Speakers

Thomas A. Glessner is the founder and President of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), a public interest law firm founded in 1993 and committed to legal counsel and training for pregnancy centers.

Mr. Glessner graduated from the University of Washington, School of Law in Seattle in 1977 and practiced law in the Seattle area for ten years. As a practicing attorney, he used his legal skills to represent and counsel prolife organizations, including pregnancy centers. He founded and led four pregnancy centers in Seattle, Washington from 1981 to 1987.

Mr. Glessner was the president and CEO of the Christian Action Council (now Care Net) from 1987 to 1992, establishing legal guidelines and programs for the training of hundreds of Board members and directors of pregnancy centers throughout the nation. Currently, Mr. Glessner is on the Board of Directors for Washington State Family Policy Institute and the Board of Directors for the National Religious Pro-Life Coalition.

As the founder and CEO of NIFLA, Mr. Glessner has developed and implemented legal guidelines for pregnancy centers to enable them to convert their operations into licensed medical clinics and provide medical services, such as ultrasound.

Mr. Glessner is listed in Who’s Who in American Law and is the author of Achieving an Abortion Free America (Multnomah Publishing 1990), Destiny’s Team: A Story About Love, Choices and Eternity (Anomalos Publishing 2007), a novel, The Emerging Brave New World (Anomalos Publishing 2008), a nonfiction work, and Created Equal: Reflections on the Unalienable Right to Life (Page Publishing, 2016). He is also the author of an article published by the Law Review for the Regent University School of Law entitled, “Curbing Raw Judicial Power: A Proposal For A Checks and Balances Amendment.”

Mr. Glessner is a member of the bar associations for the United States Supreme Court, the State of Virginia and the State of Washington. As such, he has filed several “friend of the court” briefs in cases of major significance to the prolife movement in the United States Supreme Court

Anne O’Connor has been with the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) since 1993. She served as NIFLA’s General Counsel until she joined the staff full-time as the Vice President of Legal Affairs in April 2013. During her decades with NIFLA, Ms. O’Connor has been responsible for writing the monthly NIFLA Legal Tips (now numbering more than 280 editions), performing more than 800 Legal Audits and consulting with hundreds of centers about the medical clinic conversion process. She currently teaches at board trainings, conference workshops, webinars and at NIFLA’s Institute of Limited Obstetric Ultrasound course. She also has written and/or updated many of NIFLA’s publications, including the Legal Primer, the Medical Clinic Conversion Manual, the Medical Policies & Procedures, the Basic Operational Policies & Procedures, the Employment Handbook, and the HIPAA Voluntary Compliance Manual. She has appeared on or been published in such media outlets as Associated Press, CBN News, Washington Times, The Daily Signal, The Hill, and the American Bar Association Journal.

Ms. O’Connor is a 1987 graduate of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California, where she was inducted into the Order of the Coif, an honorary scholastic society the purpose of which is to encourage excellence in legal education. She spent her first year of law school at Georgetown Law School where she was named on the Dean’s List. In 1983, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in History from Rutgers College, New Jersey, where she was admitted to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which invites for induction the most outstanding arts and sciences students at America’s leading colleges and universities.

Admitted to the Bars of the State of California and the State of New Jersey, as well at the U.S. District Court, California Central District, and the United States Supreme Court, Ms. O’Connor has been involved in multiple cases related to the civil rights of the unborn and protection of pregnancy centers. She has assisted in the preparation of several Amicus Briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and other courts on pro-life matters. In the past she has represented numerous individuals exercising their first amendment rights outside of abortion clinics. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Ms. O’Connor was the Executive Director of the Right to Life League of Southern California, which operated 24 pregnancy resource centers, and assisted many of them to become licensed medical clinics. Most recently, Ms. O’Connor served on the legal team that successfully challenged the constitutionality of a California law forcing pregnancy centers to advertise for abortion, NIFLA v. Becerra, 138 S.Ct. 2361 (2018).

Dotsy Davis, BSRT, RDMS, RVT, 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. Dotsy’s heart is to serve in this Ministry for His purposes and His glory.

Dr. Kremkau is Professor of Radiologic Sciences at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He holds degrees in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University and the University of Rochester.

He is a Past President of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and holds fellowship in multiple organizations. He authors the textbook, Sonography Principles and Instruments, which is in its 10th edition. He is currently in his 50th year in academic medicine and in his 18th year of part-time transition to retirement.

Kim Bloom, RDMS, has over 40 years of experience in the field of sonography, working in medical centers, and as a college professor, coordinator, and program director.
She has served at a local pregnancy medical center as a client advocate, sonographer and trainer.
Kim has worked as a sonographer on a mobile pregnancy unit.

Angie Thomas, JD serves as Staff Attorney for National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA). She is also the Associate Director for Louisiana Right to Life, specializing in development, legislative advocacy, and education about life issues. Prior to these positions, she served as CEO of the 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 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 trainings, and legal audits. She is passionate about helping pregnancy centers develop holistic, sustainable models and about implementing new programs in building a culture of life.

She was trained through the Blackstone Fellowship, an intensive training in Christian worldview principles and how they apply to the study and interpretation of law. She worked for Americans United for Life and Bioethics Defense Fund during and following law school.

Angie is a graduate of the Manship School of Mass Communications at Louisiana State University (B.A. 2001, magna cum laude) and Loyola Law School (J.D. 2004, cum laude). She lives in New Orleans with her husband and four daughters.

QUOTE FROM ANGIE THOMAS

I began my journey in the pregnancy help movement while in law school. While I always knew the importance of law and policy in the abortion battle, I very quickly fell in love with the social service side of the battle: loving and saving one life at a time.

In my role as CEO of Woman’s New Life Clinic over the past twenty years, I have learned so much about all aspects of this battle. It is an honor to offer all I have learned as both a pregnancy center director and lawyer to the great work of NIFLA, and to continue to learn even more as we journey to an abortion-free America.

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.

Audrey Stout, RN, RDMS, Vice President of Medical Services with NIFLA, has been involved in pregnancy centers since 1987. While serving with pregnancy centers in Georgia and Oregon, her responsibilities included development of curriculum for post-abortive women, peer advocacy, speaking on life issues in schools and churches, board member, Nurse Manager, and facilitating their conversion to medical clinics. Cobb Pregnancy Services in Marietta, Georgia, where Audrey served on the Board of Directors, was among the earliest pregnancy centers to convert to a medical clinic and offer sonograms. She was a sonographer in OB/GYN clinics with experience in high risk sonography.

As an instructor for NIFLA’s Institute in Limited Obstetrical Ultrasound team since 2000, she challenges those who scan to continually pursue excellence in knowledge, skills, and service. Audrey has been involved with the development and updating of NIFLA publications, including the course manual, Policy and Procedure manual, and writes NIFLA’s monthly Clinic Tips.

Audrey has a passion for utilizing ultrasound as a life-affirming tool in pregnancy medical clinics where women are introduced to their unborn babies. While providing critical information for pregnancy decisions, Audrey has traveled to more than 100 pregnancy centers. She has taught, trained, and assessed skills of medical professionals in OB sonography across the US and in Ukraine. In 2011, Audrey co-founded SoundView Imaging Partners, a group of OB/GYN sonographers providing hands on training, skills assessments, and continuing education webinars for pregnancy centers. She worked as a consultant with Focus on the Family’s Option Ultrasound Program, and IMPACT Association, and has presented numerous workshops on OB sonography, medical personnel and medical services at NIFLA, Care Net and Heartbeat’s national conferences.

Audrey has both lobbied and presented professional testimony to legislative committees in both Georgia and Oregon regarding the value of ultrasound for pregnant women and the work of pregnancy centers

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.

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.

SANDY CHRISTIANSEN, MD, FACOG is an advocate for the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death, and for medical professional’s right to practice according to principles of conscience.

She completed her internship and residency training in obstetrics & gynecology in 1990 at the Hospital of the Medical College of Pennsylvania and subsequently obtained her board certification becoming a Diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists.

She currently serves as the National Medical Consultant to Care Net, and is the medical director and staff physician of a medical pregnancy center in Frederick, MD. She is a member of the Christian Medical Association (CMDA), and the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians & Gynecologists. She serves as the Maryland State Representative to the CMDA and is the co-director of the Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Medical Ethics.

Dr. Christiansen is an author and speaker on the topics of abortion, Hippocratic medicine, and unplanned pregnancy, addressing a variety of forums including the United Nations, the President’s Council on Bioethics, and legislative bodies as well as providing commentary to numerous national media outlets.

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.

Shantae Rodriguez has practiced clinically for 16 years in fields of Emergency Medicine, Women’s Health, and Family Medicine in a variety of capacities, including Physician Assistant, Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner and Chaplain.

Over the past decade, she has worked alongside multiple nonprofit organizations nationally and internationally serving adult and pediatric victims and survivors of trauma, domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.

Shantae is presently the volunteer Director of Women’s Health for New Life Community Health Center and serves as the Director of Medical Services for Soundview Pregnancy Services.

Speaker for Life is a training firm dedicated to equipping pro-life advocates nationwide with public speaking skills.

He has spoken at nearly every major pro-life convention in the nation and is in demand as a banquet keynoter.

He is the former Director of Speech and Debate at the University of California at Irvine and is retired from teaching in the doctoral program in the School of Communication and the Arts at Regent University.

He has trained speakers in the public and private sectors for over thirty years. He is the author of Contenders: A Church-wide Strategy to Unmask Abortion, Defeat Its Advocates, Empower Christians, and Change the World. He has appeared on Fox News and in Time magazine.

Moira Gaul is an associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute where she works on pregnancy center studies and women’s health-related issues.

With a background in pregnancy center work, Moira first developed a passion for the outreach in the role of client services director at an early medical pregnancy center in Charlottesville, Virginia. She has also served as a volunteer and board member of a pregnancy center in Washington, D.C. More recently, she has been a center director for services located within an urban-based rescue mission clinic and at a satellite based out of a public university’s student medical services in Pennsylvania.

In addition to her tenure at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, Moira’s policy and advocacy experience includes serving as fellow and director of women’s and reproductive health at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. She has authored publications on a variety of women’s and children’s health and sanctity of life topics, including having co-authored two in-depth national reports on pro-life pregnancy help centers. She has testified before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Public Health Association conferees, state legislatures, and public-school boards.

Moira received bachelor’s degrees in biology and dance from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a master’s in public health (with an emphasis in maternal and child health) from the George Washington University.

A graduate of Princeton University and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Roland is an inspirational servant leader with a heart for Christ and a mind for business.

After 20 years in the corporate world (with IBM, Pepsi, and Goldman Sachs), Roland spent 11 years as president of National Fatherhood Initiative before joining Care Net in 2012 as president and CEO.

Roland is the author of two books: Bad Dads of the Bible: 8 Mistakes Every Good Dad Can Avoid, a fresh look at how some of the most revered men of the Bible made some major fathering mistakes that all dads can learn from; and Raising Sons of Promise: A Guide for Single Mothers of Boys, which draws on his life experience as a boy raised in a single-mother home to provide actionable advice and counsel for single mothers and those who seek to help them.

Ms. Christensen advances SBA Pro-Life America’s major policy goals across the federal government. This includes advocating for key pro-life policies in the Executive branch as well as the House and Senate.
Autumn has 15 years of Capitol Hill experience with domestic and global health issues.
Prior to joining the SBA Pro-Life America team, Autumn served as Director of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus in the House of Representatives for over a decade. In this role, she developed pro-life strategies for Members of Congress, and assisted Members, Committees and House Leadership in advancing pro-life legislation.
She played a key role assisting Members of Congress in developing and advancing priority pro-life legislation including the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” and the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.”
Autumn also has extensive experience analyzing major health care legislation and assessing the impact on pro-life policies.
Autumn graduated from Covenant College of Lookout Mountain, Georgia with degrees in Business and History.

Kristen K. Waggoner joined ADF in 2013• As the CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, Kristen Waggoner leads the faith-based legal organization in protecting fundamental freedoms and promoting the inherent dignity of all people throughout the U.S. and around the world.

Waggoner oversees the efforts of more than 400 ADF team members in seven global offices as well as 4,600 network attorneys engaged in litigation, legislation, training, funding, and public advocacy. ADF also provides legal resources to nearly 4,000 churches and ministries through its Ministry Alliance program and defends the persecuted church in dozens of countries. Since 2011, ADF has won 14 cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, including serving on Mississippi’s legal team in the case that overturned Roe v. Wade. Waggoner successfully argued two of those cases, and argued her third case before the Supreme Court in December 2022.

Internationally, ADF has a strong track record of success at the European Court of Human Rights, United Nations, and other leading international courts and tribunals. It has also successfully secured the release of hundreds of imprisoned Christians around the world. After clerking with Washington Supreme Court Justice Richard B. Sanders, Waggoner joined Seattle law firm Ellis, Li & McKinstry, where she served for over 16 years. At ELM, she served as counsel in hundreds of matters including constitutional cases. Waggoner is Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent™ in Martindale-Hubbell. She is a sought-after speaker on legal and cultural issues and regularly comments on religious freedom issues in television, radio, and print media.

Mischa Long, RN, BSN, currently serves as the Director of Nursing at LifeChoices Health Network in Joplin, Missouri. She oversees the Ultrasound and STI medical services provided at the 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 training – 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.

Founder of Learning Is Created, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Missy has the desire to impact God’s kingdom every day. God has blessed her with a Doctorate in Advanced Clinical Pastoral Psychology, a Master’s in Instructional Systems with a focus on Online Learning, A Master of Divinity with a focus on Biblical Studies and certified in Health Care Privacy and Security. God opened a door for ministry at Missy’s local pregnancy center. She began serving about the time the pregnancy center expanded its services to include low-cost STI testing. Learning and experiencing the battle, she wondered how other pregnancy centers not as strongly supported meet the incredible demands of training.
Missy discovered how pregnancy centers meet the demands of training and felt led to found Learning Is Created to come alongside and serve pregnancy centers. Learning is Created sets out to help you meet the demands of training in an affordable manner as a blessing to you and, ultimately, your clients; that is my heart. Missy hopes to help equip employees and volunteers so they impact the kingdom of God by sharing the Gospel and loving clients well.

For the past 15 years, Heidi has worked at Vida Medical Clinic & Support Services, located in Appleton, Wisconsin. She served as the nurse manager for our medical services, working with an incredible team of five nurses, one nurse practitioner and a medical director.

In collaboration with the medical leadership, Heidi implemented a STI and Well Woman program, and worked to expand services over the last 10 years. She works with community engagement activities. Prior to Vida, Heidi worked in cardiovascular patient care and education as well as allergy and asthma clinic patient care

Andy stepped into his present position early in 2017 after working as a Special Counsel with the Thomas More Society since 2013.
He has been active in the pro-life movement for over 30 years and was the Chairman of the Board of the Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee when he practiced law in Milwaukee. He has served on numerous other non-profit and for-profit boards and is a member of the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society.
Prior to joining the Thomas More Society, he served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel with Boys Town, the world-famous organization founded by Fr. Edward J. Flanagan to work with at-risk youth. Andy currently serves on the board of directors for the Catholic Bar Association.
Andy has consulted on many nationally significant cases in recent years involving issues of life and religious freedom. While in private practice, he concentrated on civil litigation and corporate law. He earned his Juris Doctor degree at Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after earning a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Melinda has worked within the pro-life ministry since 2016, specifically for Hope Women’s Center in McKinney, Texas. Although her role began as Nurse Manager, it has transitioned over time to Director of Nursing, then Director of Clinical Operations, and now Compliance.
Although God is currently in the process of moving her to Florida, she is blessed to be able to remain involved with Hope, offering nursing and administrative support as needed.
I graduated with a BSN from Texas Women’s University, Dallas, Texas. My background and training include pediatric cardiac ICU, pediatric pre-op and post-op, women’s health, limited obstetric ultrasound and medical administration.