education through the EFCA’s Gateway Theological Institute.

In December of 2016, Richard released his book Sheltered by Jesus, A Voice for the Homeless, which has become NextStep resources #1 selling book of all time in just 3 months. This book chronicles the story of how God has worked miracle after miracle after miracle to provide for the “least of these.” A short documentary has also been made about how the shelter got started.

The Rev. Richard Berry and the ministry at Shelters by Jesus has been detailed in several publications including: Downeast Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, The EFCA Today, several local newspapers and media outlets, as well as local news segments. Furthermore, Richard has been listed in “Who’s Who in America” and accepted the 2010 Crisis and Counseling Agency of the Year for by the State of Maine and was a keynote speaker at the EFCA National Conference in San Diego, CA.  He travels the country to raise awareness of the homelessness crisis within our nation.

Rob Brinkman is the Founder of Safe Harbour Retirement, LLC and has been an Investment Analyst for 29 years, opening his first investment firm for Edward Jones in 1987.  He studied Business & Finance at the University of Missouri and has an Executive MBA from Harvard University.

He has been a Registered Principle and Senior Vice-President for one of the largest Investment/Insurance companies in the industry.  He speaks Internationally and was selected by Jim Collins, author of the New York Times Best Selling book Built to Last, to panel his pre-release of the again Best Selling book Good to Great.

For the past decade Rob has been focusing on tax and investment issues particularly germane to business owners and the high net-worth. He writes blogs www.robbrinkmanacademy.com and produces video ‘white boards’ for numerous websites every month.

He lives with his wife, Sarah, in Connecticut and has five children, all conquering the world in their own unique way.

Stephen Baldwin – actor, family man, born-again Christian – makes his home in upstate New York with his wife and two young daughters. Through an impressive body of work, he is one of the most sought-after male talents in film and television today. Still, his family and new-found faith are most important to him.

The youngest of the Baldwin brothers acting clan, Baldwin (37) is one of the few Hollywood actors versatile enough for key roles in everything from The Usual Suspects to Bio-Dome. A Massapequa, NY native, he gained notice in his teens as a successful opera singer before pursuing acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Before long, he was busy with roles in both film (Posse, 8 Seconds, A Simple Twist of Fate) and television (The Young Riders).

Equally adept at drama and comedy, Baldwin has appeared in over 60 films and been featured on such top-rated television shows as Fear Factor and Celebrity Mole. He has his own production company that is developing projects for television and the big screen. He is active in charity work for the Carol M. Baldwin Cancer Research Fund, and still finds time for such varied hobbies as billiards, sky diving and superbike racing.

These days, however, his role as director, co-producer and host of Livin’ It – a cutting-edge skate video is bringing out his white hot passion for evangelism.

Stephen Bennett is one of the nation’s leading voices among men and women who have made the choice to change—individuals who once identified as gay—and now identify as heterosexual.

As one who once lived as a gay man until he was 28 years old, Stephen is now happily married to his wife, Irene, of 19 years. They are the proud parents of two children. He is a conservative, evangelical Christian with a unique perspective on the issue of homosexuality.

Stephen, 50, is the founder and Executive Director of Stephen Bennett Ministries (SBM) and TheParentsGroup.com (TPG)—a worldwide organization which supports the rights of homosexual men and women who choose to change. He is an outspoken, passionate, motivational, and evangelical speaker with a resolve to educate America—specifically the church—about the truths and myths of an extremely important topic: homosexuality.

Stephen is a nationally-sought-after speaker in the secular and Christian media outlets with an “insider’s perspective” on the issue of homosexuality and how it is being addressed by society today.  Stephen’s viewpoint is unique, as he has been on “both sides of the fence” and understands the issue from both perspectives.

Stephen Bennett appears frequently in media as a regular guest on many television and radio broadcasts nationwide, including: CBS Television, Fox News Channel, Fox News Live, The O’Reilly Factor, CNN’s 360o with Anderson Cooper, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Paula Zahn, Showbiz Tonight, CNN’s Headline News, The Today Show with Matt Lauer and Katie Couric, Good Morning America with Diane Sawyer, World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, The 700 Club, PAX Television Network’s “Faith Under Fire” with Lee Strobel, Billy Graham’s Decision Today, Concerned Women for America, TBN, CBN, Sean Hannity, Geraldo Rivera at Large and Mike Gallagher. Stephen has also been featured in many national publications, including USA Today, The Washington Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, CNN News, Charisma Magazine and the Associated Press.

Stephen writes freelance for many national publications, including WorldNetDaily.com and is currently penning his first book, his autobiography, titledEverything Must Change.

Terry Botwick is the Founder/CEO of 1019 Entertainment. Mr. Botwick recently completed production on Captive, starring David Oyelowo (Selma) and Kata Mara (House of Cards). Captive was acquired for worldwide release by Paramount Pictures. Terry also recently produced a theatrical documentary entitled, Cool It, based upon the book and work of Bjorn Lomborg, which tackles the economic impact of Global Warming and was acquired by Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate. 1019 has approximately a dozen feature film projects in development as well as television series.

Mr. Botwick has extensive experience in both the creative and the business side of the entertainment industry. Mr. Botwick has excelled in several high-impact positions, including: President of Vanguard Films & Animation which produced several animated feature films for Starz Entertaiment and Fox; President and COO of Big Idea Productions (VeggieTales) where Terry Executive Produced Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie as well as many direct to video titles of the best selling franchise; SVP of Programming for CBS overseeing the all of the network’s drama and comedy series programming as well as the alternative series department and Specials such as Kids Say the Darndest Things and the Grammy Awards. He was part of the team that took the network from third place to first in the ratings. Prior to CBS, Terry was President of Distribution and National Programming for the Hearst Corporation and Vice President of The Family Channel where he headed up Programming and Production up through the company’s successful IPO. Mr. Botwick has had P&L responsibility for more than $100 million along with business and creative oversight of more than 1,000 hours of movies and television.

Terry is a Jewish kid from New Jersey and came to know Jesus in 1975. He has been married to Monsita Ferrer (daughter of Academy Award winning actor, Jose Ferrer and singer, Rosemary Clooney) for 37 years. Together they have 3 sons, Nathaniel (31), Theodore (28) and Harrison (25). Terry is an Elder and past President at Bel Air Church in Los Angeles.

The Rt. Rev. Thaddeus Rockwell (Thad) Barnum serves as Canon Missioner in the Anglican Mission in America, Pawleys Island, SC. Thad attributes much of his early training and ministry to nine years (1978-87) spent at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Darien, Connecticut under the leadership and anointed preaching of the Rev. Terry Fullam. During those days, his love for expository preaching began and continues to this day. In 1987, Thad was called to plant a new church in Alliquippa, Pennsylvania – a dying mill town. During his years as rector (1987-95), Prince of Peace Episcopal Church grew to over 300 with over 30 ministries active in all facets of parish life. During this time, Thad also served in many other capacities such as Field Education Mentor at Trinity School for Ministry, Chaplain to South American Missionary Society, Chaplain at the USAir Pittsburgh Airplane Crash site for Flight 427, and Chairman of the Mustard Seed Project which provides “Acts of Mission, Acts of Mercy in East and Central Africa.”

In 1997, Thad and his wife Erilynne moved to Pawleys Island to serve as Directors of Missions at the North American Missionary Society and in 1998, the two of them joined the All Saints staff where they serve at present in conjunction with the Anglican Mission in America.

Willie Alfonso grew up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in America. He was kicked out of the house at age ten. He lived on the streets of Brooklyn and did drugs until he met Jesus. Willie began working with teenagers in a sports ministry, and now serves as Chaplain to the Brooklyn Nets and Chapel Leader for the Staten Island Yankees and the Hispanic players of the New York Yankees. In addition, he serves with his foundation It’s A New Beginning.

Willie is the author of It’s A New Beginning: How to Turn Setbacks into Comebacks, which challenges the reader to see: hope in the midst of devastating circumstances, how to forgive the unforgivable and how even the worst setbacks can be turned into comebacks.

Willie resides on Staten Island with his Sweetheart wife, Nancy and their dog Boscoe. They have three daughters: Venus, Yvette and Krista, and two grandchildren Julie and Jonathan.

Bob Durfey spent over 30 years as a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, piloting ships, flying helicopter rescue missions, mentoring and equipping leaders to meet urgent national level challenges.  During his career, Commander Durfey logged over 4800 helicopter flight hours, flew more than 400 Search and Rescue missions, commanded the Coast Guard’s largest Group-Air Station combination and served as the Chief of Governmental Affairs and Public Affairs for the Admiral of First Coast Guard District, which oversees the northeast portion of the United States.

As a highly decorated, successful servant-leader, Durfey is known for his ability to integrate his faith into all aspects of work & leadership. Although a graduate of Harvard who had held two major commands, overseeing thousands of people and hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, Bob began to sense what he had experienced and learned through his life was for a much higher purpose than just being a senior military officer. Approaching “retirement” he sought out ways to use his skills and strengths, founding a Leadership Consulting Company. The Lord had other ideas and used a neighbor to get the book HALFTIME into Bob’s hands. Excited and greatly encouraged by the book and the Halftime staff, Bob became passionate about communicating the life principles contained in the Halftime message.  He has been a Halftime Coach for 4 years and now also facilitates Roundtables in New York and New England.

Commander Durfey holds a bachelors degree from the US Coast Guard Academy, a Masters degree from  Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a Masters degree from The Air Force Senior Service School.  Bob and his wife of 32 years, Carolyn, live near Boston, Massachusetts. Their family continues in the “rescue” business. Carolyn and their daughter Sarah are passionate in the fight against Human Trafficking. Their son, Joe, is an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard stationed in Hawaii.

In February of 1985, Danny Croce was sentenced to the Plymouth County Jail. He served two years and it was in that jail where Danny put his trust in Jesus. He studied the Bible under Chaplain Bob Hanson while incarcerated and was discipled by Pastor Dennis Bauder for 4 years after his release.

During this time Danny taught Sunday school classes at the Boston Children’s Hospital, ministered to mentally and physically handicapped children at Mass Hospital, began the Christian Basketball Outreach League and ministered to inmates in Correctional Facilities across the state.

In 1991, Danny went to Wheaton College in Illinois and received his B.A. in Bible/Theology. He was ordained in July of 1995, and in 1996 became a full-time Chaplain at the new Plymouth County Correctional Facility, the same place where he put his trust in Jesus in 1985!

Ministries at the PCCF include preaching, pastoral counseling, teaching Bible study, making disciples who can minister to other inmates in their units and coordinating all religious services and Pastoral visitations. The ministry is faith-funded and Danny has to raise his own support.

Danny and his wife Kim, were married in 1989 and they have 5 children – Melissa, Daniel, Thomas, Elizabeth and DaraJane.  They have also adopted 2 handicapped men named Duane and George.

Chuck Colson is chairman of the board of Prison Fellowship Ministries, an outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners, victims of crime, and their families. Chuck served as special counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973. In 1974, he pleaded guilty to charges related to Watergate and served seven months in prison. God used that prison experience to lead Chuck to found Prison Fellowship in 1976. Today, more than 225 Prison Fellowship employees and 50,000 volunteers are used to transform lives across the country. Prison Fellowship International links prison ministry groups in 88 countries around the world. In 1993 Chuck was the recipient of the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.

He is a highly respected author, speakerand columnist and his daily radio commentary, BreakPoint with Chuck Colson can be heard across the country on 436 radio stations and 1,036 broadcast outlets. Among his many best-selling books areThe Body, Loving God, Kingdoms in Conflict, and Born Again, which details his experiences as President Nixon’s assistant, his conversion in the midst of Watergate, and his ordeal in prison. Chuck’s legacy book, How Now Shall We Live?equips Christians to articulate the truth of the gospel, live it accordingly, and give a defense of the truth to unbelievers. The Templeton Prize, and all speaking fees and book royalties are donated back to the ministry of Prison Fellowship.

Twenty-eight years ago, Charles W. Colson was not thinking about reaching out to prison inmates or reforming the U.S. penal system. In fact, this aide to Richard Nixon was “incapable of humanitarian thoughts,” according to the media of the mid-seventies. Colson was known as the White House “hatchet man,” a man feared by even the most powerful politicos during his four years of service to President Nixon. When news of Colson’s conversion to Christianity leaked to the press in 1973, the Boston Globe reported, “If Mr. Colson can repent of his sins, there just has to be hope for everybody.” Colson would agree. He admits he was guilty of political “dirty tricks” and willing to do almost anything for the cause of his president and his party.

In 1974 Colson entered a plea of guilty on Watergate-related charges; although not implicated in the Watergate burglary, he voluntarily pleaded obstruction of justice, a felony, based on his general participation in White House “dirty tricks.” He entered Alabama’s Maxwell Prison in 1974 as a new Christian and as the first member of the Nixon administration to be incarcerated for Watergate-related charges. He served seven months of a one- to three-year sentence. Soon after his release in 1975, Colson and three friends launched Prison Fellowship in a small, rented Washington, D.C., office. Today, Colson serves as chairman of the Board of Prison Fellowship, one of the largest volunteer organizations in the world.
In the last 25 years, Colson has visited more than 600 prisons in 40 countries and, with the help of nearly 50,000 volunteers, has built Prison Fellowship into the world’s largest prison outreach, serving the spiritual and practical needs of prisoners in 93 countries including the U.S. Colson’s vision has grown to include ministering to the families of prisoners, to ex-prisoners, to victims of crime, and reforming the criminal justice system.

In recognition of his work, Colson received the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion (in 1993). The $1 million prize, which Colson accepted on behalf of Prison Fellowship, was added to Prison Fellowship’s Endowment Fund.
Chuck Colson is considered one of America’s leading authorities on the causes of and responses to crime. He has addressed nearly half the state legislatures in America and has met with a majority of governors. He is a syndicated columnist and has contributed articles to magazines and newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune. Colson provides a daily radio commentary to a weekly listening audience of five million people and is a sought-after speaker.

Those familiar with major league sports will recognize the name Dave Dravecky, a standout pitcher for the San Francisco Giants in the 1980s. During his seventh year as a pitcher with Major League Baseball, however, a cancerous desmoid tumor was discovered in Dave’s pitching arm. The next few years were a whirlwind of surgeries, radiation, pain and depression, all in the glaring light of the media. Eventually, Dave’s arm was amputated to stop the spread of the cancer and save his life. Through it all, Dave Dravecky’s faith in God provided the anchor he needed in the midst of the storm.

In 1991 Dave Dravecky and his wife Jan founded the Outreach of Hopeministry in response to the thousands of letters and requests they received from hurting people encouraged by the Draveckys’ faith. The mission of the ministry is to offer comfort, encouragement and hope through Jesus Christ to those who suffer from cancer, amputation or serious illness. The mission is accomplished by offering prayer support, referral services and resources for those who are suffering and their families.

Dave and Jan Dravecky are also the best selling authors of eight inspirational books as well as the publishers of The Encourager, a national magazine that addresses the emotional and spiritual aspects of suffering. Along with Joni Eareckson Tada, the Draveckys were general editors of The Encouragement Bible, a specialty version of the NIV Bible. In addition, Dave has co-authored two books on baseball, Play Balland Called Up.

addition to his gift and passion for teaching, Dr. Dunbar serves the seminary as its president; in this role, he has revitalized Biblical Seminary to be a “catalyst for engaging Christians in dialog with postmodern culture.” Dr. Dunbar has used his platform as president to establish the Center for Emerging Church Leadership, a forum that creates opportunities for missional church leaders and pastors to make strategic connections.

In addition, Dr. Dunbar is actively involved in ministry to local churches and church plants. He preaches at churches throughout the country and is a popular conference speaker in the summer months.

Dr. Dunbar received a Master of Divinity degree from Biblical Theological Seminary, a Master of Theology from Westminster Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Philosophy from Drew University. He taught at Northeastern Bible College and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School before coming to Biblical Seminary in 1986. He and his wife, Sharon, have two daughters and two sons.

Dennis Collins is a professional singer who has performed with dozens of the world's greatest artists.  For many years, Dennis was the lead vocalist for the worship band (affectionately known as "Foxy and the Hounds") that played Friday mornings during New Canaan Society meetings.  His smooth, soulful, tenor voice goes to the hearts of everyone who hears him.

Dennis was born in Detroit, Michigan, a city known for producing great singers. He was raised in a Christian family and is the youngest of 5 children. After attending his first Motown Review at age 5 with his family, Dennis says he knew he wanted to be a singer. “Our home was filled with all kinds of music.” From an early age, he was surrounded by the music of Motown, and pop greats like Sam Cooke, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughn, Tony Bennett, Roberta Flack, Judy Garland, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway and Sly & The Family Stone.

Dennis spent his formative years singing, listening and studying every singer he heard. Being equally talented singing Pop, R & B, Jazz and Classical music, Dennis began to feel that he needed to make a choice between the Classical and Pop worlds. It was on a trip to New York that his cousin, Krystal Davis, took him to a rehearsal for Luther Vandross that would help him make that decision. Luther then invited Dennis to sing on a recording session at Atlantic Studios, and his career as a professional studio singer began.

He soon caught the attention of one of his idols, Ms. Roberta Flack, who asked him to join her on her next World Tour as a featured vocalist, performing her duets. He has also recorded and performed with such artists as: Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Smokey Robinson, Bruce Springsteen, Carole King, Bonne Raitt, Steely Dan, Alicia Keys, Jackson Brown, Jon Batiste, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Beyoncé, Billy Joel, Sting, Ralph MacDonald, Jimmy Buffet, Willie Nelson, Carly Simon, Patti LaBelle, Bette Midler, David Bowie, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Faith Hill, Jewel, Nelly, Ja Rule, Clay Aiken, The Blue Man Group, Lauryn Hill, Moby, Angelique Kidjo, Al Jarreau, Serge Gainsbourg, Patti Austin, Donald Fagen and many others.

Dennis and his wife Sharon live in Stamford and have four young adult children.

Douglas Evans Coe has been associated with leadership in the nation’s capital since 1959.

For forty-two years he has been associated with the two groups in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, which plan and host the National Prayer Breakfast and related activities each year. These activities involve over 200 countries of the world.

Mr. Coe is a member of the Planning Committee for the National Student Leadership Forum on Faith and Values. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Williamette University. Mr. Coe is married, and he and his wife, Jan, are the parents of 6 children and have twenty-one grandchildren.

Dr. Cole received a BA and MA in Psychology, as well as an EdD in Institutional Management from Pepperdine University. As a pioneer in the field of research, Dr. Cole has spent most of his professional life tracking trends of human behavior and developing programs that can actually help change negative behaviors.

For 18 years, Dr. Cole was founder and president of First Step & Cole Vocational in Redland, CA where he revolutionized the treatment of severely disturbed patients in mental health institutions, because of the research that his company had done.  However, because of a medical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, he sold his business in 1998 and retired, planning to tour the world in his 60 foot yacht while he still had the capacity to do so.

During a storm that threatened to capsize his boat, Dr. Cole made a genuine profession of faith and a plea for his life.  What happened next was astounding.  He was saved from being shipwrecked, his faith was renewed and his mind was restored.  After he returned from his trip, his medical checkup revealed that he no longer had Alzheimer’s.

He went on to serve as CEO of MegaVoice LLC, as well as Vice president of Development for Mission Aviation Fellowship. But for the last nine years he has served as the CEO of Back to the Bible (BttB) and Director of Research and Development for the Center for Bible Engagement (CBE).  Dr. Cole is dedicated to the mission of leading people into a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ through daily Bible engagement.  His skills in research have brought a dynamic change to the way BttB has and will do ministry in the future.

Dr. Cole is the co-author of Unstuck: Your Life, God’s Design, Real Change(Bethany House). Based on the analysis of more than 70,000 surveys, Unstuck reveals a spiritual growth plan that gives readers practical and proven ways to encounter Scripture daily, connect with God, and revitalize an otherwise listless faith.

Dr. Cole and his wife Char are the parents of adult children and reside outside of Lincoln, Nebraska, at Still Waters ranch, an equestrian center they use as a ministry to the community, as well as for their own enjoyment.

Dr. Cloud is a psychologist, communicator and entrepreneur who brings a unique perspective to his speaking and writing. As the author of many best-selling books, his writing reflects experience not only in the clinical world, but also in the arenas of business, leadership consulting, and live audience interactions. This broad range of expertise and experience gives him appeal to audiences of all types, such as individuals seeking personal growth and change, couples seeking better relationships, parents needing help with their kids, or business people trying to reach goals. His ability to connect with live audiences in all of these topics make him a favorite communicator.

For over twenty years, his practice has focused on working with leaders in a wide range of organizations and corporations, from family-held firms to Fortune 25 companies. He has an extensive executive coaching background and experience as an organizational and leadership consultant, speaking regularly across the U.S. and internationally at corporate and leadership events.

In addition to consulting, he built a health care company which operated treatment centers in thirty-five cities in the Western U.S.and directed it for ten years. This perspective of having created and led a company, as well as consulting with other businesses, gives his message a realistic and practical flavor with which people identify.

He has written or co-written 18 books, including the break-out million sellerBoundaries, and most recently 9 Things You Simply Must Do: To Succeed in Love and Life. His books have earned three Gold Medallion awards and also the distinguished Retailers Choice award for “God Will Make A Way,” a book and television partnership with Time-Life and Integrity Publishers.

Dr. Cloud is the co-host of the nationally syndicated radio program New Life Liveheard in over 150 markets. He has appeared on numerous television and radio shows, including Fox News, and has contributed to many magazines and publications bringing his message of equipping people with tools to realize their personal and professional goals. He has been featured in many newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times.

He is a professor in the Masters of Organizational Leadership program at Biola University, and has been a presenter at the American Psychological Association.
He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University, earning a B.S. in psychology with honors. He completed his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Biola University, and his clinical internship at Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. His philanthropic interests lie in the area of homelessness and the inner city, as well as Third World missions and development. He serves on the board of the Los Angeles Mission, a rescue mission on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. Dr. Cloud is an avid golfer and enjoys boating, deep sea fishing and scuba diving. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Tori, and their two daughters, Olivia and Lucy.

Dr. Chacha was born in Tanzania, and raised in Kenya, East Africa, in a place of chronic generational poverty.  He overcame many obstacles to become a highly successful, sought-after motivational speaker, teacher, and author.  In 1988, Dr. Chacha, along with his wife, Regina, and a small group of believers, established Teamwork Ministries International in Martinsville, Virginia. Their goal is to Train, Equip, And Mobilize leaders and believers worldwide for ministry.

Since its inception, Teamwork has:

• established over 600 Bible schools on five continents and graduated over 10,000 students worldwide.
• published more than 20 motivational books
• provided ministry tools such as: computers, generators, libraries, bicycles, sound equipment, financial support and training of Christian leaders internationally.
• provided relief efforts such as medical supplies, food, clothing and blankets.

Dr. Chacha has taught and ministered to thousands at evangelism crusades, conferences, seminars, colleges, and universities throughout  Europe, Asia, South America, the Caribbean, Africa, the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Middle East.

He is now working to answer a calling to help the children of Africa to build homes where children will be raised in a positive home environment. Dr. Chacha’s desire is to see orphaned children given a chance to leave poverty and hopelessness behind and experience the love of a family setting—that vision is coming true in The City of Hope.  The City of Hope is a campus that is being built in Dr. Chacha’s home village of Ntagatcha, Tanzania.  Included in this project are a children’s home, a medical center, farmlands and a training center.  The City of Hope is being built as a model that can be reproduced in other areas of Africa in the future.  Dr. Chacha’s vision is to partner with local churches, business people, various organizations, and government agencies to provide homes for thousands of children.

Dr. Chacha lives in Martinsville, VA, with his wife (and business partner) Regina, and their six children.

Tim Clinton is president of the 50,000-member American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), the largest and most diverse Christian counseling association in the world and publisher of the award-winningChristian Counseling Today magazine. He is Professor of Counseling and Pastoral Care and Executive Director of theLiberty University Center for Counseling and Family Studies; and was recently Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Regent University School of Psychology and Counseling.

Licensed in Virginia as both a Professional Counselor (LPC) and Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Tim maintains a part-time counseling practice with Light Counseling, Inc., in Lynchburg, Virginia. He recently became Chairman of the Covenant Marriage Movement, and is a member of the Arlington Group, a national marriage law-making and policy leadership group.

Tim directs development of the AACC Practice Library and is Executive Editor and co-author of The New GuideBook to Christian Counseling(Multnomah, 2005) andCompetent Christian Counseling: Foundations and Practice of Compassionate Soul Care(WaterBrook, 2002). In addition, he is lead author of Attachments: Unlock the Secret to Loving and Being Loved(Integrity, 2003) and a primary writer for The Soul Care Bible(2001).

As one of America’s most prominent professional counselors, he appears regularly on national television and radio programs such as Paula White Ministries, Bishop TD Jakes and the Potter’s Touch, Dawson McAllister Live, the Dave Ramsey show, and the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Tim has been interviewed and quoted in the New York Times, New York Daily News, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Janet Parshall’s America, the Salem Radio Network, Moody Network, Focus on the Family, and USA Radio.

Tim is a Liberty University honors graduate with B.S. and M.A. degrees in pastoral ministries and counseling. He then earned Ed.S. and Ed.D. degrees in counselor education from the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

Tim and his wife Julie have been married for 25 years (together they co-wroteThe Marriage You’ve Always Wanted) and reside in Forest, Virginia, with their two children.

George T. Chochos currently serves as the Genesis Addiction Counselor and Men's Supportive Housing Program Case Manager for the Bridgeport Rescue Mission and is a candidate in the STM program at Yale Divinity School. He earned an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School in May 2016.  Prior to starting his studies at Yale, Chochos earned AA and BA degrees from Bard College through the Bard Prison Initiative as well as an MPS degree from New York Theological Seminary, all while serving a 14-year sentence for bank robbery (including in the infamous Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, NY).

George has been a guest on the nationally televised Tavis Smiley Show and on NPR's Where We Live radio broadcast. His story has been featured in The Politic, the Harvard Political Review, and in an award-winning article titled "From Jail to Yale."

George married his lovely wife, Amie, in June of 2016. 

Ian Cron was raised and educated in Greenwich, CT. After graduating from Bowdoin College, Ian worked briefly as a commercial jingle singer and writer. In 1983, he joined the Young Life staff serving as an Area Director in Greenwich, Wilton, New Canaan and Darien CT. In 1990, Ian was named the Associate Regional Director for Young Life’s Metro-East Region.

After receiving an MA in Counseling Psychology from Denver Seminary and an M.Div at New York Theological Seminary, Ian was named the Associate for Outreach and Counseling at Stanwich Congregational Church, Greenwich, CT.

While there, he began an evening worship service that grew from 30- 300 in just 2 years. From that beginning Trinity Church, Greenwich was born. Six years later 600 people attend Trinity’s morning service every Sunday.

In addition to being Senior Pastor of Trinity, Ian maintains a career as a musician and now as an author. Ian released the CD The Land of My Father’sin 1995 andSacred Hunger in 2001. His first book, Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale, is a story that explores the relevance of the life and message of St. Francis of Assisi to the emerging postmodern church. It will be released on NavPress in July of 2006.

Ian has been married for 18 years to his wife Anne. Together they have 3 children: Cailey 14, Madeleine 11, Aidan, 8 and a Portuguese Water Dog named Hobbes. They presently live in Old Greenwich, CT.

For more information, go to www.trinitychurchonline.org

On December 18, 1965, at 17, Jack heard the gospel for the first time through his friend Bruce. Bruce quoted John 10:28, the first verse of Scripture Jack ever heard, and Jack was instantly born-again. For the next 10 years, he worked in the ministry of Young Life and learned a relational, disciple-making version of Christianity.

After graduating from TCU and Dallas Theological Seminary, Jack  became a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary at the age of 27 and started a church in Fort Worth, Texas just three years later.  When Dallas Theological Seminary fired him in 1987 for believing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Jack then spent four years with John Wimber at the Vineyard Christian fellowship in Anaheim California. Since then, he has pastored other churches and written some books. Jack has also been an NCS brudder, speaker and a spiritual "father" for many years.

Jack and his wife Leesa currently live in St. Louis near their son Stephen and their daughter Alese. Jack and Leesa's son Scott waits for them in heaven. Presently, Jack takes care of Leesa as she recovers from two massive strokes. He devotes the rest of his time to writing projects and to speaking at churches and conferences.

From a small handful of members in 1972 to a congregation of several thousand, the ministry of the Brooklyn Tabernacle continues to grow under the leadership of Pastor Jim Cymbala.

Pastor Cymbala and his wife Carol, who directs the popular Grammy Award winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, have been used by the Lord to not only preach the Gospel in the inner city of New York, but also to see new churches grow out of their congregation in various parts of the city along with extensions of God’s Kingdom in other parts of the world. Most prominent in this ongoing revival and expansion process has been the Tuesday Night Prayer Service attended by close to two thousand people and the All Night Prayer Ministry which continues to bring people’s needs to the Throne of Grace.

Beyond his pastoral role, he brings a probing challenge to believers everywhere as he travels and speaks to a wide variety of audiences. Through his recent best selling books, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Fresh Faith, and Fresh Power, Christians throughout America have been touched by the message of God’s desire to turn churches and believers into powerful testimonies for His glory.

Joseph Cumming is Director of the newly established Reconciliation Program at the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School. The Reconciliation Program focuses on reconciliation with the Muslim world, rooted in the Abrahamic faiths and the teachings and person of Jesus.

Joseph has spent the bulk of his adult life in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, where he continues to oversee a substantial humanitarian program. During his 15 years in Mauritania – one of the poorest nations on earth – he served as Director of a Christian humanitarian organization working in nutrition, public health, agriculture, microcredit and emergency relief. Their largest program provides food and health education to 30,000 malnourished children and mothers. He also served as president of the national Federation of NGOs in Mauritania (Fédération des ONG en Mauritanie).

Joseph has taught Islamic Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, and is completing his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies and Christian Theology at Yale University. He speaks fluent Arabic, as well as several other languages. He is also an ordained Christian minister (Assemblies of God).

In recent years Joseph has been involved in high-profile Muslim-Christian dialogue in several nations around the world. This has included, for example, lecturing in Arabic at al-Azhar University in Cairo (the chief seat of Sunni Islamic learning worldwide), as well as meeting with the chief Shi’ite Ayatollah in Lebanon and numerous other interfaith dialogue events in Turkey, India, Mauritania, the Philippines and the U.S. Most recently he participated in a small meeting on peacemaking which brought together the President and Vice-President of al-Azhar, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Islamic Court of Jordan, and the President of the International Islamic Forum for Dialogue, with a select group of leaders from all major branches of Judaism and from the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, conciliar Protestant and evangelical branches of Christianity.

Joseph’s bachelor’s degree (in Religion) is from Princeton University, and his M.Div. (concentration: Cross-Cultural Studies) is from Fuller Seminary. Joseph and his wife Michele, a registered nurse, are parents of 13-year-old boy-girl twins.

Julius Dudics has been working in Education and Counseling for over 30 years.  He presently serves as the Head Counselor at the Salvation Army Rehabilitation Center in New Haven, CT.  In addition, he maintains his own private practice through the Non-Judgmental Christian Counseling Center.

Julius thrives from helping those with addictive behaviors, along with other relational, social, emotional, and marital issues.  He has been quoted as saying, ”It has been thrilling to watch God’s Spirit help individuals conquer all types of addictive behaviors.  I especially enjoy helping married couples and families through relational issues.  People give problems too much power.  It has been exciting to help couples and individuals in gaining fresh new perspective.”  His passion is to continue to help others enjoy the quality of life that God intended for all people to enjoy.

Credentials:

BA Education– Taylor University, Upland, Indiana

MA Counseling – Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT

Certifications held in Sexual Addictions and Personality Disorders

Specialties:

Addictive behaviors, relational issues, teen problems, marriage and family matters, pre marital counseling, college/career placement

Ken Costa was born in South Africa and studied philosophy and law at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, where he became President of the Students’ Union and was active in the student protest movements against apartheid. He went on to study law and theology at the University of Cambridge.

Following university, he went to work for an investment bank in the City of London, where he has worked for over 30 years. After serving as Vice-Chairman of UBS Investment Bank, a global financial institution, where he advised international corporations, Mr Costa was named as the Chairman of Lazard International, joining the bank in October 2007.

Ken Costa is the Chairman of Alpha International, which promotes the Alpha course – an introduction to the Christian faith attended by over 2 million people in the UK and 10 million worldwide – and Church Warden of Holy Trinity Brompton. He is Chairman of the Tick Tock Club appeal on behalf of Great Ormond Street Hospital; a member of the Advisory Council of the London Symphony Orchestra; and a Trustee of the UK arm of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.

He and his wife, Fi, live in London. They have two sons and two daughters.

Louise DuArt, often called the world’s greatest impressionist, continues to astound critics and celebrities alike with her dead-on impressions of America’s most famous people.

Her talent of imitating celebrities with fun-loving style has made Louise DuArt one of the most revered impressionists today. Her marquee characters include Kathie Lee Gifford, Judge Judy, Joan Rivers, George Burns, and Jane Fonda, to name just a few.

Louise starred in Cafe DuArt, which ran for two seasons on GoodLife TV Network. The musical sitcom, created in part by DuArt, portrays the harried and hilarious proprietor of Cafe DuArt, a popular New York nightspot.

Likened to “‘Laugh-In’ in a ‘Cheers’ setting,” a host of characters, including Fran Drescher, Barbra Streisand and Cher — all of whom are played by DuArt — frequent the lively comedy cabaret.

Louise first realized her talent as a teenager, when she would disguise her voice for her friends and call the high school to excuse them from classes. Her talent continued to develop as a young homemaker and her uncanny ability to mimic others in the community kept the neighbors in stitches. It was then that she took her talent to the stage.

Throughout her extensive career, Louise DuArt has earned the reputation as the premier female impressionist in America. Her Showtime comedy specials were Emmy-nominated, and she was the hostess of the Lifetime Television show Rodeo Drive.

Louise received critical acclaim for her starring role in the long-running Broadway show Catskills on Broadway. Her most recent appearance on the New York stage was in the comedy/musical Dreamstuff. In 1996 her original musical Glued to the Tube enjoyed an extended run at the Claridge Hotel Casino in Atlantic City. For two seasons she performed all of the female voices on the syndicated television series DC Follies.

Louise’s recent appearances on The Today Show, Hollywood Squares, and various daytime talk shows are proof of her growing talent and acclaim.

She was a part of the live road show, “Together Again with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman.” They crossed the country reviving sketches performed on the Carol Burnett Show and played to packed audiences for a number of years.

Now, catch Louise on Living the Life and let her make an impression on you! Find out more about this acclaimed comedienne and where she is appearing at LouiseDuArt.com.

Mark currently serves as the head of tax strategy at TIAA-CREF, a large financial institution based in New York. Before joining TIAA-CREF, he was a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court, and a tax partner at McKinsey. He is one of the leaders of the Manhattan chapter of the New Canaan Society. Mark received an A.B. from Harvard, an M.Litt. from Oxford, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He currently lives in Pelham, New York, with his wife, Kim, and their three sons. His daughter also graduated from Harvard, in 2008.

Mark Clookie serves as Vice President of Investigations and Law Enforcement Development for International Justice Mission. IJM is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local governments to ensure victim rescue, to prosecute perpetrators, and to strengthen the community and civic factors that promote functioning public justice systems.

Before joining IJM in 2013, Mr. Clookie served in NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) as a Special Agent and was the appointed Director from 2010-2013. For over 31 years in his service as an NCIS Special Agent, he worked all over the world, including Bahrain and Japan. Mr. Clookie assumed many duties to include counterintelligence, counter terrorism, criminal investigative operations, management and administration.

Prior to joining NCIS, Mr. Clookie served as a police officer, volunteer firefighter, and emergency medical technician for several years.

Mr. Clookie received a B.A. in Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement from University of Maryland, College Park.

As Vice President of Investigations and Law Enforcement Development, Mr. Clookie is responsible for leading a team of Headquarters and Field based law enforcement and investigations professionals in ongoing investigations, police professionalization initiatives, assessment and evaluation, and  collaboration with international constituents, internal and external to IJM.

Mark Cress is the founder and President of Corporate Chaplains of America, Inc. (CCA).  Now in its 18th year and growing internationally, CCA has chaplains serving nearly 70,000 employees in 43 states, 800 business locations, 350 U.S. cities and 4 countries. The organization’s mission is “to build caring relationships with the hope of gaining permission to share the life changing Good News of Jesus Christ in a non-threatening manner.” Since inception CCA chaplains have been blessed to lead nearly 27,000 employees or their family members to an abiding relationship with Christ.

Mark holds a Doctorate in Business Ethics and Leadership from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston, a Master of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, and business degrees from Radford University. Following college he served with the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation and also enjoyed a career as an entrepreneur and business owner. One of his businesses was recognized by Inc. Magazine as the 137th fastest growing company in America. He divested his business interest in 1993 and moved his family to Wake Forest to enroll at Southeastern. During his time in seminary, God empowered him with the organizational plan that became Corporate Chaplains of America.

Married for over 36 years, Mark and his wife Linda have two daughters who have married wonderful Christian men and are now blessing them with grandchildren. Mark has authored seven books, including the bestseller The Third Awakening and most recently, 100 Truths About The King of the Universe, both published by Lanphier Press.

Mark Curtis is a founder and the CEO of Splash Car Washes.  Mark was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut.  After graduating from Franklin & Marshall College, he began his career in banking with Union Trust.  After completing its training program, Mark was named a credit analyst and later promoted to commercial lending officer.  It was a short time after that when he answered a classified ad for a carwash in Greenwich that led him to a 35 year career in the industry.

Starting with the one location in Greenwich, Splash has now grown to 19 locations with over 500 employees.  It is now the 12^th largest conveyor carwash operation in the country.  Splash has been inducted into the Connecticut Business Hall of Fame, received the Blue chip Enterprise Award from the US Chambers of Commerce, and Small Business of the Year Award from the Small Business Administration.

Mark has just completed his term on the board of the International Carwash Association where he served for 11 years.  He is currently president of Grace for Vets – an organization that brings together carwash operators from four countries to wash vets’ cars for free on Veterans Day.  The organization helped promote over 268,000 free carwashes in 2015.  Mark also started Wash USA – an organization that raised over $800,000 for Make-A-Wish.

Mark lives in Riverside with his wife, Laurie, with whom he just celebrated their 22^nd anniversary, and his two children, Sam 18, and Erin 16.  He attends Stanwich Congregational Church in Greenwich where he has served as a Trustee and an Elder.

Mike Distefano is the Regional Impact Director for Amirah Inc, an anti-slavery aftercare organization devoted to domestic survivors of sex trafficking. His heart is to see God’s love for humanity and His passion for justice reflected in the Church. Mike’s involvement as pastor and a volunteer in the world of anti-trafficking spans more than 10 years and includes prevention through Love 146 + the End It Movement and liberation efforts through Redeemed Ministries.

Michael has degrees in Management and Entrepreneurial Studies from Texas A&M University and a Masters in Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has pastored in Houston, TX at Faithbridge Church and as a church planter with the Passion Movement in Washington D.C.

The Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano serves as the Fifth Bishop of the Catholic diocese of Bridgeport, CT.  In that capacity, he also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for CRS (Catholic Relief Services) and most recently as the International Chaplain for Legatus, an international organization of Catholic CEOs, Presidents, Managing Partners and Business Owners committed to living out their faith in their business, personal, and professional lives.

Born and raised in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn, he was admitted to Yale University in 1977, and transferred to Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception, where he graduated summa cum laude. After briefly working in the publishing industry, he was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1987 in the chapel of the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston, Queens.

Under his leadership the diocese has launched the Institute for Catholic Formation, ongoing Strategic and Pastoral Planning, and most recently “A Call to Renewal” with its  unique “Eucharistic Ambassador” initiative to welcome people back to the Church and revitalize the liturgical and pastoral life of the diocese.

A noted catechist, Bishop Caggiano was invited by Pope Benedict XVI to deliver World Youth Day talks in Sydney in 2008 and Madrid in 2011 and by Pope Francis to serve as a catechist at World Youth Day in Rio
de Janeiro, 2013, Krakow in 2016 and Panama in 2019. He also preached at the Youth 2000 Summer Festival in Tipperary, Ireland. He presently serves on several committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB): Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis; Chair of the Subcommittee on the Catechism; Ad Hoc Committee on Racism, Subcommittee on the Church in Africa, and the Committee on International Justice and Peace.

In October 2018, he was one of five American bishops elected by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to represent the United States at the XV Ordinary General Assembly: Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment at the Vatican.

Nick DeMarco. From a career spanning men’s, women’s and children’s apparel; from couture to moderate merchandise; and from high-end specialty stores to mass merchant retailers, Nicholas De Marco’s (Nick) is recognized as a true visionary and leader within the fashion industry.

Nick has been the architect and author of numerous and well-publicized turn around situations, has invigorated design, revamped production, and expanded lines within bellwether companies like Halston and Pierre Cardin.

Nick is a recognized expert in re-branding initiatives, mergers and acquisitions, and licensing agreements.

He is a tested and insightful veteran who understands current market conditions, retail relationships, product development and potential brand success. With over thirty years of leadership experience, Nick was responsible for creating the iconic styles that defined a generation (the ‘Cardin Look’); structured highly lucrative strategic licensing programs for Cardin, Halston, Duck Head, and Nautilus (among others), and is a recognized expert in maximizing brand equity and profitability for trademark and brand owners in the apparel, accessory and consumer product areas.

Nick graduated from Temple University with a BBS, served as a 1st lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and successfully completed Saks Fifth Avenue Executive Training program. He dedicates his personal time as past chairman and current Board Member of New York’s Bowery Mission.

Nick is married and resides in Darien, CT. with his wife Anni.

Rev. Albert Ray Dancy went from being a troubled youth who served four years in state prison for armed robbery in the mid-1970’s to serving troubled youths in Norwalk, CT for 11 years as Executive Director of Serving All Vessels Equally (SAVE).

Rev. Dancy was born in Alexandria, Virginia and raised in New Haven, Connecticut.  After graduating high school in 1968 he attended the Yale University Transitional Year Program (also known as TYP).  Upon completion, he floundered for a number of years working at odds jobs, performing in community theatre on the west coast and eventually serving time in prison.

While in prison, Rev. Dancy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Science from the University of New Haven.  Thirteen years later he was hired as a prison chaplain at the Bridgeport Community Corrections Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Rev. Dancy has held numerous management and information technology positions in the private sector;  including General Electric, Peachtree Software, and Mellon Bank.

In 2007, he became the Executive Director of  SAVE, a non-profit community development organization.  SAVE’s vision for Norwalk youth is to see each one of them grow up to become successful adults who are free of involvement with the justice system and have a positive impact on their communities.  It serves Norwalk youth, ages 14 -24, by providing advocacy and programming to help them achieve success in school, avoid contact with the criminal justice system and engage in positive community service.  Under his leadership SAVE has trained and mentored hundreds of youth using an emerging best practice program – PEN OR PENCIL – a highly motivating and mentor-rich experience for teaching life skills, work skills and leadership skills.

Presently, Albert attends the University of New of Haven, where he is pursuing a Masters in Criminal Justice.  Since 2012, he has been the managing partner at Ascendancy, LLC. Ascendancy is a privately owned consulting firm that provides grant writing, capacity building, and technical assistance to Fairfield County non-profits.

Rev. Dancy currently resides in Darien, Connecticut with his wife, Robin.

Rev. Greg M. Doll is the Senior Pastor at Noroton Presbyterian Church (NPC) in Darien, serving in that role since 2018.

Previously, Greg served as an associate pastor at NPC for nine years, as the pastor of the McComb First Presbyterian Church in McComb, Ohio, and of the Riceville Presbyterian Church in Asheville, North Carolina.

Greg has also been an active member of the Darien community for over 16 years as a dad, coach, and mentor as well as providing pastoral care to many in the community.  In between his roles at NPC, he was a partner at the Life Solution Center in Darien, CT, where he served as a student-athlete mentor and character coach, a crisis chaplain to support and guide individuals going through life transitions and challenges and a spiritual director.   He also served as the Chaplain for the New York City Football Club, and has been a regular guest chapel speaker for the NY Giants. In addition, Greg has been a special advisor to the Darien High School Varsity Football Team and on the Board of Directors for the Darien Little League. He also co-hosted a weekly radio show called The Rabbi and The Reverend. 

He received a Master of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1999.

In his free time, Greg enjoys coaching his kids’ athletic teams (he’s coached over 35 teams!), fly-fishing, reading and cheering on his beloved Boston Red Sox and Kentucky Wildcats. During his college years at the University of Kentucky, he was a member of the Wildcats football team and Vice-President of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Greg and his wife, Kimberly, have three children, Eliot, Amelia and Simeon, and their faithful dog, Abraham.

Reverend Dr. Michael G. Christie serves as Assistant to the Pastor and Minister of Prison Ministry at Union Baptist Church in Stamford, CT.  He served as a Deacon for eight years before being ordained in the gospel ministry in 2003. He was educated in the Stamford Public School System before attending the UConn’s Storrs campus where he obtained a Bachelors in Business Administration and Marketing. He quickly became known for his track and field abilities and was nominated Athlete of the Decade in the Big East.  He later became an Olympic Trial Finalist.

Rev. Christie graduated from New York Theological Seminary with a Masters in Divinity.  He received his Doctorate of Ministry degree at Hartford Seminary, with an emphasis on church growth through new technology and community outreach. After 20 yrs. in the Pharmaceutical Industry as a senior oncology specialist, Rev. Christie was the Director of Economic Empowerment for the Conference of National Black Churches.  He is a chaplain for the Department of Corrections and a consultant with Gene-ID, a Next Generation DNA sequencing company.

Rev. Christie is a steering committee member for several community outreach projects. This includes Movement is Life, a national organization that addresses muscular-skeletal health disparities for people of color on the policy and community level.  His role is to help churches acquire grants for community health initiatives.  Rev. Christie also coordinates The Glaucoma Screening Project in collaboration with the National Glaucoma Society to offer free eye screening and eye care for people of color. He’s the Director of Youth on a Mission, a Stamford-based group that focuses on providing affordable mission experiences and opportunities for Black and Brown youth.  Rev. Christie is a sought after track and field consultant and a certified Youth Mental Health First responder.

Rev. Christie preaches nationally and internationally and has launched Project Impact Global, a nonprofit organization that partners with communities in Africa to transform poverty by introducing modern farming technology and training.  Project Impact recently launched a fish farm in Kenya.

Rev. Christie enjoys spreading the good news of Jesus Christ, reading, golfing, coaching and spending time with his wife and kids. He is married to the former Arnita Roberts and is the proud father of son Michael Andrew and daughter Nia both of whom are honor students and All-American and nationally ranked in track and field.

Major General (Retired) Robert F. “Bob” Dees served for 31 years in the U.S. Army in a wide variety of command and staff positions culminating in his last three assignments as Assistant Division Commander for Operations, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); Commander, Second Infantry Division, United States Forces Korea; and as Deputy Commanding General, V (US/GE) Corps in Europe, concurrently serving as Commander, US-Israeli Combined Task Force for Missile Defense. Commissioned a second lieutenant after graduating from West Point in 1972, he is also a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and Royal College of Defense Studies in London, England.

Following military retirement in January 2003, Bob served as Executive Director, Defense Strategies, Microsoft Corporation; followed by leadership of a non-profit outreach to the military. While authoring The Resilience Trilogy (Resilient Warriors, Resilient Leaders, and Resilient Nations), he pioneered resilience programs for the military and beyond as Associate Vice President for Military Outreach, Adjunct Professor, and Director of the nation’s first Institute for Military Resilience at Liberty University. Most recently Bob served as National Security Advisor and Campaign Chairman, Carson for President 2016. His primary endeavor now is pioneering a national “Resilience God Style” campaign to restore faith-based resilience at individual, leader, and national levels.

Bob speaks at numerous seminars and conferences, as well as commentary on national security and resilience in venues such as FOX Huckabee, FOX Business, Focus on the Family, Christian Broadcasting Network, American Family Radio, Wildfire Men’s Conferences, New Canaan Society, Pinnacle Forum, Wallbuilders Live, My Family Talk, Samaritans Purse, Family Research Council, Newsmax TV, and numerous churches, military bases, and business organizations across America. He was featured as one of 30 “Master Leaders” in America by noted author George Barna.

Bob is married to the former Kathleen Robinson of Houston, Texas. They have two children and seven grandchildren, and currently reside in Round Rock, Texas. General and Mrs. Dees are grateful for the privilege of serving God, Nation, and others during these critical times.

Rudy Carrasco is the United States Regional Facilitator for Partners Worldwide, a global ministry that mobilizes long-term, hands-on relationships to form a powerful Christian network that uses business as the way to create flourishing economic environments and end poverty. Last year the local groups that Carrasco facilitates created and sustained 333 jobs in 6 high unemployment communities.

Carrasco is a board member of the Christian Community Development Association, a lecturer for the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, and a past board member of World Vision U.S. A graduate of Stanford University with a BA in English, Carrasco’s articles have appeared in Forbes, Christianity Today, the Los Angeles Times, Discipleship Journal and Youthworker, and he is a past columnist for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group. He is a commentator on numerous DVD series including The Hole in Our Gospel (Rich Stearns), Effective Stewardship (Acton Institute), Seek Social Justice (Heritage Foundation), PovertyCure (Acton Institute) and Where Faith And Culture Meet (Zondervan/Christianity Today).

Carrasco served for 19 years in an incarnational urban ministry at Harambee Christian Family Center in Pasadena, California, where his work focused on indigenous leadership development of African American and Latino young people was recognized by The White House Office for Faith-based and Community Initiatives as well as the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Alumni Hall of Fame. He lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his wife, Kafi, and their four children.

Sean Dunn loves Jesus with all his heart and has been serving him in full-time ministry for the past 27 years. As the founder and President of Groundwire, Sean has combined his calling as an evangelist with his gifting as an innovative entrepreneur. He is bent on creatively and effectively communicating God’s Word, Love, and Purpose to every student. Through his leadership, Groundwire is impacting over 25 million people every week, yet he is not content. He continues to take an aggressive posture in regards to rescuing the lost and helping those who are hurting.

Groundwire leverages the world’s technology to connect thousands of un-churched young people with the Gospel of Jesus by placing thirty and sixty-second Christ-centered spots on aggressive and influential secular radio stations and targeted commercials on top tv stations like MTV, VH1, Cartoon Network (Adult Swim), BET, TruTV, ESPN, Comedy and Nick at Night.  Through the radio and TV broadcast messages, millions are hearing a message of hope and encouragement. In addition, hundreds of volunteers offer live coaching 24 hours a day at www.groundwire.net, which is averaging over 233,000 visits a month.

Tom Cole is currently the Founder and President of the advisory firm Narrow Gate Partners and serves as President and is a founding member of Faith in Financial Services in New York.  He is also the author of The Narrow Gate: Fatherly Advice for Navigating the Pathway to Your Best Life.

He has had a leadership role in the Manhattan chapter of NCS since its inception in 2008, and has served on the Board of Directors of NCS since 2012, including as Chairman from 2017-2019.

Tom recently retired from a 37 year career in banking.  For the last twenty years, Tom ran the Leveraged Finance business at Citi (2010-2021), HSBC (2008-2010) and Deutsche Bank (1987-2007).

Tom received his BS degree in Finance from Indiana University, and his MBA from University of Chicago.

He and his wife Kim reside in Naples, Florida, and they have three adult children Jenna, Tara and Jonathon.

Admiral Clark completed a distinguished 37-year Navy career in 2005. His Navy experience is most unusual, having served over half his career in command starting with a Patrol Gunboat as a Lieutenant and concluding in the halls of the Pentagon as the Chief of Naval Operations and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In between he commanded ships, two destroyer squadrons, the Atlantic Fleet’s Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center, a carrier battle group, the Second Fleet, NATO’s Striking Fleet, and the Atlantic Fleet. His career is also marked by an unusual amount of joint service. In the decade of the 1990’s, seven of the 10 years were in the joint and combined area culminating in his assignment as the Director of the Joint Staff in Washington D.C. Admiral Clark’s tenure as CNO was a period of significant change and renewed vision. In addition, he was the first CNO to be extended in office in nearly half a century and became the second longest serving CNO in history. In 2002 he charted a course for the future by publishing Sea Power 21, a vision for the first half of the 21 st century to exploit the advantages of operating from the world’s oceans. He also spearheaded the development of a 21 st century human capital strategy, a significant human resource initiative revolutionizing the training and development for Navy personnel as well as the manpower resourcing and assignment processes within the Navy. He forged partnerships to better connect the Navy with industry to create a business mindset in the leadership team of the Navy. Admiral Clark has received numerous military decorations for his service including four awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, three Navy Distinguished Medals, and three awards of the Legion of Merit. Along with his Navy and Joint awards, he is most honored by two Distinguished Service Medals received from the Army and Air Force and the international awards received from Germany, Italy, France, South Korea, Japan, Portugal, Singapore, and the Netherlands. Admiral Clark earned his undergraduate degree from Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri, and an MBA from the University of Arkansas. He has since received an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service from the University of Toledo and an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Old Dominion University. In 2006 Admiral Clark was named a Distinguished Professor in the schools of Government and Leadership at Regent University and has also been elected to the Board of Trustees. In addition to these responsibilities, he is serving on the Board of Directors at Raytheon Company and Rolls Royce North America. He is serving on the Defense Policy Board, the advisory boards with @ Monster.com and Whitney, Bradley & Brown, Inc., is a Senior Executive Advisor for Booz Allen Hamilton, is on the Executive Committee of Military Ministry, and is engaged in his own consulting business. Admiral Clark and his wife, Connie, live in Phoenix, Arizona.

Bobby Gruenewald (@bobbygwald) serves as Pastor, Innovation Leader at LifeChurch.tv and is the founder of the YouVersion Bible App, which is now available in 1092 versions and 780 languages and has been downloaded over 176 million times.  YouVersion is a ministry of LifeChurch.tv, a multi-site church based in Oklahoma. Meeting in 22 physical locations and globally online, the church is devoted to lead people around the world to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

At LifeChurch.tv, Bobby oversees YouVersion, Church to Church, Church Online, Creative Media, and Communications teams. Prior to joining the LifeChurch.tv team in 2001, he started and sold two technology companies, consulted with start-ups on venture capital funds, and, in an interesting twist of events, traveled and performed with a Christian rap group.

Bobby is passionate about exploring new ideas and finding practical ways to leverage them for the global Church. As one of the leading voices in the Church as it relates to innovation and the use of technology, Bobby frequently writes and speaks on the topic, and has been featured in the Washington Post, TechCrunch, CNN, CBS, NPR, and more. He was also listed by Fast Company as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2011.

Bobby and his wife, Melissa, live in Edmond, Oklahoma with their four children.

Dave Epstein is a graduate of Capital Bible Seminary in Biblical Studies and a PhD candidate at the University of Maryland in the History of Education and Adult Development. He served as an assistant professor of Biblical Studies and History at Washington Bible College in Lanham, MD. He pastored the Metropolitan Bible Church in Ottawa, ONT, one of Canada’s leading evangelical churches. He began serving as senior pastor of the historic Calvary Baptist Church in New York City in 1997. In addition to his national and international conference schedule, his popular radio broadcasts The Calvary Hour and Tell It From Calvary are heard by up to 250 thousand listeners each week in the tri-state area and nearly 2 million people worldwide.

Pastor Epstein enjoys an occasional game of golf when time permits. He and his wife Sandy are blessed with three married children and seven beautiful grandchildren.

David Grizzle is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Dazzle Partners LLC in Washington, DC and serves on several corporate and charitable boards. Dazzle provides new venture formation and organizational strategy consulting, especially among firms in the aerospace industry.  David was one of the founding members of the NCS Washington DC chapter.

Prior to opening his consultancy, Mr. Grizzle served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Organization. In this role he led the FAA’s 33,000 professional controllers, technicians, engineers and support personnel. While at the FAA, Mr. Grizzle also served as the FAA’s Chief Counsel and Acting Deputy Administrator.  Before joining the FAA, Mr. Grizzle was with Continental Airlines and its affiliates for 22 years, retiring as the Senior Vice President of Customer Experience.  During a leave of absence from Continental starting in 2004, Grizzle lived in a converted shipping container with four feet of sand bags on top while serving for 14 months with the U.S. Department of State in Kabul, Afghanistan, as Attaché, Senior Advisor and Coordinator for Transportation and Infrastructure.

Although entering college with "no substantial church or faith background", during his senior year David read Josh McDowell’s Evidence That Demands a Verdict. David says reading this book “enabled me to conclude that the claims of Jesus were more likely true than not. This was all I needed to take the first faltering steps of faith.” From that point on, David became involved in Bible studies with InterVarsity, which continued into his law school graduate studies.

David has been involved in men’s ministry of one sort or another for most of his adult life. In addition to his founding role with the NCS Washington DC chapter, David has been a men’s retreat speaker and a leader of a church men’s group to which he is passionately committed.  David even claims to be the first person BJ Weber met when BJ moved to New York City.

David and his wife Anne have been actively involved in many missions organizations, including serving as co-chairs of World Vision’s $1 Billion Every Last One Campaign.

Grizzle is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. His wife Anne, whom David met in college, is an Episcopal priest, family therapist, author and poet. They have three adult sons and seven grandchildren.

Don Frizzell, age 69, has served the Lord Jesus Christ for thirty-nine years. He and his wife Sharon, of twenty-five years, live in Pensacola, Florida. They have 7 children, and 12 grandchildren. Don serves as Associate Pastor in the local church. He is pastor over SonLife and NewLife Ministries of Jubilee International Ministry Center. His duties include overseeing the benevolence ministry, an outreach to the community, as well as the inner healing prayer ministry. He has seen many miracles by the laying on of hands, anointed teaching, and personal one-on-one prayer ministry. Don has traveled across the United States, as well as several foreign countries to teach, train, and minister through the Word of God.

Doug Goulding is a certified life coach, tennis professional, forgiveness, anxiety and depression recovery facilitator, ordained minister and health educator, but his primary identity is as a child of God, brother, friend and servant.

Doug currently serves as the assistant director, chaplain and Chief Serving Officer (CSO) at Center for Transformative Work in Paterson New Jersey.

Doug has been a member of the New Canaan Society since 2006 and is the co-founder and co-leader of NCS Urban Chapter in Paterson, New Jersey.  One of his’s favorite hobbies is visiting NCS chapters throughout the network (so far he has visited least 15 chapters, tied with Jay Helvey and one ahead of Tom Cole and looking forward to catching up with James Anderson).  Doug considers himself an NCS Ambassador who wants to take the message of the love of Jesus Christ through the ministry of NCS wherever he goes.  He is in the process of starting a chapter in Jamaica where he was born.  Doug believes God brought him to NCS in order to help him embrace his brokenness and to equip him to minister to broken men like himself.

Doug’s mission is to help men WIN at life so that they can experience God’s abundant life (John 10:10).  He views NCS as a ministry tool God has given him to use in his outreach.

Doug is a husband of one wife and father of four young adult children, father-in-law of one and grandparent to be.

Excited and burdened about male and female communication, Emerson launched the Love and Respect Conferences in August 1999 to serve husbands and wives. (http://www.loveandrespect.com)

Sarah and Emerson are convinced that a truth hidden in plain sight for 2000 years can make a difference in every marriage. This truth is found in Ephesians 5:33. Husbands must love their wives and wives must respect their husbands.

Emerson writes, “You may remember how the Beatles sang, ‘All you need is love.’ I absolutely disagree with that conclusion. Five out of ten marriages today are ending in divorce because love alone is not enough. Yes, love is vital, especially for the wife, but what we have missed is the husband’s need for respect. This Love and Respect message is about how the wife can fulfill her need to be loved by giving her husband what he needs — respect. And the husband can fulfill his need to be respected by giving his wife what she needs — love. Does this always work? No. But if one is married to a person of good will, I would bet the farm that it would work!”
Emerson received his B.A. in Biblical Studies and an M.A. in Communications from Wheaton College and Graduate school. He was later awarded his Masters in Divinity from Dubuque Seminary. Later, he earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in Child and Family Ecology. Emerson was the senior pastor of East Lansing Trinity church from 1980 to 1999. He loved the pastorate in this college town with nearly 45,000 students. When he came, the church had 450 in attendance, and when he left over 2000 attended. He oversaw a paid staff of 40. He also initiated a building program, relocating Trinity Church on 70 beautiful acres in the Lansing area. That was completed in the year 2000.
Focus on the Family is sponsoring many of the Love and Respect Conferences across the nation.

The book Love and Respect (The Love She Most Desires / The Respect He Desperately Needs) won two awards in 2005: the Gold Medallion and Retailers Choice.

Gary Fanali is a business owner currently leading and operating three local businesses.  Gary's faith journey has been one of radical transformation, with God sparing his life time and time again.

Born and raised in Stamford, CT, Gary currently has ownership in three local businesses: Patriot Waste Services, Complete Dismantling Services and Complete Asbestos Abatement Services. Recently he and his partner sold an additional company Spotless Bins for which he remains a consultant until June of 2023.  In 2017, Gary was inducted into the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Fairfield County's Hall of Fame, an honor given to a member "who has made extraordinary contributions of their time, financial resources and outstanding leadership skills in direct service to the HBRA, and whose service has had a significant impact on the HBRA."

Gary serves on the Board of the Building Hope Foundation.

Gary is a graduate of Norwalk Community College and Texas A&M University.

Gary has been married to his lovely wife Dana for 33 years. They have 3 extremely handsome sons Gary Grande, Michael Veito and Dante Francesco Fanali.

George Faller is a husband, father, therapist, educator, speaker, writer and global leader in helping people reconnect and strengthen their relationships.  He is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist currently practicing in Connecticut and New York and the director of training at the Center for Hope and Renewal in Greenwich, CT.

George is a certified Supervisor/Trainer/Therapist in EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) and founder of the New York Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy, where he continues to serve as its President.  He is a Supervisor with the AAMFT(American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy) and teaches classes at the Ackerman Institute for the Family in Manhattan.   George is also a board member of the Porter Cason Institute at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Prior to a career in the field of mental health, George spent over 20 years as a NYC Firefighter and NYC Police Officer.  His experience as a FDNY Peer Counselor, particularly following the events of 9/11, sparked his passion to help those impacted by trauma.

He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Queens College and a M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Iona College, where he graduated at the top of his class.

During the New York Giants’ magical 2011-2012 Super Bowl run, much of their inspiration is attributed to Gian-Paul Gonzalez (pronounced John-Paul). Prior to the Giant’s Christmas Eve 2011 game with the NY Jets, Gonzalez delivered the now famous “ALL IN” rally cry message during the Giants’ chapel service.

Gian-Paul Gonzalez  was a former All-American forward from Montclair State scoring nearly 1,400 points in his 3 year career. Offered a pro basketball contract, he turned
it down in order to continue his work with at-risk youth. He is a gifted motivational speaker and is the founder of 4-One, an organization dedicated to using basketball to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in inner-city public schools and juvenile jails. He also serves as head basketball coach for Kings College in New York City and teaches high school in the inner city in New Jersey.

Hans Finzel is an author, speaker, mentor and trusted authority in the field of leadership. He is the chief podcaster at “The Leadership Answer Man” on iTunes and Stitcher. He also serves as President and co-founder of HDLeaders.

Hans and his wife Donna spent the first ten years of their marriage based in Vienna, Austria, training leaders in Eastern Europe. Subsequent to that role, Hans moved on to create a great legacy in ministry leadership as he served for twenty years as President and CEO of international non-profit WorldVenture, based in Littleton, Colorado. He and his wife Donna recently founded a new organization, HDLeaders, devoted to training leaders around the globe.

Hans has a passion to help leaders in every situation take their leadership skills to the next level. That is pursued through podcasts, writing, teaching, speaking, consulting and mentoring leaders. He is the host of the leadership podcast, “The Leadership Answer Man.”

Dr. Finzel is the author of nine books, including his bestseller The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make and his new release The Power of Passion in Leadership (Top Ten Enterprises Publishing, 2015). His books have been translated into over twenty foreign language editions.

Hans is a graduate of Columbia International University (BA), Dallas Seminary (ThM) and Fuller School of Intercultural Studies (DMiss). He has served on the Board of Trustees of Columbia International University for twenty years. The Finzels have four grown children. They reside in Colorado.

John Guest was born and raised in Oxford, England. While studying as an engineer he was invited to hear the American evangelist, Billy Graham, in London, 1954. That night John responded to God’s call and made his commitment to Jesus Christ at age eighteen. Shortly thereafter, he felt God calling him into full-time service as a pastor.

John graduated from Trinity College in Bristol and was ordained by the Church of England in 1961. He came to the United States in 1964; combining his love for young people with his musical ability he formed one of the first Christian contemporary music groups known as the Exkursions. For the next four years John used music to draw young people to meetings where thousands of them heard for the first time the “Good News” of Jesus Christ.

Ultimately, John became convinced that he needed to work in and through a local church if those who were won to Christ were to grow in maturity. In 1968, he became the Minister of Youth at St. Stephen’s Church in Sewickley, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Pittsburgh) and four years later the senior pastor. St. Stephen’s has been one of the fastest growing Episcopal churches in America with over 1,000 attending weekly.

Recognizing the gifts God has given him for evangelism, in 1990 St. Stephen’s set him free to conduct city-wide evangelistic crusades across America. John has spoken to over 1,000,000 people face to face since his first major crusade in 1985. Perhaps the mark of John’s ministry is his uncompromising, thoroughly evangelical, preaching style. He has been called “the thinking person’s evangelist,” a term that rightly describes his gift for combining brilliant apologetics with a powerful speaking style that has earned him the respect of historical critics of crusade evangelism.

In 1995 John’s commitment to the church culminated in his return to the pastorate by his acceptance of a call from Christ Church at Grove Farm in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. His passion for evangelism remains now accelerated by Christ Church’s gift of John’s time and lay volunteer energy to his national ministry. His national and international outreaches are scheduled throughout the next two years.

John is the author of ten books. He co-founded Trinity Episcopal School of Ministry and was a participant in the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism and a board member of the National Association of Evangelicals. He founded the Coalition for Christian Outreach, an evangelistic organization employing approximately 150 staff on college campuses. Also, he co-founded South American Missionary Society (1976), hosted a daily radio broadcast, “New Life In Christ,” on WPIT-FM, Pittsburgh (1983-1990), and currently has a daily broadcast on WORD FM, 101.5 in Pittsburgh as well as several other cities. He is also a featured speaker at Promise Keepers Conferences within the U.S. John married Kathleen Heggar in 1967 and has four daughters: Carrie, Chelsea, Sarah and Susanna.

Ken Fish, is a native of the Los Angeles area and an honors graduate of Princeton University with a degree in History and Philosophy of Religion. He concentrated on the writings of the early church fathers, the history of late antiquity and of the early middle ages. He subsequently earned his Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary with emphases in theology and intercultural communications. He also holds an MBA in finance and strategy from UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management. Ken has over 20 years of experience as a senior executive with Fortune 500 corporations specializing in corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, financial management and organizational transformation. Throughout his life, Ken has worked with parachurch ministries, and in the 1980s he worked full-time for John Wimber for several years at Vineyard Ministries International (VMI). Among his duties at VMI, he worked on various aspects of the conferences that were a hallmark of the early Vineyard movement, including researching and ghost-writing for John Wimber. He has traveled extensively as a conference speaker, teaching on wide variety of topics ranging from leadership and spiritual formation, church growth and revival, biblical authority and exposition, to prophecy and healing and deliverance.

Born: Ft. Worth, Texas, September 20, 1950. Married to Judy for 30 years and they have four children (Gretchen, Kelly, Rachel, and Stephen), and three grandchildren (Samantha, Caleb, and Logan).

Graduated: 1973 from T.C.U. with a B. A., History major, Speech minor.

Graduated: 1978 from Dallas Theological Seminary with a Th. M. in Old Testament Literature and Exegesis.

Insight for Living: 1986—1991 wrote Bible study guides for Chuck Swindoll. While working and living in Southern California, Ken attended numerous continuing education courses at USC, UCLA, and The American Film Institute on editing, story analysis, and screen writing.

Full-time writer: 1991— to present

Website: www.reflectiveliving.com

Dr. Mark Gordon Fee, an engaging speaker and teacher, is known for his warm personality, fun and passionate teaching style, and gifted ability to make Scripture come alive. A dynamic worship leader and songwriter, Mark has also been playing piano, singing, and writing for most of his life. He excels in drawing people into a deep and intimate connection with the Lord through a dynamic flow of hymns, choruses, and Scripture.

Mark received a BA in Christian Education with a minor in music performance from Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. He continued his education at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, MA, where he earned his Master of Divinity degree. In 2018, he earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, CA. Mark is the son of Dr. Gordon Fee, a highly-esteemed Biblical scholar who’s written numerous commentaries and whose insights and teachings have profoundly influenced Mark’s ministry.

From 1988-2005, Mark served as the senior pastor of the Vineyard Metronorth church in Melrose, Ma. During his tenure he developed several programs to help his people to personally and tangibly experience God’s love and to begin to remove the various relational, emotional and mental barriers that interfered with that experience. In 2006, he founded “First Loved Ministries” in order to share these programs with the church at large. He also produced a music CD entitled Rejoice Over You that invites the listener to hear God’s words of love spoken and sung to them. He also produced a CD entitled Love Verses that invites the listener to hear God’s Word spoken in a variety of ways, with a music background.

Mark and his wife Robin have five adult children and live in Danvers, MA.

Mark Gundersen works at Solar Capital Partners, an investment firm in New York focused on middle-market businesses. Mark previously worked in the Principal Investment Area at Goldman Sachs, where he focused on private equity and debt transactions in the technology, media and telecom sectors. Mark began his career as an investment banking analyst at JP Morgan in the Syndicated & Leveraged Finance group.

While at Goldman Sachs, Mark co-founded GS Fellowship, an informal Christian employee network that grew to 300 employees and alumni.  Mark serves with the New Canaan Society and is an active member of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, where he and his wife Lucy teach 5th and 6th grade Sunday School.

Mark received a BA from Williams College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Mark Finlay was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Mark grew up during the Northern Ireland “troubles”, that raged from 1968 until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and was actively involved in the peace process and in post conflict transformation, as an ambassador of reconciliation.

By way of background. Mark is a Chartered Surveyor and for 25 years worked in regeneration and corporate governance of development and investment vehicles in multiple jurisdictions.  For a decade, from 1996, Mark was Development Director and then CEO of U.K. based global real estate group Scarborough Developments plc., through which he helped to deliver Public Private Partnerships, regeneration and port and infrastructure development projects.

In 2002 Mark was appointed by a Government Minister as a Commissioner of the Port of Belfast, the 3rd busiest Port in the U.K., which encompasses Europe’s largest waterfront regeneration, known as Titanic Quarter, where RMS Titanic was built in 1909 and today where Game of Thrones is filmed.  He served in this public office for 3-years and was subsequently elected as Chairman of South Belfast Partnership, a cross-government initiative created following the Good Friday Peace Agreement to bring about transformation of some of the island of Ireland’s most disadvantaged communities.

In 2003 Mark was appointed a Director of the Ireland-US Council (IUSC) in Dublin and in 2016 was appointed to the Board in New York. The IUSC was created following President John F. Kennedy’s visit to Ireland in 1963, to promote economic links between the United States and Ireland.  In 2011 Mark authored Northern Ireland’s Global Diaspora Strategy, to examine how to better connect with the region’s “scattered seed” which some estimate includes circa 58 Million Irish and Scots-Irish in North America.

Stemming from support of people working for reconciliation and peace, in 2007 Mark was invited to serve the island of Ireland’s delegation to the National Prayer Breakfast (NPB) in Washington D.C. and, working with a dedicated team, has been blessed to have continued with this work since.

In 2012 Mark was encouraged to relocate from Ireland to Annapolis and in 2015 was invited by Congressman Robert Aderholt, then incoming Co-Chair of the 2016 NPB, to support him with faith based initiatives and international relations.   In 2016 Mark was privileged to travel and meet with friends in parliaments in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Brussels, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Banja Luca, and Zagreb.

Mark lives in Annapolis Maryland with his wife Karen. Their daughter Grace (19) is a Junior at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Dr. Os Guinness is a writer and speaker living in Northern Virginia.
Born in China during World War II, he remained there until 1951 when the Communists forced most foreigners to leave. Since then he has lived mostly in England, Switzerland, and the United States.

Educated in England, he did undergraduate studies at the University of London, and postgraduate studies at University of Oxford where he graduated with a D.Phil in the social sciences from Oriel College.

He has written or edited more than twenty books, including The American Hour (Free Press, 1993), The Call (Word 1998), Time For Truth (Baker 2000), and Long Journey Home (Doubleday 2001).

Since 1984, he has lived in the Washington, DC, area. He was a Guest Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies and then a Guest Scholar and Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution. From 1986 to 1989 he was the Executive Director of the Williamsburg Charter Foundation, one of he drafters of the Williamsburg Charter, and co-author of the public school curriculum Living With Our Deepest Differences. He is the co-founder of The Trinity Forum and served as Senior Fellow and Vice Chairman of the Board from its inception in 1991 until 2004.

His deep concern is to bridge the chasm between academic knowledge and popular knowledge, taking things that are academically important and making them intelligible and practicable to a wider audience, especially as they concern matters of public policy.

Paul Erickson is a Christian and an entrepreneur whose lifelong avocation has been supporting democratic resistance movements around the world in their battles against communism in all of its forms.  His companies have developed hotels, housing projects, senior living communities, energy plays, consumer marketing and a series of Hollywood feature films.

Richard Galloway has a diverse background in business which includes starting and operating a chain of convenience stores, banking, building a Christian TV station, starting a computer company and a commercial real estate business. In addition, he has planted a church in St. Thomas, USVI, built a Christian TV station in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and traveled extensively for speaking engagements, with a particular interest in discipling men.

In 1989, Richard and his wife Dixie founded New York City Relief, a front-line urban missions program which not only provides food and clothing for the urban homeless, but “connects” them from the street with life-changing Christian programs. In the past 18 years they have directly distributed 3,208,881 servings of food and drink to the hungry and homeless. They have also directly impacted the lives of 124,228 people by connecting them to help and hope. With an expanded team of urban missionaries, they have also been a part of establishing The Hope Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

They are both well-respected in their home church of Calvary Tabernacle in Cranford, New Jersey, where Richard serves as Elder, and have served in leadership in numerous capacities over the past ten years in the regional Church of greater New York City.

In addition, for over 10 years, they have traveled regularly to Ethiopia, where they have helped in establishing an orphanage serving this desperately needy area of the world.

Sajan George is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Matchbook Learning, a national nonprofit charter school turnaround management organization launched in 2011 to turnaround our nation’s bottom 5% schools with a unique blended, competency based turnaround school model.   Matchbook Learning has launched, and manages, three school turnarounds in Detroit, MI and Newark, NJ.  Matchbook Learning is now building an Accelerator to help other schools around the country replicate their turnaround model and methodology via its open sourced technology platform “Spark”.  

Prior to founding Matchbook Learning, Sajan was a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal (“A&M”) where he led the firm’s Education Practice. In that role, he co-led a diverse group of talented turnaround professionals across the U.S. in turning around entire K-12 public school districts in St Louis, New Orleans, New York City, Washington DC, Detroit, etc.  Sajan’s entire career has been involved in turnarounds – first with large corporations, then large urban school districts and now finally individual schools.  Sajan has a deep sense of calling around the need to turnaround public education in America.  Leaving the for-profit corporate turnaround world in 2011 to launch a non-profit school turnaround organization was both a massive leap of faith and yet an inevitable progression in his calling.  

Sajan, in 2015, moved his wife, 3 children -- Michav (12), Seth (10) and Isa (7) -- along with the family dog, Titan, from Atlanta to NYC to continue the adventure and dream.  They are active members in their local church and enjoy traveling extensively, reading voraciously and experiencing new people, cultures and foods.

Stephen Gilbert is a leading professional in strengthening marriages and families, developing teens, guiding men, and leading individuals out of addiction.  Steve currently works at the Greenwich Center for Hope & Renewal and serves as a Ministry Partner for We Want More in Bridgeport.  ​​

​​A gifted communicator, Steve has taught and conducted countless seminars for organizations and churches on topics such as personal transformation, parenting, anger management, and healthy marriages. He has also helped lead and facilitate a countywide support group for pastors.
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Prior to working at the Greenwich Center for Hope & Renewal, Steve was Director of the Southern Connecticut Christian Counseling Center in Fairfield, CT, where he worked alongside local churches providing quality mental health care that is integrative to Christian faith and spirituality. Before entering the field of counseling, Steve spent 14 years on staff with the youth ministry, Young Life, where he was the Regional Director for Connecticut and Long Island. Steve is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and an ordained minister.
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He holds a B.S. from Ohio State University and both an M.S. in Marital and Family Therapy and a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA.

​​Steve is also a member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists.

He lives in Redding, CT with His wife Mary Beth and their two children Piper and Jack.

Bill Hybels (B.A. Trinity College) is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. Willow Creek’s innovative ministries have made it one of the most attended churches in North America. Hybels has authored over 20 books, including, Fit to Be Tied, and Rediscovering Church (with his wife Lynne), Honest to God, Too Busy Not to Pray, and Courageous Leadership.

Britt Harris has more than 30 years of investment experience leading several of the largest, most successful, and most innovative investment organizations in America. In addition, Mr. Harris is currently a member of the President’s Working Group for Financial Markets, and an advisor to the New York Federal Reserve. He is one of only a few people who have worked extensively in both the private and public sectors.

Mr. Harris is currently the CIO for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) which is among the 25 largest investment funds in the world. Prior to his arrival at TRS, he was the CEO for Bridgewater Associates, and was also the CIO and President for Verizon Investment Management Corporation. Previously, Mr. Harris was a managing director for Asea Brown Boveri in Europe. Mr. Harris got his start in his home state of Texas. He has three times been named one of America’s leading pension plan investment chiefs. Mr. Harris has been consistently named one of the top five asset investors in the world. In 2013 he was honored with a lifetime achievement for distinguished service to the financial industry.

Mr. Harris also serves as an executive professor teaching two courses. The first is titled, “Titans of Investing” at his alma mater Texas A&M University. The second is titled “BU4M” at Baylor University, his wife’s alma mater. He has also guest lectured on investments and public policy at Harvard, Princeton, Yale and The University of Texas. In addition, he is a frequent speaker on various spiritual matters and serves on a variety of public and private boards.

Mr. Harris has been married for more than 35 years to his high school sweetheart. He and his wife Julia have four children and live in Austin, Texas.

Dale Hanson Bourke is a popular women’s speaker, author of five books, and a syndicated columnist and the former publisher for Religion News Service. She also serves as a marketing and communication consultant to humanitarian organizations. She was previously senior vice president of World Relief, where she helped establish the Women of Vision program, and also served as editor of Today’s Christian Woman magazine for 10 years.

Twenty-five years ago, when the glass ceiling for women in business was considerably lower than it is now and few Christian women considered professional careers, Dale Hanson Bourke did more than just consider a career. Much more.
She started her own magazine publishing company and operated it for 13 years. She served as the editor of Today’s Christian Woman magazine. Additionally, she has served on the boards of International Justice Mission, World Vision US and International, Opportunity International, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and TheHighCalling.org.

Currently, Dale is president of PDI, a marketing and strategy consulting firm specializing in work with nonprofit organizations. She spends much of her time writing and speaking about AIDS.

Her latest book, Second Calling: Finding Passion and Purpose for the Rest of your Life, takes a look at midlife possibilities and how to find God in them.

Dan Haseltine is the lead singer/songwriter for the 3x GRAMMY™ winning band, Jars of Clay and synth-pop trio, The Hawk In Paris.   He is also the Founder of non-profit organization, Blood:Water.

Dan has written 18 #1 radio singles, received multiple BMI Song of the Year Awards, and Nashville Songwriters Association International's  highest honors. He is a Producer, Film/Television composer, and Music Supervisor.

Blood:Water is celebrating 15 years supporting local solutions to the clean water and HIV/AIDS crises in Southern and Eastern Africa and has helped more than 1 million people gain access to clean water, sanitation, hygiene training and community health support.

Dan is also a columnist, advocate, children's book author, and intellectual critic surrounding the work of extreme poverty reduction, international development, and the role of the Christian community at large in the privilege of caring for our neighbors.

Dan lives in Franklin, TN with his wife, Katie and 2 sons, Noah(18), and Max(15) and two dogs… Gracie and Coco.

Dean Harrington is the founder and current CEO of Shamrock Home Loans, Southern New England’s largest independently owned home lending company. His role is to exemplify the company’s five core values and to set vision and strategy for the staff.

Dean is the Immediate Past President and current Board Member of The Rhode Island Mortgage Bankers Association and a member of C12 Southern NE Board of Advisors.  In 2014 Dean was recognized by the Banker & Tradesman as one of the dozen most influential mortgage banking executives in New England. Shamrock is a 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 recipient of The Best & Brightest Companies to Work and one of the Top Mortgage Employers by Mortgage Professionals Magazine.  The company employs 70 people and has its corporate offices in the Providence area. Dean likes to remind people that Shamrock is God’s company and that he was just the first guy to turn the lights on in 1989.

Dean is married and has four children.

Dr. Scott Harrison, President and CEO of CURE International, founded the organization with his wife, Sally, in 1996. His decision to start CURE is the direct result of his passion to cure the neediest disabled children in the world and to train others to do the same.

He began his 26 years of orthopedic surgery after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School in 1963. His experience is extensive, ranging from a year of medical service in Vietnam during the war, personally treating 3,000 disabled children in Malawi, as well as assuming the following posts:

• Clinical Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Penn State Medical School
• Director of Scoliosis Service for the Pennsylvania State Crippled Children’s Hospital
• Chief of Orthopedics at Harrisburg Hospital in Pennsylvania

Then in 1991, Kirschner Medical Corporation, an international orthopedic supply company, asked Dr. Harrison to serve as CEO and President. He accepted, and in 1994, led the company through a merger with Biomet, Inc. The success of that merger provided the funding and the freedom for Dr. Harrison to pursue his vision for healing disabled children. He and his wife Sally began the construction of CURE’s first hospital in Kenya in 1998.

His commitment to disabled children around the world has been acknowledged by a number of venerable institutions:

• In 1999, Dr. Harrison was honored with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons first annual AAOS Humanitarian Award.
• In 2002, upon invitation by the Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Harrison was recognized as a Legacy Laureate, identifying him as a distinguished alumnus who has “excelled both professionally and personally.”
• Also in 2002, Dr. Harrison was honored by the WorldSpace foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the production and delivery of social development and educational programs to disadvantaged communities in the developing world, for establishing teaching hospitals in Africa.
• The Caring Institute in Washington, DC selected Dr. Harrison as a recipient of a National Caring Award for the year 2002.

Harrison values these awards, but only insofar as they help build awareness for the children of CURE International. Thanks to his inspiration and guidance, CURE today has a presence in 12 developing countries around the world.

Dr. Tim Irwin has consulted with a number of America’s most well-known and respected companies including SunTrust Banks, Chick-fil-A, Bank of America, Corning, Inc., IBM, Hoechst-Celanese, Gerber Products Company, The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, and Turner Broadcasting Systems. He is a frequent speaker on leadership development and other topics related to organizational effectiveness.

As a consultant for twenty years, Dr. Irwin has assisted corporations in diverse industries including fiber optics, real estate, financial services, baby products, information technologies, news and entertainment, insurance, hotels, high-technology research, chemicals, floor covering, bottling, quick service restaurants, fibers and textiles, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. He assisted in founding and served for a number of years as the facilitator for the Regional Leadership Institute. His work has taken Dr. Irwin to over twenty-five foreign countries in Europe, Latin American, Canada and the Far East.

Dr. Irwin served from 2000 to 2005 in senior management of an international consulting firm with over 300 offices worldwide. He is currently Managing Partner of IrwinInc—Psychologists to Business, and just released a book, Run with the Bulls without Getting Trampled, published by Nelson Business.

Dr. Irwin received his A.B. and M.A. from the University of Georgia. His Ph.D. training included a dual major in industrial/organizational and clinical psychology from Georgia State University. He is a licensed Psychologist and an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Georgia and at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida.

Tim is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. He and his wife, Anne, have two sons. Jim graduated from Dartmouth College and worked as a senior legislative aide for the U.S. Congress in Washington DC. He is a recent graduate of the Goizuetta Business School at Emory University and now works in commercial real estate development. William is a recent graduate of the United States Naval Academy and is an officer on the USS Oklahoma City, a Los Angeles Class fast attack submarine. Anne is the owner of Anne Irwin Fine Art, a Buckhead gallery. Tim’s outside interests include jogging, golf, fishing, skiing, and scuba diving.

Fonda Huizenga is a native Floridian, devoted wife of seventeen years to Wayne Huizenga Jr., mother of four and a devout Christian. She graduated from Vanderbilt University with degrees in both Biomedical and Electrical Engineering, and worked for both Procter & Gamble and Cordis Corporation before deciding to devote herself fully to her home and husband. She was saved in March of 2002 and has spent these last years seeking the Lord in everything she does. She currently holds two IGFA records for light tackle blue marlin, and she enjoys a variety of sports such as kayaking, hiking and rappelling. Her life verse comes from the book of Ruth, “Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God shall be my God.”

Gary Haugen serves as President of International Justice Mission (IJM). IJM us an international human rights agency that provides hands-on operational field response to cases of human rights abuse referred by workers in faith based-agencies around the world. Based on these referrals, IJM conducts professional investigations of the abuses and mobilizes intervention on behalf of the victims.

Mr. Haugen received his B.A. in Social Studies, magna cum laude, from Harvard University, and his J.D. from University of Chicago, cum laude, where he was the Ford Foundation Scholar in International Law. Mr. Haugen also served as the Visiting Scholar in Politics at the University of Adelaide in Australia.

Until April of 1997, Mr. Haugen was a Senior Trial Attorney with the Police Misconduct Task Force of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. When Congress granted the Attorney General new authority to pursue enforcement action against police departments with a “pattern of practice” of misconduct, Mr. Haugen selected to serve on a small task force with national enforcement authority.

Mr. Haugen currently serves on the Board of the Human Rights Executive Directors Working Group and on the Board of the Overseers of the Berkeley Journal of International Law. Over the last year, Mr. Haugen has spoken at numerous venues including: Harvard University, Yale Law School, Berkeley Law School and Stanford University. In February 2002, Mr. Haugen hosted a policy briefing on international sex trafficking with Secretary Madeline Albright in conjunction with the events of the Reebok Human Rights Award prior to the commencement of the Salt Lake City Olympics.

Mr. Haugen has authored numerous articles on foreign affairs, international law, and human rights. His latest book, Good News About Injustice, is published by InterVarsity Press. Mr. Haugen currently resides in Sterling, Virginia with his wife, Jan and their four children.

J. Frank Harrison, III is the Chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, the second largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States.  The company operates in 11 states and had net sales in 2009 of nearly $1.5 billion.  Its stated purpose is “To honor God in all we do, to serve other, to pursue excellence, to grow profitably”.

Harrison has served in the leadership capacity at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company since December 1996. But his roots with the company date back to 1902 when his great-grandfather J.B. Harrison first introduced Coca-Cola to the Carolinas.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Harrison received his MBA at Duke University in 1983. He began serving with Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated in 1977 and worked in a variety of positions, including division sales manager and vice president.

In 2008, Harrison and his late son, J. Franklin Harrison IV, founded With Open Eyes, a non-profit ministry that has offered assistance to war-torn Sudan. In recent years, he’s led teams that have traveled to Sudan.

Harrison and his wife, Jan, have been married for 32 years and live in Charlotte. They have three daughters and two grandchildren.

Professor James Davison Hunter, one of America’s preeminent sociologists of religion, is the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Sociology and Religious studies at the University of Virginia. He graduated from Gordon College and later studied under the eminent sociologist Peter Berger at Rutgers University, where he completed his doctorate in 1981. Mr. Hunter joined the faculty of the University of Virginia in 1983, where he currently serves as the Department Chair and the Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. Mr. Hunter has written eight books and a wide range of essays, articles, and reviews all variously concerned with the problem of meaning and moral order in a time of political and cultural change in American life. These have earned him national recognition and numerous literary awards. In 1988 he received the Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion for “Evangelicalism: The Coming Generation”. In 1991 he was the recipient of the Gustavus Myers Award for the Study of Human Rights for “Articles of Faith; Articles of Peace”. The Los Angeles Times named Mr. Hunter as a finalist for their 1992 Book Prize for “Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America”, for which he also received an Honorable Mention in the Phi Beta Kappa Book Competition.

In recent years, much of Mr. Hunter’s time has focused on establishing and overseeing the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, a university-based, interdisciplinary research center concerned with understanding contemporary cultural change and its implications for individuals, institutions, and society. Under his direction, the Institute has sponsored university-wide colloquia, provided doctoral and post-doctoral research support, held conferences, and fielded two national surveys of public opinion on the changing political culture of late 20th and early 21st century America.

Mr. Hunter’s latest work, “The Death of Character” (Basic Books, 2000), is a historical and cultural analysis of moral education in American society. The focus of this research is on the social and cultural conditions that make “character” possible, how these conditions have changed over the years, and what these changes mean for the normative ordering of self in society.

Over the years, his research findings have been presented to audiences on National Public Radio and C-Span, at the National Endowment for the Arts and at dozens of colleges and universities around the country including Columbia, Harvard, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, and Holy Cross College. He also has been a consultant to the White House, the Bicentennial Commission for the U.S. Constitution, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the National Commission on Civic Renewal. Mr. Hunter also instrumental in founding of The Trinity Forum and over the years has contributed to the development of several of the Trinity Forum’s curricula.

James "Jamie" Hastings is an attorney with the law firm of Rothwell Figg, specializing in trademark law and brand protection.  Jamie is also a leader of the NCS Manchester chapter.

Jamie has more than twenty years of experience representing healthcare, technology, and consumer goods clients in all facets of trademark law and brand protection. Previously, he served as in-house counsel to the Vermont Country Store, a well-known U.S. catalog and e-commerce retailer. He is the editor of the online publication, Trademark Opposition Lawyer, a digital guide about contested proceedings before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), as well as The Trademark Interview,  a digital publication and podcast that features practical insight from leading global trademark and brand protection professionals. Jamie is also an approved mediator of the International Trademark Association Panel of Mediators.

In addition to serving as a leader of NCS Manchester, Jamie serves as Senior Warden of Zion Episcopal Church in Manchester, VT.

Jamie was born and raised in Ridgefield, CT.  He has a B.A from Fordham University and his J.D. from Western New England University School of Law.

John Hackney is a graduate of The College of The Holy Cross, Rice University, and Cornell’s Johnson School. Currently, John’s professional focus is helping families transfer intergenerational wealth utilizing strategies which typically involve life insurance. Previously, John has worked in sales for Morgan Stanley and for The Griswold Company [NYSE member]. John is and has been involved with various charitable organizations including Wellsprings and Covenant House in Texas, as well as the St. George’s Homeless Shelter and Boys Hope Girls Hope in New York.

Joseph H. Holland is an attorney, entrepreneur, government official, writer and ordained minister with over thirty-five years of experience of serving the community.

Holland began his government career as Director and General Counsel to the New York State Senate Committee on Housing and Community Development. He subsequently served as New York State Housing Commissioner where he managed over 1,500 employees and orchestrated the planning and funding of thousands of units of affordable housing in various locations across New York State. He also served on the boards of the following New York State-sponsored entities: the Harlem Community Development Corporation, the Municipal Assistance Corporation and the Empire State Development Corporation.

Holland operated a Harlem-based real estate law practice and used his management skills to build commercial enterprises and expand employment opportunities in Harlem. He was instrumental in establishing an American Express Travel Office, a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream parlor, a Body Shop retail store, and Harkhomes, a homeless shelter whose residents found work in these businesses. He also served for many years as Vice- President of the Harlem Business Alliance (hbany.org) and co-founded the Beth Hark Christian Counseling Center, which recently celebrated thirty years of community outreach (bethharkccc.org).

Holland’s writings include: an inspirational self-help book - “The Touchstone Tools: Building Your Way To An Inspired Life” (touchtonetools.com); his spiritual memoir - “From Harlem With Love: An Ivy Leaguer’s Inner-City Odyssey”; his first stage play - “Cast Me Down”, which enjoyed a Off-Broadway run; and his second stage play, "Homegrown," which experienced two extended runs at Harlem’s landmark National Black Theatre. His new book - “The Vigorous Virtues: Daily Success Principles From Diverse American Founders” will be released in Fall 2019.

Holland has received awards and honors for both his business and social service accomplishments. In 1993 President Bill Clinton recognized Mr. Holland in a White House ceremony for his community-building initiatives. He received an honorary degree from the City University of New York Law School and was recognized for his career accomplishments by the Ivy Football Association in January 2017 and by the City of Yonkers, New York, which proclaimed “Joseph Holland Day” on June 7, 2017.

A graduate of Cornell University, where he earned a B.A. and M.A. and was an All-American and Academic All-American football player, Holland has served as a member of the University's Board of Trustees since 1988. He holds his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School.

Justin Hall-Tipping, is CEO and Founder of NanoHoldings, a venture fund that specializes in forming and building nano-energy start-ups with leading scientists and universities worldwide. He was Managing Director and Partner of SG Capital in New York, where he was responsible for all venture investments. Prior to SG Capital, he was Director of Reuters’ Data Intelligence Group and CEO of HeartBeat Corp., a multimedia software company he founded. Justin began his venture career in 1990 as a partner of NEPA Venture Fund, a fund that specialized in start-up and early-stage companies.

Justin received his B.Sc., with honors, in International Finance and Banking from City University, London, and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Mark Herzlich is a Super Bowl Champion and was an all-American linebacker/tight end at Boston College.  Following a seven-year NFL career with the New York Giants, Herzlich serves as an analyst for ESPN’s ACC Network football game coverage, as well as anchoring in studio.

During his time with the Giants, Herzlich was named as a finalist for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, and won the United Way Gridiron Community Champion Award and the Ed Block Courage Award. While at Boston College, Herzlich earned all-America honors along with being named the 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. The following year, Herzlich was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. In September 2009, after undergoing aggressive chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, Herzlich announced live on ESPN’s College Gameday that he was cancer free.

He rejoined his Giants teammates for the 2010 season, starting all 13 games and collecting the Rudy Award, the ACC’s Brian Piccolo Award, as well as an ESPY for Comeback athlete of the year. Mark lives in Rowayton, CT with his wife and son and published a memoir titled What It Takes: Fighting for My Life and My Love of the Game.

A nationally respected scholar, Dr. Hatch began his tenure as Wake Forest University’s thirteenth president on July 1, 2005.

Dr. Hatch joined the history faculty at Notre Dame in 1975 and had been Provost, the University’s second-highest ranking position, since 1996, the first Protestant to hold that position. He was also the Andrew V. Tackes Professor of History. He is regularly cited as one of the most influential scholars in the study of the history of religion in America and won national acclaim for his 1989 book, The Democratization of American Christianity. He is also the author, editor, or co-editor of seven other books on religion.

A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Dr. Hatch is the son of a Presbyterian minister. He received his undergraduate degree from Wheaton College in 1968 and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Washington University in St. Louis. He was awarded postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard and Johns Hopkins universities before joining the history department at Notre Dame. During the early part of his teaching career, he received the college’s Paul Fenion Award for excellence in undergraduate teaching.

Beginning in the 1980’s Dr. Hatch held a number of leadership positions in the history department and the academic administration. As vice president for graduate studies and research from 1989 until being named provost in 1996, he oversaw Notre Dame’s master’s degree and doctoral programs.

Dr. Hatch has been a leader in a wide range of community and academic leadership roles. He was appointed in 2000 by President Clinton to the National Council on the Humanities, the 26-person advisory board for the National Endowment for the Humanities. He also serves on the board of Fuller Theological Seminary. He is a former president of the American Society of Church History and a former member of the National Advisory Board of the Salvation Army.

He and his wife, Julie, a former public school teacher, have three children: Gregg, a 1997 graduate of Notre Dame who is a health care administrator in South Bend, Indiana; David, a 2000 Notre Dame graduate who has worked in finance and is pursuing an MBA at the Fuqua School at Duke University; and Beth, a junior at Notre Dame majoring in American Studies and theology.

(For more information go tohttp://www.wfu.edu/administration/president/office.php)

Nick Hall is the founder and primary evangelist for PULSE, a Twin Cities, Minn.-based ministry leading the largest student-led prayer and outreach efforts in America. At age 30, Hall’s burning is to “awaken culture to the reality of Jesus.” Traveling as a youth communicator since 2001, Nick has had the opportunity to speak at hundreds of events while receiving hands-on training from some of the most influential Christian leaders of our day.

As a voice to the next generation, his passions include student-led prayer movements, leadership training, evangelism, and discipleship. Nick is regularly featured as a speaker for student conferences, training events, and festivals around the country, including the Winter Jam Tour Spectacular of 2012 and 2013, which had 
the largest attendance of any music tour in the world.

Nick launched PULSE after writing an English paper his junior year at North Dakota State University (NDSU) about how to reach the younger generation with the message of Jesus. Since being enlightened by this research in 2006, the PULSE movement has spread to campuses and communities across the nation with tens of thousands attending events each year.

Nick serves on the executive committee of the Proclamation Evangelism Network, the student advisory team for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), and is one of four Partner Evangelists with the Luis Palau Association. Nick has been the feature emcee of BGEA’s “Rock the River Tour” the past four summers as well as keynote speaker and trainer at the biggest Christian music festivals in the Midwest – Lifelight, Sonshine and Lifest. Nationally Nick has been brought in by Premier Festivals to speak at festivals across the nation. In addition, Nick was a keynote speaker at NRB 2013.

Nick has been tagged as an emerging international voice in the cause of evangelism. In the fall of 2010, Nick was invited to be one of 4,000 delegates from around the world to attend the Lausanne Global Congress on World Evangelism in Cape Town, South Africa. In the spring of 2011, Nick was welcomed to the National Facilitation Committee for the Mission America Coalition (MAC), the United States’ arm of the Lausanne Movement. Nick is the youngest committee member by more than 20 years.

He has been featured on major radio and television networks including the Christian Television Network, the Christian Broadcasting Network, The Christian Post, FOXnews.com. MORF Magazine and KARE 11 News in Minneapolis. Nick has interviewed live from the UNITE National Day of Prayer Event in May of 2012, which aired on Moody Broadcasting’s “One Cry” show, and has been featured in articles published by Christianity Today, Decision Magazine, and Baptist Press.

Nick is married to his best friend, Tiffany; they live in Minneapolis, Minn.. They had their first child Truett in July 2012. Nick has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from NDSU, and a master’s in Leadership and Christian Thought from Bethel Seminary

Os Hillman is president of Marketplace Leaders,an organization whose purpose is to help men and women discover and fulfill God’s complete purposes through their work and to view their work as ministry.

Os is an internationally recognized speaker on the subject of faith at work. He is the author of 11 books and a daily email devotional called TGIF Today God Is First which has over 190,000 daily subscribers worldwide. He developed and teaches The 9 to 5 Window Workshop and Change Agent Intensive weekend training sessions. Os also gives leadership to a new intiative called The Change Agent Network. Os has been featured on CNBC, NBC, LA Times, New York Times, and many other national media as a spokesperson on faith at work.

Os is also president of Aslan Inc. which provides a leading online Christian bookstore to serve the “faith-at-work” movement called TGIFbookstore.com to serve the needs of Christians in their workplace calling.

Os attended the University of South Carolina and Calvary Chapel Bible School, a ministry of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, California. Os lives in Cumming, Georgia, a suburb in north Atlanta.

Peter G. Hawkins has worked in the financial industry for over 35 years. He began as an officer at the Chase Manhattan Bank. From there Peter started a highly successful mortgage brokerage business in Beverly Hills. Returning to the east coast in 1980 he was one of the new companies to focus on financial planning.

Peter was recently selected (2008 & 2009) by the Consumers’ Research Council of America, an independent research company in Washington, DC, as one of “America’s Top Financial Planners.” And, is listed in the “Guide to America’s Top Financial Planners.”

On the side Peter played in the Metropolitan Union for the Old Blue RFC (same club as BJ Weber and Bob Muzikowski, but please don’t hold it against Peter) and in Los Angeles for the LA Rugby Club. He was selected to the Metropolitan Union All-star team as well as the President’s XVs. As Head Coach at Yale the team won the Northeast Championships and was invited to the Nationals.

In addition, Peter and his wife Phyllis have two LA film-director sons, Zeke and Simon (www.TheHawkinsBrothers.com). Peter is a long standing member of the New Canaan Society when it simply met in New Canaan and didn’t have a name.

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Richard B. Hays, Dean and the George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, is internationally recognized for his work on the letters of Paul and on New Testament ethics. His scholarly work has bridged the disciplines of biblical criticism and literary studies, exploring the innovative ways in which early Christian writers interpreted Israel’s Scripture.

His book The Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community, Cross, New Creation was selected by Christianity Today as one of the 100 most important religious books of the twentieth century. His most recent books are The Art of Reading Scripture (2003, co-edited with Ellen Davis), The Conversion of the Imagination (2005), Seeking the Identity of Jesus: A Pilgrimage (2008, co-edited with Beverly Roberts Gaventa), andRevelation and the Politics of Apocalyptic Interpretation (2012, co-edited with Stefan Alkier).

Professor Hays has lectured widely in North America, Europe, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. An ordained United Methodist minister, he has preached in settings ranging from rural Oklahoma churches to London’s Westminster Abbey. Professor Hays has chaired the Pauline Epistles Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, as well as the Seminar on New Testament Ethics in the Society for New Testament Studies, and has served on the editorial boards of several leading scholarly journals. Professor Hays received an honorary doctorate (Dr. theol. honoris causa) from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2009.

Ron Hutchcraft is an impassioned contemporary evangelist, speaker, author, and radio host. As President of Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Ron and his team specialize in developing authentic, relevant, and creative tools to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people in their language.

He is the author of several books, including The Battle for a Generation, A Life That Matters, and Called to Greatness. His most recent book, Hope When Your Heart is Breaking:  Finding God’s Presence in Your Pain (Harvest House), was released January 2021 and is dedicated to his wife Karen, who went home to be with Jesus in 2016.

For over 35 years, Ron has been a part of people’s daily lives through his popular radio program. “A Word With You,” heard across the country and broadcast internationally in the five most-spoken languages in the world.

Ron is the co-founder of “On Eagles’ Wings,” an outreach and leadership development program for Native American and First Nations young people. He has traveled with and helped shepherd Native-led “On Eagles’ Wings” teams that have brought hope to over 100 Native communities. He is also the founder of the Warrior Leadership Summit conference, which annually brings together young people from almost 100 Indian nations. In addition, the “On Eagles’ Wings” Warrior Scholarship Fund has helped many Native young people go to college to train for spiritual leadership among their people.

Ron has been a popular speaker for major events and conferences in North America, Africa, South America and Asia and has spent his entire life working cross-culturally with young people. At Billy Graham Schools of Evangelism and other conferences, Ron has trained tens of thousands of Christian leaders in how to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our rapidly-changing culture.

Ron worked alongside his late wife and life-long ministry partner, Karen.  They have three children who have served with them in ministry, and nine grandchildren.

Kevin J. “Seamus” Hasson is Founder and President of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a bipartisan, interfaith public-interest law firm that protects the free expression of all religious traditions. Since 1994, Hasson and the Becket Fund have successfully represented clients from nearly every faith tradition including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, Native Americans, Unitarians and Zoroastrians. Along the way, the Becket Fund has won kudos from thinkers from Pope John Paul II to Elie Wiesel.

Hasson enjoys broad credibility in the national media. He has been widely quoted, appearing for example, in Newsweek, US News and World Report, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor and USA Today, as well as in regional media from The L.A. Times to The Chicago Tribune to The Philadelphia Enquirer. He has appeared on broadcast news programs including The Today Show, Dateline NBC, McLaughlin One on One, NPR’s Talk of the Nation, and CNN Talkback Live. He’s also appeared twice on Al-Jazeera, debating Saudi clerics.

Hasson lectures and debates frequently, in venues ranging from Oxford to the Vatican, from Harvard to BYU. He is the author of The Right to be Wrong: Ending the Culture War over Religion in America.

Before founding the Becket Fund in 1994, Hasson was an attorney at Williams & Connolly in Washington D.C., where he focused on religious liberty litigation. From 1986 to 1987, he served in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department where he advised the White House and cabinet departments on church-state relations. He is a 1985 magna cum laude graduate of Notre Dame Law School and also holds a Master’s degree in theology from Notre Dame.

Wayne Huizenga, Jr. is the President of Huizenga Holdings, Inc., a diversified company that manages and owns the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League and Dolphin Stadium in South Florida as well as investments in resorts and real estate. He is a founding board member of the Bank of Florida and Chairman of the Board of Rybovich, a marina and yacht refit company based in West Palm Beach, FL.

He graduated from the University of Tampa with a degree in business in 1985.

Mr. Huizenga, Jr. is a member of the board for the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County. He is founder and a member of the board of directors for the Christian Community Foundation of South Florida and the Board of Trustees.

He is a member of Trinity Forum’s Board of Advisors, Lifework National Advisory Board. Mr. Huizenga, Jr. is honorary chairman for the Souper Bowl of Caring, a member of the Advisory Committee for Door of Hope Outreach, Inc. and a steering committee member for Impact XXI. He is involved with the Vida Nueva Ministries, a Christian outreach ministry addressing the needs of the underserved in rural Mexico.

He is also a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization, Florida Chapter; a member, presenter and advisor of PathNorth and a member of the CEO Forum.

Mr. Huizenga, Jr. married his childhood sweetheart, Fonda Hix, in 1991. They have four children: Savannah, Tres (Wayne, III), Gerritt and Ainsley. Wayne, Jr. and his family regularly attend Calvary Chapel in Fort Lauderdale.

Will Haughey is Co-Founder and CEO of Tegu, a social impact toy company he started with his brother, Chris. Will and Tegu's USA team operate in Darien, Connecticut. Will earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Indiana University, where he concentrated in Finance and International Studies. Upon graduation, he joined the Healthcare Investment Banking practice of Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York. Following two years of mergers and financing work, Will joined Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, a multi-strategy investment vehicle, managing investments in private and publicly-traded companies. Will and Chris co-founded Tegu in 2008. He and his wife, Rachel, live in Rowayton, Connecticut, just moments away from NEAT, Rachel's artisan espresso bar based in Darien.

Zack Hunt is a popular blogger, writer, and ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene. He is the author of Unraptured: How End Times Theology Gets It Wrong.

His writing on faith and politics has appeared in Huffington Post,  Relevant Magazine, and Patheos where he is a regular contributor. He has also made cameo appearances in places including The Boston Globe and New York Magazine.

After spending nearly a decade in ministry, Zack attended Yale Divinity School, where he graduated with a master's degree in Christian history.

He and his wife and two daughters live in Tennessee where he spends his free time trying to smoke the perfect rack of ribs on his beloved Weber Grill.

Bill Kennedy says 1 John 2:15-17 describes him best before God broke him.  A  Christian with one foot in the world and one in the church is most miserable.  God allowed him to achieve all of his dreams but never stability or peace of mind.  Sometimes God allows achievement to show us HE is the author of Joy.

As publisher of Conservative Digest, it was exciting to live out his dream to play a role in helping President Reagan win the cold war.  His relationship with the President helped with informing his base to the importance of objectives likes SDI.

Bill co-authored a book A Taxpayer Survey of the Grace Commission which condensed a 49,000 page report commissioned by President Reagan, which sold over 700,000 copies in an effort to stem federal spending.

But Bill’s arrogance caused his fast-growing business to crumble into bankruptcy.  However, through his work for the Kuwait government in lobbying for Desert Storm, he was able to bring the business out of Chapter 11 with a plan to repay 100% of the losses.  Still he was indicted, convicted and sentenced to 20 years in a federal prison.   Bill says it was a blessing because this is where He came know God and where God revealed Bill to Bill. God showed Bill who was the author of Joy and that being grateful was the key to happiness.  God used his life impacting many of the men because of his attitude.

He credits Dr. Tim LaHaye for this as he mentored Bill through phone calls and visits.  Dr. LaHaye dedicated the 30th addition of his book How to Study the Bible to Bill and also includes a chapter on Bill’s ministry.   It was in great pain and disappointment that God taught Bill to Suffer Joyfully.

Bill is blessed with an incredible wife of 42 years who waited faithfully for over 17 years.  They have three grown children who are in living in God’s will and six beautiful grandchildren.

Bill began his business career in 1978 with Coldwell Banker (now CB Richard Ellis – CBRE) a major-international real estate company. He began his work in Phoenix transferring to Dallas in 1979. He was associated with two other commercial real estate companies in Dallas before starting his own brokerage and investment company in 1984.

In a career change, in the summer of 1996, Bill began publishing “Koenig’s Watch,” a weekly summary of important Middle East news from Dallas. He moved to the Internet in 1997, expanding the coverage to international news and changing the name to “Koenig’s International News” (http://watch.org).

The news service, which now includes “WorldWatchDaily” with constantly updated stories from a large variety of news sources, today has readers and e-mail subscribers in all 50 states and 81 countries around the globe.

In early 1999, he produced the audio tape “Countdown 2000,” discussing ten major events to watch moving into the new century.

In January 2001, he moved the news service to the Washington DC area and became a White House correspondent.

In October 2001, he co-authored with John McTernan “Israel: The Blessing or the Curse.”

In February 2004, he authored “Eye to Eye – Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel,” which was revised and updated in July 2006.

He writes a weekly 12-page news report called “Koenig’s Eye View from the White House,” that focuses on world news that is biblically relevant and White House news from a Christian perspective.

Bill was a member of First Baptist Dallas and the Dallas Theological Seminary’s Presidents Council before moving to Washington D.C.

He has been very active in both local and national Christian activities. He has attended seven National Religious Broadcaster (NRB) conventions, two in Washington, D.C., two in Nashville, one in Charlotte, one in Anaheim, and one in Dallas.

He graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Communications.

Bill and his wife Claudia attend McLean Bible Church in McLean, Virginia.

Brian Kelly serves as Staff Chaplain at Memorial Sloan Kettering’s new David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care in New York City. He joined MSKCC in 2016 after graduating that year from Yale Divinity School with his Master of Divinity degree. Brian had previously worked as a corporate lawyer for 35 years, including positions as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Chris-Craft Industries in New York and W. R. Berkley Corporation in Greenwich. He is a graduate of Columbia Law School and Yale College.

Brian grew up on the Jersey Shore in a large and devout Catholic family and has lived in Riverside for 30 years. After decades as a “lapsed Catholic,” his journey back to faith began when he joined the congregation of Trinity Church in Greenwich in 2010. The men of Trinity, including many longstanding members of NCS, played key roles in this walk and remain among his spiritual mentors.

Brian Lahoue is a businessman, pastor and author.  Brian has over 20 years of management experience as a principal and in leadership roles that span sales, operations, marketing, and alliances.   His first book, Deal With It!:  How to Stop Running from People, Problems and Pressure, is about how and why to handle confrontation, improve your communication, and tackle tough people and situations.  

As a curious lifelong learner and serial entrepreneur, Brian has a passion for personal development.  Deal with It!, is the result of more than a decade of thought, research, and personal practice in multiple settings of work, calling, and personal relationships.  Having founded, co-founded, and been an early member of multiple ventures in the tech sector, Brian has often faced high stakes conversations and conflicts in the workplace.  Serving as an associate pastor, co-pastor, missionary, and pastor, Brian had to level with those facing difficulty or in need of advice, sometimes providing counsel they did not want to hear.  As a believer, Brian has experienced the spiritual transformation that only Christ can bring to heal the heart of anger, bitterness, fear, and depression.

Brian graduated from Fitchburg State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management.  Brian and his wife have four children, including one author, and live in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Christopher Kay has been the President and CEO of The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) since July 2013.  The NYRA was founded in 1955 and franchised to run thoroughbred racing at New York’s three major tracks (Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course) through 2033.

Before taking over leadership of the NYRA, Kay served as Chief Operating Officer for The Trust for Public Land, where he oversaw the operations of the land conservation organization’s headquarters and 37 field offices. Prior to that, Kay was a consultant to Universal Parks & Resorts, serving as its Managing Director of International Business Development.  From 2001-2006, Kay served as the Chief Operating Officer for Toys 'R' Us, a Fortune 200 international company, and prior to that he was the retailer's Executive Vice President of Operations and General Counsel. Kay was also a minority owner of Orlando's AA baseball team and a member of the ownership group that sought to obtain the first MLB franchise in Florida.

Kay is a graduate of the University of Missouri and of the Duke University School of Law.

Cliffe Knechtle is the Senior Pastor of Grace Community Church in New Canaan, and host of the television ministry “Give Me An Answer”, which began in 1991 and airs in the US and abroad.

His Give Me An Answer ministry is filmed live on college campuses across the United States and began as an outgrowth from his extensive work with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and the dialogues Cliffe has had with students on various university campuses across the United States.

Cliffe is also an author, having published the books “Give Me An Answer”, “Help Me Believe” and “Heaven Can’t Wait”.

Born in New York City and a graduate of Davidson College in North Carolina, he then attended Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary just outside of Boston.
He is happily married to wife Sharon and is the father of three boys.

In the two decades he has worked in Hollywood, Dave Johnson has created, produced, written, and directed nearly a half billion dollars worth of entertainment. He has collaborated with some of Hollywood’s top names (including teaming up with Steven Spielberg to Co-Create and Executive Produce DreamWorks premier television production – the ABC hit drama, “High Incident”) and has created product for virtually every major entertainment company in Hollywood including Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Brothers, DreamWorks, MGM, FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS, and many others.

Newsweek called his work “a true dramatic gem.”  His projects have received enthusiastic critical acclaim from every corner of the nation and he has been honored with many awards. He is known within the Hollywood industry and beyond as someone who creates shows with honesty and humor that speak to the hearts and minds of people everywhere.  A former President of Warner Bros. Television says Dave’s “…prolific ability to create and write quality scripts, coupled with his show-running talent, places him among the best writer/producers in the industry.” The president of another one of the world’s largest media companies said, “Dave understands what the audience wants and knows how to give it to them!  And working with him is always a great experience.”

Dave most recently produced and directed a new reality series and is working on forming a new content and delivery media company.

Dave and his wife, Diane, reside in Southern California.  They have a daughter, Alex, who graduated from Pepperdine University and now works for the Literary and Talent Agency APA in Beverly Hills, and a son, Matt, who is a junior at Columbia University majoring in History (and Basketball).

Dr. Robert "Bob" Lobel is the director of Northeast Urogynecology in Albany, NY, for many years the only fellowship-trained urogynecologist in the NY Capital District and a wide swath of upstate New York.  He has also been leading the NCS Albany chapter since starting it in 2012.

Bob received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in computer science and his medical degree from Oral Roberts University.  Following residency in Phoenix and fellowship in Chicago at Northwestern University Medical School, he moved to Albany, NY to found the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at Albany Medical College.  He then launched his private practice twenty years ago.  Dr. Lobel is the recipient of both local and national awards for his research endeavors and has written many articles in medical journals and textbooks.

He has been the chairman of the Alpha Pregnancy Care Center in Albany for over 25 years, preaching the gospel in word and action to women facing unwanted pregnancies.  He has headed up the Capital Region Prayer Breakfast for a number of years now.  He has served as a lay pastor in his church.

Husband of two, father of six , and grandfather of four, he has taken his entire family on medical missions trips to Guatemala.

Dr. Timothy J. Keller was born in the year 1950 and grew up in Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania where he attended Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the Westminster Theological Seminary. During his seminary training, he met and married the former Kathy Louise Kristy of Pittsburgh, Pa. They have three sons: David, Michael, and Jonathan.
Dr. Keller was converted during his college years through the ministry of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. The writings of C.S. Lewis were, says Dr. Keller, the foundational work of God in his life. His ministry experience began with three years as an associate on staff with Inter-Varsity Fellowship in Boston, Massachusetts. He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in America in Boston and relocated to Virginia where he served as a pastor for nine years. During that time, Dr. Keller also served as director of church planting for his denomination in the Middle Atlantic region, supervising the development of two dozen new congregations.
During the mid 1980’s the Keller family moved to Philadelphia, where Tim served on the faculty of Westminster Seminary, teaching communication and leadership. While in Philadelphia, Tim and Kathy became involved in Urban Ministry. During this time, while serving as Director of Mercy Ministries for his denomination, Tim authored two books: Resources for Deacons (for the PCA, 1986) and Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road(Zondervan, 1989). Both volumes provide theory and practice for ministry to persons with material, physical, emotional, and economical difficulties. In Philadelphia, while actively involved in an evangelistic outreach to Muslims, he also chaired an evangelical organization reaching out to the homosexual population. While acting as chairman, Dr. Keller helped organize and set up a much needed ministry to people with AIDS. In addition, he served as consultant to a local Christian service organization that provided literary education, job training and job placement to unemployed and underemployed people in the city.
Between the years of 1987 and 1988, the Presbyterian Church in America began to form plans for planting a church in New York City. Tim was approached and asked to do the field research and lay the foundation for this new project. It was through this assignment that Tim and Kathy found their hearts being captured by the great need and opportunity for ministry in New York City.

In June of 1989 the Kellers moved to the city to begin planting what is nowRedeemer Presbyterian Church, which with God’s help has prospered beyond all of their early projections and expectations. As a result, Redeemer Presbyterian Church has become especially effective in reaching Manhattan professionals from many diverse occupations and cultural backgrounds.
Tim and Kathy Keller are committed to promoting, nurturing, and supporting the growth of new churches in America and around the world. It is their desire to minister in New York City for the remainder of their lives. Their prayer is to plan and help incite the movement of holistic ministries to meet the needs of both the body and soul. This plan encompasses a church planting movement that will spawn dozens of new congregations throughout the urban area and the world and will continue for decades to come.
Now with a staff of more than 90 employees and a church attendance of over 5,000 members and regular attendees, Redeemer has begun sponsoring the planting of other professional and multiethnic churches throughout the metropolitan area and the world.

The Kellers live on Roosevelt Island in New York City.

D. Duane Litfin is now serving in his tenth year as Wheaton College’s seventh president. He holds an undergraduate degree in biblical studies and a master’s degree in theology. His two doctorates are from Purdue University (Ph.D., Communication) and Oxford University (D.Phil., New Testament). He came to Wheaton from Memphis, TN where he served the First Evangelical Church as Senior Pastor. Prior to that he was an Associate Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. He also taught at Purdue University and Indiana University. Dr. Litfin is the author of several books and his writings have appeared in numerous journals and periodicals. He and his wife, Sherri, have two married sons and a married daughter.

Fr. Louis Marie Leonelli has been a member of the Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal since 2001. He experienced a conversion through the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1993 that eventually led him to the Franciscans. He was ordained a priest in 2009 and is director of St. Anthony Shelter for Renewal in the South Bronx where he currently resides.

Gerardo Lambert is a certified personal trainer and the creator of BodyShock training, a high intensity fitness class utilizing free weights, plyometrics movements, and choreographed steps to optimize fitness results. Gerardo trains private clients, develops fitness programs for corporate clients and runs BodyShock classes in fitness facilities throughout Fairfield and Westchester counties.  bodyshockbygerardo.com

In 2005, while training for competition as a bodybuilder, Gerardo was diagnosed with idiopathic cardiomyopathy, a disease that causes the chambers of the heart to enlarge and decreases muscle contractions.  It was believed to have been caused by an unknown infection.  He continued to train to the best of his ability, whether it was walking a few miles a day, or practicing short intervals of functional training.  “I watched so many others in my position give up on their careers, give up on all physical activities, and just sit themselves down in wheelchairs. Having heart disease is not as forgiving as propaganda makes it out to be. Without an exceptional support group, the right guidance, and moderate physical activity, cardiac patients can easily loose the will power to live!” Gerardo explains.

In 2009, Gerardo received a heart transplant.  After being bed bound for three months in an induced comma, Gerardo had lost over 80lbs of muscle mass – nearly half his weight, and needed to rebuild even the most common muscular functions from walking, to sitting upright in a chair.  During his recovery, Gerardo had a miraculous encounter that brought him back to his faith with a new perspective on the preciousness of each day, and it didn’t take Gerardo long to get back to work! Only six months after his transplant surgery, Gerardo was back in the gym spreading inspirational words to all his clients about the significance of taking care of this one body and life that we have.  This is how BodyShock was created!

Gerardo was born in White Plains, NY and now lives in Trumbull, CT with his wife Tiffany.  Gerardo has five children ranging in age from 2 to 24, two with Tiffany and three from a prior marriage.

L. Gregory Jones has served since 1997 as the 11th dean of Duke Divinity School. Dean Jones is widely recognized as a scholar and church leader on such issues as forgiveness and reconciliation, Christian vocation, and strengthening the church and its ministry. He is known for teaching that fosters students’ imaginations in connecting Christian faith to everyday life, for research that promotes interdisciplinary conversation, and for a commitment to ecumenical and interfaith dialogue.

His leadership as dean has been marked by significant growth in the Divinity School. Major initiatives during his tenure include the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life, a project on Caring Communities, the Reynolds Program in Church Leadership, the Learned Clergy Initiative, the Duke Youth Academy for Christian Formation, the Walltown Neighborhood Partnership, and partnership(s) with the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, Uganda, Brazil, Peru, and Germany.

He is the author or editor of 13 books, including the acclaimed “Embodying Forgiveness,” and, most recently, “Everyday Matters: Intersections of Life and Faith” and the co-authored “Resurrecting Excellence: Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry.” He writes a regular column, “Faith Matters,” for The Christian Century magazine, for which he is also an editor-at-large. Dean Jones also has published more than 100 articles in a variety of publications. For 10 years he was co-editor of Modern Theology, a scholarly journal published by Blackwells in Oxford, England, and he currently serves as an associate editor for the journal.

Dean Jones has traveled extensively around the world, especially addressing issues of forgiveness and reconciliation in lectures and sermons. In recent years he has been in South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine, and in China and South Korea.

Dean Jones has preached and lectured in major pulpits and at annual conferences across the United States. He also has delivered numerous distinguished lectureships at colleges and universities. In addition, he has provided significant leadership for many pastors’ schools and other continuing education events for laity and clergy. Dean Jones and his wife, the Rev. Susan Pendleton Jones, have written several units (and the accompanying videos) for The United Methodist Publishing House’s new “Living the Good Life Together” series.

Dean Jones serves on the Board of Trustees of the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, N.J. He is also a member of the University Senate of the United Methodist Church. He is the project director for major programs aimed at sustaining and advancing pastoral excellence.

Dean Jones is an ordained United Methodist pastor and a member of theWestern North Carolina Conference. He and his wife have three children: Nathan, Ben and Sarah.

Henry Kaestner is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Bandwidth.com, a telecommunications company serving more than 6,000 business customers in the U.S., including Google, Pinger and Skype.  The company was the fourth fastest growing privately held company in the country during the 5 years of 2003 through 2007 according to INC Magazine’s INC 500.  The company’s values are faith, family, work and fitness (in that order).

Henry’s past professional life included positions at Arthur Andersen, Merrill Lynch and several boutique institutional firms focused on energy trading based in New York City.  In early 2008, Henry transitioned from CEO to Chairman to focus on what he believes was a calling to honor God in ministry and international development.

Together with his business partner, David Morken, he has founded several organizations that help Christ followers discover the joy of giving through exploring the questions of why, how, and where.  Examples of their work are Sovereign’s Wealth Fund, DurhamCares.org, MinistrySpotlight.org,and ChristianTechnologyInitiative.org.

Henry is an elder in the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), and he and his wife live in Durham, NC with their 3 young sons.

Joseph Loconte is the William E. Simon Fellow in Religion and a Free Society at theHeritage Foundation, where he examines the role of religious belief in strengthening democracy and reforming civil society. Mr. Loconte previously served as deputy editor of Policy Review, where he wrote widely about religion and politics. He is especially interested in new models for church-state partnerships, efforts to protect religious liberty at home and abroad, and the relationship of Islam to democracy.

He is the editor of the forthcoming book The End of Illusions: Religious Leaders Confront Hitler’s Gathering Storm (Rowman & Littlefield, September 2004). His other book is Seducing the Samaritan: How Government Contracts Are Reshaping Social Services (Boston: Pioneer Institute, 1997), which documents the destructive impact of government funding on private charities. His most recent research studies include “The White House Initiative to Combat AIDS: Learning From Uganda” (published by the Heritage Foundation) and “Churches, Charity and Children: How Religious Organizations Are Reaching America’s At-Risk Kids,” (published by the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society). A monograph, God, Government and the Good Samaritan: The Promise and the Peril of the President’s Faith-Based Agenda, was published in 2002 by the Heritage Foundation.

Since 1996, Mr. Loconte has served as a regular commentator on religion and culture for National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. He also has appeared on CBS Morning News, Fox News, and PBS’ Flashpoints — and has debated at the Oxford Union. His articles have appeared in the nation’s leading magazines and newspapers, including The Weekly Standard, The Public Interest, National Review, The American Enterprise, Christianity Today, First Things, Books and Culture, The Journal of Church and State, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Chicago Tribune. He has testified before U.S. House and Senate subcommittees on federal efforts to expand the role of faith-based poverty-fighting groups. In 1998, Mr. Loconte won the $10,000 first prize in the Amy Writing Award Program for his article “Making Criminals Pay,” which appeared in Policy Review.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Mr. Loconte earned his bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana and has a master’s degree in Christian History and Theology from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Jason Locy is Creative Director and Principal of FiveStone, a multidisciplinary brand and design studio. He and his team craft the stories, brands, strategies, and campaigns for a wide range of organizations. Their work includes event branding for the Q conference, publication design for Catalyst Magazine, an interactive campaign for MTV, and character development for Chick-fil-A. Jason’s work at FiveStone has garnered national and international attention.

Jason co-wrote Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society and Home Behind the Sun: Connect with God in the Brilliance of the Everyday and has contributed articles for CNN.com, Catalyst Magazine, and a variety of other online publications.

He lives in New York City with his winsome wife Heather and three boisterous children Ethan, Christian and Naomi.

Joe Kissack is an authority on content delivery; the historical changes; current trends; emerging platforms; and the converging narrative of massive shifts in distribution of what we used to call “television”. He is the founding principal of Relevance Shift and Ezekiel 22 Productions and is a collaborative professional who accelerates ideas into action around reaching relevant audiences, with relevant content, across relevant platforms. At Sony Pictures he worked on dozens of nationally syndicated television shows, including the multibillion-dollar assets of “Seinfeld” and hundreds of motion pictures. He was CEO of the content generating How Stuff Works and a Partner of the award-winning storytelling publisher, August House.

Kissack is an author, screenwriter, producer, and speaker. Random House released his first book, The Fourth Fisherman, in which he weaves together the true story of the struggles in his life’s journey, and his interactions with the Tres Pescadores, three Mexican fisherman that drifted 5,500 miles across the Pacific Ocean for nearly a year, surviving on raw fish, rainwater, and their faith in God. In July 2012, Book Page named The Fourth Fisherman “a must read”.

Kissack is a speaker, and a frequent guest on local and national broadcasts with appearances from coast to coast on NBC ABC CBS, Fox.

Now in his third term representing Connecticut in the United States Senate, Joe Lieberman has earned a national reputation as a thoughtful, principled, and effective legislator.

He is perhaps best known as the Democratic candidate for Vice President in 2000. More than that, he is a national leader who works across party lines to find common ground, who speaks his conscience, and who gets things done for Connecticut and the country.

That reputation is based on a long and distinguished record. Senator Lieberman is one of Congress’s most influential voices on security issues. He was the Senate’s leading champion of legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security to better protect the nation from terrorist attacks. He has been at the forefront of efforts not only to increase our investment in defense, but to transform our armed forces to better meet the threats of the 21st Century. Senator Lieberman has been a strong and consistent advocate for using America’s military might – most recently to disarm Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq – to defend America’s interests and values when they are seriously endangered.

Here at home, Senator Lieberman believes in economic policies that spark business growth, encourage innovation, open the doors of opportunity for all, expand markets for American products, and keep the government’s budget books in balance. He is also a champion for the ordinary investor and consumer, fighting to ensure that public and private watchdogs meet the highest standards of independence and integrity.

Senator Lieberman is a strong advocate for investing in our public schools, empowering parents, and challenging all students to meet higher academic standards. He seeks to give all Americans, regardless of income, the chance to go to college and develop the skills they need to succeed in our global information economy. He works to expand quality and affordable healthcare to all Americans and to safeguard Medicare and Social Security for future generations.

Senator Lieberman is a vocal advocate for campaign finance reform and has written extensively on the dignity and nobility of public service. He urges America to be true to its tradition of tolerance by giving faith and its practitioners a place at the national table. Senator Lieberman is dedicated to strengthening America’s families and renewing our common values by working with parents to improve the culture in which they raise their children.

Professional Career

Senator Lieberman was born in Stamford, Connecticut, on February 24, 1942, and attended public schools there. He received his bachelor’s degree from Yale College in 1964 and his law degree from Yale Law School in 1967. Senator Lieberman was elected to the Connecticut State Senate in 1970 and served there for ten years, including the last six as Majority Leader. In 1980, he returned to private legal practice for two years, and from 1983 through 1988, he served as Connecticut’s 21st Attorney General. As Attorney General he took on polluters of Connecticut’s environment, went after deadbeat dads by strengthening child support enforcement, and earned a strong reputation as a defender of consumers’ rights.

Senator Lieberman was first elected to the United States Senate in 1988, scoring the nation’s biggest political upset that year by a margin of just 10,000 votes. Six years later, he made history by winning the biggest landslide victory ever in a Connecticut Senate race, drawing 67 percent of the vote and beating his opponent by more than 350,000 votes. In 2000, Senator Lieberman was elected by another overwhelming margin to a third term.

Senator Lieberman is Ranking Member and former Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (formerly the Governmental Affairs Committee), which is responsible for assuring the efficiency and effectiveness of the Federal Government. In addition, he is a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee; Senate Armed Services Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on AirLand Forces and sits on the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities; and the Small Business Committee.

Senator Lieberman is also a former Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), which is “an idea center, catalyst, and national voice for a reform movement that is reshaping American politics by moving it beyond the old left-right debate.” The DLC, like Senator Lieberman, advances public policy that honors the core American values of responsibility, opportunity, and community.

The Lieberman Family

Senator Lieberman lives in New Haven and Washington with his wife Hadassah. Together they are the proud parents of four children – Matthew, Rebecca, Ethan and Hana – and three granddaughters, Tennessee, Willie and Eden.

The child of Holocaust survivors who fled Hitler’s regime to start a new life in the U.S., Hadassah grew up in Gardiner, Massachusetts, where her father became the community rabbi.

Hadassah has spent her career working on health issues, assisting non-profit organizations, improving educational standards, and promoting international understanding. She is also devoted to community service, having served on several national nonprofit councils and boards. She continues to be a voice on many important issues facing the nation, such as improving women’s health, reducing hurdles faced by immigrants as they strive for the middle class, and the challenge of caring for aging parents.

Kathy Keller was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and attended Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She attended Gordon Conwell Seminary, graduating summa cum laude with her MA in theological studies. At Gordon Conwell Kathy met Tim Keller, and the two were married in 1975 during their final year of seminary.
After graduation, they moved to Hopewell, Virginia, when Tim was appointed the interim pastor of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church. The interim position became a nine-year stay for the Kellers, who by then were a family of five. In 1984 Tim, Kathy and their three sons moved to Philadelphia when Tim joined the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary.

In June of 1989 the Keller family moved to New York City to plant what would become Redeemer Presbyterian Church. In spite of her misgivings about moving to the Big Apple, Kathy says, “Contrary to my fears, New York City turned out to be the best place in the world to raise children.”

In addition to raising her children and helping Tim plant Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Kathy has had a role as guest speaker to groups on such subjects as the Bible and gender roles, marriage and parenting, and church planting in global cities. Currently she is on the staff of Redeemer Presbyterian Church as the Assistant Director of Communications.

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Larry Julian is a bestselling author, speaker, and executive coach with more than two decades of experience helping CEOs, entrepreneurs, and small business owners successfully lead with their faith and values.

Larry is founder of the Leadership Roundtable, a group of CEOs and senior leaders who meet monthly to discuss relevant issues related to leading with faith in a bottom-line world. Nationally, Larry is an active member of the National Prayer Breakfast Business Leadership Forum committee.

The recently released second edition of his bestselling book, God Is My CEO: Following God’s Principles in a Bottom-Line World, provides the collective wisdom of 35 business leaders as they openly share lessons learned from their successes and failures. He’s also the author of God Is My Coach: A Business Leader’s Guide to Finding Clarity in an Uncertain World and God Is My Success: Transforming Adversity into Your Destiny.

Reginald L. Jones, III, is a Founder and Managing Partner of Greenbriar Equity Group, a private equity firm leveraging sector specialization to make equity investments across the industrial economy, including in commercial aerospace and defense, automotive, freight transport, specialty distribution, logistics and related sectors.  He is also a Founding member of Trinity Church (Greenwich).

Greenbriar’s core investment principles are to (1) invest in businesses with favorable strategic positions, attractive growth prospects and the opportunity to benefit from prevailing secular trends; (2) partner with high quality management teams who are motivated by being owners of the companies they operate; and (3) utilize Greenbriar’s domain expertise, extensive network of relationships and operational resources to enhance the performance of its portfolio companies.  Greenbriar manages over $6.0 billion of capital for privately negotiated equity investments within its targeted sectors.

Prior to founding Greenbriar in 1999, Regg spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs where he was a Managing Director and Group Head of global transportation investment banking. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Regg worked as a consultant at Bain & Company.

Regg earned a B.A. from Williams College and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

Outside of work, Regg has been involved in many civic and faith-based organizations.  A Founding member of Trinity Church (Greenwich), Regg has served in a variety of roles including nine years on the governing Council.  Regg also serves on the Transportation Business Advisory Council at Northwestern University, an advisory Board of RAND Corporation and the mission-wide Board of Trustees for Young Life.  Perhaps most importantly, Regg enjoyed coaching youth soccer for 16 years.

Regg resides in Riverside, CT and is married with four adult children.

Christopher Leighton has been a parish clergyman for 25 years, serving in Pittsburgh, PA and Cambridge, MA, before coming to St. Paul’s Church in Darien seven years ago. As a minister of the Word of God, he finds great joy in preaching, ministering in the gifts of the Spirit, evangelizing, and starting new churches. While Christopher doesn’t hold that there is a place of punishment for Christians after death, he says that if there were, his idea of hell would be God showing him all that he could have accomplished if he had only trusted Him. Married to Janet, they have four children and two grandchildren.

Rick Joyner is the founder, executive director, and senior pastor of MorningStar Fellowship Church, which now holds services in Charlotte, Wilkesboro, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Rick is a well-known author of more than twenty books, including The Final Quest, Leadership, the Power of a Creative Life, and Shadows of Things to Come. He also oversees MorningStar’s School of Ministry, Fellowship of Ministries, and Fellowship of Churches, which are all part of MorningStar’s commitment to equip future leaders and work in relationship with current leaders. Rick and his wife, Julie, live in North Carolina with their five children: Anna, Aaryn, Amber, Ben and Sam.

To receive information about MorningStar Fellowship Church, write or call:

MorningStar Fellowship Church
P.O. Box 19409
Charlotte, NC 28219-9409
(800) 542-0278
(704) 522-8111

In 1983, Ron Lewis helped start a campus ministry at his alma mater, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, which grew into a regional church, King’s Park International Church, touching the universities and communities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Through his leadership, over 100 full-time ministers have been trained and released into the mission field, at least 30 churches have been planted, and King’s Park’s ministry extended into nations around the world including China, South Korea, Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Guam, Taiwan, and Scotland. During this time, the influence of King’s Park was felt throughout the Triangle region as Ron pioneered the building of an 11 million, state-of-the-art worship complex with seating for 2,200 people. In 1990, Ron founded Campus Harvest, a short-term missions program and student conference that has grown to attract over 2,000 students annually from over 200 college campuses across the United States and around the world. In 1995, Ron walked through an open door into the nation of China, resulting in the formation of Strategic China Initiative (SCI), a ministry that develops training centers to equip indigenous Chinese pastors with theological foundations and practical ministry skills. To date, SCI has trained more than 25,000 pastors, distributed over 30 tons of literature, printed and distributed 700,000 Bibles throughout China, and sent out over 75 full-time national Chinese to reach minority groups within China. Ron continues to work inside China in serving and consulting with many of the key leaders of the underground house church movement. In addition he is active in educating and lobbying politicians and human rights groups on behalf of the persecuted church in China. With the help of Every Nation Ministries, Ron co-founded a dynamic, growing church at Times Square in the heart of Manhattan just after 9/11. This church is reaching the entire metropolitan area of New York City and has a significant outreach to Russian Jews in Brooklyn. Ron also founded the Community Life Center, an educational and tutorial ministry to disadvantaged children in the inner city of Durham, which has been called by the City of Durham a “win-win” situation. Ron’s first book is Standing on the Word, and his theological training comes from the Reformed Theological Seminary of Charlotte, North Carolina and Orlando, Florida. He serves on several boards including the Every Nation Senior Leadership Team. Splitting his time between New York City and Cary, NC, Ron has four sons: Nathan, Christian, Jordan, and John Luke. He and Lynette split their time between Manhattan and Raleigh. You can contact Pastor Ron at ron.lewis@msny.org.

For more information on Morningstar Church in Manhattan, visithttp://www.msny.org

Dr. Shodankeh Johnson currently serves as the Prayer & Pioneer Ministry Coordinator for Cityteam International.

From 2005-2012 He served as the Coordinator for Anglophone West Africa for Cityteam International.  During this time Shodankeh and his team have focused on multiplying disciple makers across Anglophone West Africa.  God has used their efforts to launch a series of Disciple Making Movements (DMM) that have resulted in over 5,000 new churches encompassing more than 250,000 new believers.  About half of these new Christ followers were former Muslims.

Shodankeh and his team are also responsible for government recognized programs benefiting those in need in the areas of agriculture, medicine, education and micro-finance.

He served for six years as the President of the Evangelical Fellowship of Sierra Leone and is a graduate of Christ’s Life Theological Seminary.  In 2005 he was awarded an honorary doctor of letters for his unique contribution to his home country.

Shodankeh and his wife, Santa, reside in Sierra Leone.

Stephen James is the Congregational Care Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, TN where he directs the SoulCare Ministry. He is a founding member and a fellow at the Sage Hill Institute an initiative for authentic Christian leadership and has served as an adjunct therapist for Bethesda Workshops. Stephen earned his masters in counseling from Mars Hill Graduate School at Western Seminary Seattle and his undergraduate degree in English from Belmont University in Nashville. He lives in Nashville with his wife Heather, their four children.

Tom Lane is a Partner in a private equity firm, Energy Capital Partners (ECP), headquartered in Short Hills, NJ. ECP invests in energy infrastructure assets, and has $6 billion under management.  He was previously a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs where he worked for almost 20 years in the Energy and Power group in NYC.  Tom co-founded Bergen County Society, a chapter of NCS in northern NJ, in 2005 and serves as its President. BCS has grown from six guys in Tom’s family room, to a roster of over a 500 and average attendance of approximately 150.  FromJuly 2010-June 2011, Tom served as the Deputy Managing Partner of the NCS Management Committee, and from July 2011-June 2012, he is serving as Managing Partner.

Tom is a graduate of Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL) with a BA in Economics and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.  Tom serves on the board of Cardinal Gas Storage headquartered in Houston, TX and Summit Midstream headquartered in Atlanta, GA.  He also serves on several non-profit boards including Street2Street, Jericho Road and the New Canaan Society.  Tom and his wife Kathleen have four children, two of whom are married, and live in Franklin Lakes, NJ and Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

Andy Mills is the former CEO of the Thomson Financial and Professional Publishing unit of the Thomson Corporation, where he was also a member of the Board. Andy was responsible for all of Thomson’s financial, legal, and tax businesses, a large grouping of industry leading businesses including First Call (which he helped co-found) and West Publishing. Under his leadership, the revenue for the group grew to exceed 3.5 billion dollars generated by over 20,000 people worldwide.

In addition to being on the Board of Verisk Analytics Inc., Andy devotes most of his time to Christian ministry, in particular as an elder of Hope Christian Church in Winchester, MA, the Chairman of the board of trustees of The Kings College in NYC, Co-Chairman of the Theology Of Work Project and a board member of The Salvation Army for MA, Lexington Christian Academy and Camp-Of-The-Woods, in upstate NY.

Andy is a regular traveler to Africa where he is involved in economic development activities in the West Nile Region of Uganda. He is also a regular speaker to Christian audiences and is actively involved in mentoring men of all ages.

Andy lives in Winchester, MA with his wife Gail, of 26 years. They have three children: Victoria Hamilton, Christopher, and Herbert. In addition, Andy and Gail are active foster parents.

Bart Marchant is originally from a small town in rural Connecticut and now lives in Manhattan and attends Church of City NYC, formerly Trinity Grace. He has been a member of NCS since 2013, and many men in the organization were integral in helping him give his life to Jesus on November 22nd, 2015, 4 years after moving to New York. He has a passion for Jesus and a heart for seeing other men walk into freedom from intimacy issues, pornography and other challenges we all face.

He also volunteers with the Relief Bus, an NGO serving the homeless and under-privileged in New York City by helping them find jobs, meet basic needs and gain freedom through the love of Christ. He is on the Young Executive Board of iMentor, a New York based charity serving under-privileged youth, and has helped the organization shape their vision as they continue to expand into other cities and support youth who desperately need it. His mentee, Osvaldo, recently graduated from High School and will be attending City Tech in the Fall.

Professionally, Bart is a director of institutional business development with WisdomTree Asset Management and is responsible for client service efforts in the Pension, Foundation, Endowment and Sub-Advisory markets for the Southeast United States. Prior to joining WisdomTree, Bart was an analyst at Goldman Sachs Asset Management focusing on business development and client relations in the Fundamental Equity business. He received his B.A. in International Business from Dickinson College. He is on the Institutional Committee for NYSSA, the New York Society of Security Analysts.

Coach is the founder and past President of Promise Keepers and former Coach of the University of Colorado football team. Coach is now the Chairman of the Board of The Road to Jerusalem. He is the author of four books, Ashes to Glory, Sold Out, Sold Out Two-gether, and Blind Spots. He has won numerous coaching awards during his career as a college football coach including consensus national coach of the year in 1989.

In 1996 he was inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame and in 1999 inducted into the Colorado Hall of Fame. Bill serves on the Board of Directors of Equip Foundation and Concerts of Prayer International.
In 1996, he was given the Layperson of the Year award from the National Association of Evangelicals.

Bill accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in 1974 at a Campus Crusade for Christ meeting in Brighton, Michigan. Bill and his wife Lyndi attend Faith Bible Chapel in Arvada, Colorado. They have four grown children, Mike, Tom, Kristyn and Marc and 10 grandchildren.

Bob Muzikowski has one of the most fascinating and inspiring personal testimonies you will ever hear. He was an alcoholic and in jail when BJ Weber posted his bail and subsequently led him to faith. While he became in time a successful business guy, he has a unique story in how he has reached out to inner city kids through the development of the largest inner city little baseball leagues ever established both in New York and in Chicago.

Bob has a passion for lifting kids out of desperate situations and forming them into “leaders of character empowered by the hope that is in Jesus Christ.” His work has made the evening news in both cities on numerous occasions. Bob was born and raised in Bayonne, New Jersey. He attended Columbia University in New York where he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in 1979 and 1982, respectively. He then joined Northwestern Mutual Financial Network in 1984 and relocated to Chicago with his wife, Tina in 1988 where he founded Benefit Planning, Inc., a successful insurance, investment, and estate planning business with offices in Chicago and New York.

Bob is the President of Chicago Hope Academy, a Christian faith based 7-12th grade school scheduled to open in 2004. He is also owner of the Valley of Peace Farm located in McLeansboro, IL, a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility run by Living Light Ministries. In 1991, Bob founded the Near North Little League in the Cabrini Green Housing Projects in Chicago. He also founded the East Harlem Little league in 1993 and the Near West Little League (the largest inner-city league in the United States) in 1995. Among his many accolades, Bob was a recipient of President George Bush’s 1991 Point of Light award for his philanthropic work with the Little Leagues and Little League Baseball’s Volunteer of the Year.

Bob is the author of “Safe At Home” (Zondervan 2001), a personal account of his life and his work with needy children and their families. He was misplayed by Keanu Reeves in the 2001 movie Hardball.

Bob currently resides on the West Side of Chicago with Tina and their seven children.

Bob Niedermeier serves as CEO of five family businesses in the paper packaging industry, overseeing three production facilities and 167 employees who design, sell, produce, and ship products both in the New England / Tri-state area and other parts of the United States.  He has served and serves on numerous boards within the civic and church community, including currently as Executive Director of Urban Impact and Board Chairman of Elevate Bridgeport, both non-profits serving youth in Bridgeport, CT.

2006 was a pivotal year as Bob found his faith in Jesus, which changed the trajectory and purpose of his life forever.

In 2008, Bob and two other men began Urban Impact (www.urbanimpactct.org), having been inspired by serving on a Black Rock Church mission trip to New Orleans.  Urban Impact serves the P.T. Barnum community, one of the most impoverished areas within Bridgeport, CT, by offering Christian mentoring and educational programs that develop lifelong relationships through the living out of one’s faith. Serving as Executive Director, Bob is able to grow alongside not only the volunteers but also the students he and his wife Victoria serve in the High School ministry.

In 2019, Bob joined with other local leaders to form Elevate Bridgeport (www.elevatebridgeport.org), which is aimed at addressing specifically the educational deficiency within the Bridgeport Educational System.  The Elevate model involves year-round programming, including accredited high school and junior high classes in 13 character qualities and life skills, mentoring, outdoor adventure programs, and college and career preparation.   He currently serves as Board Chairman.  Elevate Bridgeport is beginning live classes at The Bridge Academy, a public charter school in Bridgeport, in January of 2022.

Bob remarried in 2012 to Victoria Vitale and lives in Trumbull, CT. Bob loves boating, traveling, reading, and building things in his garage. His latest pursuit is attending seminary online pursuing his M.Div. in Pastoral Counseling.

In the springtime of Depression-era New York City, Brennan Manning — christened Richard Francis Xavier — was born to Emmett and Amy Manning. He grew up in Brooklyn along with his brother, Robert, and sister, Geraldine. After graduating from high school and attending St. John’s University (Queens, NY) for two years, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was sent overseas to fight in the Korean War.

Upon his return, Brennan began a program in journalism at the University of Missouri. But he departed after a semester, restlessly searching for something “more” in life. “Maybe the something ‘more’ is God,” an advisor had suggested, triggering Brennan’s enrollment in a Catholic seminary in Loretto, Pennsylvania.

In February 1956, while Brennan was meditating on the Stations of the Cross, a powerful experience of the personal love of Jesus Christ sealed the call of God on his life. “At that moment,” he later recalled, “the entire Christian life became for me an intimate, heartfelt relationship with Jesus.” Four years later, he graduated from St. Francis College (major in philosophy; minor in Latin) I and went on to complete four years of advanced studies in theology. May 1963 marked his graduation from St. Francis Seminary and ordination to the Franciscan priesthood.

Brennan’s ministry responsibilities in succeeding years took him from the hallways of academia to the byways of the poor: theology instructor and campus minister at the University of Steubenville; liturgy instructor and spiritual director at St. Francis Seminary; graduate student in creative writing at Columbia University, and in Scripture and liturgy at Catholic University of America; living and working among the poor in Europe and the U.S.

A two-year leave of absence from the Franciscans took Brennan to Spain in the late sixties. He joined the Little Brothers of Jesus of Charles de Foucauld, an Order committed to an uncloistered, contemplative life among the poor — a lifestyle of days spent in manual labor and nights wrapped in silence and prayer. Among his many and varied assignments, Brennan became an aguador (water carrier), transporting water to rural villages via donkey and buckboard; a mason’s assistant, shoveling mud and straw in the blazing Spanish heat; a dishwasher in France; a voluntary prisoner in a Swiss jail, his identity as a priest known only to the warden; a solitary contemplative secluded in a remote cave for six months in the Zaragoza desert.

During his retreat in the isolated cave, Brennan was once again powerfully convicted by the revelation of God’s love in the crucified Christ. On a midwinter’s night, he received this word from the Lord: “For love of you I left my Father’s side. I came to you who ran from me, who fled me, who did not want to hear my name. For love of you I was covered with spit, punched and beaten, and fixed to the wood of the cross.” Brennan would later reflect, “Those words are burned into my life. That night, I learned what a wise old Franciscan told me the day I joined the Order — ‘Once you come to know the love of Jesus Christ, nothing else in the world will seem as beautiful or desirable.’ ”

The early seventies found Brennan back in the U.S. as he and four other priests established an experimental community in the bustling seaport city of Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Seeking to model the primitive life of the Franciscans, the fathers settled in a house on Mississippi Bay and quietly went to work on shrimp boats, ministering to the shrimpers and their families who had drifted out of reach from the church. Next to the community house was a chapel that had been destroyed by Hurricane Camille. The fathers restored it and offered a Friday night liturgy and social event, which soon became a popular gathering and precipitated many families’ return to engagement in the local church.

From Alabama, Brennan moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in the mid-seventies and resumed campus ministry at Broward Community College. His successful ministry was harshly interrupted, however, when he suffered a precipitate collapse into alcoholism. Six months of treatment, culminating at the Hazelden treatment center in Minnesota, restored his health and placed him on the road to recovery.

It was at this point in his life that Brennan began writing in earnest. One book soon followed upon another as invitations for him to speak and to lead spiritual retreats multiplied exponentially. The new and renewed directions in which God’s call was taking Brennan eventually led him out of the Franciscan Order. In 1982, he married and settled in New Orleans.

Today, Brennan travels widely as he continues to write and preach, encouraging men and women everywhere to accept and embrace the good news of God’s unconditional love in Jesus Christ.

Brock Morgan began his career as a youth worker about 24 years ago and has never looked back. He has worked in both urban and suburban environments and was the director of training for Youth Specialties.  Brock has written a few well-received books, including Youth Ministry in a Post-Christian World, and his latest, The Amazing Next, which targets both seniors in high school and college students. He is a popular speaker for conferences, retreats, and camps and has been delighted to inspire and encourage people of all ages with God’s amazing love.  Brock is currently the executive director over at Generation514 whose aim is to develop next generation leaders to make an impact in their world. Find out more at generation514.com

Christian “C.B.” Nagel and his wife Susan are full time staff members with Priority Associates (PA). PA is a ministry of CRU (formerly Campus Crusade) committed to reaching out to the executive, professional, and leadership communities.  They have served with CRU for 39 years. For most of their first 10 years the Nagels ministered in the Washington, D.C. area- first with the high school ministry of CRU then a business & professional ministry of CRU. In 1984 they moved to Hartford, CT to start a lay ministry of evangelism & discipleship focused on the business & professional communities. In the Fall of 2005 they moved from Connecticut (CT) to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to start Priority Associates (PA) of CRU in Easton and in the Washington, D.C. area.  C.B. continues to meet regularly (mainly by telephone) with a group of men who have been meeting for over 11 years.  The group, which started when all the men lived in the Hartford area and has continued by telephone as its members spread out across the country, is now an NCS Energy Group and was instrumental in the production of the first “NCS Energy Group Playbook” that was launched at the 2011 NCS Annual Retreat.

While in Connecticut, C.B. served on the Executive Committee of the Billy Graham Crusade in Hartford(1985). After the Graham crusade, he started Urban-Suburban Cooperative Ministries in cooperation with others from the Billy Graham executive committee. For nine years he was a Trustee at The Master’s School, W. Simsbury, serving on the Spiritual Life Committee. He was Church Relations Coordinator for Mission Connecticut with Luis Palau, a statewide saturation evangelism campaign in 2001. After the statewide thrust with Palau, he started a Priority Associates ministry with other leaders from Mission Connecticut. Since moving to Maryland, the Nagels continue to guide, mentor & offer accountability for Priority Associates-CT.

In addition to their primary responsibility, providing local leadership for Priority Associates (CRU), the Nagels are passionate about helping people in the areas of purity, integrity & intimacy with God. Since 2010 they have been addressing the growing problem of pornography through the national office of CRU’s Leadership Development & Human Resources Department. They reside in Easton, MD.

C.B. grew up in a Christian home on a farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  He is a graduate of Western Kentucky University (WKU). It was at WKU that C.B. and his wife were trained in evangelism & discipleship by CRU and received the call to go into full-time Christian ministry instead of returning to the family agri-business in MD.

C.B. and his wife Susan have been married & partnered in ministry for 39 years. They have 3 children.

Nava plays the guitar in his church with his brother on drums. Daniel’s father is Coach Don Nava, a life fitness coach who has been a featured speaker at several New Canaan Society retreats.

Over the past 35 years, David T. Maloof has become one of the most accomplished international transportation lawyers in the history of the United States. In 2016 he also published a history book entitled Christianity Matters: How Over Two Millennia the Meek and the Merciful Revolutionized Civilization — and Why It Needs to Happen Again, which reached the top 1% of sales on Amazon.

David's legal theories have gone all the way to the US Supreme Court, and the nearly one hundred published court decisions bearing his name as legal counsel are among the most ever recorded by any lawyer representing the interests of shippers seeking commercial justice. Utilizing the skills that he first perfected as an award winning television reporter seen on PBS, his investigations have helped to uncover the truth concerning some of history’s most famous transportation casualties, including the MV Elma Tres and MV El Faro ship sinkings. As part of an all-star team of ten of the most renowned maritime lawyers from around the world, for a decade he organized the International Cargo Recovery Conference. Today, he is the senior partner in the international law firm Maloof Browne LLC.

David has also been deeply involved in international diplomatic affairs, having for nearly a decade represented much of the American Christian community through his involvement with the NGO Churches For Middle East Peace. As one example, after meetings with the National Security Counsel in Washington and in foreign capitals, a forum which he arranged resulted in a pledge by a significant Muslim leader to create a future state with full freedom of religion and full equality for women. He also placed international peacemakers on radio and television programs, such as “The Daily Show.”

Maloof is a phi beta kappa graduate of Columbia College of Columbia University, where he was elected student council chairman and upon graduation named the most “faithful and deserving” member of his class. He obtained his law degree from the University Of Virginia Law School. He began his legal career as an intern in the United States Supreme Court and was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship.

He lives in Darien, Connecticut with his wife Jean, also an attorney, and they have two grown children. For a number of years he ran the Men’s Forum at St. John Catholic Church in Darien and served there as a town official. He serves on the alumni board of Chaminade High School. He and his family have also become known for their work in a foreign refugee camp, where they assisted in developing a sports recreational facility, and each year Pax Christi Metro New York awards the Maloof Family Young Peacebuilder Award.

David Montoya is the co-founder and CEO of Saugatuck Brands, Inc. and founder and partner of Seaview Capital (“Seaview”) and its affiliated investment funds and holding companies.  Mr. Montoya’s responsibilities at Seaview include oversight of all operations and in-house general counsel, where he is responsible for investments, M&A and add-on acquisitions.  Previously, Mr. Montoya was a principal at Silicon Alley Venture Partners (“SAVP”), a venture capital fund in New York City.  Mr. Montoya’s portfolio companies included Cosential, LivePerson and Flooz, among others.  Mr. Montoya was a founding investor in Stemline Therapeutics, Inc.  Prior to joining SAVP, Mr. Montoya was the Director of Investments at the New York City Investment Fund ("NYCIF"), a private investment fund created by Henry Kravis and Jerry Speyer. Mr. Montoya's portfolio of companies included Right Track Recording, IntraLinks, StarMedia and TheStreet.com, among other investments.

Prior to joining NYCIF, Mr. Montoya was an attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP and a CPA at Ernst & Young LLP working in the financial services audit group and the M&A tax group.  Mr. Montoya sits on the board of directors of Symco Group, Inc., Kent Brands, LLC and Genutec Business Solutions, Inc.  Additionally, Mr. Montoya was COO & CFO of a public company on the NASDAQ National Market.

Mr. Montoya received his undergraduate degree in Finance from St. John's University, his MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and his JD from New York University School of Law. Mr. Montoya is a CPA and an attorney.

David is the proud of father of three children (Max, Teddy and Maggie).

David Nammo is Executive Director and CEO of Christian Legal Society (CLS). He is the former Executive VP of The Leadership Project for America. David also was Executive Director at the Family Research Council Action, the 501(c)(4) arm of The Family Research Council (FRC). His experience also includes working for Gammon and Grange, a Northern Virginia law firm, as a contractor for the Defense Intelligence Agency, and as co-owner of a small record label.

Prior to attending law school at both George Mason University School of Law and Chicago-Kent College of Law, David worked as a journalist for Fox News Service and WTTG-TV in Washington, DC. David resides in Northern Virginia with his wife, Laura, their six children, a cat, and a St. Bernard.

Don Nava is a Kingdom Coach. 

A Kingdom Coach teaches, mentors and disciples men and women on how to have a kingdom mindset so that they can live the More Abundant Life that Jesus promised and as a result, advance the Kingdom of Heaven through the power of the Holy Spirit and not through human effort or striving. Jesus was serious when He said, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 

The Holy Spirit has gifted Don with a strong grace of discernment and wisdom which he uses under the direction of the Holy Spirit to provide “inner healing” freedom to those he coaches. Coach Nava follows Jesus’ example in demonstrating the Isaiah 61:1 mandate of ‘healing the brokenhearted, proclaiming liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.’ 

In January 2018, the Holy Spirit prompted Don to start the School of Kingdom Coaching, with the purpose of training men and women to be used by the Holy Spirit as powerful catalysts for bringing freedom and transformation to the lives of people. 

Don’s life purpose statement is “to be a man after God’s own heart, living wisely and passionately doing His will.” He has walked with Jesus for 45 years and during this extended time of discipleship, the Holy Spirit has taught and shown Don many key kingdom principles and how to apply them to individuals, couples and organizations. Information + Application = Transformation™ 

Don started his coaching career 35 years ago in Silicon Valley, as the fitness coach to ventures capitalists as well as executives at Cisco Systems, Silicon Graphics, ATT and NIKE. After years of research, study and observation, Coach Nava determined that there are underlying mental, emotional, directional and spiritual issues that are keeping people from being physically fit. As a result, he designed and developed the Totally Fit Life System which has been a channel of transformation for thousands of men, women and children. 

In addition, Coach Nava trained NFL football players for 15 years and taught high performance team-building to corporate executives throughout the United States, Australia and Europe. 

Don also coaches executives on how to be highly effective leaders by modeling and tapping into the power of Servant Leadership. He works with companies that are headed by Christian leaders that want to establish their organizations on a kingdom platform and as a result become Kingdom Capitalists. 

Don is the author of the book Fit After 40, a literary embodiment of how to live The Totally Fit Life, which was published by Thomas Nelson. Coach Nava currently lives in northern California with his wife Becky. They have been married for 37 years. They have three adult children and two grandchildren. 

He founded and currently manages Totally Fit Life Ministries and The Totally Fit Life Inc. which designs, develops and delivers systems and solutions for corporations and organizations on how to live a Totally Abundant Life. 

David is the Executive Director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School and an Assistant Professor (Adjunct) of Business Ethics at the Divinity School and the Yale School of Management. His current course is called “Business Ethics: Succeeding without Selling Your Soul.” He has particular interest in questions pertaining to ethics and spirituality in the workplace and moral leadership. David’s forthcoming book, The Faith at Work Movement, examines the growth, dynamics, and possible future of the faith in the workplace movement.

He received his Ph.D. and M.Div. degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). While doing his doctoral work, David co-founded The Avodah Institute in 1999 and serves as its president. Avodah’s mission is to help leaders integrate the claims of their faith with the demands of their work.

David brings an unusual “bilingual” perspective to the academic world, having also spent 16 years in senior positions in international business and finance. Prior to his entry into academia, David lived and worked in London, England for eight years, where he was an equity partner in a private bank that specialized in international investment management, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions. Before that he was a senior executive and director of the securities services and global custody division of Midland Bank plc (now part of the HSBC Group). He first moved to London as the managing director of the European operations of State Street Bank and Trust, a leading US securities services bank. He started his management career in the U.S., after graduating from Bucknell University in 1979, working for IBM for eight years in a variety of sales and marketing management positions in New Jersey and New England. David also speaks German, having lived, studied, and worked in Germany.

David serves as an advisor to several corporate CEOs and senior executives on questions pertaining to ethics, values, and integrating faith and work. He is also a frequent speaker at gatherings of business leaders, industry associations, academic conferences, and large church programs. As a recognized expert in the field of ethics, values, and faith at work, he is often cited in the media, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Fortune magazine, Across the Board, public radio, and NBC.

David finds inspiration in the lives and writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Jr., and John Stott. Married to Karen, a former lawyer and law school professor, he enjoys being with his nieces, and playing tennis, bridge, and tandem bicycling.

Ed Morgan has been President and CEO of The Bowery Mission and Kids With A Promise for 15 years, and has been instrumental in leading the 130 year old organization to a renaissance in reputation, program effectiveness and income.

Under his leadership those ministries and their parent organization Christian Herald Association have reorganized, focused on an outcomes–based purpose statement, and built three of the City’s most effective homelessness recovery programs–including one that partners with the City of New York and one that is Manhattan’s only faith-based residential recovery program for women. The ministries have also tripled their income in the last ten years, raised visibility and established high profile events such as an annual Valentine Gala that raises $1million.

Prior to his current post, Ed had a 20 year career with General Electric in Washington, New York, Fairfield and Stamford, CT, where he was in charge of communications for several of GE’s top officers, won several management awards and founded an award winning customer magazine.

He also serves on the Boards of The Association of Gospel Rescue Mission, The Geneva School of Manhattan, The Family Institute of Connecticut, Hamlin Hospitals of Ethiopia, and The Advisory Board of Christian Leadership Alliance. He has been associated with CEO Dialogues as a participant or city host for six years and is a regular speaker at New York City’s Leadership.  He holds degrees from Rutgers University and the University of Illinois (MS, Journalism) and served as a US Air Force officer during Vietnam.

Ed and his wife Judy have three grown sons and seven grandchildren and live in Manhattan, where they are active in St. George’s Episcopal Church.

Edward Mahoney is the author of Tales from the Bright Side: The Holy Spirit Adventures of Edward Peter Mahoney, a memoir of Ed's awesome encounters with the Holy Spirit since 1999.  He has been a member of the New Canaan Society for many years and faithful member of the NCS New Canaan Energy Group known as "L5" since its inception in 2011.  He also serves as President of the Launch 5 Foundation.  Tales from the Bright Side had its birth when Ed shared his journey one Friday morning in 2018 at a meeting of NCS Winston-Salem.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1946, Ed was raised on Long Island in Mineola, New York.  At the age of five, Ed was admitted to St. Francis Hospital and Sanatorium in Roslyn, New York, with rheumatic fever. His illness was so severe, he was given “Last Rites” twice and spent two years in convalescence before becoming well enough to return home.  Those traumatic events shaped his life, bestowing upon him a heightened appreciation for the gift of life and a sensitivity toward God and the needs of others.

Ed began a long Wall Street career in the early 1970's when he joined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith as a trainee. He quickly moved up the ladder to become its U.S. international fixed income sales manager responsible for the firm’s account list comprising the world’s largest central banks and sovereign wealth funds.  In 1982, Ed transferred his skills to Fuji Securities Inc., currently Mizuho Financial Corporation. As senior vice-president, he reported directly to the office of the president and CEO and represented the firm on the executive committee. His team serviced world central banks, top U.S. and global institutions for fixed income products, treasuries, emerging markets, foreign exchanges, and credit derivatives generating more than $1.25 billion in sales revenue. He also worked closely with the Federal Reserve Bank and the US Treasury Department. He was a regular attendee of International Monetary Fund annual meetings and was a guest speaker at international conferences held by institutional investors.  Ed co-founded Young America Capital LLC, a broker-dealer member of FINRA, and a placement and advisory service for money managers and private equity funds. In 1997, he established E.P.M & Associates LLC to raise funds for money managers, generally acting as an exclusive marketing agent in North America representing domestic managers with more than $1 billion in assets under management.

His current and past civic leadership positions include Westchester County, New York, Board of Directors Deferred Compensation Pension Fund (2010-May 2017); Director of municipal relations for the Construction Industry Council of Westchester County and Hudson Valley. He reported directly to the office of the president, and advocated for labor union members and private contractors for business and public works projects, including the construction of the $3.4 billion Tappan Zee Bridge and other municipal government public projects (2010-2015). Chair, Lewisboro Housing Committee (2009-2012); Administrative transition team: Chair of Public Works and Westchester County Airport subcommittees for newly elected Westchester County Executive, Robert P. Astorino (Nov. 2009 to Feb. 2010); Supervisor, Town of Lewisboro, Westchester County (elected 2006-2008).

He attended Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, where he earned a B.A. in Political Science and Economics in 1970. He also took several courses toward a post-graduate degree in business administration.

Ed and his wife Anne have been married for nearly 50 years and are currently living in Delaware (slowly moving back north after trying out South Carolina and North Carolina).  They have four daughters and three grandchildren.

Eric is most known as an author, having worked as a writer for VeggieTales, Chuck Colson, and The New York Times. He wrote a runaway bestseller,Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (but were afraid to ask). He also wrote a NY Times bestselling biography on William Wilberforce,Amazing Grace, and is currently working on a biography of Dietrich Bonheoffer. He is the Co-Founder of the New Canaan Society, one of three that began meeting in Jim Lane’s family room in the early 1990’s. He serves as the Emcee for the NCS Annual Retreat, bringing his own unique flavor of humor and wit to that role. He grew up in Danbury, Connecticut, and attendedYale University , where he edited the Yale Record, the nation’s oldest college humor magazine. At graduation, Eric delivered the Class History, a satirical address that is a Yale tradition, and was awarded several senior prizes for his undergraduate writing. Eric is the director and host of Socrates in the City: Conversations on the Examined Life, a monthly event of “entertaining and thought-provoking” discussions on life, God, and other topics that meets in NYC. You can learn more about this monthly event, and find a more extensive biography on Eric at his website, www.ericmetaxas.com.

Rev. Gary Morello serves as Associate Pastor of Noroton Presbyterian Church, in Darien, and a Field Ambassador for FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes).

Previously, Gary was the Executive Assistant to the CEO of Cerebral Palsy of Westchester. He also served as Director of Programs for Crossing Thresholds, which builds schools in the Kibera Slum of Nairobi, Kenya. 

A Westchester County native, Morello captained his varsity football and baseball teams while attending White Plains High School where he was Section I A South All League Award recipient and Scholar Athlete Award recipient. He also played football during his years at RPI. Currently, he is also a Certified Indoor Cycling Instructor.

Morello received a B.S. in Business Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and earned his M.Div. at New York Theological Seminary. 

He and his wife Erica, a registered nurse who works for a local medical practice, reside in Darien, CT, where Morello is active in leading the newly formed FCA huddles. His hobbies including praying, meditating, reading, his French bulldog, cleaning for his wife, working out, preaching and long walks.

George McGovern is on the staff of Athletes in Action, the sports ministry division of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ).  George serves as the chapel coordinator for the New York Giants and the New York Yankees.  His responsibilities include leading the team Bible studies, serving as personal chaplain for some of the players and their families, overseeing the in-season chapel services, and helping to organize sports-oriented outreaches around the New York metropolitan area.  He also gives leadership to five other AIA couples who serve in the New York metropolitan area.

George received an undergraduate degree in business administration from American University in 1976 and a masters degree in Biblical studies in 1990 from the International School of Theology.  George met his wife, Cyndy, at a Bible conference during the summer of 1974.  While in college and through their involvement with Cru, they both sensed God’s call to missions.  They were married in June of 1977.

Prior to his current responsibilities, George fulfilled similar duties for six years with the New York Mets and Jets teams.  George and Cyndy began vocational Christian work with Cru after graduation from college.  They served in the campus ministry (of Cru) for 14 years before switching over to the Athletes in Action effort.  George and Cyndy have four married daughters (Kelly, Emily, Mary, & Allison),  and reside in Oradell, New Jersey.  George and Cyndy are the proud grandparents of Grace Noel, Vincent, Mya, Robbie, Jay, Avery, Ty, Maria, Paxton, & Claire.

Gordon MacDonald is an internationally recognized author, speaker, and teacher. He was a pastor for more than 40 years, most recently the senior minister at Grace Chapel, Lexington, Massachusetts. Other pastorates were in New York City, Southern Illinois and Kansas. Gordon has also served as President of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Interim President of Denver Seminary and Chairman of the Board of World Relief Corporation.

He has written more than a dozen books and co-authored others with his wife, Gail. Perhaps his best known book has been Ordering Your Private World, which won the Gold Medallion and the Platinum Awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association. There are almost a million and a half copies of this book in print, and it has been translated into a dozen or more languages. Among his other books are A Resilient Life, and Who Stole My Church? which was a nominee for the Gold Medallion award and also won Christianity Today’s recognition as book of the year in the church category.

Gordon’s academic background includes a prep school graduation from the Stony Brook School, a B.A. from the University of Colorado, and a M.Div. from Denver Seminary. Barrington College (later merged with Gordon College) awarded MacDonald an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree in 1979.

Gordon and Gail MacDonald live on an old farm they call Peach Ledge in Canterbury, NH. Their great satisfaction is in their two married children and five grandchildren.

John Moritz, together with his wife Libby, operate Hearts of the Father Outreach to help orphaned, abandoned and abused children. Hearts of the Father was started following a tragic family event in 1992 in which John and Libby lost their three children.

John and Libby were married in 1978 and blessed with three children, Joshua (1979), Kristen (1981), and Daniel (1982). John went into the swimming pool business with his father, later buying the company and building what was a small service business ($50,000/year sales) into a $3 million/year construction and service company. He was active in the community as a volunteer fireman, Little league coach and a member of the Gideons, and he and his wife were also children’s ministers in their church.

In January 1992, on the way home from Christian school, Libby and John’s three children were tragically killed in an automobile accident. In that place of grief and crying out to the God they felt directed to go and comfort children who were also suffering. That first Christmas, they brought presents to children in Grenada at the Sopadilla Home for abused children and the Kennedy Home for the mentally challenged. Afterwards they spent three months with Mercy Ships, a YWAM ministry, and completed a DTS Crossroads Training. The following Christmas they traveled to Ghana, West Africa, visiting children in Homes for the Blind and Deaf, orphanages, and leprosariums. Following this, they began Hearts of the Father Outreach.   In 1997, they adopted a daughter from China, Lily Joy, who is now 17. John sold his business in 2012 to pursue his passion for helping children.

Through Hearts of the Father Outreach, John and Libby have helped minister to over 500,000 children, have raised and distributed over $4 million, and have worked in over 15 countries. At present, they care for over 175 children on a daily basis. They have built a home for children in Ghana, the JoshKrisDan Home and will be starting a primary school soon to help the local community.

John and Libby have been married for 35 years. He has been a member of the New Canaan Society, Albany, NY and New Haven, CT chapters.

Jon Meacham was named Managing Editor in November 1998. He is involved in the day-to-day editorial coverage of the magazine and oversees and assigns stories toNewsweek reporters worldwide.

Meacham supervises Newsweek’s coverage of politics, international affairs, and breaking news, and has written cover stories on politics, religion, guns in America, race, and the death of Ronald Reagan. In 2001, Meacham was key in the editing of the magazine’s coverage of the September 11 attacks, and oversaw both domestic and international reporting. Newsweek’s coverage of was honored with a National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2002. In 2003, Newsweek won the award again, this time for coverage of President Bush and the war in Iraq.

After arriving at Newsweek in January 1995, he became National Affairs editor in June of that year; in that role, he supervised coverage of politics and breaking news. In 1998, he edited Newsweek’s groundbreaking coverage of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the impeachment of the president, which was honored with a 1999 National Magazine Award for Reporting.

His book American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation was published by Random House on April 11, 2006, and it has become both a New York Times and Washington Post bestseller. Meacham’s Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship, a chronicle of the wartime relationship between Roosevelt and Churchill, was published by Random House on October 21, 2003, and became a New York Times bestseller. Franklin and Winston was named a Los Angeles Times book of the year and has won The Churchill Centre’s 2005 Emery Reves Award for the best book of the year on Winston Churchill (past winners include Sir Martin Gilbert, William Manchester, and Roy Jenkins) and the William Colby Military Writers’ Symposium’s Book of the Year Award. The paperback edition was also aNew York Times bestseller. Meacham is now at work on a biography of Andrew Jackson and his White House circle for Random House.

Meacham has also written for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times Book Review, and The Washington Post Book World. In 2001, he edited Voices in Our Blood: America’s Best on the Civil Rights Movement, a literary anthology of the most important non-fiction accounts of the twentieth-century battle against Jim Crow. Before joining Newsweek, Meacham was an editor for two years at The Washington Monthly. Meacham began his journalism career as a reporter with The Chattanooga Times from 1991 to 1992.

Born in Chattanooga in 1969, Meacham holds a B.A. in English Literature from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He now serves on the university’s governing Board of Regents. Meacham is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a communicant of St. Thomas Episcopal Church Fifth Avenue, where he serves on the Vestry of the 180-year-old parish. He is a member of the Vestry of Trinity Church Wall Street and, in 2005, was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University. Meacham and his wife, Keith, the director of development at Harlem Day Charter School, live in New York City with their two children.

Kevin Mackay is currently the Business Development Manager for Helio Solar.  He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Champlain College and for over 17 years was an officer in the Stamford Police Department, specializing in IT and Computer Forensics.  Kevin is also a United States Marine, serving as an Infantry Squad Leader and achieving the rank of Corporal before being honorably discharged.

While an IT and Computer Forensics specialist with the Stamford Police, Mackay was instrumental in help solve cases such as the breakup of a burglary ring responsible for over 200 burglaries targeting Asian homeowners in the tri-state area and the arrest of a Stamford man with over 500 images of child pornography on his computer.

While an officer with the Stamford Police, Kevin also taught computer forensics as an Adjunct Professor at Champlain College for several years.  Following his retirement from the Stamford Police, he has pursued a career in corporate sales.

Mackay earned a BS degree in Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration from the University of Phoenix and an MS degree in Digital Forensic Science from Champlain College.

When not working, Kevin enjoys spending time with his family or at church, reading, or trying to keep up with his pets that are too numerous to list. His passion is learning new things, with golf and hockey being his current sport obsessions.

Kevin has been married to his wife Tama for 21 years, and they have a daughter Lexi who is a student at Grand Canyon University in Arizona.  Tama owns Total Advantage Massage in Stamford, CT.

Mark Merrill is the founder and president of Family First, a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping people love their families well. Mark hosts the Family Minute with Mark Merrill, a nationally syndicated daily radio program that reaches 5,900,000 listeners each day. He also delivers marriage and parenting wisdom to over 100,000 people each month through his blog and podcast.

Mark is a regular FOX and Friends guest on FOX News and has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, numerous ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC network affiliates and national radio programs. His comments and writings have appeared in publications including USA Today, the Washington Times, and Sports Illustrated. Mark is also the author of All Pro Dad—Seven Essentials to Be a Hero to Your Kids.  As an energetic advocate for the family, Mark speaks at conferences and events hosted by major companies and organizations, NFL teams, as well as special engagements for dignitaries.

Before founding Family First in 1991, Mark practiced law in Florida for seven years. Mark and his wife, Susan, live in Tampa, Florida and have five children.

Mark Negley’s passion for helping others through difficult life experiences has led him to serve as executive director of Survive-Alive-Thrive.org, a non-profit initiative inspired to provide insight, community, and emotional support for those who have experienced loss. His revelatory book, Survive-Alive-Thrive: Navigating the Journey from Loss to Hope to Happiness, redefines the loss experience and provides a revolutionary new model for understanding grief recovery for the millions of Americans who suffer loss each year.

As president of PondHouse Management Consulting Group, Mark leverages his twenty years of senior leadership experience across media, ecommerce, retail, and technology markets to help his business clients pursue revenue and income growth. His track record of success as a hands-on entrepreneur and strategic consultant includes building new business start-up ventures and leading corporate initiatives where he has been recognized as an innovator and visionary.

Mark’s commitment to his Christian faith has inspired him to share the power of God’s love while engaging in leadership roles in several marketplace ministries, such as The New Canaan Society, Youth Impact Ministries, and Give Me an Answer. As a compelling public speaker and podcast host, Mark has enjoyed sharing stories from his journey at conferences, retreats, churches and with small groups and gatherings across the country.

Raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Mark is a widower and proud father of twenty-four-year-old son, Andersen. He was blessed to re-marry in 2020 and currently resides in Franklin, TN, with his wife, Melyn.

Max McLean is an award-winning actor and founder and artistic director of New York City-based Fellowship for Performing Arts. FPA produces theatre and film from a Christian worldview meant to engage diverse audiences.

As a writer, Max has adapted for the stage Mark’s Gospel, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis on Stage: The Most Reluctant Convert, The Great Divorce, Genesis and Martin Luther on Trial. FPA New York productions include Paradise Lost, Shadowlands and A Man for All Seasons.

As an actor, Max created the roles of Mark in Mark’s Gospel, for which he received a Jeff Award – Chicago theatre’s highest honor, Screwtape (New York, London, national tour) and C.S. Lewis in the stage production of The Most Reluctant Convert (New York, national tour) and the upcoming film version.

His narration of The Listener’s Bible received four Audie Award nominations from the Audio Publishers Association.

Michael J. Nyenhuis serves as President of Americares, the world’s leading nonprofit provider of donated medicine and medical supplies.

For nearly 40 years, Americares has been responding to people affected by poverty or disaster with life-changing health programs, medicine and medical supplies. The health-focused relief and development organization reaches more than 90 countries and all 50 U.S. states each year with over $600 million in innovative health programs and quality medical aid.

Nyenhuis has oversight of all Americares offices worldwide, including its operations in the U.S., El Salvador, India, Liberia, Nepal, Philippines, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. A global health professional with more than 20 years of experience, Nyenhuis previously served as the president and chief executive officer of MAP International. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and a Master of Business Administration from Emory University.

Nick Medley is a Guest Service Representative Lead at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where he has worked for the past 16 years. Nick has been making a difference in so many people’s lives; helping cancer patients and their families who are facing difficult, painful and frightening situations. His daily guidance, and encouraging spiritual support makes their lives a bit easier and his compassionate care has aided many on their path to healing.

He has been acknowledged by more than 1,000 patients about his great compassion and care. Nick was featured on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer and interviewed by news anchor and host, David Muir. In April of 2014, Nick was named “America’s Strongest.” His boundless affirmations and award honors include: the “Healthcare Chaplaincy Wholeness of Life Award for Outstanding Patient Care” in 2005; the “MSKCC Employee Legendary Services Award” for going above and beyond in 2003; the “Community Service Award” from the New York City Police Department for outstanding service to the community which was awarded by NYPD commanding officer and the community council in 2012; and the “Human Spirit Award” for appreciation, outstanding services and extraordinary commitment to the betterment of humanity from the Healtheo360 webcast program by CEO, Dave Duplay in 2015. Nick is currently featured in a photo exhibit titled “Son’s” at the African American Museum located in Hempstead, New York. He is amongst more than one hundred photos of African American men who are featured as role models in today’s society.

For the past seven years, he has been a volunteer involved in mentoring and speaking at various inner-city middle schools to encourage students to get involved with the arts and also finish school. Nick himself is a 1985 graduate of the New York Academy of Theatre and Music.

The Reverend Nigel Mumford is an International Speaker, Author and Founder of By His Wounds, Inc. (a 501c3 non-profit organization,) focusing on Christian healing. Nigel is also Priest Associate for Prayer Ministry, at Galilee Church in Virginia Beach, VA

Nigel was born and educated in England. He served for six and a half years in "Her Majesty’s Royal Marine Commandos".   His last two years as a Marine were spent as a drill instructor at the Commando Training School (CTCRM).

Nigel has been involved in the Healing Ministry for over 28 years.  His conviction to pray for healing came in 1989 when his sister, Julie Sheldon, a ballet dancer with the Royal Ballet in London, was healed by God through the late Canon Jim Glennon. Julie had a very dramatic healing from Dystonia. Being a witness to her healing has had a profound effect on Nigel’s life.

In 2007, Nigel created WELCOME HOME INITIATIVE® services; a program of healing for veterans.  This program invites men and women of our Armed Forces (from all wars), who have served in combat, to come free of charge and be "welcomed home".  His focus is on healing for post-traumatic stress and moral injury.

Nigel is a published author and all his books and CDs are available on the By His Wounds website: www.byhiswoundsministry.org (Some on Amazon or Kindle).  His fifth book is This is How Your Healing Begins (Harper Collins Publishing), being published in 2020.

Nigel regularly contributes articles to the Sharing Magazine (OSL).  His ministry has been reported by the New York Times as well as broadcast on CBN/700 Clun and K-Love Radio.  Stories of healing through Nigel's ministry have been published in Guideposts Magazine and an interview in Mysterious Ways.  Nigel has been honored to speak at  many seminaries around the United States and the United Kingdom.  He has served on the Advisory Board of Christian Healing  Ministries in Jacksonville, Florida (Dr. Francis and Judith MacNutt) and the Board of Directors for the Order of St Luke (OSL).

Outside the ministry, Nigel enjoys boating, writing, playing the violin and spending time with his grandchildren.  He and his wife Lynn live in Virginia Beach, VA

Back to Our Team

Rev. Louis E Midura (or "Louie" to his NCS brudders and “Father Lou” in his new role as Rector) became the Rector of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Lake Luzerne, NY, after more than 30 years as a residential builder constructing high-end homes in the Manchester/Dorset, VT area.  Louie is also one of the founding leaders of the NCS Manchester chapter.

Father Lou came to St. Mary’s in February of 2021 initially as a deacon.  On the diocesan level, he is a worship leader and a member of the Southern Adirondack Deanery.  Over the years, he has been involved in many aspects of parish life, principally at Zion Episcopal Church in Manchester, VT. He has served as a vestry member, senior and junior warden, treasurer, and stewardship chair. He has also served as a worship leader, healing prayer member, lay Eucharistic minister, Bible study leader, lay reader, chalice bearer, acolyte, World Vision 30-hour famine leader, and ALPHA coordinator.

Outside of church, in addition to his leadership of NCS Manchester, Louie has been the VT ALPHA representative, and Rutland VT Men’s Correctional Facility ALPHA leader. He has led or attended several mission trips to Uganda, Katrina, and Peru. 

In the community, Louie has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, the Community Food Cupboard, the Sunderland VT select board as selectman and chair, and Little League as a coach for 13 years. He has been a foster care parent, international student homestay parent, Fresh Air Fund parent, and World Vision and Compassion child sponsor in his home. He is the recipient of the Manchester, VT Chamber of Commerce Unsung Hero Award in December 2012.

While working full-time running Midura Building Company, Louie pursued a degree at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Hamilton, Massachusetts, and was ordained to the priesthood in April 2021.  

Louie and Patty have three children, two granddaughters, and two chocolate labs.  He loves playing his guitar, fishing, camping, carpentry, golf, and hiking.

Rick Mitera is the AHL Chapel Coordinator, Northeast Division for Hockey Ministries International.  In that capacity, Rick serves as Chaplain for a number of professional and college hockey teams, including the NY Rangers.  

Rick was first introduced to Hockey Ministries International in 1996 when the NY Rangers relocated their farm team from Binghamton, NY to Hartford, CT. There began his role as Chaplain to the Hartford Wolf Pack. It was initially a volunteer position until 2008 when he stepped by faith into full-time ministry as the HMI Chapel Coordinator for the American Hockey League. Without the security of secular employment, he continues to trust in God’s provision through faithful supporters of this vision.

From 2008 to today, his responsibilities have grown to include coordinating chaplains for all 30 AHL teams, setting up chapel programs for numerous NHL and college teams, and as camp director for Christian Hockey Camps in Los Angeles, CA and Keene, NH. However, more than any of this, Rick’s fulfillment remains to be the teams that he Chaplains; Hartford WolfPack, NY Rangers, UCONN and Quinnipiac Colleges, as well as the time spent with kids at camps. The greatest blessing is watching boys, girls and young men come to the Lord.

Rick resides in Cromwell with his wife Dawn, of 36 years. They have three grown children and two grandchildren.

Ron Mackey–or “Chief Ron” as he is known in the Adirondack wilderness of Upstate New York–is the Director of Deerfoot Lodge, a Christian boys camp founded in 1930 that is devoted to “building godly men in Christ-centered community through wilderness camping”.  Ron, who became the Director of Deerfoot in 2005 following 11 years in local church pastoral ministry, is deeply passionate about the modern plight of boys and men.

Chief Ron graduated from Cedarville College and earned his M-Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 1993.  He loves Adirondack hiking and backcountry skiing and is a three-time “46er”, meaning he has hiked all 46 of the Adirondack “high peak” mountains three times (and has done it in both Summer and Winter).

Ron and his wife Anne have been married for 26 years and have four children–Emily, Abi, Sam and Grace.

Dr. Skip Moen is many things--entrepreneur, author, speaker, professor, dean, mentor, friend--but, most importantly, he is an NCS brudder. From speaking at NCS National Retreats going back to the days of Mohonk Mountain House, sharing his incredible story at numerous NCS Chapters over the years and writing much of the content that put into words the DNA and culture of NCS as it emerged as a national movement of men, Skip has been part of the NCS family.

Skip's studies with Francis Schaeffer at L'Abri changed the direction of his life.  Although some might say Skip is a contender for the title of "World's Most Fascinating Man" (Skip has earned five degrees, including a PhD from Oxford, built and sold a successful consulting firm, collected Ferrari's, is an avid semi-professional photographer, has taught MBA-level courses, has been Dean of a Divinity School, has written many books, numerous articles and literally thousands of devotional word studies exploring the Bible from a Hebraic vs a Greek mindset, and now travels the world lecturing on Biblical topics), what really makes him an NCS brudder is his unrelenting pursuit for many years of personal authenticity and God's truth, often through crisis and personal challenges, and his willingness to share with extreme vulnerability the hills and valleys of the journey.  His goal is to make the depths of God's words come alive for anyone who searches. 

Skip is a father of four children,  was born in Seattle and has lived and worked in Chicago, New Jersey, Los Angeles, England, Switzerland, Grand Cayman, the Tonga Islands, Taipei, Hong Kong and the Dominican Republic.

Skip and his wife Rosanne lived in the Orlando area for many years and are now searching for home in Italy.

Thomas Mallon is a co-founder and General Partner of Perpetuate Capital, LLC, which is a fund dedicated to helping business owners structure and finance a sale of their business in a way that perpetuates its legacy and the future of its employees.

Inspired by Mr. Mallon's own experience in exploring ways to sell his business while preserving its unique culture, Perpetuate Capital provides succession and growth capital to small and medium-sized businesses, primarily through ESOP transactions, in order to facilitate an exit alternative for owners other than sale to a private equity or strategic buyer.

Mr. Mallon is also the co-founder and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Regent Surgical Health, and formerly served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mallon has significant experience in venture capital funds, real estate and turnarounds.

Mr. Mallon earned a Bachelor of Art from Denison University and his Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

Tom is married to Margaret Mary, celebrating 40 years of marriage.  They raised three children in Chicago where Tom served as elder, trustee and mission chair at Christ Church of Oak Brook.  Tom and Margaret currently reside in Incline Village on Lake Tahoe.

Tom and his wife Elaine live in Plano, Texas. They have four children and one grandchild.

Wiley Mullins is the founder and president of Uncle Wiley’s Specialty Foods, Inc., a Fairfield, Connecticut based firm that produces and markets Wiley’s “Healthy Southern Classics” seasonings and spices. A passion for southern cooking and a starting base of his grandmother’s recipes, combined with ten years of marketing expertise in the packaged food industry enabled Wiley to launch this business in 1992.  His goal was to introduce a healthy approach to preparing common foods.

In 22 active years, he has expanded his product line and distribution network so that today Uncle Wiley’s are now sold in supermarkets across the country.  For business success, Wiley has received recognition from a number of organizations including: A past recipient of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council’s Small Business Person of the Year Award; featured coverage inEntrepreneur Magazine’s annual 51 American Small Business Success Stories; and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Distinguished Alumni Business Leadership Award. Smart Money Magazine, a Dow Jones publication featured Wiley in a past issue. He was also the recipient of Boy Scouts of America’s Good Scout Award, and the 2011 Bank of America Community Heroes Award. Most recently, Wiley was presented the Trailblazer Award at the 15th Annual Rainbow/PUSH Wall Street Economic Summit in New York City.

A Connecticut resident for 30 years, Wiley is a graduate of The University of Alabama and received a Master’s degree in Business Administration from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. After graduate school, he joined The Procter & Gamble, Inc. Throughout his marketing career he has managed national brands including Vick’s VapoRub, Mott’s Apple Sauce and Vick’s NyQuil.

In addition to the New Canaan Society, Wiley is actively involved in The Connecticut Yankee Council – Boys Scouts of America (Board of Directors) and The Bridgeport Public Education Fund (Chairman Emeritus) and Easter Seals of Connecticut (Chairman).  Wiley is also a member of the Board of Visitors at the University of Alabama College of Commerce & Business Administration.

Carter Page, Ph.D., is founder and managing partner of Global Energy Capital in New York and Global Natural Gas Ventures in Oklahoma City. Specializing in energy and foreign policy, he is engaged in nationwide legal initiatives to repair and protect American democracy.  Page is also the author of Abuse and Power: How an Innocent American Was Framed in an Attempted Coup Against the President

Page graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was a Trident Scholar. He holds an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business, an M.A. in national security studies from Georgetown University, and a doctorate from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.

Charles Paksi has done a number of things and held a number of titles, including his current roles as a Director at Altium Wealth in Purchase, NY and a Professor of Military Science for Cadets in the Reserve Officer Training Corps.  While some roles and titles come and go, Charles will always be a United States Marine.

As a young boy from rural Wisconsin, Charles always dreamed of becoming a Marine. So, after graduating high school in 1991, he joined the Marine Corps and earned the title:  Marine.  In late 1992, he completed Airborne school and was then deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia for “Operation Restore Hope,” a humanitarian effort providing famine relief to the citizens of this African nation.

Charles transferred from Active Duty to Marine Corps Reserves in 1995 to enroll at the University of Wisconsin.  After earning his undergraduate degree, he began his business career at FactSet in Greenwich, Connecticut while continuing to serve our Republic as a Guardsman in the New York Air National Guard.

Days after September 11, 2001, Charles was ordered to put his business career on hold to forward deploy with Special Operations Command.  The next assignment took him overseas to conduct operations for “Operation Enduring Freedom;” a part of the Global War on Terrorism.  He conducted operations in Oman, Yemen, Djibouti, Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan through December 2002.

In 2008, Charles earned a Commission as an Officer in the Connecticut Army National Guard.  In 2010 Charles was deployed a third time, this time as an Infantry Officer with the 102nd Mountain Infantry Battalion from the Connecticut Army National Guard.  During this deployment, Charles led Infantrymen on combat patrols in the northeast of Afghanistan; in Nangarhar, Laghman, and Nuristan provinces.

An abbreviated list of Charles’ awards and decorations include: a Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge, Combat Action Ribbon, and Parachutist Badge.

Charles earned a BBA from the School of Business at the University of Wisconsin and an MBA in 2013 from the NYU Stern School of Business.

Charles’ wonderful wife Alexis and their three children (Zoe, Gabriel and Elle) attend Mass at Holy Spirit and reside in North Stamford.

Charles Price has been the Senior Pastor of The Peoples Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada since September 2001, with a congregation of 4000+ people. He has a weekly hour-long television program, Living Truth, which is broadcast coast to coast in Canada each week, as well as in the U.S.A, United Kingdom, Europe, India, Australia, New Zealand, Guyana, South Korea and Japan. He also has a daily 30 minute radio program which is broadcast in the U.S.A. and Canada.

Charles Price came to Christ through a Billy Graham film at the age of twelve in Hereford, England. On leaving school he farmed for two years in Zimbabwe before returning to England to attend Capernwray Bible School for one year. He then spent three years at the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow, Scotland. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Tyndale University in Toronto in 2004.

Charles was a field representative of the Capernwray Missionary Fellowship of Torchbearers, based at Capernwray Hall, Lancashire, England. This responsibility involved an itinerant ministry of evangelism and Bible teaching for approximately half of the year, the rest of the time being spent at Capernwray Hall. Charles taught in the year-long bible school, and for fifteen years led the summer conference program from June to September each year.

In September 1993, Charles was appointed Principal of Capernwray Bible School while continuing in a wide international conference, convention and evangelistic ministry.

He has preached in over 80 countries on 5 continents around the World and is the author of 7 books, some of which have been translated into German, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Hindi, Farsi, Korean and Latvian.
Charles has been married to Hilary since 1980. They have three adult children: Hannah, Laura and Matthew.

David Prior was for four years Director of The Centre for Marketplace Theology in the City of London, an initiative by professionals in the financial sector to bring Christian perspectives and priorities to bear on the City. He now works as an international consultant in marketplace ministry. A graduate in Classics and Philosophy from Trinity College, Oxford, and a former journalist, he studied theology at Cambridge University before being ordained into the Anglican Church in 1967. He has served parishes in London Oxford and Cape Town and traveled widely throughout the world as a lecturer and consultant. He has close links with Uganda, where he has made about twelve visits in the last 20 years. He is the author of eight books and regularly contributes articles to various magazines and journals. He is married to Rosemary and they have four adult children in their 20’s or 30’s.

From September 2001 to June 2002 he was Fellow-in-Residence at the C.S.Lewis Institute in Washington DC and Elder-in-Residence at The Falls Church Episcopal Church in Northern Virginia. In November 2002 he was due to take up an appointment as Chaplain at Christ Memorial Chapel on Jupiter Island in Hobe Sound, Florida.

David Pytches, former Vicar of the superchurch  “St. Andrews” in Chorlyewood, England, longed to see the “spontaneous expansion” of the church in England as he had seen it happening in Chile, while Bishop there. Through a growing friendship with John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard Church in the USA, he realized one of the keys was equipping ordinary Christians for ministry through the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit. He founded of New Wine conferences with his wife Mary, also a noted author in the field of Christian counseling and godly living. They chose the name “New Wine” to describe the new life in the Holy Spirit being offered. Rev. Pytches is the author of over 20 books including the bestseller Come Holy Spirit and has published his autobiography called Living at the Edge.

One of the most genuine and compelling communicators of our day, Dennis Peacocke has carried a concern for social justice for over 35 years. In his college days, this concern was expressed through his involvement in the civil rights and free speech movements. He graduated from Berkeley in political science at the height of the turbulent 60’s.

Since his conversion in 1968, Dennis has gained international respect as a strategist and communicator due to his unique way of applying biblical solutions to the many challenging issues facing families, churches, business, and government. A former business owner, Dennis is the founder and president of Strategic Christian Services, a Christian leadership organization dedicated to demonstrating the relevance of Christianity to every area of contemporary life.

He has authored three books: Winning the Battle for the Minds of Men, published in 1987 and 2000, Doing Business God’s Way, published in 1994 and 2003, and The Emperor Has No Clothes: Commentaries by Dennis Peacocke, published in 2003. He has also recorded numerous audio and video presentations. Dennis and his wife Jan reside in Santa Rosa, California. They have three adult children and nine grandchildren.

Denny Rydberg became Young Life’s fifth president in 1993. During Denny’s tenure Young Life has grown from just under 1,700 ministries to more than 5,450 ministries in the U.S. and 90 countries around the world. The number of kids involved has grown exponentially and the number of Young Life camps has tripled to more than thirty.

Before joining Young Life, Denny served as director of university ministries at University Presbyterian Church in Seattle, Washington. In addition, the author of ten books has served as the vice president of Youth Specialties, director of operations for Inspirational Films and the editor of The Wittenburg Door. He has ministered as chaplain for the University of Washington basketball team and the Seattle Supersonics. Denny and (his wife) Marilyn, have also been involved in the LPGA Fellowship — a ministry to women professional golfers on the LPGA tour.

Denny graduated from Seattle Pacific University and attended graduate school at Western Washington University. He was named SPU Alumnus of the year in 2000. Denny and Marilyn have four children and a growing number of grandchildren.

Dr. Chip Roper is the Executive Director and Principal Consultant of LEAD.NYC’s Voca Center (Formerly called the New York City Leadership Center's Marketplace Initiative). Dr. Roper is building a bridge across the vocational divide, the disconnect many people live between their Sunday faith and their Monday reality. This compartmentalization is experienced at the individual level and reinforced at the institutional level. To build this bridge, Chip creates experiences and delivers resources that equip professionals who work in New York City to engage in their jobs with a robust sense of calling. He also trains pastors to validate and support their people in their workplace vocations. Chip turns the daily grind into a spiritual adventure, serving 1000’s of people annually.

Chip tackles the vocational challenge from 30 years of experience as a small businessman, a pastor, a career coach, and a business consultant. In addition to his work at Voca, Chip is one of two city directors for the Made to Flourish Network, he writes the blog Marketplace Faith for Patheos.com and serves as a teaching pastor at Lower Manhattan Community Church.

Chip and his wife of 28 years, Audrey have three daughters, one still at home. They live along the East River in the Hunters Point Queens neighborhood of New York City.

Dr. John Robb is a respected doctor of veterinary medicine from Connecticut and founder of Protect the Pets.  Protect the Pets is a grass roots movement lead by Dr. Robb to educate pet owners about the realities of over-vaccination and to inspire veterinary professionals to value the health of pets over the drive for profits.  Protect the Pets promotes the idea that veterinarians should be able to make decisions that are in the best interest of an animal's health and to reduce the impact of vaccine side affects by using graduated dosages and titering. The ultimate aim is to amend the rabies laws in each State by amending the laws to include a rabies titer rather than a mandated and medically unwarranted  re-vaccination. As a result of his outspoken stand against profits over pets and his unwillingness to observe the unspoken “rules” among veterinarians that emphasize protecting the vet over protecting the pet, the Mars Candy Bar Company is suing Dr. Robb in US Federal court; PetSmart is suing Dr. Robb in CT State court; and the State of CT is currently investigating his license.

Dr. Robb received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California at Davis in 1981 and his DVM from that same institution in 1985.  Throughout his career Dr. Robb has held an unwavering commitment to pets over profits. He has experienced first-hand the toxic effect of the drive for productivity and profitability on animal care. While some in the industry want to silence him, he has become a voice and a leader for the many animal care professionals who want to live their passion and provide the very best in care to our animal companions.

In 2008, Dr. Robb bought a franchise from Banfield Pet Hospital. It was while at Banfield that Dr. Robb came up against the Veterinary Establishment represented by Mars. Mars put profits first and pet lives second. In addition, Mars began an illegal process to dissolve franchise agreements and gain control of all 900 Banfield hospitals.  Dr. Robb could not be bought or blackmailed. Mars terminated the franchise agreement at Dr. Robb’s Banfield Hospital in Stamford, Connecticut, with no compensation. Mars threatened to report Dr. Robb to the State Board of Veterinary Medicine if he “wouldn’t go quietly.” Dr. Robb told Mars that he, not Mars and not the Connecticut State Board, had the right to choose what volume of rabies vaccine he injected into a pet. From this beginning has come a worldwide movement to protect the pets by amending the rabies laws to honor the measuring of circulating antibodies: namely, a blood titer as the true indicator of immunity!

Dr. Robb began his practice at New Haven Central Veterinary Hospital. He purchased the New Fairfield Veterinary Hospital in 1988, renaming it the Robb Animal Care Center in 1997. It was at this practice that Dr. Robb first established Community Appreciation Days, when he offered free exams and vaccinations to people who could not ordinarily afford veterinary care.  In April of 1999, Dr. Robb sold the Care Center to Veterinary Centers of America (VCA). He continued to work as an associate veterinarian and then Medical Director at VCA Northside in Danbury until his departure in 2005.  In 2007, Dr. Robb bought and ran Farmington Valley Emergency Hospital in Avon, Connecticut. There Dr. Robb treated every pet regardless of the owner’s financial situation. It was a 24-hour care facility for critically ill pets. Dr. Robb sold the 24-hour care facility in 2008 to BrightHeart Veterinary Company and bought the franchise from Banfield Pet Hospital.

In addition to leading Protect the Pets, Dr. Robb serves as an Assistant to the Pastor/Minister at Mountain Church of God in Brookfield, CT.

Dr. Randall Peeters is an aerospace engineer, adventurer, sportsman, author and inspirational speaker.

Randy was the 8th person in the world to complete the “Adventure Grand Slam” which consists of climbing the highest mountain on each continent (known as the “7-Summits”) and reaching both the North and South Poles. He has also achieved high levels of competence in numerous sports including skydiving, BASE jumping, skiing, climbing, scuba and free diving, whitewater rafting and kayaking, and surfing.

Randy has held the positions of Chief Scientist and Vice President of Engineering for a wide range of companies from major aerospace corporations to start-ups including managing groups as large as 1050 technical employees.

Dr. Peeters earned his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees from the University of Washington in Aeronautics and Astronautics and his B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from the California State Polytechnic University. Awards include Distinguished Alumni from both universities he attended and the Silver Beaver Award from the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Rev. Dr. Rob Reimer is Professor of Pastoral Theology at Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, NY and the founding pastor of South Shore Community Church in Brockton, Massachusetts, where he served as lead pastor for 22 years. Under Rob’s leadership, what began as a small group of eight believers mobilized on mission to start a new church, resulting in hundreds of people coming to faith in Christ. Many of the stories in his teachings and books come from the lessons learned planting and leading a church in New England – one of the most unchurched regions in the nation.

In addition to his role as Professor, Rob is also an accomplished author. His books, Deep Faith, Soul Care, River Dwellers, and Pathways to the King have been sold worldwide. They are available at www.drrobreimer.com

A gifted preacher and communicator, Rob is a sought-after speaker. He regularly speaks at pastors’ conferences, leadership retreats, mission fields, churches, and seminaries in the United States and abroad. His sermons are posted online and are accessed by people around the world.

Rob is also an experienced teacher. He teaches Soul Care at the Doctoral level and has taught various classes at the Masters level, including Personal, Professional and Theological Foundations for Ministry; Evangelism; Mentoring; Pastoral Methods; Person in Ministry; Soul Care; and Intimacy and Authority.

Rob was Ordained as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the Christian and Missionary Alliance in 1993. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from King’s College, a Master’s of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate in Preaching from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Rob and his wife, Jen, live in the Nyack, NY area with their four children, Danielle, Courtney, Darcy, and Craig.

Edward J. Russell, III has been involved in the construction and real estate development field for over thirty-five years.  He is also one of the founding members of the NCS Grosse Point chapter and has been leading the chapter for several years.  He also serves on the NCS National Board.

In 1994 he was chosen to serve as the third generation Managing Partner of Russell Development Company (RDC), based in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. RDC is actively involved in both commercial real estate (office and retail), and the ultra-luxury residential sector.

Russell Development’s commercial business focuses on the construction, management, and acquisition of retail strip centers in southeast Michigan anchored by such tenants as Wal Mart, CVS Drugs, O’Reilly Auto Parts and FedEx Office. The office portfolio tenants include Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Oppenheimer & Co., The Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, The Private Bank, Chemical Bank and Northern Trust Bank.

After studying finance at Western Michigan University, Mr. Russell joined the family business and served in a variety of capacities in the areas of job cost and budget analysis, tenant lease structuring and negotiation, and was responsible for maintaining and creating tenant relationships and identifying development opportunities for the company.

Mr. Russell has served on numerous Boards, both public “for profit” and civic. Ed resides in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan with his wife Marcia, whom he has been married to for over forty years, and together share three grown daughters and five grandchildren.

Gene Pargas is the Executive Director of Expansion for Marketplace Chaplains, a non-profit organization that provides employee care services to over 5,000 company locations in North America.  Gene enjoys meeting with leaders who are interested in providing their team members with proactive and integrated mental health support that is a strategic part of the employee experience and leads to both the companies and the human beings who make them run more connected, engaged, and cared for.

Prior to his 5 years with Marketplace Chaplains Gene spent 3 years as a Field Development Director with Corporate Chaplains of America. Gene has owned or been a partner in three organizations including Priority Management headquartered in Vancouver BC with over 150 offices around the world. He has also held Vice President and Director positions within the SaaS environment as well as board member positions in the non-profit community.

Prior to his corporate career Gene served for 9 years in the United States Navy. He began his time in the military on Guided Missile destroyers and completed his service while on special assignment to the U.S. Department of State within the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Overseas Sophisticated Technologies Division. After leaving the service, Gene began speaking to spirit-based organizations telling his story of finding faith and recovery.

He and his wife Kim reside in a 100-year-old lakeside log cabin in Southern New Jersey. They have two children Spencer and Grant.  Spencer and her husband live in New York City. Her career in theater has brought her roles on stage, in the movie "In The Heights", and she will be appearing in a small role on a TV series next season. Their son Grant will be graduating from college in May with a degree in health sciences. Both Spencer and Grant have developed their own app businesses.

Gerard Placide is a native of Trinidad and Tobago who has travelled a miraculous road from homelessness in his native country to having the privilege of singing for such luminaries as the Queen of England in London (through Chances for Children under the patronage of the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson); Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush; President Barack Obama; the President of the U.N. 57th. General Assembly, His Excellency Julian Robert Hunte; New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Senator John McCain; and former New York City Mayors Rudolph Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg.

Gerard also an Iraq-war veteran, having served as a Ranger in the United States Army 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, GA.

In 2001, Gerard became the first Caribbean National to win the acclaim title of the McDonald’s Gospel Soloist Award. He again won the title in 2002 and 2003 becoming the first non-American to hold this title for three consecutive years in New York. Later that year, Gerard went on to release his first album (traditional gospel) at the historic Baptist Temple in Brooklyn, New York where his friend and brother in Christ, the godfather of gospel, the late Reverend Timothy Wright was the opening act.

In August 2004, Gerard represented Trinidad & Tobago in the World Championship of Performing Arts in Hollywood, California, which was the first time Trinidad & Tobago was represented at this prestigious event. The event showcased premier talent from 41 countries world wide all vying for top awards in their distinctive categories. Gerard won all categories entered including Best Male Vocalist, world and contemporary for 2004.

After hosting the 2005 Caribbean American Gospel Showcase/Awards, Gerard was invited to share his expertise and appear as a judge to assist in the selection of the 2005 Grand Champion at the World Championships of Performing Arts in Hollywood, California.

In 2010, Gerard received a proclamation from the United States Army for his service to the military, to God and to Country. Later that year he received his fifth proclamation from United States Congressman Hank Johnson for his work in the State of Georgia working collectively with the Congressman’s Office in pushing the affairs of Caribbean Immigrants for Health Care and Immigration Reform.

In April 1983, Graham Power started his company as a conventional civil contractor, with one pick-up, 3 casual workers and administrative help of his wife Lauren. They operated from a stable that had been converted into an office at Elandskloof in Sir Lowry’s Pass. Having just left Savage & Lovemore, a large construction and engineering company and all the infrastructure and support, they suddenly found themselves alone pioneering this new work which today has become the Power Group of Companies. The Group operates nationally from four regional offices: Cape Town, Knysna, Port Elizabeth and Gauteng. Civil engineering arms include Power Construction West Cape ( Cape Town), Power Construction Coastal (Knysna) and Power Construction North (Gauteng). Power Construction Roads, Power Developments and Power Building are based in Cape Town. Power Construction Plant offers a variety of equipment for construction projects, while Power Group Financial and Management Services serves the Group through centralized administration facilities. www.powergrp.co.za

Prayer Movement

After having seen the Transformation video by George Otis in February 2000, and specifically the Cali Columbia story in which the Pastors had started praying together for their City, and the major turnaround it had brought, Graham Power, a successful businessman and relatively new convert, received the first of a two-part Vision from God in July 2000.

The first Vision had 3 clear instructions:

1. Go and hire the Newlands Rugby Stadium in Cape Town. Invite the Christians from the various Denominations and gather for a Day of Repentance and Prayer.
2. Then Challenge the other Provinces in South Africa to do the same – to gather for a Day of Repentance and Prayer.
3. And then this same Challenge must go to the rest of the Christians in Africa.

Today this call from God on a businessman in Africa has led to a worldwide prayer effort which has touched 220 countries – for more on the history of the Global Day of Prayer, go towww.transformationafrica.com.

Harold (Hal) O. Rosser is Managing Partner of Rosser Capital Partners Management, LP, a Greenwich, CT based private investment firm he founded in 2011. Hal co-founded the Naples NCS Chapter in 2006 and serves as a partner and executive committee member of NCS National.

Previously, he spent 15 years as Founder and Managing Director of Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co., Inc., a New York based mid-market private equity (“PE”) firm, established in 1995 and before that, 20 years at Citibank/Citicorp/Citicorp Venture Capital. Hal had led his respective firm’s acquisitions of more than two dozen businesses, each with annual revenues between $25 million to $1+ billion and is individually recognized to have completed more transactions in the restaurant space than any other PE firm. Hal earned his BS from Clarkson University and attended Management Development Programs at Carnegie-Mellon University and the Stanford University School of Business.  

Hal is currently a Director of several private companies and Trustee Emeritus at the Culinary Institute of America and Wake Forest University.

Hal and his wife Rita (of 47 years) live in Naples, FL and Charlotte, NC. Their son, Luke, daughter-in-law, Emily and grandchildren, Tommy, Ella, and Lilly live close by in Charlotte.

Placed in an orphanage at the age of seven, and sentenced to the Texas State Penitentiary at the age of nineteen, James Ryle’s life is a powerful and uplifting story of how God’s grace can work all things together for good. His ability to connect with people of all ages, combined with a keen sense of humor and sensitivity to the moment, make James one of the most sought after speakers in today’s world. His is a seasoned voice that brings moral clarity and refreshing insights for people of all walks of life.

James Ryle is the President and Founder of TruthWorks Ministries, a teaching and resourcing ministry helping individuals live real, relevant and significant lives for Christ. He has been involved in public speaking since 1972, serving as pastor of two churches, chaplain for the University of Colorado football team, and ministering as an evangelist, Bible teacher and popular conference speaker throughout the Nation and abroad. He is a best-selling author, and a contributor to both the NKJV Spirit Filled Life Bible, and the NIV Worship Leader’s Bible.

James is one of the founding Board members of Promise Keepers, and has spoken at multiple PK stadium events around the country. On October 4, 1997 in the Nation’s Capitol, James delivered the Gospel message at Stand in the Gap ~ an event attended by over 1.4 million men, and broadcast to over 20 different nations around the world.

James and his wife, Belinda, have four grown children and currently live in Tennessee.

Jason Pankau is the president of Life Spring Network, an organization that trains and coaches people to realize life’s potential. He is a sought after author, speaker, organizational consultant and life coach. Jason is the author of the Omega Seminar as well as several seminars that he teaches throughout North America.

Jason is also leading authority on leadership and teams as they relate to employee and customer engagement. He is a cofounder and partner at E Pluribus Partners, a consulting firm that specializes in helping leaders create “Connection Cultures” to form strong bonds among the management, employees and customers of an organization. Connection Cultures increase employee and customer engagement as well as productivity, profitability, innovation, employee retention and customer loyalty. In the past year, clients have included Wachovia, UBS, General Re and several hedge funds.

Jason is a co-author of the book Fired Up or Burned Out and a chapter in the bookWhat Managers Say, What Employees Hear: Connecting With Your Front Line (So They’ll Connect with Customers).

Previously, Jason was an associate pastor at Stanwich Congregational Church in Greenwich, CT where he focused on mentoring and leadership development. He serves as a consultant and life coach to many corporate executives and ministers. He was captain and pre-season All-American linebacker in football, school record holder in discus, and national qualifier in track while at Brown. Jason earned a Masters of Divinity from Southern Theological Seminary and is currently finishing a Doctorate in Leadership. Jason is married and has two daughters and two sons.

Jason Romano is an author, speaker, and media professional with over 20 years of broadcasting experience.  His first book is titled “Live to Forgive”, and he’s begun work on his second book that will release in 2020.

For 17 years, Jason was an Emmy-Award winning Producer and Senior Manager at ESPN. He has created and produced content for shows such as SportsCenter, Monday Night Football, Mike and Mike in the Morning, Sunday NFL Countdown, College Gameday, MLB’s All Star Game and many more.

During his time at ESPN, Jason helped lead and grow the talent booking department, building relationships with the biggest names in sports as well as creating and managing the NFL on ESPN’s social media channels, growing them to over 6 million followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

In February of 2017, Jason took a leap of faith and walked away from his job at ESPN to pursue sports ministry.

One month later,  Jason launched the Sports Spectrum podcast, an interview driven show that features athletes, coaches, entertainers and other personalities sharing their stories on the intersection of sports and faith. Jason serves as the host, producer and editor for the podcast that has had over 1 million downloads since its debut on March 31, 2017.  He also contributes articles and stories to Sports Spectrum magazine as well as SportsSpectrum.com.

Jason has spoken to audiences large and small at conferences, colleges, companies, high schools and churches. He’s a big advocate of social media, having built up large followings both for ESPN’s social feeds as well as his own personal brand.

Dr. Jerry Root is Assistant Professor and Director of the Evangelism Initiative atWheaton College, and Associate Director of the Billy Graham Center Institute of Strategic Evangelism. He teaches graduate courses in the MA in Evangelism Program and undergraduate courses in the Christian Formation and Ministry Department. In addition, Jerry is visiting professor at Biola University, Talbot Graduate School of Theology in La Mirada, CA, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL.

Prior to coming to Wheaton, Jerry served as senior pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Santa Barbara, CA, as college pastor at College Church in Wheaton and Granada Heights Friends Church in La Mirada, CA. He has traveled extensively to preach and lecture in 16 countries, 25 states and has lectured in 38 colleges or university campuses. He is co-editor of the book The Quotable C.S. Lewis and has authored a number of articles and book chapters on C.S. Lewis, evangelism and spiritual formation.

Jerry and his wife have four adult children and reside inWheaton, IL.

Rev. John C. Rankin is the President of the Theological Education Institute (TEI), and of the Mars Hill Society in Hartford, CT. A West Hartford native, he grew up in an agnostic Unitarian setting, influenced by secular humanism and Darwinian evolution before his conversion to a biblical faith as a 14-year old in 1967.

John is a graduate of South Kent School, Denison University (B.A. History), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and Harvard Divinity School (Th.M. Ethics and Public Policy); he has also done graduate work in English at the University of Pittsburgh, and continues with occasional post-graduate auditing in Islamic studies at Hartford Seminary. He is an alumnus of the Fellowship of Christians in University and Schools (FOCUS), and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF).

He served in pastoral ministry from 1978-1983, headed up a New England wide evangelical pro-life organization in Gloucester and Boston, MA from 1983-1991, founded the TEI in Boston in 1990 before returning to his native Connecticut in 1992, and founded the Mars Hill Society in 2005. He is ordained through the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Wakefield, MA and his home church since 1992 is the Covenant Presbyterian Church of Simsbury, CT.

John is author of the three-volume series, First the Gospel, Then Politics…(1999-2008) and The Six Pillars of Honest Politics: The Biblical Nature of a Level Playing Field (2007). He and his wife Nancy were married in 1977 and have three sons (1978, 1981 and 1985) and one daughter (1990).

John Revell is the founder of Life Line Chaplaincy, a non-profit organization dedicated to offering spiritual aid for first responders and their families (of any faith or of no faith) in SW Fairfield County, CT, and SE Westchester County, NY.   John has served as chaplain for the Stamford (CT) Police Department since February 2012. In that time, he has helped first responders deal with various crises, including: the Sandy Hook shootings; life-threatening job-related injuries; traumatic criminal investigations; and horrific accident scenes.

John also has more than 30 years experience in pastoral and church ministry, most recently serving as pastor of Stamford Baptist Church until November 2015.  Prior to that, he served fifteen years as the associate editor and editor of SBC Life, the official journal of the Southern Baptist Convention. As spokesman for the SBC Executive Committee, he was quoted in media outlets such as Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and numerous others.  Prior to joining SBC Life, John was pastor of First Baptist Church of Coconut Creek in South Florida for seven years and associate pastor of Wantagh Baptist Church in Long Island, NY, for 3 ½ years.

John has authored two books: he co-wrote and published Sinful Silence: When Christians Neglect Their Civic Duty, with Ken Connor in July 2004 (updated and released in Kindle format in 2010), and Getting the Most from God (but not how you might think!) in 2008. His articles have been printed, reprinted, or cited in books and numerous periodicals including: SBC Life, Home Life, The Pastor’s Family, Deacon Magazine, Experiencing God Newsletter, Parenting Teens, Florida Baptist Witness, and Christian American.

John received his bachelor’s degree in marriage and family counseling from Trinity International University in Miami, FL, and his MDiv degree from Denver Seminary in Denver, CO.

John and his wife, Debbie, have been married for more than 36 years and have two grown sons. Micah and Philip.

John G. Rowland served as Connecticut's Governor for almost 10 years before resigning from office during a federal investigation and then serving 10 months in a federal prison camp.  Because of his journey, he brings the insight and candor of a political leader who has seen great success and has learned exceptional lessons from the challenges faced at the end of his public service career.

Elected to the Connecticut State House of Representatives in 1980 at the age of 23, John Rowland rose rapidly to serve three terms in Congress before being elected the youngest Governor in Connecticut history in 1994 and then re-elected two more times. He was called by the Wall Street Journal “one of our nation’s rising stars”. His public service career resulted in a renaissance throughout the cities of Connecticut.  His vision brought the University of Connecticut and all the public universities to the first rate educational facilities they are today. During his years in office Connecticut experienced record budget surpluses, tax reductions, job growth and economic expansion. His focus on the inner cities and cultural investments in the arts helped rejuvenate our communities.

Ok, that’s the good part, now the bad part. Years after serving 10 months in a federal prison camp, Rowland hosted “Church and State” a popular radio show on WTIC-AM with Pastor Will Marotti. After almost 5 years on the radio he was convicted on campaign finance violations and spent an additional 15 months in a federal prison camp.

He is now the Development Director for Prison Fellowship Ministry, covering the northeast United States. He is extensively involved in community, ministry services, and still lives in Connecticut with his wife Patty.

Joseph A. Ruta has been an attorney in New York City for 30 years.  He began a solo practice of law in Manhattan in 1994, after being out of law school for only two years.

Joseph grew the practice by a second partner in 2001 (when the firm became Ruta & Soulios) and then adding a third partner in 2011 (when the firm became Ruta, Soulios & Stratis).  The practice consists of various civil litigation, corporate, employment, real estate, bankruptcy and non-profit matters.  Joseph is currently outside general counsel to over 30 companies including public and national not-for-profit organizations.  He has also successfully litigated religious freedom, religious discrimination and right of conscience matters in state and federal courts.

Ruta was the president of the New York Metro Chapter of Christian Legal Society from 2002 to 2013 and was a member of the board of directors on a national level for Christian Legal Society from 2008 to 2017.  Joseph also served on the board of directors of Zarephath Christian Church from 2011 to 2017, ending his tenure as vice chair.

Joseph graduated valedictorian of Marist College in 1989 after having attended Oxford University during his junior year abroad and winning Marist’s first debate championship in the college’s history as a sophomore.  He then attended Brooklyn Law School as a Richardson Scholar obtaining a Juris Doctor degree in 1992.  While in law school, he had the privilege of clerking for the Honorable Harold Baer, Jr.

He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife of 25 years and they have three children.

Kevin O'Bryan and his wife share a calling to minister through the film and television mediums, which led them to forming First Fruits Entertainment, a production company dedicated to producing transformational content for mainstream audiences, including their current film project, Blue Jacket - a film that seeks to explore the life-changing power of a single choice.

Leaving his family and friends, Kevin followed the Lord's calling to move to New York City, where he has lived and worked for 20 years in the Construction & Project Management disciplines.    Initially raised amidst a backdrop of Irish-Catholic traditions, Kevin was charging through life as a headstrong agnostic until he had a personal encounter with Jesus on a park bench in New York City.  This past year, Kevin took another major leap of faith by leaving his Project Management career to focus 100% on their ministry through First Fruits.  Kevin's story is an example of the transformative call to discipleship that is birthed out of a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, and the faith walk to pursue something larger than yourself.

Kevin stems from southern Indiana. He attended Ball State University, where he graduated with degrees in Architecture & Environmental Design, as well as a minor in Theatrical Production & Screenwriting.

Kevin is married to his east coast Italian dreamgirl, Maria, and has two children, Jacob (15) and Anna Christina (13).

Dr. Poland is founder, chairman, and CEO of Mastermedia International, a ministry to the top leadership of film and television in Hollywood and New York, and one which seeks to keep Christian believers informed of the spiritual dynamics inside media. He’s the recipient of the coveted Covenant Award for significant, Christian influence on the secular media and the founder of the National Media Prayer Breakfast.  Harvest House publishers included Dr. Poland on their list of “The 365 most influential people in the world” based on his network of relationships with those holding global media power.

Media has been a key part of Dr. Poland’s life since the late 1970’s when he hosted an issues-oriented television talk show which was syndicated in major TV markets across Canada. He hosted a short radio feature, The Mediator, which was aired daily on hundreds of radio stations for 18 years.

Dr. Poland is the past director of the Agape Movement, an international volunteer service organization under Campus Crusade for Christ, Intl. This movement trained more than 800 volunteers for service and opened 35 nations for volunteers during his eight years of leadership. He has traveled to 100 countries of the world.
Dr. Poland has been a college professor, founded WMCU-FM, the first Christian radio station in Miami, Florida, and was executive producer of the world’s largest traveling mixed media production, World Thrust. He is an ordained minister, lecturer, conference speaker, consultant, and writer. He has authored numerous articles in national periodicals and seven books, Spirit Power, Rise to Conquer, The Last Temptation of Hollywood, The Coming Persecution, Master Key, a novel, 2084, and Lion’s Den Survival Principles.

Having placed his personal faith in Jesus Christ as a young boy, Dr. Poland committed his life to God for vocational Christian service while an exchange student to Germany in 1956. In 1967 he was seeking a greater spiritual challenge and prayed, “God, give me a job so great that if You don’t undertake, I’ll never be able to do it.” In three days he was asked to assume the position of president of Miami Christian College in Miami, Florida, making him the youngest college president in the United States at age twenty-seven.

Larry Poland is a native of Ohio and a graduate of Wheaton (Illinois) College with a Bachelors degree in sociology. Dr. Poland also earned Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University in college administration and a Master of Divinity degree from Grace Theological Seminary.

Larry and his wife, Donna Lynn, have six children, Christian, Desiree, Cherish, Destiny, Chalet, and Valor. Larry’s hobbies include collecting toys and toy trains.

Luis Palau (loo-EES puh-LAOW) and his ministry have shared the Gospel with more than 1 billion people through evangelistic events and media. He has spoken in person to 30 million people in 75 countries. He has authored close to 50 books, contributed articles on issues of faith to countless publications, and counseled business leaders, political leaders, and heads of state around the world.

Luis’ radio broadcasts in English and Spanish are heard by millions on 3,500 radio outlets in 48 countries. Among other top-tier programs, Luis currently hosts Luis Palau Responde, an international Q&A program in Spanish that deals with spiritual issues ranging from marriage to the occult, and Reaching Your World, a devotional-style program featuring tools for evangelism and biblical wisdom broadcast daily on some of the most popular Christian radio stations in the United States.

Luis Palau festivals have produced some of the largest audiences ever recorded in cities from south Florida to South America. His ministry also includes a number of alliances that allow partner evangelists to collaborate, draw guidance and resources from Palau’s vast experience, and become equipped to reach the world for Christ. More than 400 evangelists are currently a part of Alliance Ministries, which includes the Next Generation Alliance®, the Livin It® Alliance, and the Creative Arts Alliance®.

Luis’ latest book, Out of the Desert into the Life God Fully Intended, was released in the United States in 2012. Luis and his wife, Pat, live in Portland, Oregon, along with their four sons (three of whom are actively involved in the ministry), and twelve grandchildren.

Mason Rutledge is the national Executive Partner of the New Canaan Society. His appointment was announced at the 2023 NCS National Retreat.  

Mason is also President of Grand Avenue Consulting and Red Door Investments and serves on the Board of KIROS, a marketplace ministry in Seattle/Bellevue, WA.  Prior to starting at NCS, he was the President of C3 Leaders, a ministry to business owners.  Mason previously served CRISTA Ministries, which his grandfather helped found, as the Senior Director of Donor Relations, and he served for 25 years with Young Life, as Senior Regional Director for Young Life's largest region, as worldwide Director of Training, and in other local, regional and national roles. 

Known as an excellent communicator and trainer, Mason has taught around the world. NavPress published his first book/study, Memorize This! TMS V3.0. He has also been published in numerous magazines, including Pray!, Discipleship Journal and Christian Reader.  His second study, God Moves, will be released in 2023.

He has a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from Washington State University.

Michael Wayne Regier, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and executive coach specializing in marital and business relationship excellence. He maintains offices in Fresno and Visalia, California. As a faculty member with University of California at Irvine and Kaweah Delta Health Care District in Visalia, he serves as Director of Medical Leadership Training for the hospital’s Medical Residency programs. Dr. Regier has over 30 years of experience working with diverse client populations in inpatient, outpatient, addictions and corporate settings.

Dr. Regier’s approach to working with therapy clients is an integration of object relations theory, attachment theory and addictions theory. He has received advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples. 

His approach with coaching clients is an assessment-based relational excellence approach to profitability. He is strong in creative vision and mission development. 

Throughout his career he has been committed to the integration of faith and science in his counseling, coaching and training.

For more information, visit Michael’s website: www.michaelregier.com

Paul Plouffe is President and CEO and the owner of ServiceMaster of Greater Bridgeport and has been serving the Greater Bridgeport area with excellence in the area of Disaster Restoration since 1985.  His business has generated over $40 million in revenue since he began it in 1987, and it has been recognized as an award winning franchise (one of ServiceMaster’s Top 200 International Franchises) that is listed as a preferred vendor for many of the best insurance carriers in the country.  Before joining ServiceMaster, Paul served in various capacities in hospitals and Human Service Organizations.

Paul has been a member of NCS for over 15 years, is a founding member of NCS Trumbull and, more recently, has been involved with NCS Inside, volunteering at the Bridgeport Correctional Center under the Aegis of Chaplin Michael Christie.  Paul has also served on several boards, including the Bridgeport Rescue Mission and the Bridgeport Regional Business Council.  He is active in his church, Church of The Apostles, in Fairfield, CT., as a lay Eucharist Minister, and member of the Worship Band.

Paul was born and raised in Waterbury, CT and earned a BA in Psychology from UCONN Storrs and a Masters in Human Service Administration from Antioch New England Graduate School in Keene, NH.  He attributes his coming to faith in Jesus Christ to his sister's invitation to worship with her at a non- denominational church following a confluence of personal challenges at the time, including an educational/mission trip to Haiti, his mother's death from cancer and a divorce, all of which left him in search of truth, meaning and significance in this life.

Paul and Mary Jane, his wife of 34 years, live in Trumbull, CT and have two married daughters and 6 grandchildren.

Peter Pretorius is the founder of Jesus Alive Ministries International. In 1979 Peter’s father suffered two serious heart attacks within one hour and was dying. Desperate, Peter phoned a cousin, a pastor, to pray. Peter’s father was healed instantly. Three weeks later Peter and his wife Ann gave their hearts to the Lord, and their lives changed dramatically.

Obedient to the vision in his heart, Peter founded Jesus Alive Ministries International, an interdenominational organization designed to reach the lost through mass evangelism. As a result, more than 8 million people have accepted Jesus at more than 100 crusades. In addition, Jesus Alive Ministries has produced aChurch Development Program (a multilingual teaching program), now being introduced to more than 7,000 churches on the African continent. Through Joint Aid Management’s (JAM) humanitarian operations in Angola, Rwanda, Sudan, South Africa and Mozambique, millions of lives have been saved and assisted.  Peter also has great compassion for the suffering and the destitute. JAM currently feeds more than 420,000 children daily. Peter’s commitment to care for the poor and hungry has inspired and united many believers throughout the world, contributing to this mighty work in response and obedience to God’s call.

Ralph Reed is a Republican political strategist, social conservative, former Director of the Christian Coalition, best-selling author, TV commentator, lobbyist, and columnist. Reed has had an enormous influence on public debate, political campaigns, and grassroots organizing over the past two decades.

Reed has worked on seven presidential campaigns and has advised 88 campaigns for U.S. Senate, Governor and Congress in 24 states. Most recently, he was Chair of the Southeast Region for the Bush-Cheney ’04 and campaign manager in Georgia.

He served as a senior advisor to the campaign of President George W. Bush in 2000 and in 1994 he played a critical role in the election of the first Republican Congress in 40 years. In the 1980’s he served as national executive director of the College Republicans and co-chairman of the youth effort for President Ronald Reagan. Reed is widely credited with giving voice to the “silent majority” which propelled Reagan to the White House.

As executive director of the Christian Coalition in the 1990’s, Reed built one of the most effective grassroots organizations in modern American politics. During his tenure, the organization’s budget grew from $200,000 to $27 million, and its support base grew from two thousand to two million members and supporters in two thousand local chapters.

Recognized as one of the most important political strategists in America today, The Wall Street Journal called Reed “perhaps the finest political operative of his generation.” Newsweek named Reed one of the top ten political newsmakers in the nation; Life named him as one of the 20 most influential leaders of the baby-boom generation and Time includes him as one of the 50 future leaders in the country.

Reed, as founder and president of the strategic marketing and public relations firm, Century Strategies, brings his national reputation, savvy, and organizational skills to bear in assuring that his political and corporate clients will achieve their public policy goals.

Reed grew up in Toccoa, Georgia, earned his B.A. from the University of Georgia, and his Ph.D. in History from Emory University. Reed and his wife, Jo Anne, live with their four children in Duluth, Georgia.

Rocky Progano is the President and Founder of MediaCOM Inc, a full service video production company located in Stamford, CT specializing in commercial and personal projects.  Rocky has been a member of the NCS New Canaan leadership team since 2010.

Rocky began his career in video production and television as a cameraman in 1982. He expanded his talents in lighting and television production by working with and producing video for Fortune 500 corporate clients on various levels of production. Soon, his experience took him around the globe for segments for Good Morning America, NBC and CBS News. He began to develop his talents further as Director of Photography & Producing Programs for The History Channel, HBO Executive Forum & CNBC. Rocky has worked with Television Legend Jack Paar (on the production of 2 television specials), Candid Camera’s Peter Funt and Actor-Director Ron Howard, to name a few.

Rocky was raised in a God-fearing home and was very involved in church life at a young age, but it wasn’t long before a series of events bought him down the wrong path. Married in 1980, things got worse, but his wife, who loved him dearly, didn’t give up on him. Several years after accepting Jesus into his heart in 1974, Rocky realized he could not do it alone and rededicated his life to Christ. Jesus had to change him, and things started to change!

Rocky attends Bethany Church in Stamford, CT where he has served as a Deacon and led the Men’s Ministry.

Rocky graduated from Stamford High School and received  business degree from The University of Bridgeport.  He also obtained a certification in web design from Norwalk Community College.

Rocky lives in Stamford, CT with his wife Sandy.  They have three wonderful sons, Rocky II, Christopher and Mark, and four grandchildren.

Back to Our Team

Dr. Joseph Fischer Ryan (“Skip”) is the Chancellor and Professor of Practical Theology at Redeemer Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. Redeemer is an innovated educational setting designed to train for Christian ministry and to provide training in Christian themes for those whose vocations lead them to many other professions. Redeemer focuses particularly on the Christian formation of its students, seeking to develop in them capacities for devotion, integration of life experiences and a deepening sense of their own callings, all in a biblical and reformed context.

Dr. Ryan graduated from Harvard College and also studied at Union Seminary in Richmond and at the L’Abri Institute in Huemoz, Switzerland. He earned his Master of Divinity at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and was awarded the Doctor of Divinity from Westminster in 2000.

Dr. Ryan was ordained to the ministry in 1976. From 1976 until 1992, he was the founding and first Senior Minister of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, a congregation that grew to 1800 where a third of its participants were faculty, graduate students and undergraduates at the University of Virginia.

From 1992 until 2006, Dr. Ryan was the first Senior Minister of Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas, which was founded in May of 1991, and currently has 5,500 members and a staff of nearly 100.

During a sabbatical leave following his ministry at Park Cities, Skip was the Executive Vice-Present of Whitney International University in Dallas, Texas, which assists universities in the developing world through state-of-the-art technologies to educate people in their countries for whom post-secondary education has been previously inaccessible and unaffordable. These technologies are to be used at Redeemer Seminary.

Skip has been active in world mission ministries for many years. He has been the chaplain to the board and staff of Asian Access, an innovative mission agency serving in twenty countries in Asia. He has taught at the Japanese Institute for Church Growth in Tokyo and has traveled to the Far East, Africa and Europe to teach on numerous occasions. Most recently, Skip and his wife, Barb, spent five weeks in Bundibugyo, on the Congolese border of western Uganda.

In 1986, Skip took a leave of absence from Trinity Presbyterian Church in order to serve on the South African Working Group of the United States Department of State in Washington, D.C.

Skip and his wife, Barbara, have a son, Christopher, recently graduated from Stanford University, a daughter, Carey Elizabeth, just graduated from the University of Virginia, and Rebekah, a special needs daughter in high school.

SQuire Rushnell–yes, capital Q–has set himself aside from others throughout his four-decade career in television and radio. As one of the most compelling spokespersons from the communications industry, he has appeared on Good Morning America, Fox News Channel, Nightline, NBC Nightly News and CBS Early Morning. Rushnell has also been seen nationally on The 700 Club, The Crystal Cathedral’s Hour Of Power, and Life Today with James Robison.

As a veteran ABC Network Television executive, Rushnell led Good Morning America to number one, increasing ratings by 140% and growing annual profits to $40 million. While ABC Vice President Family Programs he fathered the acclaimed Schoolhouse Rock series and ABC After School Specials capturing 75 Emmy Awards. Leaving his position as a cable network TV President/CEO after the tragic events of nine-eleven, Rushnell is now a dynamic, inspirational/motivational speaker sought by corporations and associations.

He is the bestselling author of the word-of-mouth phenomena When God Winks: How The Power of Coincidence Guides Your Life (Simon & Schuster/Atria, October 2002) and When God Winks On Love (Simon & Schuster/Atria, February 2004). Rushnell’s newest book is When GOD Winks At You.

Oprah Winfrey, in a televised tour of her home, lifted Rushnell’s book from a stack of favorites on her bedside table, saying, “I have When God Winks. I love that…stories about how there are no coincidences in life.”

Rushnell has been called “America’s Encourager” because of the compellingly hopeful and encouraging stories in his books. The Seven Steps To BE GREAT, his motivational book published in association with XanGo, America’s fastest growing nutritional beverage company, sold out its entire first printing in one hour following his uplifting presentation at the company’s annual convention.

Rushnell is a riveting story-teller and frequently appears with his wife, the multi-talented comedic-impressionist Louise DuArt. They receive rave reviews for their popular presentation An Evening of Music, Inspiration & Comedy! Louise DuArt stars in a touring show with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman, and hosts a daily talkshow for the ABC Family Channel. The popular husband and wife duo also have a corporate presentation called Music, Motivation & Comedy and a relationship program titled Everything I KNow About Wreaking Relationships… I Learned In My Last Marriage!

In addition to four When GOD Winks books, Mr. Rushnell authored the children’s book The Kingdom Chums Adventures (Word 1985) which fostered ABC TV specials, and he collaborated on the widely circulated college textbook Broadcast/Cable Programming.

Mr. Rushnell attended Syracuse University. He and his wife reside on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, and New York City. For more information, please consult: whengodwinks.com and louiseduart.com.

Bill Pollard is Chairman Emeritus of The ServiceMaster Company.  He joined ServiceMaster in 1977 and has served not once but twice as its Chief Executive Officer. His first term as CEO was for ten years from 1983 to 1993 and his second term was from October 1999 to February of 2007.

ServiceMaster provides services to both the commercial and the consumer markets, specializing in management services for the healthcare and education markets, and home services for the residential market under such well-known brands as Terminix, TruGreen, American Residential Services, Merry Maids and American Home Shield. The Company serves more than 12 million customers in the United States and 44 foreign countries, with customer level revenue of $7 billion.  While Bill participated in its leadership, the company achieved market leadership in each of the markets it serves and has provided an average annual total return to its shareholders of 20 percent.

Bill is a graduate of Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, and he received a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. From 1963 to 1972 he was engaged in the practice of law, specializing in corporate finance and tax matters, and from 1972 to 1977 he served on the faculty and as a Vice President of Wheaton College.

He is the author of a best selling book, The Soul of the Firm and also has written for or contributed to other books and magazines including The Leader of the Future,Leading People, “The Quest for the Entrepreneurial Spirit,” and “The Leader Who Serves.”

In addition to his work at ServiceMaster, he serves as a director of two other public companies: Herman Miller, Inc. and UnumProvident Corporation. He also serves as a director or trustee of a number of educational, religious, and not-for-profit organizations, including Wheaton College, The Drucker Foundation, and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and he is actively involved in teaching and speaking on subjects relating to management, ethics, and integrating one’s faith with their work.

A native of Chicago, Bill and his wife, Judy, have been married for over 40 years. They have four adult children and twelve grandchildren.

Bob Scinto is Chairman of R.D. Scinto, Inc., a commercial real estate development company based in Shelton, CT and one of the largest privately held Connecticut commercial real estate corporations.

Scinto was born and raised in Bridgeport, CT, and is a plumber by trade.  His entry into the world of commercial real estate development was the rehab of a three-family house in Bridgeport 40 years ago.  R.D. Scinto now has over 4.3 million square feet of space spread out over more than 50 buildings.  Bob’s guiding principle is the Golden Rule, which is also a guiding principle of R.D. Scinto, Inc.

Having come from a hardworking Italian-American family of modest means in Bridgeport, he hasn’t forgotten his roots. He supports with time, talent and treasure community educational, cultural, religious and social programs that energize the spirits of people, whether they’ve been here for years or are recently arrived. He understands the need to give back. Among these ventures that attract him you‘ll find the not-for-profit Downtown Cabaret Theatre in Bridgeport, whose board he chairs, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Fairfield Country, Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut, the Boys Club/Girls Club of Bridgeport and the Bridgeport Rescue Mission.

Scinto has also been a supporter of the arts.  Among the pieces of art displayed on the R.D. Scinto Shelton campus are copies of two classic sculptures: a soaring rendition of Michelangelo's "David," and a dramatic interpretive rendering of Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man".  Scinto and his wife began a Tuesday evening series called "Nights With Shakespeare" featuring the plays and sonnets of Shakespeare in the R.D. Scinto campus auditorium.

Scinto has been the recipient of many awards and honors for his philanthropic and professional activities, including being the Bridgeport Rescue Mission's 2015 Corporate Compassion in Action honoree.  Scinto has also received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Connecticut Construction Institute, the Patron of the Year Award from the Fairfield Arts Council, the Kennedy Center Vision Award, and the Toby Award of the Southern Connecticut Building Owners and Management Association, among others.

Scinto earned a bachelors of arts degree in business administration in 1971 from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield.

Bob has been married to his wife Barbara for over 50 years.  They have been blessed with four children and 12 grandchildren. All four children, Robert, Amy, Katherine and Dana work with him in R.D. Scinto.

A native and lifetime resident of Southern California, Bob Shank spent 14 years as a businessman/entrepreneur in the construction industry. At 31, he transitioned from business to ministry and founded Priority Living, a faith-based organization serving business men and women in the marketplace. In 1997, he launched The Master’s Program, a leadership mentoring program that has helped thousands of leaders across North America to expose and exploit their unique Kingdom calling. While the CEO of Priority Living since 1984, Bob was also the senior pastor of an Orange County megachurch for four years in the early 90’s. He is a frequent speaker for churches, conferences, retreats and leadership training events across the country.

Bob serves on numerous church, ministry and company boards of directors. Among them are Samaritan’s Purse, the Foundation for Christian Stewardship, Harvest Christian Fellowship, The Barnabas Group, Reasons to Believe and Priority Living/dba The Master’s Program.

Bob and Cheri have been married since 1971 and have two adult daughters, two great sons-in-law and five near-perfect grandchildren. They all make their homes in Orange County, California.

Brian Smallwood is a business owner and inspirational speaker who blends a love for the Word of God, a keen insight into the history of revival and a unique vantage point of the realities of the business world. Since 1990 Brian has owned and managed Smallwood and Associates, an international firm specializing in the trading of metals, raw materials and sub-assembly parts. Smallwood and Associates also provides consulting services and manages mergers and acquisition transactions in the metals industry.

Brian graduated Summa Cum Laude from The United College of Gordon and Barrington in Wenham, Massachusetts in 1980 with a degree in Biblical Studies and Philosophy. Following in his father’s career path he was hired by National Steel in 1981. Brian married his college sweetheart, moved to Nashville and by 1983 Brian and Susan were leading  the College Ministry of Belmont Church. In 1991 Belmont began planting churches one of which became Grace Center in Franklin, TN. The Smallwoods were a part of the founding leadership team and became Co-Senior Pastors of Grace Center from 2000 until 2006.

During this time the church experienced revival especially among unchurched young people. In 2006 Brian and Susan went on an extended sabbatical then turned the leadership of the church over to their team so that they would have more time for their 4 children and other interests.

Brian brings a fresh and unconventional perspective as a speaker. His background as a bible scholar, revivalist and businessman is  unique both in the church world as well as in business circles and listeners- young and old- find Brian’s messages liberating, relevant and uplifting.

Daniel J. Stratton is the President and Founder of the ProVision Network and the Pastor of Faith Exchange Fellowship.  A product of Yale University, Dan Stratton has been a member of the Wall Street trading community since 1981.  Dan began as a metals arbitrage trader with Goldman Sachs, and then moved to trading precious metals on the New York Commodity Exchange.  In 1991 he secured a seat on the New York Mercantile Exchange trading crude oil refineries.

During his career on the exchanges, Dan was a bold witness for Christ.  Through his ministries of Bible studies, weekly letters to his fellow traders and monthly Spirit of Revival meetings, Dan and his wife Ann began Faith Exchange Fellowship church in the midst of the financial district of New York City.  Dan stepped down from treading to enter into full-time ministry in January 1999.

Dan, who is very outspoken in his faith as well as financially successful, received literally hundreds of business proposals from Christian business people around the world.  It was then that he began forming the ProVision Network in order to meet the needs of these Christian business people.

David Stambaugh spent the ages of about 5 to 15 as a professional actor doing commercials, TV, theater, and film work.  He spent a number of years on the CBS soap opera Love of Life and over the years has worked with folks like Henry Fonda, Lee Remick, Jason Robards, Tony Curtis, and Walter Matthau.  In the mid 70’s Dave played a character named Toby Whitewood in all three of the Bad News Bears movies.

His journey of faith and call to ministry began when he started attending a Junior High youth group at a church in northern New Jersey.  Stambaugh's first youth leader was Dwight Ball and one of his earliest memories of him was the time he spent with Dave and his family while his father was in the hospital. Ball's commitment to ministry with Dave and his family during that time left a profound impact on Stambaugh.  This was one of the first experiences in his life that would lead him to eventually understanding a call to ministry for himself.

After high school Dave attended Messiah College in Grantham, PA.  After graduation he began to sense the first sense of a call to the pastorate. He accepted a job as a campus minister with an organization called The Coalition for Christian Outreach.  This was a great ‘intro to ministry’ job, as well as the first of many opportunities working with college students and young adults.

A few years later Stambaugh found  himself attending (and eventually pastoring) the Young Adult Fellowship at Mendham Hills Chapel in northern NJ.  This was his first position in traditional parish work and where he fell in love with the ministry.  Dave received his M.Div. from Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack NY and an internship during his time there would, after graduation, turn into a full time position as the Director of College and Career Ministries at Holy Cross Church in Springfield NJ.

From there Stambaugh would go on to pursue a Masters in Sacred Theology from Drew University.  Following graduation he spent 5 years as the solo pastor of The Union Church in Seaside Park NJ, the next 7 years as Associate Pastor of Hollywood United Methodist Church in California, and the last 3 as Minister of Faith Formation at Greens Farms Church in Westport.

One of the highlights of Dave's time in California was a week long, 550 mile, charity bike ride from SF to LA.

Dave's wife works as the Director of Children and Family Ministries at First Church in Guilford, CT.

Founder/President of Mercy Ships (1978 – present).

From the International Operations Center in Garden Valley, TX, Don directs and leads an international workforce of over 850 professional volunteers in 17 national offices and on hospital ships.

Mercy Ships operates three hospital ships worldwide. The flagship of the growing fleet, the m/v Anastasis, is currently the world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship. The ships are crewed by skilled professionals from around the world including deck officers, engineers, lab technicians, doctors, surgeons, galley crew, etc. Mercy Ships crews serve as volunteers. All community development services and health care services are provided, gratis, for the poorest of the poor.

Voice of “The Mercy Minute”, a radio broadcast aired on over 700 stations daily.

Married to Deyon Stephens since 1966; four children.

Member of United Methodist Church, Van, Texas.

Author of three books: Ships of Mercy, “The improbable but thrilling story of how a farm boy built a navy, how a retired ocean liner learned to be a hospital, and how a boat load of volunteers are changing the face of the world…one person at a time.” Thomas Nelson Publishers US and Hodder & Stoughton UK Publishers, 2005; Trial by Trial, Harvest House Publishers, 1985; and Mandate for Mercy, YWAM Publishing, 1995.

Conversant in German and French.

Matthew Y. Suh, MD MPH is a surgeon and an ordained minister.  He currently serves as the lead minister of Kingdom Revival, a non-denominational network of home churches in NYC area, and also serves as Special Assistant to Ken Fish, founder of Orbis Ministries.

After completing his medical training, Dr. Suh practiced general surgery and hepatobiliary pancreatic surgery in northern New Jersey for over 7 years. In 2017, Dr. Suh was healed of a torn rotator cuff injury by simple prayer at a conference led by Ken Fish, an associate of the late John Wimber. This miraculous event led him to pursue the Holy Spirit and to understand how the Holy Spirit continues to speak and heal, just as in the stories from the Gospels and the book of Acts. His pursuit of the divine healing by Jesus led him to experience and witness modern day miracles, such as the paralyzed walking and demons being cast out.

During the height of COVID pandemic, Dr. Suh served as the NYC Area Director for the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, ministering to medical professionals under duress.

Dr. Suh graduated from Harvard College in 1996 and from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine with MD, magna cum laude.  He returned to Boston to train at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in general surgery and completed training in transplant surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital (NYC). He is certified by the American Board of Surgery.

Matthew lives in New York City with his wife, Margaret, and two children, Christopher and Trina.

Dr. Struthers is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, where he teaches courses on, among other topics, “Men and Addictions”.  Dr. Struthers’ lab research interests are in the neural mechanisms that underlie behavioral arousal and the processing of novel environments.  His clinical research is in the area of compulsive sexuality and pornography use. In addition to this empirical work, Dr. Struthers’ theoretical research interests are in the areas of neuroethics, the biological bases of spirituality and personhood, and science/faith dialogue issues.  Dr. Struthers has numerous publications and presentations to his credit, including:

•  “Gaming Addiction” in Addictions and Substance Abuse
•  “Pornography Addiction” in Addictions and Substance Abuse
•  Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain
•  “Pornography Addiction and the Brain: It’s Destructive Nature and How To Overcome It”
•  “What’s the Harm?  The Impact of Pornography on Adolescent Brain Development” (presented to the British Parliament, House of Commons)

Dr. Struthers married his wife in 1993 and they have been blessed with three children. Dr. Struthers was born in Chicago but spent his adolescent and teen years in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Northwestern Pennsylvania. He is an avid fan of all Pittsburgh sports teams (Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates) and is known in the department for his love of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings. He also is rumored to have been in an ’80s cover band (complete with a mullet) during his college years. When he finds time, he enjoys reading comic books and listening to glam-rock, hair bands from the eighties.

Dr.  Struthers earned a BA in Psychology from Illinois Wesleyan and an MA and Ph.D in Biopsychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Ed Silvoso, founder and president of Harvest Evangelism—with a staff of over 50 people in five continents—is widely recognized as a missions strategist and solid Bible teacher who specializes in evangelism, city and nation reaching, marketplace transformation and gender reconciliation. Jack Hayford has said that “Ed Silvoso is one of the clearest, most coherent, thoroughly biblical thinkers we have today,” and Zig Ziglar has stated that “Ed Silvoso’s clear-cut message could be the catalyst that propels America into a first-century type of revival.”

Ed is known as a practitioner who equips the church for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4). He has equipped the masses in Argentina for years through the Harvest Evangelism International Institute in addition to live television and radio broadcasts, and has reached U.S. audiences through events such as Light the Nation which was a live broadcast from Madison Square Garden downlinked to over 600 sites. Ed and his team pioneered city transformation in Argentina in 1990 when the city of Resistencia (population 400,000) was totally reached for Christ, thus shifting a paradigm that since then has made city transformation part of the church lifestyle worldwide.

Over 300 cities have been impacted by the ministry of Harvest Evangelism, and the development of a nation transformation prototype in Argentina is in progress under Ed’s leadership. His scriptural insights on the role of the church in the marketplace and his Bible based strategies on how to take the presence and power of God to the workplace have motivated and equipped scores of people to find their spiritual destiny by turning their job into their ministry. His book Anointed for Business is considered a groundbreaking classic in this area.

Initially trained in business in his native Argentina, Ed’s background includes banking, hospital administration and financial services. He is the author of best selling books That None Should Perish, Prayer Evangelism, Women: God’s Secret Weapon, and Anointed for Business. His most recent publication entitledGod’s Ticker Tape: A Report on Divine Acquisitions in the Marketplacehighlights testimonies of God’s presence and power at work in the marketplace.

Ed serves on the Honorary Board of the Presidential Prayer Team, and is a member of the National Day of Prayer Advisory Committee, Mission America, and the Global Pastors Network.

Ed and his wife, Ruth, reside in San Jose, California.

Eugene Schneeberg is the author of I Never Met My Father: My Journey from Fatherless to Fatherhood and an award winning and sought after speaker and trainer in the fields of fatherhood, prisoner reentry, youth violence prevention & faith based partnerships.

Eugene is a leader at Straight Ahead Ministries whose mission is “to see Jesus Christ transform the lives of justice involved young people”.  He also helps to coordinate a national coalition of more than 50  ministries called Every Youth Every Facility focused on equipping and connecting ministries working to empower juvenile justice involved young people across the U.S.

Eugene is an expert at providing trainings in the fields of fatherhood, prisoner reentry, youth violence prevention & faith based partnerships. Eugene provided strategic advice to the White House Office and the US Department of Justice after being appointed by President Barak Obama as the Director of Faith Based Partnerships for the Justice Department.

Eugene led DOJ’s efforts as part of the President Obama’s Responsible Fatherhood Initiative, and the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative. This resulted in over $30 million dollars in new grants for Juvenile Justice Involved Young Fathers and an increased focus on Empowering Parents within the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Eugene co-chaired the Obama Administration’s efforts to support and improve outcomes for Children of Incarcerated Parents. He helped lead the Attorney General Eric Holder’s Federal Reentry Council. He helped expand DOJ’s Youth Violence Prevention efforts helping to build the capacity of more than 30 major US Cities to combat youth violence.

Eugene was born in raised by a single mother in Boston, Mass, and married his high school sweetheart, Dee.  They have four children, and next year they’ll celebrate 20 years of marriage.

Fred Sievert started his career as a teacher, later entered the insurance business and retired in 2007 as President of New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 corporation.

He received the highest honor bestowed upon insurance industry leaders by the American College of Financial Services (The Solomon Heubner Gold Medal Award) in 2008 and was named a “Legend of the Industry” in 2012; a joint award bestowed by the American Council of Life Insurance and The Actuarial Foundation. In December of 2013, Fred received the Lifetime Achievement award bestowed by the Million Dollar Roundtable of New York.

Following his retirement, Fred attended Yale Divinity School and was awarded a master’s degree in religion in May of 2011. He teaches business school courses on strategy and leadership and serves on the boards of five non-profit organizations and two for-profit corporations.

He has had a number of non-fiction essays and articles published in the past, most notably a highly acclaimed article in the Wealth Channel Magazine in 2013 entitled, “Happier, Healthier and Younger in Retirement”. In 2014, Fred published his first book, God Revealed: Revisit Your Past to Enrich Your Future and is currently writing a second book with the working title, Grace in any Crisis.

Frederick Hans Sindel (aka "Fred" or "Hans"; alias "Richie Silver") is a husband, father, grandfather, retired engineer, and lifelong accordion player.

Fred retired from General Electric on January 1, 2000 after a career that spanned over 40 years and five distinct disciplines: Engineering; Finance; Strategic Planning & Business Development; Venture Capital; and Information Technology.  Hans started his career with GE in 1959 in an engineering position at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Schenectady, NY.  Knolls was operated by GE to design and test the nuclear reactors that power our nuclear submarines and other US Navy vessels.  GE transferred Fred to Stamford, CT in 1971.

Fred was born in Brooklyn, NY of German immigrant parents and given the name Frederick Hans Sindel.  His father Hans and mother Babette came independently from Bavaria in Germany in the mid 1920's.  Fred entered the New York City school system in the midst of World War II.  (One day, his mother was called into the school and told never to speak German to him.)

Although retired from being an engineer with GE, Fred has never retired from being an accordion player.  He finished his seventh and final year of accordion lessons at the age of 16 and started playing gigs to earn money.  His first was a dance at the Fresh Meadows Jewish Center for which he earned $5.00.  Fred soon joined a group called The Melotones, playing various events and clubs (because he was still under 18, he carried a draft card with the name "Richie Silver").  He also played at several resorts in the Catskills.

Fred graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School and continued his education at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now known as the Polytechnic Institute of NYU) where he earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree in 1959.  He later earned a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1961 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute while working full-time for GE.

Fred married Carole in 1961 and they moved to Wilton, CT in 1971 (where Carole was a school bus driver for 32 years).  They have four children and eight grandchildren.  They also enjoy time at a cabin on the Sacandaga Lake in upstate New York.

George W. Sarris is an accomplished actor, narrator and spokesman. He served on the board of Screen Actors Guild in Boston for six years, and has been a spokesman in radio and television commercials, industrial films, and at trade shows for companies such as AT&T, IBM, American Express, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Puffs Tissues, Sun Microsystems, and Honda in the highly competitive and secular environments of Boston and New York City for more than 30 years.

Mr. Sarris has worked with a Christian ministry reaching out to media professionals in New York City. He also served on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ, and worked as a consultant with the Christian Herald Association’s Bowery Mission and Kids With a Promise ministries in New York.

Mr. Sarris has been a featured speaker on Biblical and family issues at conferences, churches, men’s retreats and conventions throughout the US, and has developed a unique, one-man show entitled, The World’s Greatest Stories. The live performances of these stories have been enthusiastically received by a wide variety of audiences. The CD’s and DVD’s have been enjoyed by many thousands of people.

Mr. Sarris is the narrator for the 2011 revision of  The Holy Bible, New International Version by Zondervan Publishing House. He is the author of a best-selling book,  Heaven’s Doors . . . Wider Than You Ever Believed!.

George holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Speech from Northwestern University, and Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

The Honorable Gregory W. Slayton grew up without a real father. Because of that fact – and a spiritual awakening in college – he has conducted a 30 year study of fatherhood on five different continents. That work – and his experiences raising four great kids with his wife of 22+ years – forms the basis for his new book on fatherhood, Be A Better Dad Today.

Slayton is now a Distinguished Visiting Professor at UIBE in Beijing. He also teaches at Dartmouth, Harvard and Stanford here in the US – and runs his small angel investment firm (Slayton Capital) by which he has invested in companies such as Google, Salesforce.com and Bloom Energy.

Professor Slayton has served as a US Ambassador, a public and private sector CEO, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, a Fulbright Scholar to East Asia, a McKinsey and Company Engagement Manager, and an African Regional Manager for World Vision International. Mr Slayton is an honors graduate of Dartmouth College and the Harvard Business School.

Prof. Slayton’s first book (www.FourCenturiesOfFriendship.com) which he did with his wife, was a surprise best-seller. The Slaytons gave all proceeds to local Bermuda charities.

Prof. Slayton has been on the cover of Time magazine (Oct 1999) and has been featured in literally hundreds of TV, radio and press reports for his work in Silicon Valley, Washington DC and Bermuda – including five HBS case studies. He has won a number of prestigious honors and is the only Republican Ambassador in United States history to receive the Distinguished Foreign Service Award from members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Yet, of all this, Mr Slayton says his primary joy in life is being a husband and a father to four great kids.

Jay Alan Sekulow is Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ),a law firm and educational organization that specializes in constitutional law. He is also Chief Counsel of the European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ).

An accomplished and respected judicial advocate, Sekulow has presented oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in numerous cases in defense of constitutional freedoms.

Several landmark cases argued by Sekulow before the U.S. Supreme Court have become part of the legal landscape in the area of religious liberty litigation. In theMergens case, Sekulow cleared the way for public school students to form Bible clubs and religious organizations on their school campuses. In the Lamb’s Chapelcase, Sekulow defended the free speech rights of religious groups, ensuring that they be treated equally with respect to the use of public facilities.  And, most recently, in McConnell v. FEC, Sekulow ensured that the constitutional rights of young people remain protected with a unanimous decision by the high court guaranteeing that minors can participate in political campaigns.

A nationally recognized and respected defender of religious freedom, Sekulow has assembled one of the most prestigious law firms in the nation. Founded in 1990, the American Center for Law and Justice specializes in constitutional law. The ACLJ, under Sekulow’s direction, is involved in public interest and public policy issues working to protect religious and constitutional liberties.

In 2005, TIME Magazine named Sekulow one of the “25 Most Influential Evangelicals” in America and called the ACLJ “a powerful counterweight” to the ACLU.  Business Week said the ACLJ is “the leading advocacy group for religious freedom.”  Sekulow’s work on the issue of judicial nominees – including possible vacancies at the Supreme Court – has received extensive news coverage including a front page story in The Wall Street Journal.  In addition, The National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers” in the United States. (1994, 1997) He is also among a distinguished group of attorneys known as “The Public Sector 45″ named byThe American Lawyer. (January/February 1997) The magazine said the designation represents “45 young lawyers outside the private sector whose vision and commitment are changing lives.” Sekulow serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, DC.

Sekulow brings insight and education to thousands of listeners daily with his national call-in radio program,

A graduate of Mercer University, Sekulow graduated cum laude receiving both a bachelor’s degree and doctor of jurisprudence from Mercer University where he served on the Mercer Law Review as an editorial staff member.

He also received a Ph.D. from Regent University, with a dissertation on American Legal History, and is the author of numerous publications and law articles.

Jay Sekulow Live!, which is broadcast throughout the country on more than 550 radio stations reaching 1.5 million listeners a day. Sekulow also hosts a weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, which tackles the tough issues of the day and is broadcast on a number of networks nationwide including the Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet. Sekulow is also a popular guest on nationally televised news programs on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS. He frequently contributes articles and commentary to national publications and is often quoted in the nation’s leading newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Washington Times.

Jay Shukla describes himself as an adventurer who is equally at home walking with shepherds in the mountains, as he is in the highly polished boardrooms of the financial world.

Touched by the Lord at an early age through the influence of his Hindu and Muslim grandfathers who had found their salvation in Jesus, Jay lost his way amidst the esoteric chanting of Tibetan Buddhism and alleyways of the New Age, receiving Christ through a Texan pastor in Singapore.

Jay has held a number of senior positions: a partner in a British based Chartered Accountant’s firm, now part of Deloitte & Co., he was then headhunted into Standard Chartered Bank and was Chief Operating Officer of their Securities Group, based in Hong Kong. He concluded his corporate career as Global Head of Human Resource Development, based in Singapore, responsible for the development of 44,000 staff.

His mission is to lead people to the victorious lives promised in John 10.10 and he does that as an (International Coach Federation) certified leadership coach, through his firm JointForce LLC.

Jay is married to Korean born Singaporean Danialle and has 3 children, Zorawar, Dominique and Sikandar. Seeking God’s will has been his passion and surrender his biggest challenge.

For more about Jay Shukla go to: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jayantshukla

Jay Stringer is a licensed mental health counselor, ordained minister, and nationally requested speaker on the subject of unwanted sexual behavior (i.e., extra-marital affairs, pornography, buying sex, and others).

Based in Seattle, Jay has spent the last decade on the frontlines of demand for sexual exploitation and pornography. Jay’s clinical work guides men and women to find freedom from unwanted sexual behavior through inviting them to identify the unique reasons that bring them to it. In addition to his therapy practice and frequent speaking engagements, Jay is also a lecturer for the City of Seattle’s “john school,” a program designed for men who have been arrested for soliciting prostitution.

Jay Stringer’s first book, Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing is based on a multiyear research project into the stories of 3,800 men and women to address the key drivers of unwanted sexual behavior, why people remain in a place of shame, and the journey towards a new sexual story. His research is one of the most comprehensive studies on the subject. In collaboration with The Heart of Man film team, Jay Stringer also designed a comprehensive online journey for individuals, accountability partners, and small groups who desire freedom from unwanted sexual behavior. Journey into The Heart of Man.

Jay holds an MDiv and master in counseling psychology from the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology and received post-graduate training under Dr. Patrick Carnes and Dr. Dan Allender while serving as a Senior Fellow at the Allender Center.

John Sage manages the general business operations of Pura Vida Coffee from the company’s administrative office in Seattle, Washington.

Pura Vida is a specialty retailer selling premium coffee to individual and institutional customers across the United States. All net profits from the coffee sales, along with donations from customers and partners, benefit at-risk children in coffee growing regions of the world.

Prior to launching Pura Vida Coffee, John spent nine years working in various high-tech marketing positions. He served as Vice-President of Marketing and Business Development for Starwave Corporation, a leading Internet media company recently acquired by Disney and Infoseek. Prior to joining Starwave in 1994, John spent five years at Microsoft, where he ran the Microsoft Works business and later directed marketing for the company’s flagship application product, Microsoft Office.

In addition to devoting professional energies to Pura Vida Coffee, John is active in a number of philanthropic and charitable causes and serves on the Board of Governors of Opportunity International, a micro-credit lending organization based in Chicago. He is a leading voice in the field of social entrepreneurship and venture philanthropy.

John holds a BA in American Studies from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard business School. He enjoys kayaking, salmon fishing and rooting for his beloved Seattle Mariners. He and his wife Shelly live in Seattle with sons Jackson and Nicholas and are active members of University Presbyterian Church.

John Seel is a cultural-renewal entrepreneur and social-impact consultant and the author of The New Copernicans: Understanding the Millennial Contribution to the Church (to be released in January 2018).  He works with people and projects that promote human flourishing and the common good. His expertise is in the dynamics of cultural change. He was the former director of cultural engagement at the John Templeton Foundation and is the founder of John Seel Consulting LLC. He has a PhD in American Studies from the University of Maryland (College Park), an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary, and a BA from Austin College.

John’s interest in culture and cultural change came from his being the son of Presbyterian medical missionaries in South Korea.  He lived overseas for seventeen years. He is a “third-culture-kid.”

John has had a successful career in nonprofit and educational management. He worked for many years with evangelical author Os Guinness on The Williamsburg Charter as well as founding, with Guinness, The Trinity Forum. Later he served as administrative director for the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture and research assistant professor at the University of Virginia, where he worked closely with sociologist James Davison Hunter. He also served as the founding headmaster of The Cambridge School of Dallas. More recently he has worked in entertainment and technology working with Walden Media, Scarlett City Studio, and nCore Media. He is active in Evangelicals for Social Action at Eastern University and is a senior advisor to the New Canaan Society and the Wedgwood Circle.

Though John attended a Presbyterian seminary, he has spent most of his adult life as an Anglican. The major spiritual influences in his life are C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, and Dallas Willard.

He is the father of three millennial children, Annie, David, and Alex, and the grandfather to four grandchildren. He is married to Kathryn and lives on a 450-acre historic farm in Philadelphia with their “four-legged child,” an English-cream golden retriever named Malibu. He is active in Cresheim Valley Church (PCA). He enjoys writing, sailing, and sculling. He blogs three times per week on issues pertaining to millennials at www.ncconversations.com.

Chip Skowron is a follower of Jesus Christ by the will of God.  He and his best friend Biggs Burke are the co-founders of NCS-Inside, the New Canaan Society’s outreach to prisoners.  While Chip’s passion is fellowship with his brothers and sisters in prison, he and Biggs have also created a number of business partnerships that range from healthcare to fashion and entertainment.

Chip was born and raised in Cocoa, FL.  He graduated from Vanderbilt University and went on to complete his Medical Degree and Ph.D. in Cell Biology at Yale. After 3 years of orthopedic residency at Harvard, he chose to leave clinical medicine and pursue a new career on Wall Street.  His background in medicine and experience working at several renowned hedge funds opened the door for him to build the FrontPoint Healthcare investment team which launched their first fund in 2003.  By 2005, Chip and his partners were managing in excess of one billion dollars and on their way to establishing a world leading asset management business.  He and his partners sold FrontPoint to Morgan Stanley and during the financial crisis, became notable for being one of the few firms that successfully navigated the storm.  At the end of 2010, it was revealed that Chip was the focus of a criminal insider trading investigation and his investment career at FrontPoint abruptly ended.  In 2011, Chip was sentenced to serve 5 years in Federal Prison for conspiracy to commit securities fraud and obstruction of justice. Prison was the best education Chip ever received, and Jesus moved into the center of Chip’s life. It was there that God saw fit to bring him together with Biggs Burke - who quickly became his best friend. Through his time inside, the Lord broke Chip’s heart and he had a vision for NCS chapters inside. He was released from prison in May 2015.  The process of coming home has been the biggest challenge of his life.

Chip lives in Greenwich, CT with his wife and four children.

Kelly Shackelford has been president and CEO of Liberty Institute since 1997.

Mr. Shackelford is a constitutional scholar who has argued before the United States Supreme Court, testified before the U.S. House and Senate on constitutional issues, and has won three state landmark First Amendment and religious liberty cases in the past few years alone.

He was recently named one of the 25 greatest Texas lawyers of the past quarter century by Texas Lawyer, and is the recipient of the prestigious William Bentley Ball Award for Life and Religious Freedom Defense for his leadership and pioneering work protecting religious freedom.

Mr. Shackelford is a highly sought after speaker and frequent guest on national TV news and talk show programs including The O’Reilly Factor, Fox and Friends, Hannity, Good Morning America, NBC’s Today Show, CNN, and MSNBC. He also has been featured in the National Law Journal, Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Times, The Washington Post, and The L.A. Times, among many others.

Mr. Shackelford is on the Board of Trustees of the United States Supreme Court Historical Society and is a graduate of Baylor University.

Ken Sande is the founder of Relational Wisdom 360 and Peacemaker Ministries. Trained as an engineer, lawyer, and mediator, Ken has conciliated hundreds of family, business, church, and legal conflicts, and now devotes himself to teaching people how to build productive and enduring relationships in the family, church, and workplace. He teaches internationally and is the author of numerous books, articles, and training resources, including The Peacemaker, which has been translated into fifteen languages. He is a Certified Christian Conciliator, an Editorial Advisor for Christianity Today, and an Emotional Intelligence Certified Instructor. He and his wife, Corlette, have two adult children and a grandson, and love to hike and ski in the mountains near their home in Billings, Montana.

Ken Shepard is the General Manager of the Bridgeport Bluefish professional baseball team and a Syracuse, NY native and St. Thomas University (Miami, FL) Sports Administration graduate. He has spent 23 years as a guest-centric minor league baseball executive and team minority partner focused on helping guests “create memories for a lifetime”.  Ken says “It’s all about entertainment,” Two of Shepard’s operations won minor league baseball’s Larry MacPhail Promotional Award, given annually to the team that demonstrates the best promotional efforts in all of minor league baseball.

Shepard’s experience in sports include stops as General Manager in Geneva (Cubs), NY & Prince William (Yankees), VA. Vice President in Wilmington (Royals), DE, President, GM and minority partner in Atlantic City, NJ (Surf) and COO/GM in Savannah (Nationals), GA. He also owns SAS Sports, a sports marketing and consulting company where he served as a consultant to the Atlantic League during its formation. He most recently served as Vice President of Enrollment & Marketing at Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, PA.

Ken is married and he and his wife have two children.

Kevon Saber is an entrepreneur and a mobile technology innovator.  His experience spans the spectrum from startup success to helping Fortune 100 companies create new technology businesses.

Today, Kevon is the CEO of GoCheck Kids, a leading company in the fight against vision impairment in children.  Thousands of pediatricians use GoCheck Kids’ technology in the U.S. and Europe to detect vision disorders in young children.  Vision impairment is the most prevalent disability among children, and a leading cause of learning disabilities.  GoCheck is funded by Interwest Ventures, a top healthcare investor (85 IPOs), Marc Benioff, founder and CEO of Salesforce.com, and John Voris, the CEO who took ePocrates public.     

Beforehand, Kevon co-founded and grew GenPlay Games, a leading mobile games developer that brought several retro arcade brands (e.g. PAC-MAN, Qbert, Galaga), professional athletes (e.g. Maria Sharapova, Tracy McGrady), and original hits (e.g. Pool Pro Online) to American consumers.  Collectively, these games generated over $40 million in sales.  Kevon also co-founded Fig.com, a healthy habits tool/app used by 50,000 people.

Kevon has also driven digital business innovation for leading technology and media companies including Cisco, RWE, Thomas Nelson, Palm, and Nestle.  He helped form Palm’s product strategy for WebOS and the Pre, which became the fastest selling phone in Sprint's history and resulted in Hewlett Packard's $1.2 billion acquisition.  The digital health business Kevon incubated for Nestle launches in 2018.

He was named to Silicon Valley Business Journal's 40 under 40 list, and his work has been featured in Mashable, LifeHacker, Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc. Magazine, Family Circle, and on various ABC, CBS, and FOX TV shows.  Kevon is also a contributing writer for Forbes, Fast Company, and Venture Beat.  Before his recent move to Nashville, he lived in the Bay Area and received his MBA from Stanford University.

Lawrence Sheffield is the Founder and Executive Director of Magic City Woodworks.  Magic City Woodworks exists to help young men bridge the intimidating gap between idleness and meaningful employment. Launched in a one-car garage with donated tools and volunteers, Magic City quickly grew into an organization housed in a 12,000-square-foot shop in the heart of downtown Birmingham. They offer a one-year paid apprenticeship to young men who find themselves at the crossroads of unemployment, and apprentices are trained to be teachable, to gain character, and to gain skills that will serve them in future employment.

For the last 9 years, Lawrence has been a professional firefighter/paramedic. He enjoys working with his hands, team building, woodworking, and social entrepreneurship. Lawrence is passionate about creating and sustaining positive working experiences for young men to help them grow in their faith, self confidence, and professional opportunities.

Lawrence is from Birmingham, where he resides with his wife, Frances.

A former emergency room physician, Dr. Matthew Sleeth felt like he was straightening deck chairs on the Titanic saving one patient at a time while the whole ship (Earth) was going down. Together with his wife and two teenaged children, he began to bring his lifestyle in line with his values, cutting back on their fossil fuel by two thirds and electricity use by nine tenths. Following a new calling, Dr. Sleeth resigned from his position as chief of the medical staff and director of the ER to teach, preach, and write about faith and the environment throughout the country.

Sleeth is a leader of the global creation care movement and executive director of Blessed Earth. He is a graduate of George Washington University School of Medicine and has two post doctoral fellowships. He is the author of Serve God and Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action (Zondervan, April 2007), the introduction to the Green Bible (HarperOne, 2008), The Gospel According to the Earth: Why the Good Book is a Green Book (HarperOne, 2010), and 24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Life (Tyndale, 2012).

Michael Lee Stallard is an expert on the relationship aspects of leadership and organizational culture. He is President and Co-founder of the leadership training, coaching and consulting firm, E Pluribus Partners, and the primary author of Fired Up or Burned Out. Mike was formerly Chief Marketing Officer for the private wealth management businesses at Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab.

Mike is on the faculty of the Institute for Management Studies, where he teaches leaders across the U.S. and Europe how to develop high-performance, life-giving “Connection Cultures.” He frequently speaks and teaches at a wide variety of organizations including Google, Greenwich High School, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and NASA.  At Texas Christian University (TCU), Mike and his colleagues are helping create the TCU Center for Connection Culture.  Mike also serves as a fellow of the Trinity Institute for Spiritual Formation and a director of Life Spring Network, a Christian discipleship ministry.

Mike and his wife, Katie, have two grown daughters.

Founder and retired President & General Manager, Dallas Mavericks & Dallas Sidekicks

After retiring as the only President/GM in Dallas Mavericks history in June ’96, Norm has helped non-profit ministries and schools full-time. For 12 years while he ran the Mavericks, he also led the NBA All-Star Chapels. In addition to his non-profit work he also teaches in the doctoral program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL, on Leadership & Ethics. His next course is scheduled for November ’09.

Building into young leaders has always been a major priority for Norm.  He saw many of his hires go on to become Presidents, GM’s, Directors of Marketing, Player Personnel, Operations or Communications in the NBA, NHL, Network TV and even the White House.

In 1994, Norm and wife, Carole, together with two other couples, created the West Dallas Community School in the heart of the toughest part of Dallas. Carole served as Headmistress for 7 years, and continues on the board of the school today. Currently, the school has 250 students, and the Mayor of Dallas serves on the board.

Norm is Volunteer Chairman of CAMP-of-the-WOODS, a 109 year-old Christian family resort, located in upstate NY. He handed the Director reins to Jim Hammond in August 2005. For thirty-three summers Norm led basketball clinics at CAMP-of-the-WOODS as a way to share Christ with young athletes.  Next June many of the former pros, staff and campers from those 33 summers are coming back to CAMP-of-the-WOODS to help honor Norm, as a new Sports Complex is being named after him. Four of his 54 former staff pros are in the football and basketball Hall of Fames.

Norm and Carole have three grown children and three grandchildren: Lynne and husband Hutz live in Chicago, where he serves as Executive Pastor of the Moody Church. Scott is President of the Frisco Roughriders baseball franchise, and he and Amy, have three children. David and wife Joy live in St. Andrews, Scotland, where he is pursuing his PhD in Theology. After college David walked the entire 1,065 mile Appalachian Trail by himself before receiving his four year ThM degree from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Peter Scalzo is entering his 14th year of a cancer journey.  He has been an attorney for 22 years in the Danbury area but is currently on disability due to the recurrence of the cancer.

Peter has been treated by world leaders in the field and is often told that he should have died years ago by medical professionals.  He has had over 15 surgeries and been told six times that he has cancer.  Peter has spoken extensively at events and churches about his journey and how God can use storms, trials or walls in our lives to bring transformation.  When he was deep in despair in the ICU at a major Manhattan hospital Peter experienced the overwhelming love and presence of God and enjoys sharing about his journey of finding peace and hope in the storm.

Peter has 6 children and lives in Brookfield, CT.  He has been a Christian for 46 years and is a member of Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, CT.  Peter was recently on the Elder board at his church and is currently the Ministry Leader for Celebrate Recovery and Cancer Support.

Richard Stearns brought nearly 25 years of corporate experience to World Vision when he became its president in June 1998.

Stearns holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. His professional career began in marketing with the Gillette Company. From 1977 to 1985, he held various roles with Parker Brothers Games, culminating in his appointment as president in 1984. In 1985, he became a vice president at The Franklin Mint, then joined Lenox in 1987 as president of Lenox Collections. In 1995, Stearns was named president and chief executive officer of Lenox Inc., overseeing three divisions, six manufacturing facilities, 4,000 employees, and $500 million in annual sales.

As president of World Vision Inc., Stearns is responsible for U.S. operations, which include fund raising, advocacy, and program development. World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. Stearns is passionate about helping children and families affected by the worldwide AIDS crisis and has made this a priority for the organization.

Stearns and his wife, Reneé, have been World Vision supporters since 1984. The couple has five children and lives in Bellevue, Washington.

Scott Semple is Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Correction.  Commissioner Semple joined the Connecticut Department of Correction in 1988, as a front line correction officer at the high security Cheshire Correctional Institution.

In 1990, he became a member of the Correctional Emergency Response Team and in 1992, was promoted to the rank of correctional lieutenant.

Commissioner Semple entered into the field of correctional training in 1996 and was assigned as a Training Officer at both the Enfield and Willard-Cybulski Correctional Institutions. Following this assignment, he was promoted to the rank of correctional captain at the Maloney Center for Training and Staff Development and served as the both the Pre-Service and Accreditation Coordinator and devised and implemented a training model that was aligned to the department's para-military structure.

In 1999, Commissioner Semple was assigned to Central Office and the Office of Public Information where he served as an agency spokesperson. During this assignment, he developed a Critical Incident Communication Response Manual, which was designed to function as a reference document during an active emergency response.

Commissioner Semple was promoted to the rank of Major in 2000 and served in the capacity of Legislative Liaison. This position serves as the agency's contact with the other components of state government. In addition, he was responsible for tracking, preparing and introducing the agencies legislative agenda to committees of cognizance within the General Assembly.

In an effort to broaden his correctional experience at the facility level, he was assigned in 2003 as the Major of Programs and Treatment at the Bridgeport Correctional Center, which provided a unique opportunity within the jail environment.

In 2004, he was assigned to the Garner Correctional Institution (CI) and provided a key role in completing an ongoing transition to establish the agency's first consolidated environment for male offenders with significant mental health needs. During this tenure, he was promoted to deputy warden, whereupon he also gained further experience and was charged with overseeing facility operations.  On July 1, 2009 Commissioner Semple was appointed as the Warden of Garner CI, where he continued to fulfill the agency's initiative of providing comprehensive mental health services to male offenders in a prison environment.

Due to his ongoing track record of professional achievements - in addition to his correctional expertise, Commissioner James E. Dzurenda, appointed Scott Semple, on November 26, 2013, as the Deputy Commissioner of Operations and Rehabilitative Services.  Less than one year later, with the retirement of Commissioner Dzurenda in August of 2014, Scott Semple was chosen to serve as the Interim Commissioner for the Connecticut Department of Correction.  On March 10, 2015, the Senate resolution unanimously passed consent on the appointment of Scott Semple as Commissioner for the Department of Correction.

In April 2015, Scott Semple Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Correction dedicated the State’s first Reintegration Center.   The Cybulski Community Reintegration Center at the Willard-Cybulski Correctional Institution is designed to prepare inmates for reintegration upon release and to reduce recidivism. It is a part of the Governor Dannel P. Malloy Second Chance Society initiative. In keeping with this momentum, the agency has since opened up an additional three Reintegration Centers; a unit designed to address the specific needs of Veterans, a unit specializing in the treatment of offenders serving DUI sentences, and a unit created for the female population.

Scott Simon is an MFT Associate clinician at the Christian Counseling Center of Norwalk.  Prior to pursuing a calling in counseling, Scott had a successful 30-year career as a trader and hedge fund manager on Wall Street.

In between Wall Street and professional counseling, Scott helped bring Stephen Ministries to Trinity Church in Cos Cob, CT and served as Stephen Leader and minister, as well as being a member of the Healing Prayer Team and Prayer Team there.  He has also been involved: in prison ministry at the Bridgeport Correctional Facility, volunteering as part of a team providing teaching and fellowship to bring about positive changes in the lives of inmates; and as a small group leader and Board member at the Elinor Martin Residence and Pregnancy Care Center in New Rochelle, NY, providing compassionate outreach to distressed, pregnant, single mothers by offering emotional, spiritual and material resources to empower the women to make healthy life choices for themselves and their babies.

The environment of the trading floor was fertile ground for gaining first-hand experience about the effects that relational conflict and stress can have on the dynamics of relationships. Throughout his life, Scott has had an innate sense of the importance of the patterns of behaviors and interactions. In and out of the workplace, Scott has always intuitively known how to create a safe space for people to tell their stories and to examine them in the context of both individual and system dynamics. He enjoys working with families and couples, in addition to individuals.

Scott earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. More recently, he completed a Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Alliance Graduate School of Counseling in 2019 and is currently a member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Born and raised in Rye, NY, Scott and his wife Margaret have resided in CT since 1991. Together, they have celebrated 41 years of marriage, have raised four children, and now welcome five grandchildren. He enjoys an active lifestyle including racquet sports, scuba diving, traveling, and spending time with family.

William "Billy" Sorvillo is an artist who believes art is capable of three things: “If it’s good, it’ll make you think. If it's great, it will make you feel and if it’s genius, it will inspire.”

His art, which consists of independent works, commissions and murals, has appeared in Vanity Fair and on The Bloomberg Channel and has been shown in galleries around the globe from New York City and Brooklyn to Miami, Santa Fe and South Korea. In Seoul, his painting Malagueñas was the flagship piece for the US-South Korea International Art Show during the 2018 Olympics.  Examples of his creations can be seen at https://www.williamsorvillo.com/

Sorvillo started his artistic studies at the age of six. At fifteen, he began having lucid dreams of future paintings which continue to inform his work to this day. He feels that he is a conduit and that his artwork is an expression of those experiences. From spiritual and religious themes to perspectives on social and civil rights, love and loss, his work is tied together by his passion for authentic expression.

The son of an Episcopal priest, Sorvillo has sought to deepen his knowledge of his craft and his understanding of the human condition by exploring art and spirituality from various perspectives. He has studied with Lakota Medicine Men on the reservations of South Dakota, Buddhist monks in Japan, yogis in the caves of the Himalayas, a shaman from Peru, and an East Indian teacher in Key West, FL. He has lived with Hindu swamis in the south of India where he taught tantric yoga, and with Augustinian monks in San Gimignano, where he studied the Renaissance masters in Florence, Italy.

His continued interest in eastern cultures inspired him to obtain a Masters of Science and Oriental Medicine while he painted and showed his artwork in Santa Fe, NM.

Sorvillo presently lives and creates in Bushwick, Brooklyn with his wife and their four cats.

Alfred D. Watts is the Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Christian Center in Milford, CT.  Pastor Watts left a successful corporate legal career in 2001 to lead Cornerstone.  Pastor Watts has the heart of a shepherd. God has gifted him with the ability to teach, preach, counsel and lead. He has a heart to see the Body of Christ fully equipped to do the work of the Lord.

A native of New Haven, CT, began ministering the Word of God in 1993, while attending the Howard University School of Law. In 1995, he graduated from law school and moved to Milford, CT with his new wife, Akiba. Pastor Watts served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Ellen Bree Burns of the United States District Court in New Haven, CT. Being newlyweds, Pastor Watts and Akiba were searching for a church to call home and in which they could grow. The Lord led them to Cornerstone Christian Center where they quickly joined the church and began serving. He served as the Youth Director for five years while practicing corporate law in New York City, first as an associate at Davis, Polk & Wardwell and then as in-house counsel at Mitsubishi Chemical America, Inc. in New York.

William J. Weber has lived and served in New York City since 1979. Upon first coming to Manhattan, B.J. started a street ministry, where for five years he served in rescue and recovery efforts with addicts, prostitutes, teenage runaways and the homeless while co-pastoring a mission church in Times Square.

In 1984, B.J. founded the New York Fellowship, an interdenominational ministry, which provides spiritual direction, counseling and pastoral care to leaders in the business and professional communities of the New York City area.

For twenty years, B.J. served as Chaplain for the World Series Champion New York Yankees. He is the co-founder of more than 25 inner-city ministries, including the East Harlem Little League, Youth Impact, Pregnancy Help, Brooklyn Little League, Kids to Camp Program. He also was co-founder of the Amistad Mission Clinic and Orphanage in Bolivia, and has been the catalyst for launching other endeavors that reflect Christ’s love for those in need.

B.J. Weber is an ordained minister, attended the Presbyterian Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, and graduated with a B.S. in psychology at Iowa State University in 1971. During seminary, he lived for six years as a non-vowed monk, attached to the New Melleray Trappist Monastery in Iowa, where upon a casual visit to buy their homemade bread, he first came to faith in Christ. He worked and lived for those seminary years in relationship with their sister Trappistine convent, Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, whose chaplain, as well as the abbess, provided spiritual direction and mentoring during B.J.’s early years in faith.

Since 1980, B.J. has been married to his wife Sheila, a journalist and public relations consultant, who has also been vitally instrumental in the founding and managing of the New York Fellowship. They run a hospitality house in midtown Manhattan, which serves visitors from all over the world and hosts ongoing dinners and outreach events. Their two children, Max and Rachel, attend Vanderbilt University.

B.J. preaches regularly at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Manhattan and in his sermons very frequently pronounces New Testament names and places correctly.

LCDR Brian D. Weigelt, CHC, USN was raised on a family farm in North Dakota.  After graduating from high school in Fessenden, ND, he attended MidAmerica Nazarene University, Olathe, KS, where he earned a bachelor of arts in psychology and business administration.  Upon graduation from college, he served on staff at the university as a resident director and the assistant campus chaplain.  In December 1996, he and Rosslyn Turner of Adelaide, Australia were married.  The Kansas City District Church of the Nazarene ordained Chaplain Weigelt as an Elder in August 1997, and in May 1999, both he and Rosslyn graduated from Nazarene Theological Seminary, Kansas City, MO.  Chaplain Weigelt earned the master of divinity and Rosslyn the master of arts in theology and history.  In August 1999, they began their ministry at the Coquille, OR, Church of the Nazarene as co-pastors.

Having served as a Navy Reserve Chaplain for several years, Chaplain Weigelt volunteered for active duty in the fall of 2003, and was assigned to 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, CA.  While with 1st Marine Division, he served with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines and 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion.  He deployed to Ramadi, Iraq with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines in 2004.  He was then assigned to the Operational Ministry Center, Norfolk, VA and served aboard USS VELLA GULF (CG 72) from August 2006 to August 2007, deploying to the Fifth Fleet, and with Destroyer Squadron 22 from August 2007 to August 2009.  While serving with DESRON 22, he deployed to the Fifth Fleet aboard USS THE SULLIVANS (DDG 68), USS MASON (DDG 87), and USS NITZE (DDG 94) as a part of the THEODORE ROOSEVELT CARRIER STRIKE GROUP.  Chaplain Weigelt is presently the 2nd Battalion Chaplain and Senior Protestant Chaplain at the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.

Chaplain Weigelt has been awarded three Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals and various other campaign and services awards.  In 2005, he was named the United States Marine Corps Chaplain of the Year by the Chief of Chaplains, and in July 2006, he became a Fleet Marine Force Qualified Officer.  Brian and Rosslyn are the proud parents of Eliza, born in January of 2003.

Dr. Bruce Wilkinson is the author of what Publisher’s Weekly has called “the fastest-selling book of all time”, The Prayer of Jabez. His other books includeSecrets of The Vine, a #2 New York Times bestseller; Experiencing Spiritual Breakthroughs, 7 Laws of the Learner, Victory Over Temptation, and PersonalHoliness in Times of Temptation. His books have sold over 15 million copies combined.

The course of his life took a decisive new direction in 2001, when Dr. Wilkinson founded Global Vision Resources. GVR is a private nonprofit operating foundation that produces, markets, and distributes video and curriculum products to retail outlets, businesses, schools, and ministries around the world.

This new venture comes on the heels of Dr. Wilkinson’s departure from Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, where he served as founder and president for twenty-five years.

A much-in-demand speaker worldwide, Wilkinson has been a featured guest on NBC’s Today Show Weekend Edition, Larry King Live, and CNN’s TalkBack Live. His books have been featured on Good Morning America and National Public Radio as well as in the New York Times, USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, The L.A. Times,Publishers Weekly, and TIME.

Bruce and his wife, Darlene, have two married children (David and Jennifer), one still at home (Jessica), and four grandchildren.

Chris York is the chief executive officer and founding partner of Ketch Partners a consultancy specializing in enterprise systems integration spanning SAP software solution and open source solutions.

Earlier in his career Chris led SAP’s Retail Consulting practice, was a principal consultant at Tompkins Associates a supply chain and technology consultancy, and led the consulting practice for DP Solutions Inc.  He is a published author on RFID technology and has authored and taught numerous courses in supply chain and maintenance best practices around the globe.

Chris is a life long learner, always reading at least 1 book along with recent pursuits of Open Source programming, DevOps, and the guitar.  He has a heart for service and is earnestly seeking God’s direction on how he can serve men who struggle with addiction.

Chris is married to Jodi and has been blessed with two daughters, Amy and Alex.  God is teaching him what being a good husband and father is supposed to be with the help of good friends and mentors.

Daniel L. Tocchini is an ordained minister and Law Enforcement Chaplain in Sonoma County, California. Daniel co-authored the book Killing The Victim Before The Victim Kills You and authored the book Cult Fiction.  He is the founder of The Association for Christian Character Development and the author of the Discovery Seminar, Breakthrough Training, The Clearing Workshop, and the One Accord Marriage Workshop.

Dan is also the founder of Culture ROI, a consulting firm specializing in negotiation training, mergers and acquisitions, productivity training, mediation, and environmental change initiatives.

For 25 years, Dan has had the privilege of training over 25,000 people in contexts ranging from environmental change initiatives in Fortune 500 companies to ministry meetings in local churches.

His clients have included Disney, ESPN, World Vision, No Red Tape Mortgage Company, The Sonoma County Sheriffs Department, Kononia Foster Homes, Straight Ahead Ministries, Vineyard North Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Long Beach Christian Fellowship.

Dan currently lives in Healdsburg, California with his wife, Aileen.  Dan and Aileen have two adult children, Daniel and Elizabeth.

David R. Young is Founder of Oxford Analytica, an international consulting firm drawing on the scholarship of Oxford University and other major universities to provide business and government leaders with timely and authoritative analysis of world events.

David began his career with the New York law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in 1965. In 1968 he was seconded by Milbank Tweed to the Rockefeller Family where he became Treasurer of the Rockefeller for the President Campaign Committee and met Dr. Henry Kissinger, then advising Nelson Rockefeller.  From 1969-1971 he was Administrative Assistant and then from 1971-1973, Special Assistant to Dr. Henry Kissinger in the White House and a member of the National Security Council Staff.

David received a Bachelor of Science in physics from Wheaton College in Illinois in 1959. He then studied Law at Oxford University and Cornell Law School, receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Jurisprudence, from Oxford in 1963 and a Juris Doctor degree from Cornell University in 1964.

He has been a Lecturer in Politics at The Queens College, University of Oxford, since 1974 and in 1981 he completed a Doctor of Philosophy degree in International Relations. He is a Senior Associate Member of St. Antony's College, a Dominus Fellow of St. Catherine's College and Senior Common Room Member of University College (all University of Oxford). Since 1980 he has been an Associate Member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs and the International Institute of Strategic Studies. He is qualified at the New York Bar and as a Barrister at the English Bar. He founded Oxford Analytica in 1975.

He is married to Susannah Kelly and lives in Washington, DC and Oxford, England.  He and Susannah have five children.

David Thomas is the Director of Counseling for Men and Boys at Daystar Counseling Ministries in Nashville, TN.  He did his undergraduate and graduate training at the University of Tennessee.  He holds a B.A. in Psychology with an emphasis in child development.  His master’s degree is in Clinical Social Work. He is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors and the National Association of Social Workers. He and his wife, Connie, have three children and live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Father’s Heart International Ministry

David Wagner has a passion for reaching the lost, restoring the broken, and healing the hurting through the powerful Word of God and the demonstration of the Holy Spirit.  David believes the church is a prophetic voice in the earth to help believers discover their identity in Christ and the destiny and purpose of God for their lives.  He has heard the cry of the Father’s heart to raise up spiritual sons and daughters in the church and established Father’s Heart Ministries in 2001.  David has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Central and South America and abroad.  David equips believers by speaking at prophetic conferences, youth and children’s crusades, and leadership training meetings.  He has ministered in a variety of denominational settings, and has personally been a part of planting churches in the nations. Throughout his ministry, he has seen thousands come to know the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

David currently serves on the ministry staff of Jubilee International Ministries in Pensacola, Florida.  He was ordained into ministry October 17, 2000 and has continued in a full-time ministry function in the local church.  David also serves as the Dean of Students and the Assistant Head of School for Jubilee Christian Academy and serves on the Board of Directors for the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools.  He lives in Pensacola with his wife, Molly.  David and Molly have three children:  Arah, Benjamin, and Caleb, who love to minister with Daddy whenever possible.

Deryck J. van Rensburg has 32 years of business experience in general management and marketing roles across three continents with The Coca-Cola Company and Unilever plc. He has lived and worked in a wide range of markets including modern established markets, as well as developing and emerging economies. He recently retired from Coca-Cola and has accepted the position of Dean of the business school at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA.

Recently at Coca-Cola, Deryck was President of Global Ventures focused on the Keurig Green Mountain strategic partnership and he was President & GM of Venturing & Emerging Brands for Coca-Cola USA. In this role he was responsible for identifying and developing brands with $1Billion potential via entrepreneurial partnering, corporate venture capital investment, intrapreneurial incubation, and acquisition. His work has been featured as a part of the 2009 CNBC Original documentary on “Coca-Cola: The Real Story Behind the Real Thing”. In 2011, he was nominated by Advertising Age magazine as one of 21 ‘Influencers’ reshaping media and marketing. He has also been nominated to the Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist 100 in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Prior to living in the USA, Deryck held several Division President roles such as: President of the Germany & Nordic Division based in Berlin and President of the Southeast Europe & Gulf Division based in Athens. He also worked for Unilever in marketing roles in the United Kingdom and South Africa before joining Coca-Cola.

He is married to Rozanne who is a midwife and nurse by training and they have four children. The family has lived in the United States, Germany, Greece, Romania, Austria, United Kingdom, Belgium, and South Africa. Deryck holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Rhodes University in South Africa, an MBA with distinction from the University of Bath, and a DBA from the University of Manchester in England. He has also attended executive management programs at Harvard, Wharton, Berkeley, Stanford, Emory, and Ashridge.

Dr. Andrzej Turkanik, a native of Poland, born and raised during the Communist regime, completed degrees in music and art in Poland as well as theology in Germany, before earning Ph.D. in Oriental Studies from Cambridge University. The Quo Vadis Institute, of which he is Executive Director, is dedicated to helping ask the questions as to what true human flourishing means in the changing societal landscape in Europe and the Western World and how cultural renewal can be stimulated. In this capacity Dr. Turkanik travels widely speaking at professional conferences and symposia in partnership with key influencers and thinkers across Europe and beyond. Dr. Turkanik and his wife and their children reside in Salzburg, Austria.

Dr. James Tour is a chemist, nanotechnologist, Biblical scholar and Messianic Jew.  He serves as a Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, and Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University.

Tour has over 700 research publications and over 140 patent families.  Professor Tour's recognition and awards are too numerous to list, but here is just a sample of recent accomplishments:

• Tour became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2020 and in the same year was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry's Centenary Prize for innovations in materials chemistry with applications in medicine and nanotechnology.
• Based on the impact of his published work, in 2019 Tour was ranked in the top 0.004% of the 7 million scientists who have published at least 5 papers in their careers.
• He was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors in 2015.
• Tour was named among “The 50 Most Influential Scientists in the World Today” by TheBestSchools.org in 2019.
• Tour was listed in “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” by Thomson Reuters ScienceWatch.com in 2014.
• Tour was named “Scientist of the Year” by R&D Magazine, 2013.

Dr. Tour's education is extensive, including:  Stanford University, National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow, Organic Chemistry, 1987-88 with Barry M. Trost; University of Wisconsin, Postdoctoral Fellow, Organometallic Chemistry, 1986-87 with Barry M. Trost; Purdue University, Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, 1986 with E. Negishi; Syracuse University, B.S., Chemistry, 1981.

Dr. Tour has been married to his wife for nearly 40 years and they have four children, all of whom share his belief in Jesus.

Dr. Jorge Valdes is an author, coach and motivational speaker.   Before turning his life around, Valdes was the #1 cocaine drug trafficker in America as head of U.S. operations for the group that became known as Colombia's Medellin Drug Cartel.

As a young man in his twenties with an insatiable thirst for money and power, Dr. Jorge Valdes was a founding member of a group that became known as Colombia's Medellin Drug Cartel, partnering with Pablo Escobar and other infamous drug lords. His key position as a head of U.S. operations brought him into direct contact with presidents, generals, Hollywood celebrities, and hired killers. This Cuban immigrant, raised in poverty, was living the high life in more ways than one. His deeds took him from the lap of luxury to the depths of prison. He has  been featured in over 300 television and radio programs worldwide, as well as numerous national and international magazines.

In 1989, Valdes's life began to change when he asked God to help him find the peace and tranquility he saw in other Christians.  It was in prison that he began to study his new-found faith, earning a BA and beginning to study for his Masters degree.  In 2000, he published his first book Coming Clean: The True Story of a Cocaine Drug Lord and His Unexpected Encounter with God.

Dr. Valdes earned a BA in accounting from the University of Miami in 1976, a BA in New Testament and Bible Theology from Southeastern Bible College in 1994, a Masters in Bible Theology from Wheaton College in 1995, and a Ph.D. in New Testament, Early Christianity and Ethics from Loyola University in 2001.  Valdes serves as an adjunct professor at Wheaton College in Illinois.

Drew Williams began his professional life as a lawyer in the United Kingdom, attending schools in Devon, UK and graduating with an honors degree in law from Exeter University in 1989.  From 1989-1998, Drew was a corporate litigator, finally serving as Solicitor in a senior position with Bond Pearce in their Exeter Office, specializing in defending law suits brought against the legal profession. Despite a successful career, it was during this time that Drew began to sense that something significant was missing in his life. He acknowledged, “a quiet sort of despair within” that he couldn’t identify and that wasn’t satisfied by greater material prosperity.

Though he and his wife, Elena, had no personal faith at the time, they decided to attend their local Anglican Church just to try to meet some of their neighbors. Much to their surprise, they found themselves drawn into something far deeper, and ultimately came to a living faith in God through the love, support and friendship of that congregation, wholeheartedly giving their lives to Jesus Christ.

Before long, Drew was surprised to find himself considering the possibility of ordained ministry in the Church of England. A time of discernment followed, and after much prayer and strong encouragement from those who knew him, Drew resigned from his law firm and began training for ordination at Trinity College, Bristol. He graduated with an honors degree in theology and was ordained in the Diocese of Exeter in 2000.

Drew, spent six years as Associate Vicar (Pastor) of St. Andrew’s, Chorleywood, a vibrant suburban congregation just outside London. Prior to coming to Chorleywood, he served a congregation in the southwest of England.  Since October 2009, Drew Williams has been the Senior Pastor of Trinity Church in Greenwich, CT.

Drew’s ministry has been directed toward helping people find and deepen a more intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ. His particular area of focus  has been to develop and oversee a new outreach strategy through the creation and support of Mission Shaped Communities (MSC’s). These lay-led MSC’s have broadened and multiplied the ministry of his congregations and have led to significant growth in both depth and numbers.

Drew and Elena have three wonderful daughters, Katie, Isabel and Olivia. In his free time, Drew enjoys being with his family, reading, writing, movies, music of all kinds and exercise.

Ed Wohlwender has over 25 years of experience in leadership and management roles.  Since March of 2007, Ed has been President & CEO of a leading display solutions provider, POP Displays, headquartered in Yonkers, New York.  Ed started his career as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army after graduating from West Point.  His last assignment before leaving the service was at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he was a Jump Master and Logistics Officer for an Airborne Battalion.

Ed then completed an accelerated graduate degree program before he joined a large division of the Sara Lee Corporation. Over a seven-year period, Ed held various positions of leadership involved in systems implementations, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Planning, and Distribution.  Ed spent his last two years at Sara Lee as a Director of Logistics prior to joining Ernst & Young LLP, one of the five largest consulting practices in the USA, as a senior executive in their middle market practice.  Ed led numerous client engagements for E&Y focused on developing strategies and improving processes related to general business improvements and increased profitability.  Ed was hired by an E&Y client, Standard Register Company in Dayton, Ohio, to lead their Supply Chain Management organization, comprised of several functional areas including Quality, Purchasing, Capacity Planning, Scheduling, Customer Service & Sales Support, Warehousing, Distribution, Receivables, and Training comprised of over 1,500 associates.  Ed was most recently the Senior VP Operations Support for Technical Olympic, USA INC. a top-12 homebuilder in the United States, where he managed Sales & Marketing, Product Development, Process Development, Purchasing, and Investor Relations functional areas and was part of their capital allocation and executive committees.

Ed lives in Tarrytown, NY with his wife Rosanne, a corporate library and information sciences professional.  Their son, Tom is a sophomore at Williams College where he plays football and is majoring in Political Economy.

Eric Torres is the Executive Director of Elevate Bridgeport (www.elevatebridgeport.org), which is aimed at addressing specifically the educational deficiency within the Bridgeport Educational System.

The Elevate model involves year-round programming, including accredited high school and junior high classes in 13 character-qualities and life skills, mentoring, outdoor adventure programs, and college and career preparation.  Eric was also the founder and Executive Director of the Greater Bridgeport Respite Care for Children, providing at-risk youth who had difficulties thriving in a traditional after-school program with after-school care that met their academic, social, and emotional needs through mentoring, life skills, and character building.

Eric has 19 years of educational experience. Seven of those years were devoted to the Bridgeport Public Schools as a 3rd and 4th grade teacher. He then became the Assistant Principal for a PreK through 12th grade charter school in New Haven, CT.

Eric holds a Bachelor's Degree in Human Service, a Master's Degree in Elementary Education, and an 092 Intermediate Administration and Supervision certification from Sacred Heart University.

Frank Vizcarra is the President and CEO of Vizcarra Consulting Group.  Mr Vizcarra and his family emigrated from Tijuana Mexico in 1973 when he was 18 years old. He attended college and graduated from The Ohio State University in 1979 with a BS in Education. He then went on to play professional soccer for several teams from 1979-1983. In 1983, he retired to begin his business career with Pizza Hut where he worked for two years before joining McDonald’s Corporation in 1985 and worked there for over 20 years.

While at McDonald’s, he held a number of positions from restaurant manager to Director of National Training and several Corporate Vice President positions in the field and at the Global Corporate Headquarters including: VP of QSC, Corporate VP of Franchise Relations, Strategy and Innovation for the U.S. as well as, Corporate VP in the Restaurant Solutions Group which oversees operations around the world. Mr. Vizcarra led the strategy team that designed and executed the turn-around of the U.S business. In addition, he led the design of the restructure of the European and the Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa markets. Mr. Vizcarra worked closely with senior management for 14 years on a variety of areas of the business.

After retiring from McDonald’s Corporation in April of 2006, He founded The Vizcarra Consulting Group (VCG) to help CEOs define their leadership platform as well as the corporate strategy and execution plans to drive the growth of their business. He also spends a significant amount of time as an advisor to established companies and start-ups.

Mr. Vizcarra has served as an advisor to Goldman Sachs, The Coca Cola Company, McDonald’s Corporation, Pechanga Resort and Casino, Sycuan Resort and Casino and Served on the BOD of Oovoo Communications and Ensequence. He currently serves as an advisor to Goldman Sacks, Revalesio, Tender Greens, Anue Water technologies, and Uwanna. In addition, he serves on the Board of Del Taco, Tender Greens Board of Advisors and The Salvation Army National Advisory Board.

Mr. Vizcarra and His wife Anita co-founded with the Barrio Logan College institute the “College Success Program” which provides four-year college scholarships and a comprehensive support system to underprivileged students.

Gauthier Vincent is a senior partner with Deloitte Consulting and he leads Deloitte’s Wealth Management practice.   His clients include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, UBS Wealth, Citi Private Bank and other leading banks and wealth managers.

In 2002, during a 30 day silent retreat, Gauthier felt called to follow Jesus in new ways:  In 2008, he was ordained to the diaconate for the Catholic diocese of Bridgeport.   In 2017 he completed a degree in  spiritual direction at Fairfield University.   Gauthier is a member of the clergy team of St Thomas More parish in Darien; he is a chaplain with the Order of Malta and has volunteered at Pivot Ministries for several years.   Gauthier has a passion for preaching the Word of God and accompanying men and women on their spiritual journey.

Gauthier was born and raised in Paris, France.   He came to the US to work for the World Bank in Washington DC.   It is there that he met his wife of 27 years:  Valerie.  They have three daughters and four sons (no grandchildren yet).

Greg Zehner is the associate pastor at Grace Community Church in New Canaan. He is a former partner of Goldman, Sachs & Co and  began his career as a mortgage-backed bond trader. After eight years in this capacity, he switched over to manage the emerging markets trading desk. After leaving Goldman, Greg attended the Yale Divinity School where he graduated cum laude in 2006 with a Masters of Divinity. Additionally, Greg holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Greg has been married to his wife, Jacki (also a former Goldman Sachs partner), for fifteen years and is the proud father of Matthew (12) and Allie (9).

Jamie Wilson pastors at Coast Vineyard in La Jolla, California, and holds a Master’s degree from Fuller Theological Seminary, in Pasadena, California.

He was rescued out of addiction in 1990, and his passions include worship, justice, coaching people in their gifts, planting communities of God’s Kingdom, and seeing the good news about Jesus taken to all the groups of people on Earth.

Jamie is the husband of Michelle Wilson, and the father of Daniel, Josh, and Rose of Sharon.

Jeff Westlund is currently the National Representative – Senior Development Officer for PULSE Outreach, which is a ministry dedicated to speaking into the millennial generation’s search for meaning with the message that Jesus gives hope both for this life and the life to come.  Prior to PULSE, Jeff served as head or assistant basketball coach at NCAA Division 1 programs (Bowling Green and North Dakota State University) as well as at Bethel University.

Jeff knows a lot about winning. He also knows a lot about losing. Such is the life of a Division 1 college basketball coach. Such is the life of a guy who has devoted himself to Jesus.  At an early age, Jeff came to an “eternal life faith”. However, if you are looking for a fairy tale to follow, you may be disappointed. Jeff’s path through life has been paved by brokenness and marked by struggles and obstacles. Some of it Jeff points to and says, “yeah, I brought that on myself.” Other chapters he just chalks up to life on this earth. At any rate, Jeff is where he is, and who he is, because of how God has shaped him through all of this. Today, Jeff describes himself as a man who is continuously learning about God’s grace and discovering new and rewarding chapters of his life.

Jeff and his wife Michelle live in Mounds View, Minnesota, and recently celebrated 32 years of marriage. Spending time with his wife and 3 adult kids, working out, reading, traveling and being outdoors occupy his time away from work.

Jerry Trousdale has been a missionary among a Muslim people group in Africa, and a long-term student of missions.  He also has a background in Christian publishing and broadcasting.  Jerry pastored mission-sending churches in California and Tennessee for a total of 15 years.

In 2002 he co-founded Final Command Ministries to facilitate the launch of Disciple Making Movements among the least reached Muslim people groups in Africa.  Three years later he became part of CityTeam International, which provides training in obedience-based discipleship models to hundreds of ministries globally.  He now serves with CityTeam as Director of International Ministries.

Married since 1968 to Gayle Trousdale, they have two children.  He is the author of a recently published Thomas Nelson book Miraculous Movements:  How Hundreds of Thousands of Muslims are Falling in Love with Jesus.

John Young is Group President of Pfizer’s Global Established Pharma business. John became a Christian at the age of 16 and after University felt a clear calling to business and joined Pfizer following completion of his studies in Immunology. John has moved around the world with Pfizer during his 27 year career and he has a passion for Christians to take the love and character of Jesus into the marketplace and to “preach the Gospel always – and if necessary, to use words”. John moved to the US in May 2012 when he was asked to take up his current position as a member of Pfizer’s Executive Leadership Team.

Global Established Pharma comprises three key product segments: large peri-LOE brands such as Celebrex and Zyvox, which are approaching patent expiry in developed markets; an established products segment comprising off-patent brands and generic molecules in developed markets; and a large, growing emerging markets business comprising both of the above, but where the heritage and quality of well-known Pfizer medicines such as Lipitor, Norvasc, Viagra and our anti-infective portfolio meets the needs of patients and healthcare systems in these markets. Additionally, GEP includes significant opportunities for growth through its first-wave portfolio of biosimilars medicines currently in development, its growing sterile injectables business, and local partnerships in key markets such as Brazil and China.

John has more than twenty-five years of experience with Pfizer and has held a number of senior global positions in regions and functions across the organization. He began his Pfizer career in the UK as a trainee Sales Representative, and held positions of increasing responsibility in sales and marketing before moving to Australia as Country Manager in 2004. John returned to the UK as Country Manager in 2007, and later assumed the role of Regional President, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand for the Primary Care Business Unit. In 2012, he was appointed President and General Manager of the Primary Care Business, where he led both the commercial organization and clinical development of medicines in key disease areas impacting large populations, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and pain.

John is a member of the Boards of EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations), the NCUSCR (National Committee for US China Relations), and has been a member of the UK Government bioscience working group, the MISG (Ministerial Industry Strategy Group), since 2008.

John holds a BSc in Biological Science from Glasgow University and an MBA from Strathclyde Graduate Business School, and is married with three daughters.

Kenny Thacker is a gifted storyteller, musician and speaker, and he was the Spiritual Guide at the 2014 NCS New England Regional Retreat. His favorite and most told story is God's story, the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Good News is shared by Kenny whether he is performing a musical concert, preaching to a congregation, teaching business leaders, laughing around a campfire, counseling, training, or reclining on the front porch. Jesus Christ is the hero and climax of this "sounds too good to be true" story that Kenny wants to share with you.

Kenny carries an anointing for prophetic insight impacting today's church and has a heart for true discipleship. He delights in helping people discover who they are in Christ, encouraging their gifts, and seeing them released into God's purpose.

Kenny is most passionate about the life changing work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and has a knack for finding the theme of this great story in unexpected places. In simplicity and humor, he delivers the Gospel message setting the stage for revelation and freedom in hearts that are open to receive this sound Word of God.

He has been active in ministry for 40 years as a pastor, worship leader and popular national/international conference speaker. Kenny grew up playing music in a family band, touring festivals around the south, including playing the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.  Originally from Kentucky, he and his beautiful wife, Lynn, now reside in Prosper, Texas. Although Kenny serves as the Lead Pastor of Lighthouse Christian Fellowship in Prosper, he is the President of SoundWord, Inc, a Co-Director for the Kerygma Network of Churches, and is on the advisory board of Kerygma Ventures.

Lance Wallnau is a unique combination of ministry gifting and marketplace expertise. Trained at young age to be a leader in the oil industry, Lance left a lucrative consulting career in order to answer the call of God. Years later he found himself coaching a new generation of believers who desired to live a supernatural life in the workplace. Teaching business men and women to walk in conscious cooperation with the Spirit of God, Lance is sought out by colleges, entrepreneurs and seasoned CEOs to help them carve a path into what he calls “career convergence” which is the place where your gifting and passion come together in a role that pays you to do what you love to do most.

Lewis Trippett is an attorney and name partner in Higgins & Trippett LLP.  Lewis was also the founder of NCS Westchester.

Lewis is an experienced litigator in estate, real estate and commercial cases.  He has also served the public as a member of several governmental and private committees, boards and councils.

Trippett earned a B.A. in Political Science and Government from the University of Oklahoma and a J.D. from New York University Law School.

Lewis was married to his late wife Ann for over 42 years when she went home to Jesus in 2021.  Lewis and Ann have four children and 13 grandchildren.

Upkins resides in Franklin, TN with his wife, Charita; son, Caleb; and daughter, Zoé.

Mark Whitacre is an Ivy League Ph.D. and is considered the highest-ranked executive of any Fortune 500 company to become a whistleblower in U.S. history, and was responsible for uncovering the ADM price-fixing scandal in the early 1990s. Whitacre’s story is an inspirational story of Faith, Hope, Redemption & Second Chances.

Since 2006, Mark is a top executive with Cypress Systems, Inc, a California biotech company involved with human clinical trials (cancer research), and he was promoted in 2009 to the position of COO & Chief Science Officer of the company.

His undercover work with the FBI during the ADM scandal was the inspiration for the 2009 major motion picture, “The Informant,” starring Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre, and the 2010 Discovery Channel documentary ‘Undercover” archived on Mark Whitacre’s website, www.markwhitacre.com . The recent book, “Mark Whitacre Against all Odds”, describes the rest of the story about how faith has molded Mark’s life since the ADM scandal. Drawing from his unique history, Mark provides one-of-a-kind insight into corporate ethics, corporate greed, and the warning signs of a flawed corporate leadership.

Mark Whitacre worked undercover with the FBI for 3 years wearing a wire every day in one of the largest white-collar crime cases in U.S. history. After his undercover tenure was completed, Mark went to federal prison for eight and a half years for a white-collar crime that occurred during his undercover tenure.

Mark completed his B.S. and M.S. degrees at Ohio State University, and then earned his Ph.D. degree at Cornell University in biochemistry (1983). After he completed his Ph.D., he worked for multiple Fortune 500 companies including Ralston Purina, Degussa (Evonik), and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). Mark was hired at ADM, the 56th largest company on the Fortune 500 at the time, when he was 32 years of age. As the president of the BioProducts Division from its launch, he was the youngest divisional president in the history of the company. In just six years, his division’s fermentation complex became one of the largest in the world. At age 35, he became a corporate vice president of ADM and was the leading candidate to become the next company president.

Today, the four FBI agents involved with Whitacre’s case tout him publicly as a “national hero” for his substantial assistance with one of the most important white-collar cases in history. And Douglas Burris, chief of U.S. Federal Probation in the Eastern District of Missouri, has stated publicly, “The story about Mark Whitacre’s redemption and second chance is one of the most inspirational stories of our time.”

Mark and his wife of 35 years, Ginger, have three grown children and reside in Florence, Kentucky, a suburb of Greater Cincinnati. Mark & Ginger travel the country extensively speaking at national events.

Mike Timmis was born in Detroit, Michigan, where he has had a distinguished career as both an attorney and businessman.  Mr. Timmis’ autobiography was published in February 2008 by NavPress entitled Between Two Worlds: The Journey of an Evangelical Catholic.

Mr. Timmis was senior partner of the law firm of Timmis & Inman L.L.P.  He was also the co-founder and vice-chairman of Talon LLC., a privately-owned company formed in 1973 with extensive interests in manufacturing both in the United States and Europe, retail, as well as numerous real estate companies.

Mr. Timmis serves or has served in a leadership capacity on the Boards of many charitable organizations and foundations including St. John Healthcare Systems, Cornerstone Schools, Inc., etc.  Mr. Timmis has served on many ministry boards including The Navigators, Promise Keepers and Prison Fellowship Ministries (USA).  Also, Mr. Timmis served as Chairman of Prison Fellowship International for 16 years, which comprised 129 countries.  Currently, Mr. Timmis is on both the Board of Alpha International and Alpha in Prisons both of which are based in London, England.  In addition, Mr. Timmis is one of the founders of NCS Grosse Pointe and serves on the NCS National Board.

Mr. Timmis earned his undergraduate degree from Wayne State University as well as graduating from its law school with highest honors.  Mr. Timmis has also received honorary doctorate degrees from University of Detroit and Ave Maria University.

Mr. Timmis has been married to the former Nancy Lauppe for fifty-seven years.  The Timmises have two children, a son Michael and a daughter Laura, who died thirty-four years ago, and five grandchildren.

Michael Tremain is a Partner at Sovereign’s Capital where he concentrates on investment sourcing and portfolio management with a focus on lower middle market opportunities.

Michael’s career includes stints with TrinRock Capital, Andersen Consulting, the Walt Disney Company, Hard Rock Cafe International and he has led a number of privately held companies in the technology, wholesale distribution, oil & gas, healthcare, residential construction and commercial services sectors.

Michael earned his BS in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his MS in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics.

Michael was one of the founders of the very first unofficial NCS "chapter"--NCS Orlando--in 2003.  Michael serves on the NCS National Board.

Michael and his wife, Kristin, and four children live in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.

Miroslav Volf, Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School. He was educated in his native Croatia, the United States, and Germany, earning doctoral and post-doctoral degrees from the University of Tübingen. Professor Volf has published and edited nine books and over 60 scholarly articles. Most of his work addresses the intersection between faith and aspects of contemporary life, such as economics, politics, and inter-faith relations. His book Exclusion and Embrace, in which he reflects on conflicts raging around the question of identity, won the 2002 Grawemeyer Award in Religion.

Prior to coming to Yale, Miroslav taught at Fuller Seminary for a decade. He is married to Judy Gundry-Volf, a New Testament scholar and faculty member at Yale Divinity School. They have two children, Nathanael and Aaron, and live in the New Haven area. He enjoys the ocean, sailing, biking, skiing and playing soccer with his boys.

Pastor Mohammad Yamout and his family have, for the past several years, lived in the city of Tyre in South Lebanon where they have dedicated their ministry to planting a Christian Church among Muslim Shiite people. Pastor Mohammad’s vision is to see local Churches planted in all of the countries of the Middle East through establishing Outreach Centers. God is using the Outreach Centers established in Tyre, Tripoli & Amman in a great way among Syrian Refugees.

Pastor Mohammad was born to a Muslim Sunni family in Lebanon in 1966. He attended an Evangelical Church and at the age of 14, God saved him through its Sunday School ministry; since that time he gave his life to Jesus. His family rejected him, he had to leave his home and spend his next years working and living in a warehouse. Two attempts to kill him were made by fundamentalist groups because of his zeal in evangelizing. His local Church discipled him and helped Mohammad with his education, and Pastor Mohammad graduated from Bob Jones University with a BS in Accounting. Pastor Mohammad is married, and has five children. For the past seven years, Pastor Mohammad and his family have lived in the city of Tyre in South Lebanon where they have dedicated their ministry to planting a Church among Muslim Shiite people and seeing them won for the Kingdom of God. Pastor Mohammad’s vision is to see local Churches planted in all of the countries of the Middle East through establishing Outreach Centers. His Spiritual gifts are evangelism and preaching.

God is using the Outreach Centers established in Tyre, Tripoli & Amman in a great way among Syrian Refugees. We are seeing many come to know the Truth and quite few of them accept the Lord. God is blessing the work and specially among children.

Pastor Mohammad is married, and has five children.

Paul Wilbur is an Integrity Music recording artist and the founder of Wilbur Ministries. Paul and his team travel throughout the United States and the world sharing the love of God through Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah.

In 1990 Paul recorded his first release with Integrity entitled “Up To Zion”. Since then he has recorded four more solo albums including three performed live in Jerusalem. “Shalom Jerusalem”, “Jerusalem Arise”, and “Lion Of Judah”, all recorded in the land of Israel, have become favorites around the world.

Paul has also recorded six projects in Spanish and two in Portuguese. This year he is working on adding “SHALOM JERUSALEM” in Russian to the line up! These enable the team to minister to more than one half of the world’s population in their own language!

Phil Zaldatte has dedicated his life to helping people fulfill their dreams. He is a much sought after speaker, life coach and executive consultant.

His involvement with NCS goes back several years, including (1) being the keynote Spiritual Guide at the first NCS New England Regional Retreat and Ministry Leader at all subsequent NCS New England Retreats, (2) speaking to NCS New Canaan (and several other chapters) and (3) serving as a Ministry Leader for the NCS National Retreat.

Phil is the Founder and President of Prolific Leadership Solutions whose mission is "Unlocking Xtrém Possibilities" by igniting an awareness and desire for personal and professional growth and guiding and equipping individuals and groups through that process. Phil’s vision is to help leaders experience sustained and integrated transformation in all areas of life as they navigate through transition in a rapidly changing and unpredictable world.

He has helped and inspired people in all walks of life from political figures and top level business executives to spiritual leaders and artists. Considered a “coach for the spirit”, Phil is a pioneer for a new generation of coaching professionals who are inspiring excellence and breakthrough around the world.

Dr. Zacharias has been a visiting scholar at Cambridge University, where he studied moralist philosophers and literature of the Romantic era. While at Cambridge he also authored his first book, A Shattered Visage: The Real Face of Atheism, updated and republished in 2004 by Baker as The Real Face of Atheism. His second book,Can Man Live without God (Word, 1994), was awarded the Gold Medallion for best book in the category of doctrine and theology, and Jesus Among Other Gods (Word, 2000) was nominated for a Gold Medallion. In all, Mr. Zacharias has authored or edited over twenty books, including Walking from East to West: (Zondervan, 2006),The Grand Weaver (Zondervan, 2007), and Beyond Opinion (Thomas Nelson, 2008), which includes contributions from Ravi Zacharias International Ministries’ global team. His latest books are The End of Reason: A Response to the New Atheists(Zondervan, 2008) and Has Christianity Failed You (Zondervan, 2010).Several of his books have been translated into Russian, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Spanish, and other languages.

At the invitation of Billy Graham, Mr. Zacharias was a plenary speaker at the International Conference for Itinerant Evangelists in Amsterdam in 1983, 1986, and 2000. He is listed as a distinguished lecturer with the Staley Foundation and has appeared on CNN and other international broadcasts. His weekly radio program, “Let My People Think,” is aired on more than 1700 outlets worldwide, and his weekday program, “Just Thinking,” on over 400. He is founder and chairman of the board of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional offices in Canada, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong. Mr. Zacharias and his wife, Margie, have three grown children. They reside in Atlanta.

Richard E. Warren (the "other" Rick Warren) is a follower of Jesus, strategic leader, and successful businessman.

Rick received a B.S. in Finance from Michigan State University. Upon graduation, he started his career at Ernst & Ernst (now Ernst & Young) before starting his own firm. In 1977 he founded Warren, Henderson & Co., P.C., a CPA firm specializing in tax and management consulting, and served as president and majority shareholder for more than seven years.

Additionally, he was a successful real estate developer through the 1980s, orchestrating the planning, financing, and development of more than 40 major projects throughout the Midwest.

In 1994 Rick took the helm of Weldaloy Products Company, an established, leading provider of custom copper, aluminum, and other non-ferrous metal forgings. Weldaloy serves global clients across a variety of industries, including aerospace, electronics, oil and gas, and more.

Rick also serves as Chairman & CEO of two consulting firms. Warren Strategies is a a private equity investment firm based in Southfield, Michigan, that seeks to provide strategy, management, and marketing services to middle market companies in Michigan, and the Great Lakes Region. Airo Partners serves nonprofit clients through the development of strategy, messaging, and funding. Clients include churches, Christian schools, mission agencies, and faith-based organizations.

Amid his entrepreneurship and business enterprises, Rick’s true passions are for people and the gospel. He is heavily involved with various ministries and nonprofit organizations around the country—many of which are involved in supporting education.

Rick is married to Sara, and they have two adult-age daughters. Rick enjoys reading, visiting family, spending time beside Lake Michigan, and following his Michigan State Spartans.

Richard Toliver, a protégé of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, retired from the Air Force as a Colonel after twenty-six years of dedicated service.  A “Top Gun” fighter pilot who flew 446 combat missions in Southeast Asia, he also directed the testing and evaluation of several major weapon systems and had key roles in tactical fighter aircraft research, development, and testing. He set a test record for the longest sustained G flight, averaging 4.5 Gs for 7 minutes, while flying the F-15 against two Top Gun adversary fighters over the Nevada desert.

Colonel Toliver is the author of two books:  An Uncaged Eagle, which is an historical; and inspirational memoir that focuses on victory over adversity; and WOMAN – A Godly Creation, which is an inspirational and motivational book written to encourage women of all ages to better appreciate their God-given creative greatness.  He continues to be in demand as a motivational speaker in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Colonel Toliver has been married for fifty-two years to the former Margaret A. Hairston of Baltimore, Maryland.  The Tolivers have eight adult children, five of which are adopted or part of the family through acceptance, commitment, and love.  They have thirteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Richard Williams is the Pastor and Director of Pivot Ministries.  A 2008 graduate of Pivot Ministries, Pastor Richard has served as the Executive Director to Pivot since early 2018.  In his service to Pivot, he has held the positions of Director, Asst. Program Director, Reentry House Supervisor, GED Facilitator, and Support Staff.

In 2008, Pastor Richard graduated from the Teen Challenge Training Center as well as Pivot Ministries, Inc. He returned to serve at Pivot Ministries where he has been committed to helping others overcome the grips of addiction.   In 2009 Pastor Richard developed Pivot Ministries’ GED Tutorial Program. In 2010 - 2011 he was Project Manager for the City of Bridgeport’s “Green-Up Program, a green-jobs training initiative, and in 2011 he was named Professional of the Year by the City of Bridgeport/Southwestern Connecticut Regional Workforce Development Board. In 2012, Pastor Richard received his license to minister, and in 2015 he was ordained as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastor Richard is a member and Elder of Stanwich Church.  He also serves on the Leadership Board of Stanwich Church Stamford Campus.

Pastor Richard was born in Annapolis, Maryland and graduated from the University of Maryland in College Park, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in General Studies and Special Education in 1981.  His post-graduation experience also includes working with adults with special needs. His work in this area concentrated on Vocational Rehabilitation services.

Bob Varney is the Vice President of Global Leader-Led Movements for Campus Crusade.  Bob Varney holds a Ph.D. in computer science from The Pennsylvania State University.  After doing research at Bell Laboratories for three years, Bob began a 25-year career as an entrepreneur, where he headed three companies and either merged them with public companies or led the initial public offering.  He was co- founder of Analytic Disciplines, Inc., a hardware/software architecture firm; founding CEO of International Telesystems Corp., a data/voice systems manufacturer with more than 10 US patents; and founding CEO of Crosswalk.com, among the top three Christian websites today.  Bob retired from the marketplace in 1998. During his entrepreneurial career Bob was invited to the White House, as part of a select group of CEOs, for an economic briefing by President Clinton.  He appeared in The Wall Street Journal Report on ABC television  during a review of the University of Maryland’s Dingman Center for Entrepreneurs.  In addition he has testified on Capitol Hill, he was a member of the Washington/ Baltimore Venture Capital Group, was on the Board of Advisors for the J. Warren McClure School of Communication Systems Management at Ohio University, was on the Executive Committee of the American Entrepreneurs for Economic Growth (AEEG), and was asked to chair the newly formed Greater Washington Chapter of the Council of Growing Companies.

Bob served as advisor to Dr. Bill Bright, who commissioned him as architect for a seamless transition to the new president of Campus Crusade, Dr. Steve Douglass.  In addition, since October 2000, Bob has also given leadership to a partnership called Table 71 which is a loose federation of large non-profits whose goal is to help reach all the remaining unreached people groups of the world; Table 71 includes the heads of Campus Crusade, Wycliffe, YWAM, IMB, DAWN, Walk Thru the Bible and Mission Spokane.  For three years of its transition, Bob also served as Executive Director of the Christian Embassy in Washington DC.

Sandy, his wife of 45 years, was recognized by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the metro area’s “Top 100 Dentists.”  They are the parents of two married daughters and have one grandson.  Sandy started and led the History’s Handful Women’s Partnership and was also an active part of the Design Team for the Significant Women publication.  Bob and Sandy have five grandchildren.

Steve Treash is the Senior Pastor of Black Rock Congregational Church in Fairfield, Connecticut. Steve has a B.A. degree from Wheaton College (Illinois), an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Massachusetts) and a Ph.D. in church history and theology from University of Aberdeen (Scotland). Steve is a Board of Directors member of the National Association of Evangelicals. With his wife Jennifer, Steve has been serving at Black Rock for over 15 years. They are the proud parents of two-year old twins Caileigh and Parker.

Terry Wilcox serves as the the Lead Pastor of Restoration Fellowship Church in Lakeland, FL.  Prior to this role, he was the Executive Director of the Bridgeport Rescue Mission for 18 years.  Under his leadership the mission grew ten-fold and, shortly before his departure, announced the acquisition of a facility that would significantly expand the mission's ability to serve the coastal Connecticut community.

Terry also continues to serve in Africa, both in Kenya as a founding board member of an orphanage, and in Zambia through Sons of Thunder,  which owns and operates a large farm.

Terry and his wife, Danielle, currently live in Florida. They have 3 children and 6 grandchildren.

The Rev. Dr. Thomas K. Tewell, Senior Pastor of The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, is a Trustee of Princeton Theological Seminary where he serves on the Academic Affairs, Financial Affairs and Personnel Committees of the Board.  A graduate of Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio from which he also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree, Dr. Tewell has a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and an earned Doctor of Ministry from Drew Theological School in Madison, New Jersey.

Dr. Tewell has served pastorates in Bethlehem, PA, New Providence, NJ, and the 5100 member Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, TX.   He became Senior Pastor at Fifth Avenue in September of 1994 and is privileged to be asked to lead seminars on preaching for Pastors at theological seminaries and to preach at conferences and in congregations around the United States.

Dr. Tewell received the Founders Day Award for the Foundation of Interfaith Research & Ministry for his leadership in starting the AIDS Care Team ministry at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, Texas and the Faith Award for his service as the Chair of the Faith Steering Committee for Habitat for Humanity – New York City’s “Building on Faith Campaign” to build their 100,000th house in the fall of 2000.

Tom and Suzanne Tewell have been married 31 years and are the parents of two grown sons, Ryan and Toby, and the proud grandparents of Nathan Ryan Tewell and Hope Lauren Tewell.

Paul Young is the author of the New York Times best-seller The Shack, which has been made into a movie. His other works include Cross Roads, Eve and his newest book, Lies We Believe About God, which was released in 2017. Click the link below to learn more about Paul.  http://wmpaulyoung.com/wm-paul-young-about/

Fr. William Wilson was born in the Philadelphia ghetto in 1937. After a difficult childhhood, he fled to a Trappist Monastery at age 19. During the next twenty-five years, he ascended the ranks of the monastery and was ordained to the priesthood in 1967. He was for seven years a hermit monk, living in solitude until 1974. Fr. William was also a chaplain to the Trappistine nuns, and in 1981 became novice master for the monks. That same year, he became a missionary in Bolivia, and lived there for seven years.

Aided by B.J. Weber and the NY Fellowship, Fr. William founded the Amistad Mission there to serve destitute indigenous peoples. In 1991, he fell in love and married. Later, he received two children from God by adoption in 1996 and 1998. Fr. William completed his Doctorate of Ministry degree at Drew University where he served as adjunct facility in the theological school. For three years he served as a chaplain to senior citizens, and today he serves as associate rector at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Alabama. He hopes to publish a book on contemplative spirituality by the end of this year.