Speakers
The Summit is a unique event that allows for directed learning and individual attention. With pro-life speakers from around the country, the Summit presents topics directly related to CEOs, board members, attorneys, volunteers, and medical personnel committed to serving life-affirming pregnancy centers.
Attendees will gain information to help them handle future legislation and cultural shifts in the pro-life ministry. In addition, attendees will leave the Summit with the knowledge of best practices in their centers and being a light in their community.
Thomas A. Glessner, JD
Thomas Glessner received his Bachelor of Arts in 1974 at the University of Washington in Seattle, majoring in Political Science and his Juris Doctor degree at the University of Washington School of Law in 1977. He is the founder and CEO of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), with headquarters in Virginia. NIFLA serves 1400 pregnancy resource centers in all 50 states, of which over 1,700 operate on (or are in the process of converting to) a medical model.
Thomas A. Glessner, JD
Anne J. O’Connor, JD
Anne serves as Vice President of Legal Affairs for NIFLA and has been part of the NIFLA team since 1993. She is a graduate of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California, where elected to the Coif Order of the Coif. Anne joined the Board of the Right to Life League of Southern California and later became its Executive Director. She was instrumental in helping the League’s centers convert to medical clinics and has since helped many centers across the nation in the medical clinic conversion process. Now residing on the East Coast, Anne is a California and New Jersey Bar Association member.cerra, 138 S.Ct. 2361 (2018).
Anne J. O’Connor, JD
Angela Thomas, JD
Angie Thomas serves as General Counsel for the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA). Before this position, she was the Associate Director for Louisiana Right to Life, specializing in development, legislative advocacy, and education about life issues.
For the previous 18 years, she served at Woman’s New Life Clinic, a professional counseling and medical clinic offering life-affirming services for women in unplanned pregnancies, port-abortive men and women, and women’s health. She started as a volunteer and served on the board, then moved into the director and CEO position. She led the effort to expand authentic women’s health services in south Louisiana, reclaiming reproductive healthcare and offering alternatives to Planned Parenthood.
Her work at NIFLA includes legal education and training for pregnancy centers, The Life Choice Project, board training, and legal audits. She is passionate about helping pregnancy centers develop holistic, sustainable models and about implementing new programs to build a culture of life.
Angela Thomas, JD
Byron C. Calhoun, MD, FACOG, FACS, FASAM, MB
- Professor/Vice Chair, West Virginia University
Dr. Byron C. Calhoun, MD, FACOG, FACS, FASAM, MBA is a 1979 Distinguished Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and graduated from the University of Iowa Medical School with an MD in 1983. Dr. Calhoun completed his residency in OB/GYN at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1987 and finished a Fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the Oregon Health Sciences University in 1989. Dr. Calhoun is a diplomat of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology with board certification in general Obstetrics and Gynecology and in the sub-specialty of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. He also is also board certified in Addictions Medicine.
He has authored 80 peer review articles in the obstetric and gynecologic literature, presented over 100 scientific papers, participated in over 40 research projects, and has published numerous articles on medical aspects of obstetrics and gynecology.
Dr. Calhoun serves as Professor and Vice-Chair in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the West Virginia University-Charleston and is directly involved in resident and medical student education. He is licensed in several states and continues to actively practice maternal-fetal medicine, perform diagnostic obstetrical ultrasound, participate in prenatal diagnosis counseling, and provide education to residents and medical students.
Byron C. Calhoun, MD, FACOG, FACS, FASAM, MB
Audrey Stout, RN, RDMS
- Co-Owner, Soundview Imaging Partners
Audrey is a NIFLA Medical Consultant, Co-founder of SoundView Imaging Partners, and instructor with Focus on the Family’s Option Ultrasound Program. She has also served as a leader/developer for post-abortive healing, client advocate, board member, and nurse manager.
Audrey believes obstetric ultrasounds are compelling, lifesaving, and affirming tools. She’s taught OB sonography since 2000, written and spoken widely on medical clinic management, OB ultrasound, and faith for national organizations. Her pleasure has been teaching OB sonography to medical professionals across the US, Guatemala, Ukraine, and Ireland. Audrey challenges all to pursue excellence in caring, knowledge, and skills.
Audrey’s passion for life and love for Jesus Christ drives her to dedicate her personal and professional life to at-risk women, the unborn, and those with special needs.
Audrey Stout, RN, RDMS
Dotsy Davis, BSRT, RDMS, RVT
- Co-Owner, Soundview Imaging Partners
Dotsy Davis is an instructor for NIFLA and has over 30 years of obstetrical ultrasound experience in OB/GYN offices, pregnancy medical clinics, and as a college program director. She started a college-based medical sonography program and facilitated the program’s accreditation through the JRCDMS. Ms. Davis has a heart to serve for His purposes and His glory.
Dotsy Davis, BSRT, RDMS, RVT
Lynne Marie Kohm, JD
- Professor, Regent University School of Law
Lynne Marie Kohm serves as the John Brown McCarty Professor of Family Law at Regent University School of Law. She earned her law degree from Syracuse College of Law and is a graduate of Albany University. She was honored with the Chancellor’s Award for Faculty Excellence as the Regent University Professor of the year in 2005 for her work in defending marriage, life, training lawyers in family restoration, and discipling female law students.
Kohm has published prolifically on legal areas of concern to families, including marriage, women, children, families, trusts, and support obligations at death. She teaches Family Law, Wills, Trusts & Estates, Elder Law, Bioethics, and Gender and the Law. She teaches law students and lawyers many of the legal concepts and techniques that assist individuals and families in planning for incapacity and estate distribution. Her most popular book is Estate Planning Success for Women, which has been nominated for several awards because of its unique perspective on women and their influence over the transfer of wealth in the next generation.
Prior to teaching, Kohm practiced law in New York concentrating in the areas of estate planning, probate administration, real estate and family law. She is licensed to practice law in Virginia, New York, Florida, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. She is also a Certified Guardian ad Litem. Her professional affiliations include and have included the Virginia State Bar Family Law Section Board of Governors, Virginia Bar Association Domestic Relations Council, Christian Legal Society, American Bar Association, Eagle Forum, Alliance Defense Fund, Concerned Women for America, and Bethany Christian Services. Lynne Marie Kohm has a missionary heart, having served with the full-time staff of Campus Crusade for Christ for six years prior to and during law school.
Lynne Marie Kohm, JD
Karen D. Poehailos, MD
Karen D. Poehailos, MD is a family physician in Charlottesville, VA and serves as Assistant Medical Director for NIFLA as well as a member of the board of directors.
Her involvement in pro-life work dates to 1997, when she became a physician volunteer for the Charlottesville Pregnancy Center and moved on to serve as its volunteer medical director. From 2018-2021, she was the Regional Medical Director for ThriVe Central VA Women’s HealthCare and supervised medical services including pregnancy tests, performing and reading limited OB ultrasounds, and STI/STD testing and treatment at its four locations in Central Virginia. Dr. Poehailos has been a member of the Abortion Pill Reversal hotline since 2015 and has been honored to help many women continue their pregnancies through this work. She serves on the Medical Advisory Team for the Abortion Pill Rescue Network.
Dr. Poehailos is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Medicine and its Family Medicine Residency. She has worked in primary care and urgent care settings, with additional Restorative Reproductive Medicine training. She is a Certified Fertility Care Medical Consultant and a FEMM Medical Provider working with women on recurrent miscarriage, infertility, and irregular cycles without IVF or hormonal contraception.
Local secular media and national Catholic media outlets have interviewed Dr. Poehailos on abortion pill reversal and other pro-life issues and Natural Family Planning. She has greatly enjoyed becoming part of the team for NIFLA’s monthly webinars.
Karen D. Poehailos, MD
Allan Parker, JD
Parker was lead counsel for Norma McCorvey, formerly “Roe” of Roe v. Wade, from 2000 to 2012, and Sandra Cano, the “Doe” of Doe v. Bolton, until 2014 in their efforts to overturn the two landmark cases that brought legalized abortion on demand to America.
A ministry of The Justice Foundation, Operation Outcry, seeks to end the pain of abortion by mobilizing women hurt by abortion to become witnesses who share their true stories of the devastating effects of abortion through courts and legislatures. Operation Outcry holds the largest collection of legally admissible, written testimonies from women hurt by abortion.
Parker is a former Professor of Law at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. He was a Visiting Professor at the University of Texas, and studied International Human Rights at the International Human Rights Institute in Strasbourg, France. He taught International Human Rights at the St. Mary’s Institute on World Legal Problems in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1992.
Parker received his JD degree with high honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 1979. He was an Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review, a Chancellor, Order of the Coif, and Order of Barristers for his outstanding advocacy skills. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in Economics in 1974.
Allan Parker, JD
Mischa Long, RN BSN
Mischa Long currently serves as the Director of Nursing at LifeChoices Health Network in Joplin, Missouri. She oversees the Ultrasound and STI medical services provided at their clinic of Choices Medical Services of Joplin, as well as the services provided on the mobile van of Choices Mobile Medical Unit.
Mischa Long began her career with LifeChoices in 2004 as a volunteer, then became a staff member in 2005. With the help of the medical volunteers and staff, she has implemented medical services for thousands of clients since 2005 and was involved in the addition of two satellite clinics and a mobile van clinic.
She completed Limited Obstetrical Ultrasound Training with NIFLA in 2005 and has performed thousands of ultrasounds since that time. She attends annual STI trainings – at either the State or National level – to ensure all medical information and services are up-to-date. Since 2007, Mischa has provided all medical training for the staff and volunteers of LifeChoices and oversees the annual OSHA training.
Since 2007, Mischa has co-presented with Karolyn Schrage, RN, BSN at the STI Training Seminars that are held bi-annually at LifeChoices. These two-day trainings educate the medical and administrative staff of pregnancy medical clinics around the United States to implement STI testing at their own facilities. Mischa has also had the honor of co-presenting at national affiliate conferences annually since 2014.
With the FDA’s ruling of the continued allowance of abortion pill distribution through telehealth options and under-the-radar online sales of these pills skyrocketing, abortions have become even easier for individuals to obtain. In addition, national rates of gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis continue to increase exponentially, as national STI service priorities took a backseat to COVID-19 contact tracing and vaccine distribution. Mischa looks forward to assisting others in expanding their medical services to better serve patients, as we continue our battle in pregnancy and sexual health choices!
Mischa Long, RN BSN
Dave Stout
Dave holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas and a Master of Divinity from Western Seminary in Portland, OR. He pastored churches in Oregon, Arkansas, Georgia and Virginia for 35 years.
While in Georgia, Dave led the Board of Directors of Cobb Pregnancy Services for nearly a decade. During that time CPS (now First Care Women’s Clinic) converted to a medical clinic and experienced significant expansion. Dave also helped his wife Audrey develop post-abortion study curriculum and create a Memorial Rose Garden for the Unborn.
Dave Stout
Tina Ramirez
Whether crafting legislation, securing the release of imprisoned victims, or engaging foreign dignitaries, Tina Ramirez has worked diligently to bring greater freedom and dignity to people around the world. From her early days as a high school teacher, through recent years in charge of Hardwired Global, an organization that addresses the root causes of religious conflict, she has committed her entire life to service and to the preservation of human rights for all people.
While working for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, she developed policies to improve religious freedom in several countries. As a Foreign Policy Advisor for numerous members of Congress, she helped start and direct the bi-partisan Congressional International Religious Freedom Caucus. She serves as Secretary of the United Nations NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief in New York, and is a former board member for the First Freedom Center in Richmond, VA.
Tina has published extensively and is the author of Iraq: Hope in the Midst of Darkness (2017), a contributing author, and editor of Human Rights in the United States: A Dictionary and Documents (2010 and 2017) and author/editor of Human Rights: Great Events From History (2019). She holds a certificate from the International Institute for Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, a MA in Education from Vanguard University, and a MA in International Human Rights from the University of Essex, UK.
Tina was raised near her mother’s large, extended family in Powhatan County, Virginia where her father founded a medical practice and her mother ran a midwifery practice. Her parents, both second-generation descendants of Mexican and Czech immigrants and both Air Force Veterans, influenced Tina’s passion for service, freedom, and work with people worldwide.
Tina Ramirez
Steven H. Aden, JD
Aden is a highly experienced litigator, having appeared in court against Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry dozens of times and was appointed by the attorneys general of six states to defend pro-life laws. Aden secured court victories that upheld an Arizona law that resulted in six abortion businesses ceasing to offer abortion, applied Missouri’s abortion laws to chemical abortion and upheld the right of Louisiana regulators to shut down dangerous abortion facilities.
A prolific author and analyst on sanctity of life issues and constitutional jurisprudence, Aden is admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Hawaii (inactive) and is a member of the bars of the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal circuit and district courts.
He has practiced law since 1990 and earned his J.D. (cum laude) from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. from the University of Hawaii.
Steven H. Aden, JD
Joseph Kohm III, JD
Joseph Kohm serves as Director of Public Policy at Family Policy Alliance (FPA), where he leads FPA’s policy strategy, provides policy and legislative expertise, and drafts and advocates for pro-family legislation at the state and federal levels. He has worked extensively on FPA’s Help Not Harm, After Roe, Let Parents Parent, and Save Girls Sports campaigns, collaborating with legislators and state and national allies to enact policies that protect women’s safety and opportunities, vulnerable children and families, parental rights, and born and unborn children. He also regularly hosts FPA’s podcast, the SoConReport Podcast, to inform and generate action amongst thousands of listeners and viewers.
Joseph is a U.S. Army veteran of the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), where he served as an officer in First Brigade Combat Team. His previous legal experiences are in commander-directed Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) investigations within the armed forces as well as anti-trafficking in persons (human trafficking) legal efforts, both in foreign and domestic jurisdictions and states.
Joseph earned his J.D. from Regent University School of Law and holds a B.A. in English Literature from Virginia Military Institute, Class of 2014. He is licensed to practice law in Washington, D.C. and New York. He resides in Virginia Beach, VA, where he attends and serves Wave Church’s Great Neck Campus.
Joseph Kohm III, JD
Tom Brejcha, JD
Tom Brejcha is a renowned legal expert with over five decades of experience in federal and state courts. As the Founder, President, and Chief Counsel of Thomas More Society, he has spent the last twenty-six years championing the sanctity of life, religious liberty, family values, and election integrity. Hailing from Chicago’s South Side, Tom graduated with honors from Notre Dame and earned a Root-Tilden Scholarship to New York University Law School, where he was Note & Comment Editor of the Law Review. As an Army Captain in Vietnam, he received a Bronze Star and an Army Commendation Medal.
In 1986, Tom volunteered to defend pro-life leader Joe Scheidler in the landmark NOW v. Scheidler case. After overcoming numerous challenges and three U.S. Supreme Court appearances, Tom prevailed, leading to the formation of the Thomas More Society in 1997. The organization has since evolved into a leading public interest law firm with active cases and skilled attorneys nationwide. Tom has testified before U.S. Congressional Committees, appeared in national and local media, and received numerous awards for his work. As a respected speaker, he shares his expertise at prestigious conferences.
Tom Brejcha, JD
Kevin Theriot, JD
Kevin Theriot serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is a key member of the Center for Life Team working to defend pro-life speech and protect medical rights of conscience.
Since joining Alliance Defending Freedom in 2003, Theriot has been successful as lead counsel or co-counsel in numerous cases, protecting the unborn and preserving the freedoms of speech and religion. In NIFLA v. Becerra, he was part of the Supreme Court team that protected California pregnancy centers from being forced to refer for abortion. In Women’s Health Link v. City of Ft. Wayne, Ind., Theriot defended the freedom of a pro-life pregnancy center to access an advertising forum in city buses. He was also one of several ADF attorneys who assisted Mississippi’s legal team with defending Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization at the Supreme Court. This victory reversed Roe v. Wade.
In Kelvin Cochran v. City of Atlanta, he defended Chief Cochran’s free speech rights from government censorship, receiving a settlement of $1.2 million dollars. Theriot also co-authored the 2017 law review article, Free to Do No Harm: Conscience Protections for Healthcare Professionals.
Theriot earned his J.D. in 1991 from Vanderbilt University Law School. He is admitted to the bar in the states of Tennessee, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Georgia, Missouri, Kansas, and Arizona. He is also a member of the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal district and appellate courts.
Kevin Theriot, JD
Marjorie Dannenfelser
With Dannenfelser at the helm of America’s largest grassroots pro-life political organization, the pro-life movement succeeded in electing a pro-life president and Senate, confirming three U.S. Supreme Court justices, and overturning Roe v. Wade. In the 2022 election cycle SBA Pro-Life America and its super PAC, Women Speak Out, raised more than $78 million and reached more than eight million pro-life voters through door-to-door canvassing, voter mail, texting, and digital communications. Previously in the 2020 cycle, their efforts helped elect the largest incoming class of pro-life congresswomen in history, with 19 new pro-life women and 30 total serving in the U.S. House of Representatives – more than double the previous record.
Called “the woman who brought down Roe” by the Los Angeles Times and others, Dannenfelser is the author of “Life is Winning: Inside the Fight for Unborn Children and Their Mothers,” which was ranked Amazon’s #1 New Release in NGO Policy upon its release in August 2020. She has also been published in TIME, the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, USA Today, RealClearPolitics, The Washington Post, and National Review, among others, and profiled by New York Magazine, The Telegraph, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post.
In 2020, Dannenfelser was again named national co-chair of the Pro-Life Voices for Trump coalition, a role she held during the 2016 campaign after securing four groundbreaking pro-life commitments from the nominee. In 2017, U.S. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell appointed her to the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission. In 2020, Dannenfelser served as a panelist on the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. In addition, she served on Life Perspectives’ Task Force. She has been named to Politico’s Power List of 40 influential leaders for 2022 and Fox’s “rising political stars” for 2023. Previously, she was one of Politico Magazine’s Top 50 Influencers, Washington Examiner’s top ten “Political Women on the Move,” Newsmax’s top 25 Most Influential Republican Women, and Newsweek’s top ten “Leaders of the Christian Right.” She is an alumna of Duke University.
Marjorie Dannenfelser
Frank A. Pavone
Frank A. Pavone is one of the most prominent pro-life leaders in the world. Originally from New York, he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1988 by Cardinal John O’Connor and has dedicated his entire life and ministry to ending abortion.
In 1993, he requested and received permission to serve as the National Director of Priests for Life, which, under his leadership, has become the largest Catholic organization focused on ending abortion.
He is also the President of the National Pro-life Religious Council, and the National Pastoral Director of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign and of Rachel’s Vineyard, the world’s largest ministry of healing after abortion. He travels throughout the country, to an average of four states every week, preaching and teaching against abortion. He broadcasts daily to hundreds of thousands of people via his television, radio, and online programs.
Over the past three decades, Pavone has achieved many notable pro-life accomplishments. For example, Mother Teresa asked him to speak in India on life issues. The Vatican appointed him to the Pontifical Academy for Life and the Pontifical Council for the Family to help coordinate the Catholic Church’s pro-life activities.
He served on the Pro-life and Catholic advisory boards of President Trump’s election Campaigns and, in 2020, was National Co-Chair of Pro-life Voices for Trump. He currently serves on former President Trump’s National Faith Advisory Board. He received the “Proudly Pro-life Award” from the National Right to Life Committee and numerous other pro-life awards and honorary doctorates. He is the author of four books: Ending Abortion, Not Just Fighting It; Pro-life Reflections for Every Day; Abolishing Abortion, and Proclaiming the Message of Life. Norma McCorvey, the “Jane Roe” of the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade abortion decision, called Pavone “the catalyst that brought me into the Catholic Church.”
Frank A. Pavone
Tricia Lewis, PhD
Tricia Lewis is a national and international grief care educator and co-founder of the Reproductive Loss Network. Tricia had the privilege of spending many years as an executive director for a pregnancy clinic in Northern California. She now provides biblical grief education to individuals and groups, especially in pregnancy help organizations. Tricia holds a Ph.D. in Counseling and Psychology, with concentrations in trauma, crisis, and grief.
Tricia takes great pleasure in cultivating enduring relationships with individuals, regardless of location. She finds joy in educating, empowering, and inspiring others to contribute to their communities through practical and compassionate care.
Tricia Lewis, PhD
Tanya Flores
Tanya is a certified counselor with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) and is the Director of Client Services + Education at a medical pregnancy clinic outside Sacramento, CA. She leads a team of Reproductive Grief Care Advocates who provide care and support for men and women experiencing loss due to miscarriage, stillbirth, hysterectomy, infertility, and abortion.
Tanya also serves as a lead biblical counselor at her local church. From her extensive years in training and advocacy, she is passionate about sharing her expertise through co-founding the Reproductive Loss Network. She is devoted to increasing awareness and care for reproductive grief throughout churches and community organizations.
Tanya loves to travel and build partnerships wherever possible. She believes everyone can be a helper to those in need and welcomes opportunities to encourage others to share their stories to reveal God’s redemptive power in all things.
Tanya Flores
Matthew Werner, MD
- Medical Director, Choices Women’s Center, Fredericksburg
- Medical Director, Board of Directors, Pregnancy Service Center, Farmville
- Ultrasound reader Fredericksburg, Farmville, and Pregnancy Help Center of Chesterfield
- 35 years of OBG practice: US Air Force, private practice, Intermountain Healthcare (Utah), and Kaiser Permanente (Maryland, Virginia)
Matthew Werner, MD
Susan Bane, MD
Dr. Susan Bane (aka Dr. Pink Glasses) graduated from Atlantic Christian College, now Barton College, in 1987. She has practiced obstetrics and gynecology for 25 years, including in private practice at Greenville Obstetrics and Gynecology and as a clinical professor at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. She is currently the regional medical director for three pregnancy centers in Eastern North Carolina, where she oversees the medical aspects of the centers and sees patients with unintended pregnancies.
Dr. Bane completed a PhD in Kinesiology and her medical degree from the University of Illinois. She holds coaching certifications in health and wellness and emotional intelligence. In 2022, she completed the year-long certificate program in Theology and Health Care at Duke Divinity School.
Dr. Bane serves on the Medical Board for Care Net and the Board of Directors for the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, AAPLOG, serving as the advocacy team leader. Her writing has been published in national press, including Politico, The Daily Signal, the Federalist, and Newsweek. She is one of the co-hosts of AAPLOG’s podcast “Caring for Both: A Curbside Consult.”
Dr. Bane is involved in a variety of community activities, including St. Therese Catholic Church, and participates in autism advocacy work.
Susan Bane, MD
Christina M. Francis, MD
Dr. Christina Francis is a board-certified OB-GYN who currently works as an OB-GYN hospitalist in Fort Wayne, IN. She completed medical school at Indiana University in 2005 and her OB/GYN residency at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2009.
She is CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, an associate scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a board member of Indiana Right to Life, and a physician member of the Abortion Pill Reversal Network.
As a pro-life speaker, Dr. Francis offers her medical expertise, knowledge of bioethics, and pro-life reasoning both here in the U.S. and around the globe. She has always had a passion for human rights, spending a significant portion of her life in various countries working tirelessly on behalf of women and children.
Dr. Francis worked for three years as the only OB/GYN at a mission hospital in rural Kenya until returning to the US in 2014 to work on behalf of women and children, both in the US and internationally, who are often victims of abortion industry. She has written on issues surrounding women’s health and abortion for publications including the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and USA Today.
Christina M. Francis, MD
Sandy Christiansen, MD
Sandy Christiansen is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and a passionate advocate for the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. She completed her medical training at the Medical College of Pennsylvania and is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Dr. Christiansen is the National Medical Director for Care Net, serving their 1200 pregnancy center affiliates nationwide, and is the Medical Director for a local Care Net pregnancy center.
She is also an adjunct professor at Mount St. Mary’s University in the Master’s in Health Administration program. She serves as the Maryland State Representative and the Director of the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Medical Ethics for the Christian Medical and Dental Association.
Dr. Christiansen is a longstanding member of The American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Sandy Christiansen, MD
Jeff Steinberg
He stands 4’6’ tall on wobbly legs; he holds a microphone with a metal hook attached to a myoelectric prosthetic arm; yet he commands the entire stage and fills the auditorium with his “UNIQUE” message: You’re a Masterpiece in Progress!”
Keynote speaker, preacher, humorist/comedian, and singer Jeff IS a Masterpiece in Progress! Born August 18, 1951, with no arms, severely deformed legs, and expectation that he would not survive, Jeff spent his early yeasts in hospitals, including Shriners’ Hospital for Crippled Children in Philadelphia, PA, facing orthopedic surgery, he learned to walk with a brace and was fitter with his fir prosthetic arm. At age nine, he was placed into The Good Shepherd Home for the Physically Handicapped in Allentown, PA, until he was 19.
As a young boy, Jeff learned the truth that would become the foundation of his life: “I am made to be awesome and wonderful!” (Psalm 139:14)
Jeff sees his disabilities as assets, not liabilities. He is living proof that “…the difficult we do right away, the impossible takes a little longer!” He travels the globe with a very special message: that a real handicap is “… anything that keeps me from being or becoming all that I was created to be!” “God uses the least likely person to accomplish extraordinary things in a most unusual way!”
For more than 47 years, he has performed on TV variety shows and telethons. Jeff was co-host of an entertaining and original informative television special called “The Best You Can Be… The Handicapped Hall of Fame.”
Jeff Steinberg
Danielle M. White
Ms. White supports the pregnancy help movement by providing research and advice on trends and various issues impacting Heartbeat International and its affiliates. Her work involves general business, organizational, and nonprofit issues, as well as interfacing with other life-affirming organizations and attorneys.
She is admitted to practice law in the State of Ohio and is a member of the United States Supreme Court bar, where she filed amicus briefs in high-profile First Amendment and abortion-related cases, including NIFLA v. Becerra and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health.
Danielle earned her Juris Doctor degree from Ave Maria School of Law, where she ranked in the top 10 percent of her class and served as a senior editor of the Ave Maria Law Review. She has worked in federal and state courts at the trial and appellate levels. She is a member of the Christian Legal Society and an Allied Attorney with ADF.
Danielle M. White
Rick Renzi, JD
A former Congressman with a track record of advancing pro-life initiatives, Mr. Renzi was an original co-sponsor of life-affirming legislation known as the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 – the first direct national restriction on any method of abortion since Roe v. Wade.
He also authored a bill that significantly increased benefits for our military personnel, including more than tripling the death benefit for military personnel killed in the line of duty. As the patriotic son of a 2-star general, Mr. Renzi was honored to be a part of this legislation and was nationally recognized by President Bush. While working on the House Intelligence Committee, Mr. Renzi also sponsored an amendment disallowing NSA’s surveillance of American citizens who do not present “a national security threat and imminent danger,” narrowing the previous language that allowed sweeping use of government surveillance activities in violation of citizens’ rights.
Prior to winning his seat in Congress Mr. Renzi worked on Capitol Hill and received his Juris Doctorate from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law with a specialty in Law and Public Policy.