2023 Legal & Public Policy Conference

Nathan “Nate” A. Adams, IV is a partner with the international law firm Holland & Knight, LLP and chairs its Religious Institution Practice Group.  He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Florida, J.D. from the University of Texas, and B.A. from Wheaton College.  Nathan speaks, writes and publishes extensively.  He is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, most federal appellate courts, and all state courts in Colorado, the District of Columbia and Florida. He chairs the Florida Bar Education Law Committee and is recognized as among The Best Lawyers in America.

Gregory S. Baylor serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is the director of the Center for Religious Schools and Senior Counsel for Government Affairs.

Since joining ADF in 2009, Baylor has focused on defending and advancing the religious freedom of faith-based educational institutions through advice, education, legislative and public advocacy, and representation in disputes. He has testified about religious liberty issues three times before congressional committees.

Greg regularly comments on religious liberty and higher education issues in television, radio, and print media, including The New York Times, Christianity Today, National Public Radio, and network and cable news programs. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors for the Museum of the Bible and the International Alliance for Christian Education.

Greg earned his Juris Doctor in 1990 from Duke University School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif, with high honors, and served on the editorial board of the Duke Law Journal. He received his bachelor’s degree in Honors English in 1987 from Dartmouth College. Following graduation from law school, he served as law clerk to the Hon. Jerry E. Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He practiced labor and employment law at two large international law firms for three years before joining the staff of Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom, where he served for 15 years prior to joining ADF. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife (a medical doctor) and two daughters.

Mr. Begakis is an associate at Consovoy McCarthy PLLC where he assists clients with litigation, appellate, and regulatory matters that encompass constitutional, administrative, and commercial law. Before joining the firm, he was appointed to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division as a Policy Advisor. He is a former law clerk to Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and Judge Margaret Ryan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Barry H. Corey is the eighth president of Biola University. A native of New England, Corey previously served as dean of the faculty and vice president for education at Gordon‐Conwell Theological Seminary as well as its vice president for development. He received his B.A. in English and biblical studies from Evangel University and his M.A. in American studies and Ph.D. in education from Boston College. Corey is the author of the books Make the Most of It: A Guide to Loving Your College Years (Tyndale, 2020) and Love Kindness: Discover the Power of a Forgotten Christian Virtue (Tyndale, 2016). He currently serves on the boards of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the Museum of the Bible, and Christianbook International Outreach. He and his wife, Paula, have three children: Anders — who is married to Ashley — Ella and Samuel.

Dr. Brent Ellis has served as the President of Spring Arbor University in Michigan since 2013 and has over 30 years of leadership experience in Christian higher education. During his presidency, Dr. Ellis has focused on the uniqueness of an SAU education that identifies Christ as the perspective for learning while advancing the uncompromising mission of educating for Christ and His Kingdom. His greatest passion is helping individuals live out who God created them to be and sending them into the world as ambassadors of Christ’s message of redemption and reconciliation.

Dr. Ellis has placed Spring Arbor University on state, federal, and global maps through his volunteer and elected participation in several organizations, including the NAIA, the NAIA Council of Presidents, the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, the Association of Free Methodist Educational Institutions, and his upcoming delegation to the 4th Lausanne Congress in Seoul, South Korea. Dr. Ellis has also made several presentations at national conferences, published articles in nationally recognized journals, and authored the book Grace and Truth.

Dr. Ellis and his wife, Christy, have three children: Charlie, Lainey, and Joey. Dr. Ellis holds a doctorate in higher education administration from Indiana University, a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary, a master’s degree in ministry from Bethel College, and a bachelor’s degree in pastoral ministry from Greenville College.

Josh is a member of the BYU Office of General Counsel, and currently serves as primary legal counsel for BYU-Idaho.  He received a B.A. in English Language from Brigham Young University and a J.D. from The University of Notre Dame Law School. He also holds an Master’s of Religion in Contemporary Society from King’s College London. Prior to working for BYU, he clerked for Judge Clark Waddoups of the United States District Court for the District of Utah and was an associate in the First Amendment and Religious Organizations Practice Group at Kirton McConkie in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Gary Friesen has served as General Counsel/Assistant Corporate Secretary for The Christian and Missionary Alliance since 2014 and most recently as Vice President/General Counsel. Formerly he served in various roles at Peacemaker Ministries, including Acting CEO, Executive Vice President, and Conciliation Director. He graduated from George Fox University and Willamette University College of Law, after which he practiced law in Oregon for eight years and led the church-based reconciliation ministry at Salem Alliance Church. Gary recently completed his PhD studies. Gary loves to teach, and has taught and consulted with Christian leaders across the globe. Primarily, he is passionate about seeing people everywhere experience the redemptive power of the gospel in their relationships, beginning with himself, his wife, and their four children.

Jim Gash began his term as the eighth president and chief executive officer of Pepperdine University on August 1, 2019. The first alumnus to lead Pepperdine as president, Gash has served the University in a professional capacity since 1999. Prior to assuming the presidency, he was the associate dean for strategic planning and external relations at the Pepperdine School of Law, where he provided operational oversight for many signature development initiatives. From 2005-12, he served as the law school’s first dean of students, focusing on enhancing the academic, social, and spiritual life of law students.

Gash holds a bachelor’s degree in finance (summa cum laude) from Abilene Christian University and a juris doctor degree from the Pepperdine School of Law, where he finished first in his class and served as the editor in chief of the Pepperdine Law Review.

He has been married to Joline Gash for 32 years, and together they have three children — Jessica, Joshua, and Jennifer.

Donelle Harder is a senior vice president at Pinkston, where she leads high-profile accounts that are impacting public policy and shaping the future of higher education, financial services, health care and other sectors.

Harder’s clients appear as thought leaders in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the Economist, FOX News, MSNBC, and more. Her strategic communications plans have allowed clients to successfully overcome complex public dialogue and influence policy objectives at the highest levels of Washington, D.C.

Prior to Pinkston, Donelle founded and led her own strategic communications consulting business in the Midwest that had billed $1 million in client services and employed six individuals over the course of 20 months until its acquisition.  She also previously served as one of four direct reports to Governor Kevin Stitt in the role as Senior Advisor to the Governor’s 15-person cabinet and more than 12 state agencies comprised of more than 9,000 individuals and $12 billion in expenditures. Harder first worked with Stitt as an advisor on his historic gubernatorial campaign that launched in Oct. 2017, and she continues to advise for him today.

Harder accrued additional senior leadership experience in Washington, D.C. in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. Harder is a proud graduate of Baylor University, and she and her family share their time between Oklahoma City and Washington, D.C.

Dr. David A. Hoag serves as the President of Warner University in Lake Wales, Florida. Dr. Hoag has 36 years of leadership experience in Christian higher education.

Dr. Hoag holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Saint Louis University, a Master of Science in Education with an emphasis in Sports Administration from the University of Kentucky, and a Bachelor of Science in Education with an emphasis in Physical Education from Asbury University.

Dr. Hoag serves in a variety of volunteer roles helping position Warner at the state and national levels: At the state level, he is the Chair of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida and president of The Sun Conference (NAIA).  At the national level, Dr. Hoag serves on the Executive Committee of the Council of Presidents for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and he is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges & University’s board of directors.

Shirley Hoogstra became the seventh president of the CCCU in September 2014. In this role, Hoogstra combines her zeal for the rule of law and her passion for Christian higher education as she promotes the value and purpose of high quality, Christ-centered liberal arts education that shapes students who love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind. Prior to the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, Hoogstra served for 15 years as vice president for student life at her alma mater, Calvin University, and spent more than a decade practicing law as a partner at a firm specializing in litigation in New Haven, Connecticut.

Ryan June is a Partner with Castañeda + Heidelman LLP, a boutique firm with a national presence serving nonprofits and companies. Ryan’s practice focuses on trademark, copyright, dispute resolution/litigation, and investigations. Prior to joining C+H, Ryan was Assistant General Counsel for Moody Bible Institute, where he served Moody’s undergraduate and graduate schools, as well as its media divisions Moody Publishers and Moody Radio. There, Ryan’s experience included oversight of and counseling on IP licensing, expansion, and enforcement for the institution’s IP assets, including the NYT bestselling book The 5 Love Languages®, by Dr. Gary Chapman. Prior to his time at Moody, Ryan practiced in the general commercial litigation and investigations group of Winston & Strawn LLP in Chicago. Ryan received his B.A. in Political Science and Business/Economics from Wheaton College and his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Terry M. Kollmorgen is a partner in the law firm of Moyers Martin, LLP where he has been practicing law since 1989. Mr. Kollmorgen received his Bachelor of Business Administration – Finance Degree with highest honors from the University of Oklahoma in 1986.  He graduated with highest honors from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1989.  Mr. Kollmorgen regularly authors of articles for and speaker at national labor and employment seminars. Mr. Kollmorgen serves as General Counsel for Oral Roberts University.  

The Chair of Thompson Coburn LLP’s Higher Education Practice, Aaron has over two decades of experience assisting institutions to navigate complex legal and policy matters.  He and his colleagues are valued for their deep understanding of the postsecondary regulatory framework, including requirements relating to the federal financial aid programs, accreditation, and state authorization.  The host of Thompson Coburn’s popular Higher Education Webinar Series, and editorial director of REGucation, the firm’s higher education law and policy blog, Aaron is a frequent writer and speaker on topics relating to higher education policy and regulation.  He currently resides in Saint Louis, Missouri, with his wife and three kids, the world’s greatest dog, and six rowdy chickens.

Rick is a professor at Talbot School of Theology and the Director of the Office of Faith and Learning at Biola University and co-director of the Winsome Conviction Project. He has authored three books and has published numerous academic journal articles applying theology to a wide variety of disciplines including business leadership, disability, suffering, bioethics, and vocation. He served as a pastor of a large evangelical church for 20 years before joining the faculty of Biola University. He has served on many boards and other leadership roles that have given him wide-ranging experience in conflict resolution with Christian churches, boards, universities and organizations.  He has also worked with the national organization Braver Angels, moderating workshops that bring together right and left-leaning citizens to discuss their conflicting political convictions. 

Joe Moore is Chief Marketing Communications Officer at Wheaton College, where he has served since 2018. He has been a higher education communications professional for more than two decades, overseeing a variety of reputation crises and enrollment marketing initiatives. A journalist directly out of college, he was recruited after two years to be the Director of Media Relations for the University of Missouri System. He later worked as Director of Media Relations for Saint Xavier University in Chicago. He was most recently Vice President for Marketing and Communications at College of DuPage, a public community college of more than 22,000 students located in the western suburbs of Chicago. He received his Bachelor’s in English from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his Master’s of Business Administration from Saint Xavier University.

Tim Muehlhoff (Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is a Professor of Communication at Biola University in La Mirada, California where he teaches classes in conflict resolution, apologetics, gender, and family communication.  He is co-director of Biola’s Winsome Conviction Project that seeks to reintroduce compassion and civility into our disagreements.  He’s the co-host of the Winsome Conviction Podcast where people with differing viewpoints are brought on for engaging dialogue.  For more, check out Winsome Conviction Project.

Tim has written extensively in the area of cultural engagement and conflict resolution including Winsome Conviction: Disagreeing without Dividing the Church and Winsome Persuasion: Christian Influence in a Post Christian World (with Biola professor Rick Langer) each having received a merit award from Christianity Today’s Book of the Year Awards. Tim’s newest book is Eyes to See: Recognizing God’s Common Grace in an Unsettled World (IVP).

Kathryn Nash is a Partner at the law firm of Lathrop GPM, where she serves as Chair of its Labor, Employment & Higher Education Practice Group, and is co-founder of trainED, a provider of higher education trainings and compliance services. Kathryn advises colleges and universities on various employment and higher education issues, including Title VII, Title IX, Clery, VAWA, and FERPA, and is a leading voice on matters pertaining to sexual misconduct and harassment. Kathryn and her trainED team have conducted hundreds of sexual misconduct trainings, investigations, adjudications, and appeals, and they regularly revise institutional policies.

William A. Pierce is the senior director of APCO Worldwide and specializes in providing strategic advice and counsel, tactical execution, and representation. He helps clients develop strategies and tactics that combine media relations, policy, advocacy, and alliances in campaigns to achieve definable objectives. Areas of expertise include health care reform, policy development, the FDA regulatory process, the CDC, and NIH, and First Amendment protection issues and disability rights. His work includes media relations, policy development, issues advocacy, message development, coalition and third-party development and management. He also provides crisis communications counsel and support as well as media, presentation, and speech training.

Before joining APCO Worldwide, Bill served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Director of Public Affairs at Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), and worked as a Press Secretary for multiple members of Congress. Bill earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and English and a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Pittsburgh. In 1998, he also earned the designation of Professional from the Academy for Healthcare Management.

Eric Rassbach is Vice President and Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, where he has served since 2004. He has led or been a part of Becket litigation teams in each of Becket’s pathbreaking victories at the United States Supreme Court, including Hosanna-Tabor, Hobby Lobby, Holt v. Hobbs, Zubik v. Burwell, Agudath Israel of America v. Cuomo, and Fulton v. Philadelphia. In 2020, Eric argued Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru to the Supreme Court, garnering a 7-2 win for his Catholic school clients.

Eric frequently comments on church-state issues in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and other major press outlets. He has published legal scholarship in the Harvard Law Review Forum, Tennessee Law Review, the Illinois Law Review, the Cato Supreme Court Review, and other legal journals, and often speaks to law school audiences.

Before joining Becket, Eric worked at Baker Botts LLP in Houston, where he worked in international project finance. He also served as a law clerk to United States District Court Judge Lee Rosenthal in Houston, Texas.

Eric graduated from Haverford College with a degree in Comparative Literature, is a member of Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, and is a graduate of Harvard Law School. Eric was a 2012-2013 Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow at Harvard Law School.

He is currently a Visiting Professor and the inaugural Executive Director of The Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation Religious Liberty Clinic at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law in Malibu.

Kit Riehl is an Associate General Counsel for Baylor University. He received his J.D. from Baylor University School of Law. Kit has served in the Office of General Counsel at Baylor for more than 20 years during which time he has provided legal advice and support for all aspects of research at the university from sponsored research to intellectual property protection to technology commercialization. His other areas of responsibility include trademark protection and licensing. Prior to coming to Baylor, Kit was a litigator in private practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico for 10 years.

Leo Santiago was born in Germany but raised in San Diego. He attended University of San Diego for undergrad and graduated in 1994 with a B.A. in Philosophy. He then taught High School Social Sciences for 19 years in the Grossmont District in San Diego County from 1996 to 2015. Leo graduated Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2012 and passed the California State Bar in the same year. He practiced family law, federal security clearance appeals, and personal injury law for a few years and transitioned to the Erickson Law Firm in 2017 where he served as outside counsel for K-12 districts, Community College districts, and several CSU institutions across California. Leo became General Counsel for Point Loma Nazarene University in September 2022.

Dwight Schettler serves as President of Ambassadors of Reconciliation and the Institute for Christian Conciliation.  He joined the staff of Ambassadors of Reconciliation in February 2014 as Vice President for Advancement.  He also served on AoR’s Board of Directors.  Prior to joining Ambassadors, Dwight served four years as Director of Training & Certification for Peacemaker Ministries.  He provides reconciliation services and teaches reconciliation training events around the world. Dwight was introduced to Christian conciliation as a party in a conflict where Ambassadors of Reconciliation led an intervention in his home church. He credits that experience as a turning point in his life.

Bryan Seiler is the General Counsel at Wheaton College (Illinois), an interdenominational Christian liberal arts institution with approximately 3,000 students and over 800 employees. In addition to his role as in-house legal counsel, Bryan serves as the Assistant Secretary to Wheaton’s Board of Trustees and oversees the risk management function. Prior to joining Wheaton College, Bryan was a Staff Attorney in The Salvation Army Central Territory’s Legal Department, where he managed the Legacy Administration Team and later oversaw the organization’s employment, labor, and immigration law matters. Bryan began his legal career as an associate attorney with the Minnesota law firm Gray Plant Mooty, where he was a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group and Higher Education Team. Bryan is a graduate of Wheaton College (B.A., cum laude) and the University of Minnesota (J.D. & M.P.P., magna cum laude), where he served as Symposium Editor of the Minnesota Law Review.

Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., is the Dean of Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and Scholar in Residence & Teaching Pastor at Mariners Church. He has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches; trained pastors and church planters on six continents; earned two master’s degrees and two doctorates; and he has written hundreds of articles and a dozen books. He is Regional Director for Lausanne North America, is the Editor-in-Chief of Outreach Magazine, and regularly writes for news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. 

His national radio show, Ed Stetzer Live, airs Saturdays on Moody Radio and affiliates.

Ben Thomas is a Christian, a non-cradle Catholic, husband to Karen, and father to four (going on five) young children.

He is a partner in the Dallas office of Reid Collins & Tsai LLP, a boutique trial firm that prosecutes a wide range of complex commercial matters in federal and state courts across the country, including financial fraud actions, Ponzi scheme-related cases, cross-border disputes, and professional-liability matters.

Before joining Reid Collins, Ben clerked for the Honorable Sidney A. Fitzwater of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas and the Honorable Edith Brown Clement of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He received a B.A., summa cum laude, from Baylor University, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

As Provost at Calvin University, Noah Toly supervises both academic programs and the athletic department. Before joining Calvin in 2021, he was founder and Executive Director of the Center for Urban Engagement at Wheaton College, where he also served as Professor of Urban Studies and Politics & International Relations. In addition to an M.A. and Ph.D. in Urban Affairs & Public Policy, he holds an M.A. in Theology. He has served as Lecturer at the Free University of Berlin’s Center for Global Politics, Senior Fellow for Global Cities at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Senior Fellow at the University of Chicago’s Martin Marty Center for the Public Understanding of Religion, and Visiting Scholar at Duke Divinity School, where he serves on the steering committee of the Traditioned Innovation Project.

Dr. Calvin L. Troup is Geneva College’s twentieth President since its founding in 1848. He took office in 2016.

Prior to his installation as President Dr. Troup served the for many years as a member on College’s Board of Corporators and Board of Trustees. His professional service in higher education included Duquesne University (1996-2016) where he was a faculty member in Communication & Rhetorical Studies, directing the university’s nationally ranked Rhetoric Ph.D. program. He also served on the faculties of Indiana University-Bloomington and the Pennsylvania State University-University Park.

Dr. Troup’s scholarly work focuses on the rhetoric and philosophy of St. Augustine and the rhetoric of technology. His books include Temporality, Eternity, and Wisdom: The Rhetoric of Augustine’s Confessions (Univ. of South Carolina Press, 1999) and Augustine for the Philosophers: The Rhetor of Hippo, the Confessions (Baylor University Press, 2014). He has published a number of book chapters and articles in scholarly journals such as The Journal of Communication and Religion, Explorations in Media Ecology, Communication Quarterly, and The Journal of Business Ethics. Troup has edited the Journal of Communication and Religion and is a past President of the Religious Communication Association.

After graduating from Geneva in 1983, Dr. Troup worked as a trend analyst, congressional staff aide, and executive for a national non-profit professional association in Washington, D.C. He returned to academia earning a master’s degree (1991) and Ph.D. (1994) in Speech Communication from the Pennsylvania State University.

Lisa Turner is an Associate General Counsel for Baylor University. Lisa received her J.D. from Arizona State University. She has earned a M.A. in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) and two M.S. degrees. She is also an adjunct professor at DTS. Prior to Baylor, she served in the federal government where her duties included teaching at a post-J.D. law school. She also served as the senior lawyer for an educational organization responsible for a range of programs, including technical schools through a SACSCOC accredited university which awards masters and doctoral degrees. Her primary areas of concentration at Baylor include employment law, athletics, and policy review and support.

Christa Van Der Merwe is the General Counsel of Dallas Baptist University.  Before joining DBU, Christa worked as a commercial litigation associate for a large law firm, and she previously clerked for the Honorable Judge Sam A. Lindsay of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.  She received a B.S., summa cum laude, from the University of Arizona and a J.D. with honors from the University of Texas.

Paula Victor has been General Counsel at Biola University since 2019. Prior to serving Biola, Mrs. Victor was a managing partner at Anderson, McPharlin & Conners LLP, a civil litigation firm in Los Angeles. Mrs. Victor’s practice focused on litigating in many different substantive areas, the most significant being the defense of educational institutions; labor & employment; personal injury of all types including products liability, trucking and aviation; insurance coverage and bad faith; and professional liability. Defense of educational institutions included representing colleges and universities and K-12 schools in a variety of areas including staff & faculty employment matters; student disciplinary actions, many of which involve Title IX issues; discrimination claims; and personal injury cases involving accidents on campus or in university-owned vehicles. in addition to her law practice, Mrs. Victor serves on the boards of local non-profits.

Mrs. Victor received her B.A. in Political Science and Speech Communication at the University of Southern California and her J.D. from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law where she was a member of the Moot Court Honors Board. She has served as a Judge Pro Tem and taught Torts and Civil Procedure to insurance professionals.

Mike Villines was elected to the California State Assembly in 2004 to represent the 29th Assembly District, which included the counties of Fresno and Madera. Known as the heartland of California, this region is an agriculturally rich and ethnically diverse part of California. In 2010, after serving six years in the California State Assembly, which was the maximum service allowed under California’s Constitution, Mike went back to his private sector roots and opened the Villines Group, a Corporate and Government Relations consulting firm with offices in Sacramento and Fresno California. 

Mike has given Keynote speeches and lectured on leadership, budget/economics, government and accountability at some of our country’s greatest forums, including at the John F. Kennedy Library, “The Rotunda” at the University of Virginia, The Emerging Leaders Program for the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and throughout California at universities and business forums.

William holds the academic rank of Distinguished Professor Emeritus after many years of teaching constitutional law, advance appellate advocacy, and ethics at two secular universities. He currently holds the WFFC Distinguished Chair for faith and freedom at Spring Arbor University. William is also the founder and President Emeritus of Salt & Light Global. As counsel in numerous matters before the U.S. Supreme Court, he authored briefs on behalf of various national Christian organizations.

Professor Wagner’s public service includes serving as a federal judge in the United States Courts, legal counsel in the U.S. Senate and Chief Counsel of the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee. He also served as Senior Assistant United States attorney in the Department of Justice, and as an American diplomat and Senior Advisor for Global Criminal Justice at the U.S. Department of State. His writing is published in numerous journals, books, and other publications.