Wisdom Conversation Details

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PATRICK T. BROWN
Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and member of the EPPC’s national Life and Family Initiative

PATRICK T. BROWN is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where his work with the Life and Family Initiative focuses on developing a robust pro-family economic agenda and supporting families as the cornerstone of a healthy and flourishing society.

His writing has been published in The New York Times, National Review, Politico, The Washington Post, and USA Today, and he has spoken on college campuses and Capitol Hill on topics from welfare reform to child-care and education policy.

CHRISTINA HOFF SOMMERS
Philosopher and senior fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute

CHRISTINA HOFF SOMMERS is a senior fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute and a nationally recognized scholar on gender, feminism, and free expression. A former philosophy professor at Clark University, she is best known for her defense of classical liberal feminism and her critique of modern gender ideology. She is the author of influential books, including “The War Against Boys,” “Who Stole Feminism?,” and “Freedom Feminism.” Her work has appeared in major outlets such as The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. She also hosts the video blog The Factual Feminist. Dr. Sommers holds a Doctor of Philosophy in philosophy from Brandeis University and a Bachelor of Arts from New York University.

CATALINA STUBBE
Director of outreach for Moms for Liberty

CATALINA STUBBE is a distinguished conservative media personality and national director of Moms for Liberty, recognized as a leading Latina influencer in the United States. A trilingual mother of four and former Miss World Colombia, she graduated with a sociology degree and political science from Université de La Sorbonne in Paris with eight years of residency in France, Catalina brings a global perspective to her advocacy.

A fierce defender of family values, parental rights, and American principles, she has championed transparency in education and led efforts to eliminate Marxist ideologies from schools since joining Moms for Liberty in 2021.

Her impactful leadership inspired El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to issue an executive order removing gender ideologies from schools. A sought-after voice, Catalina has addressed the United Nations, spoke at the European Parliament, and national conferences like CPAC and Turning Point; she appears regularly on major networks, including Fox, Newsmax, OAN, Telemundo, and Univision.

Residing in Florida, this businesswoman, journalist, and political commentator leverages her extensive media presence across the U.S., Europe, and South America to advocate for liberty, education, faith, the sanctity of life, and the well-being of Hispanic communities, inspiring a generation of parents with her unwavering commitment to God, family, and country.

DR. JEAN TWENGE, PH.D.
San Diego State University Professor of Psychology, author, researcher

DR. JEAN TWENGE is professor of psychology at San Diego State University and the author of over 190 scientific publications and seven books, including “Generations: The Real Differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and Silents—and What They Mean for America’s Future.” Her research has been covered in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, and The Washington Post, and she has been featured on Today, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Fox & Friends, NBC Nightly News, Real Time with Bill Maher, and National Public Radio. She publishes her latest analyses and updates on the Generation Tech substack.

Dr. Sohrab Ahmari
U.S. Editor, UnHerd, journalist, author, Co-Founder, Compact

DR. SOHRAB AHMARI, the U.S. editor of UnHerd, is a journalist, columnist, public intellectual, and author. He co-founded Compact magazine and spent nearly a decade at News Corp., as an editor and columnist with The Wall Street Journal opinion pages in New York and London, and as the op-ed editor of the New York Post. His books include “Tyranny, Inc.: How Private Power Crushed American Liberty—and What To Do About It” (2023). An immigrant from Iran to the United States who converted to Catholicism, Ahmari is a voice for working people and the human condition.

Dr. Mark Mayfield
Assistant Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Colorado Christian University, Trauma Counselor & Award-Winning Author

DR. MARK MAYFIELD is a former pastor, award-winning author, speaker, certified master Christian coach, mental health counselor, and assistant professor of clinical mental health counseling at Colorado Christian University. With extensive experience consulting on mental and emotional health for schools and faith-based organizations, he founded No Student Unseen. A trauma expert, Dr. Mayfield works clinically with families and serves as director of national advancement for Light Counseling Plus. He also partners with the AACC as director of practice and ministry development and editor of Marriage & Family: A Christian Journal. Dr. Mayfield has authored five books, including “The Path Out of Loneliness.” Featured in outlets like WORLD Magazine, FOX News, NBC, and Reader’s Digest, he was invited to the White House in December 2019 and has consulted periodically on mental health in America. His aim is to help individuals better connect with God and each other.

CHAITALI SINHA
Wysa Chief Clinical R&D Officer, Psychologist & Researcher

CHAITALI SINHA is chief clinical R&D officer for Wysa, an AI-driven mental health platform and app; a psychologist and therapist with clinical expertise across digital, judicial, rural, and trauma-focused settings; and a researcher on large-scale cluster RCTs in clinical and public health contexts. She is currently a co-author on 20+ publications in press or under peer review and the inventor on two patents. Her research work with digital mental health interventions involves working on interventions to test for an experimental hypothesis, building research infrastructure for digital health applications, and working with Wysa’s key partners across public health and academia.

Kristin Collier, MD, FACP
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine & Director, Program on Health, Spirituality & Religion, University of Michigan Medical School

KRISTIN COLLIER, MD, FACP, is an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor Michigan where she serves as the director of the University of Michigan Medical School Program on Health, Spirituality, and Religion. She received her medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed her internship, residency, and chief residency at the University of Michigan Hospitals. Her academic interests are in the overlap of spirituality, religion, and medicine, and her peer-reviewed work has been published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the British Medical Journal, the Annals of Internal Medicine, the Journal of General Internal Medicine, and the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She has had writings published in Notre Dame’s Church Life Journal, Theopolis, America Magazine, and Public Discourse. She is also a wife and a proud mother of four boys. She can be found on X as @HSRDirector.

Gabe Lyons
THINQ Founder, President media and events

GABE LYONS is the founder and president of THINQ, a media and event organization who educates and equips thought leaders to create conversations that lead to wisdom. Gabe is the host of UnderCurrent podcast and co-host of Rhythms For Life with his wife, Rebekah. As the author of multiple best-selling books and the creator of the global THINQ Summit event series, his positive approach to the role Christian faith can play in improving human societies has directly impacted well over 10 million people. His books include “Good Faith: Being a Christian When Society Thinks You’re Irrelevant and Extreme” (2016), “The Next Christians: The Good News About the End of Christian America” (2010), and “unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity…and Why It Matters” (2007). Described as “sophisticated and orthodox” by The New York Times, Gabe’s work represents a timeless yet current perspective on faith’s role in culture and has been featured by CNN, The New York Times, Fox News, and USA Today. He and Rebekah, a best-selling author and founder of Renewed Life Ministries, have four children and live in Franklin, Tenn.

MARVIN OLASKY
Journalist & Author; Former WORLD Magazine Editor-in-Chief; Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute

MARVIN OLASKY is a prolific Christian author, senior fellow of Discovery Institute, Acton Institute affiliate scholar and former editor of WORLD magazine. A former advisor to George W. Bush, Olasky graduated from Yale University and gained a Ph.D. in American Culture from the University of Michigan. He was a professor at The University of Texas at Austin and has also had appointments at San Diego State, Princeton, The King’s College, and Patrick Henry College. He is the author of 5,000 articles for national publications, including WORLD, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and others. He has written 30 books, including “Turning Point: A Christian Worldview Declaration,” “The Tragedy of American Compassion,” “Fighting for Liberty and Virtue,” “Abortion Rites,” “Reforming Journalism,” and “Lament for a Father.” Olasky grew up in Judaism and was an atheist and Communist before becoming a Christian.

MICHEAL WEAR
Center for Christianity and Public Life Founder, President and CEO

MICHEAL WEAR is founder, president, and CEO of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution based in the nation’s capital with the mission to contend for the credibility of Christian resources in public life, for the public good. He has served as a trusted resource and advisor for a range of civic leaders on matters of faith and public life for the last 15 years, including as a White House and presidential campaign staffer. Wear previously led Public Square Strategies, a consulting firm he founded that helps religious organizations, political organizations, businesses, and others effectively navigate the rapidly changing American religious and political landscape. He is the author of “The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life,” which argues that the kind of people we are has much to do with the kind of politics and public life we will have.

AYAAN HIRSI ALI
Hoover Institution Research Fellow & Founder, AHA Foundation, Former Member of the Dutch Parliament

AYAAN HIRSI ALI is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and founder of the AHA Foundation. She served as a Member of the Dutch Parliament from 2003 to 2006. While in Parliament, she focused on furthering the integration of non-Western immigrants into Dutch society and on defending the rights of Muslim women. She has written several books, including “Infidel” (2007), “Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations” (2010), “Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now” (2015), “The Challenge of Dawa” (2017), and “Prey (2021). Prior to joining the Hoover Institution, she was a fellow at the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard University and a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.

Edward Graham
Chief Operating Officer, Samaritan’s Purse, Former U.S. Army Officer

EDWARD GRAHAM is the chief operating officer for Samaritan’s Purse. The youngest son of Franklin Graham, Edward graduated from the United States Military Academy and went on to serve 16 years in the U.S. Army. After multiple combat deployments within the Special Operations Community and working in various leadership and command positions, he felt called to return home and began serving in the ministry in 2019.

GEORGES HOUSSNEY
Horizons International President & Founder, Teacher, Author

GEORGES HOUSSNEY is the founder and president of Horizons International, a 34-year-old global missions organization dedicated to proclaiming the gospel, discipling the nations and equipping the church. Georges is a teacher and the author of the widely acclaimed book “Engaging Islam.” He is also featured in the DVD series “Battle for the Hearts,” the Engage Course, “Engaging Islam,” “Cubs to Lions,” and many TV programs on Sat7 and other channels. His Lebanese upbringing; his background in psychology, linguistics, and intercultural studies; and his travels to 103 countries in his 45 years of experience in evangelism, discipleship, and church planting have all contributed to the success of his training programs, including the popular Engaging Islam for church members and missionaries and Cubs to Lions for converts from Islam.

DR. MATTHEW LUCAS
Our Daily Bread Ministries President & CEO

DR. MATTHEW LUCAS is the president and CEO of Our Daily Bread Ministries, a Christian ministry with 36 locations around the world serving over 130 countries with resources in 58 languages. Prior to taking this role in March 2022, Dr. Lucas served in Christian higher education, leading in various senior executive roles at Corban University and most recently as chancellor at Indiana Wesleyan University. He is an accomplished speaker and is active in church and community service. He writes regularly for the Our Daily Bread devotional and other publications.

ERIC METAXAS
New York Times Bestselling Author & National Radio Host of The Eric Metaxas Show and Cornerstone University Distinguished National Fellow

ERIC METAXAS is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of “If You Can Keep It,” “Bonhoeffer” and “Miracles.” His latest book is “Letter to the American Church” (September 2022). His writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The New Yorker, and he has appeared as a cultural commentator on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. He is the host of The Eric Metaxas Show, a nationally syndicated daily radio show heard on 300 outlets nationwide and aired on television on TBN.

DERRYCK GREEN
Political, Economic Policy and Cultural Commentator & Writer

DERRYCK GREEN is a political commentator, national speaker, and writer whose work has appeared in newspapers and online media across the country, including The American Spectator, Townhall.com and The Daily Caller. His research and work includes economic policy, culture and race, religion, theology, immigration, and politics in general. Green speaks to churches, church-based organizations and political groups about how to disciple congregations ethically from a Biblical worldview.

TARA BETH LEACH
Author and Senior Pastor, Good Shepherd Church (Naperville)

TARA BETH LEACH is an author and regular writer for Missio Alliance. She writes and speaks widely about women in ministry, church leadership, and encouraging Christians to live out their God-given call. Leach is a graduate of Olivet Nazarene University and Northern Theological Seminary, and her books include “Radiant,” “Kingdom Culture” and “Emboldened.”

R. DAVID EDELMAN, Ph.D.
Former U.S. National Security Council Director, America’s “Chief Cyber Diplomat” during Bush and Obama administrations, MIT Professor

R. DAVID EDELMAN is one of America’s foremost authorities on how new innovations are changing life and business around the globe. Dubbed America’s “Chief Cyber Diplomat,” his insights on issues like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data ethics and the geopolitics of technology have shaped national and international policy at the highest levels. Dr. Edelman served in the Bush and Obama administrations, rising to become the youngest-ever director named to the U.S. National Security Council. As special assistant to the president, he led the White House economic team’s engagement with top executives at over 100 companies in the technology, media and telecom sectors and managed the administration’s policy development on issues like net neutrality, consumer privacy and patent reform. He currently teaches at MIT, holding joint appointments in the Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab and Center for International Studies, and leads its Project on Technology, the Economy, & National Security. His insights and analysis have appeared in the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, WIRED, Forbes, Fortune, and on CNBC, MSNBC and numerous international outlets. He was named one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” leaders in Law & Policy.

JAMES MEEKS
Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Iris Technology (webAI.com), U.S. Army Veteran, Rapids Venture Founder

JAMES MEEKS serves as co-founder and co-CEO of Grand Rapids based Iris Technology Inc., the creator of webAI.com, a fundamentally different approach to AI. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Meeks served two tours in Iraq as an armor officer and received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He is the founder and managing partner of Rapids Venture, overseeing and managing a portfolio of start-ups dedicated to areas such as clean energy, public health, manufacturing and artificial intelligence.

JOANNA NG
AI Entrepreneur & IBM Master Inventor, Former Head of Research, IBM Canada

JOANNA NG is an ex-IBM-er. Joanna pivoted to innovate as an entrepreneurial start-up founder, focusing on artificial intelligence, specialized in augmented cognition, by integrating with IoT and Blockchain, applying to all of it her design-thinking methodology. With 49 patents granted to her name, Joanna was accredited as an IBM Master Inventor. She held a seven-year tenure as the head of research and director of the Center for Advanced Studies for IBM Canada. She published over 20 peer-reviewed academic publications and co-authored two computer science books with Springer, “The Smart Internet” and “The Personal Web.” As a disciple of Christ, she felt one of her purposes on earth is to be God’s voice in the tech arena. She published a Christianity Today article called “How Artificial Super Intelligence is Today’s Tower of Babel.” She considers her career in tech as a testimony of co creating with God. To mentor other Christians called into different arenas of the world for kingdom ministry, she started a ministry called KOE, which stands for Kingdom On Earth. Joanna recently published her first book, “Being Christian 2.0,” on faith and discipleship in October 2022.

SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ
New Season Lead Pastor, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference President

SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ, lead pastor of New Season, one of America’s most influential megachurches according to Newsmax, is the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, one of the world’s largest Christian organizations. Rodriguez stands recognized by CNN, FOX News, Univision and Telemundo as America’s most influential Latino/Hispanic faith leader. Charisma magazine named him one of the 40 leaders who changed the world. The Wall Street Journal named him one of the top 12 Latino leaders, and he was the only faith leader on that list. He has been named among the “Top 100 Christian Leaders in America” (Newsmax 2018) and nominated as one of the “100 most influential people in the world” (TIME 2013). Rodriguez has advised Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump and frequently consults with members of Congress to advance life, religious liberty and Biblical justice initiatives, including immigration and criminal justice reform. He is the best-selling author of “Be Light” and executive producer of three films, including BREAKTHROUGH. Rodriguez is the recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award presented by the Congress of Racial Equality.

IAN V. ROWE
Vertex Partnership Academies Founder

IAN V. ROWE is the founder of Vertex Partnership Academies and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. In addition to serving 10 years as CEO of Public Prep, he held leadership positions at Teach for America, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the White House and MTV, where he earned two Public Service Emmys. With his recent book “Agency” (Templeton Press, May 2022), Rowe seeks to inspire young people of all races to build strong families and become masters of their own destiny. Rowe earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University’s College of Engineering and his high school diploma from Brooklyn Tech as part of a K-12 NYC public education.

MIROSLAV VOLF
Yale Divinity School Systematic Theology Professor/Founding director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture

MIROSLAV VOLF serves as the Henry B. Wright professor of systematic theology at Yale Divinity School and the founding director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. He completed doctoral and post-doctoral degrees from the University of Tübingen in Tübingen, Germany, having studied under theologian Jürgen Moltmann, and has held teaching appointments at Evangelical Theological Seminary in Croatia and Fuller Theological Seminary. A prolific writer and soughtafter theological voice in interfaith conversations, Volf’s scholarship includes over 100 scholarly articles and 20 books, including “Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World” and “A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good.” He regularly teaches in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and North America and has delivered lectures at higher education institutions such as Harvard University, Oxford University, Stockholm School of Theology, Duke University and the University of Birmingham. Volf’s latest book, “The Home of God: A Brief Story of Everything,” a project co-authored with Ryan McAnnally-Linz, was released in September 2022.

NOAH FELDMAN
Harvard Law professor, Axios’ resident legal scholar and Bloomberg Opinion Columnist

NOAH FELDMAN is a Harvard Law professor, Axios’ resident legal scholar and Bloomberg Opinion Columnist Noah Feldman is one of the great legal minds and public intellectuals of our time. Called “one of the stars of his generation” (Justice Elena Kagan) and one of the “75 most influential people of the 21st century” (Esquire), Feldman specializes in the Supreme Court, philosophy, politics and religion. In his weekly Bloomberg column, he provides real-time analysis of the top legal cases of the day and their impact on our lives. His podcast, Deep Background, brings together a cross-section of expert guests to explore the historical, scientific, legal and cultural context of the biggest stories in the news. He is the author of 10 books, including his latest, “The Broken Constitution: Lincoln, Slavery, and the Refounding of America.”Named one of the three most influential contemporary idea-drivers by New York Magazine, Feldman speaks widely on power, ethics, international affairs, civil discourse, the Supreme Court, Founding Fathers and free speech in the age of social media. He also enjoys speaking on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. Having described politics and religion as technologies and constitutions as blueprints for how groups of people govern themselves in a common enterprise, he recently commented: “To understand what will happen to crypto, you need to understand how constitutions work and how they fail.”

ROSS DOUTHAT
New York Times Columnist & Author

ROSS DOUTHAT, one of the most provocative and influential voices of his generation, joined The New York Times in 2009 as the newspaper’s youngest-ever op-ed columnist. He writes on Tuesdays and Sundays for the paper, covering American politics, religion, pop culture and intellectual life, and he is the film critic for National Review. In October 2021, he released “The Deep Places,” a memoir of his experience with chronic illness and timely COVID-era exploration of the limits and blind spots of official medicine. Douthat is the co-author, with Reihan Salam, of “Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream” (2008), a book widely credited with anticipating the rise of conservative populism in Western politics and even the presidency of Donald Trump. At the same time, as a conservative who writes for a primarily liberal readership, and a co-founder of the New York Times podcast The Argument, he is known for his careful, thoughtful style of debate and dialogue, and his ability to engage with audiences across the political spectrum.

MARY ANN GOMEZ ORTA
Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI) President and CEO

MARY ANN GOMEZ ORTA serves as the president and CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI). The CHLI vision of advancing the Hispanic community’s diversity of thought aligns with Orta’s motto that diverse points of view create exponentially better results for all. She has expanded and created programs that prepare, connect and honor leaders. She is respected for her support of students, Hispanic inclusion and diversity of thought. She is a former corporate marketing executive with Coors Brewing Company and McDonald’s Corporation. Early in her career, she represented trade associations, government agencies and small business owners with public relations campaigns in English and Spanish. Orta is a teacher at heart. She has taught at American University, University of Phoenix and Heald College. In addition, she earned a B.A. in communications at the University of the Pacific and an MBA at St. Mary’s College,both in California.