Maria Leonard Olsen is a biracial attorney whose parents were forbidden by law to marry in their home state of Maryland in the 1960s. She practices law as a commercial litigator in the Washington, D.C. area.  Maria is also an author, podcaster, journalist, TEDx speaker and mentor to women in recovery.  Her latest book, 50 After 50: Reframing the Next Chapter of Your... learn more

Dr. David Olshine is professor and director of Youth Ministry, Family and Culture at Columbia International University in South Carolina. David has spoken to over 2.5 million people, has written 15 books, 35 plus articles and selected in 2015 as one of the recipients of Outstanding Teacher of the Year award. David is married to Rhonda and has two kids, Rachel and Andrew,... learn more

Naomi Cramer Overton is an expert on millennial families living out their meaning in ways that give them, and those they serve, life. Most importantly, she knows moms and she knows mission. Overton was the President and CEO of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International, where she led and learned from more than 250,000 millennial and Gen-X families. She also worked as a management... learn more

Having written over 1200 songs in every genre since the age of 13, and being a worship leader since the age of 13, Kurtis truly understands the gift of music, and the potential for it’s impact on our world today. Some may recognize him as a top 50 finalist on American Idol’s fourth season. Kurtis has also appeared on the Fox Morning Show,... learn more

James H. (Jim) Pence is a full-time speaker, singer, chalk artist, writer, and editor, living in North Texas. Jim turned to writing in 1988 as a helpful means of expression after the death of his baby daughter Michelle. Eight years later, Dallas Seminary’s Kindred Spirit published “A Road Not Chosen,” Jim’s narrative account of his and his wife’s experience. Jim’s biggest book is... learn more

Charles Person is one of two remaining original Freedom Riders of 1961. He became a Freedom Rider following his participation in the Atlanta Student Movement, a student-led successful effort to desegregate Atlanta restaurants and lunch counters. Person’s activism put him in jail for 16 days– 10 of them in solitary confinement. In May, 1961, thirteen Freedom Riders–7 Back, 6 White– sought to travel... learn more

Michael Phillips has been writing in the Christian marketplace since 1977. He is the author of over a hundred books, both fiction and non-fiction, including many bestsellers, with total sales over seven million books. He is known as one of the premier novelists of the Christian fiction boom of the 1980s, and as the man responsible for the renaissance of interest in Scotsman... learn more

Nicole Phillips is a champion for using kindness to overcome all of life’s difficulties, including her own battle with breast cancer. She spreads the message of the healing power of kindness as host of the weekly show “The Kindness Podcast” … through her weekly column, Kindness is Contagious, which runs in newspapers in North Dakota and Minnesota … and as a featured weekly... learn more

Krista Phillips is the author of Sandwich, with a Side of Romance and A Side of Faith. She enjoys life with her husband and their four beautiful daughters in Tennessee. She is an advocate for congenital heart defect and organ donation awareness and blogs at www.kristaphillips.com.... learn more

Wintley Phipps was born in Trinidad, West Indies and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He attended Kingsway College, a Christian Academy; Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama where he received a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Theology; and earned a Masters of Divinity Degree from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Mr. Phipps holds an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Waynesburg... learn more