Kristin Kobes Du Mez is a New York Times bestselling author and Professor of History and Gender Studies at Calvin University. She holds a PhD from the University of Notre Dame and her research focuses on the intersection of gender, religion, and politics. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Religion News Service, andChristianity Today, and has been interviewed on NPR, CBS, and the BBC, among other outlets. Her most recent book is Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation.

Rachael Denhollander is an attorney, author, advocate, and educator who is recognized as a leading voice on the topic of sexual abuse. Possessing a unique blend of professional skills, personal experiences, and dynamic communication style, she is a sought-after media commentator, speaker, and consultant. Her grasp of legal issues, corporate ethics, effective leadership strategies, and investigative practices are coupled with a trauma-informed, deeply compassionate understanding of the realities facing survivors of sexual abuse and their path toward healing. Bridging the gap between survivors and the society and institutions that may have failed them, Rachael forces audiences to ask the question, “What is a girl or boy worth?” while equipping them with the tools to answer, “Everything.” She is the author of What Is A Girl Worth?

Cait West is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Newsweek, Fourth Genre, and Hawai‘i Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and cohosts the podcast Survivors Discuss. She is the author of Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy.

Filmmaker Carl Byker has won the Primetime Emmy for best non-fiction series of the year, the Peabody award, the Du Pont silver baton, the Producers’ Guild of America’s “Kodak Vision Award,” and the Investigative Reporters and Editors “IRE” award for best multi-platform project with Frontline, NPR and Pro-Publica.  Carl’s film, “The Slave Raider” was sent out world-wide by the Nobel Peace Prize committee at the same time as its announcement that Kailash Satyarthi was the winner of the Peace Prize. Carl’s scripts for his films have received six nominations from the Writers’ Guild of America for best non-fiction television script and he has won the award twice.

Named as one of the “top 10 religion newsmakers” of 2022, Christa Brown has persisted for two decades in working to peel back the truth about clergy sex abuse and coverups in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. She was one of the first to go public with substantiated child sex abuse allegations against a Baptist minister, along with documentation that others knew, and she has consistently demanded reforms to make other kids and congregants safer. She’s a retired appellate attorney, a mom, and a grandma. And she’s the author of the new book, Baptistland: A Memoir of Abuse, Betrayal, and Transformation. 

Tiffany Thigpen is a dedicated mother, realtor, and passionate advocate for reform and basic human rights. Raised within the Southern Baptist Convention and driven by her own experiences as a survivor as a teen, Tiffany began her public quest in 2007. She has used her voice and personal experience to expose the abuse and lack of accountability within religious communities.

She has since been featured in numerous publications and news outlets, authored blogs, has been featured in podcasts, and is actively engaged on social media platforms to prevent others from facing similar trauma and raising alarms. She was also involved in advocating for a historic independent investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention’s handling of abuse. Her advocacy highlights the vulnerability of individuals within religious communities, where the emphasis on quick forgiveness and hypocrisy of church reputation often overshadows the need for accountability. Through her tireless efforts, Tiffany continues to stand in the gap, demanding justice and change for survivors of abuse, hoping to encourage them along the way.

In 2018, after sharing online, her personal experience of sexual assault and the cover-up that followed, Jules' story made international news when her abuser, then pastor of a mega church, received a standing ovation after acknowledging her experience. Since that time, Jules has become a nationally recognized advocate for sexual abuse victims in the church. Dubbed "the face of the #churchtoo movement" and "one of 10 women who are changing the Southern Baptist response to abuse" Jules' advocacy has been a driving force in reforming the church's institutional response to sexual abuse. Her big smile, authentic energy and 'can do' attitude serve as an inspiration to others as she passionately pursues supporting other survivors as they navigate their own healing journeys while raising awareness to the sexual abuse crisis in America and educating others regarding the trauma caused by sexual abuse. Jules is a mother to three amazing girls. She lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

Leonard J. Vander Zee is gratefully married to Jeanne Logan, father of three grown daughters and a son, and grandfather of 14. He is a retired pastor who has served congregations in New York, Iowa. Indiana, and Michigan, and author of “Christ, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper: Recovering the Sacraments for Evangelical Worship.”  He presently serves as a  Interim Pastor at the Church of the Servant in Grand Rapids Michigan.