Barbara J. Blodgett currently serves as Minister for Vocation and Formation for the United Church of Christ, having previously served as Director of Supervised Ministries at Yale Divinity School. She received an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School and a Ph.D. in ethics from Yale University. She is a former local church pastor ordained in the United Church of Christ.

Arthur Paul Boers is author of Never Call Them Jerks: Healthy Responses to Difficult Behavior (Alban, 1999). He is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart Indiana. An ordained Mennonite minister and Benedictine oblate, he served for over sixteen years as a pastor in rural, urban, and church-planting settings in the USA and Canada. He is also a Benedictine Oblate.

David Brubaker has worked as a workplace mediator, trainer and organizational consultant. He teaches organizational studies at the university level and has consulted with more than 100 organizations including for-profit, not-for-profit, congregational and governmental. Brubaker has written numerous articles on conflict transformation and organizational health. He is the author of Promise and Peril: Understanding and Managing Change and Conflict in Congregations (Alban 2009) and co-author of The Little Book of Healthy Organizations (Good Books 2009).

Mayra Castaneda regularly conducts workshops and seminars on spiritual faith formation and Christian education.  She is a frequent keynote speaker and Bible teacher. With over 25 years experience as a pastoral educator, teacher and preacher, Mayra has a particular passion for children and their families. Rev. Castaneda holds a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Illinois.  

The Rev. Melissa DeRosia is the Pastor/Head of Staff at Gates Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York. She is a graduate from Alma College (BA) and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (MDiv) where she was the recipient of the George and Jean Edwards Award in the Interpretation of Scripture and Christian Life. Passionate and dedicated to follow God’s call in the changing landscape of the church, she served as Moderator of the Presbytery of Lake Huron and is an elected member of the PC(USA) General Assembly Mission Council.

Bruce Epperly is ordained in the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He is the author of seventeen books in the areas of spirituality, theology, ministerial excellence and spirituality, and health and healing, including Holy Adventure: 41 Days of Audacious Living and Tending to the Holy: The Practice of the Presence of God in Ministry, selected as the 2009 Book of the Year by the Academy of Parish Clergy. He regularly lectures and leads seminars and retreats on ministerial excellence, process spirituality and theology, contemporary spirituality, healing and wholeness, new spiritual movements, and emerging Christianity..  

The Rev. Marianne Grano, a graduate of the University of Michigan and McCormick Theological Seminary, currently serves as Associate Pastor and Director of Youth Ministries at University Presbyterian Church in Rochester Hills, Michigan.  She was the keynote speaker for the 2011 Alma Youth Mix of the Presbyteries of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and shares her sermons and spiritual reflections through www.the-sermonator.blogspot.com. 

Jeffrey Jones is actively involved in leadership both in the local congregation and the seminary. He has been a pastor in New York and New Jersey and a member of the national staff of the American Baptist Churches, USA. He is the author of several books, including Parenting with Love and Laughter: Finding God in Family Life. His newest book, Traveling Together: A Guide for Disciple-Forming Congregations will be published by the Alban Institute in January 2006. He received his D. Min. from Andover Newton in 2004.

Tony Jones is the author of The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier and is theologian-in-residence at Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis and an adjunct faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary, teaching a D.Min. cohort in Christian spirituality. He is the author of many books on Christian ministry and spirituality, including and The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life, and he is a sought after speaker and consultant in the areas of emerging church, postmodernism, and Christian spirituality. Tony has three children and lives in Edina, Minnesota.

Dr. Ken McFayden, Ph.D. is Professor of Ministry and Leadership Development and Dean of The Center for Ministry and Leadership Development at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, VA.  Author of Strategic Leadership for a Change:  Facing Our Losses, Finding Our Future (Alban, 2009), he is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and has experience as a pastor, hospital chaplain, and director of a ministry development center.  He also is married and has two adult sons.

The Rev. Amy Morgan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary where she served as co-moderator of the Women’s Center.  She has been an actress, waitress, barista, teacher, wife, mother, and pastor.  She currently serves as Associate Pastor and Director of Youth Ministries at First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham, MI and is an active member of Detroit Presbytery's Youth Council.  

Wilda K. W. (Wendy) Morris has taught Christian Education and other subjects for eleven years. She is the author of Stop the Violence! Educating Ourselves to Protect Our Youth. Her many publications include poetry and devotionals as well as articles related to Christian education, Biblical studies and church history. In 2003, she received the Luther Wesley Smith Award for Distinguished Service in Christian Higher Education, presented by the Board of Educational Ministries, American Baptist Churches/USA.

The Rev. Amanda Riley is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and James Madison University. Amanda has served as a Resident in Parish ministry in Ann Arbor, MI and as Associate Pastor in Fenton, MI.  While in Lake Huron Presbytery, she served as vice moderator of the Committee on Ministry.  Amanda is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry Program at McCormick Theological Seminary, and serving as a Parish Associate at Brentwood Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, CA.

Anthony B. ("Tony") Robinson is a United Church of Christ pastor and teacher, who speaks frequently around North American at church and clergy conferences. Currently, he teaches leadership at Emmanuel College, a seminary of the United Church of Canada, part of the University of Toronto. He is the author of eight books in addition to What’s Theology Got To Do with It?, including Transforming Congregational Culture and Changing the Conversation: A Third Way for Congregations.

Craig A. Satterlee teaches preaching at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and the University of Notre Dame, and is Dean of the ACTS Doctor of Ministry in Preaching Program. His books, which explore the relationship of preaching and worship, stewardship, mission, and leadership, remain fully theological while engaging on-the-ground realities in the life of the church. Titles include When God Speaks through Change, When God Speaks through You, and God Speaks through Worship (Alban). Visit Craig at http://craigasatterlee.com

N. Graham Standish (www.blessedchurch.org) is the author of Humble Leadership (2007), Becoming the Blessed Church (2005) and numerous others books and articles in spirituality and spiritual direction. He is an adjunct professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, has served on the editorial board of Presence, the journal of Spiritual Directors International. He has a Ph.D. in formative spirituality from Duquesne University, a Master of Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Master of Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is husband of Diane, and the father of twin girls, Erin and Shea.

Landon Whitsitt is Executive and Stated Clerk of the Synod of Mid-America of the PC(USA), and the Vice-Moderator of the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). He can be found online as the co-host of God Complex Radio (godcomplexradio.com), and writes The Metanoia Project blog (landonwhitsitt.com).

John Wimberly has been pastor of the Western Presbyterian Church in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. since 1983.  Raised in the Midwest, John received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, a Ph.D. in systematic theology from The Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and a MBA from The George Washington University. He helped found the Houston Rape Crisis Coalition, the Network for Abused Women in Montgomery County, Miriam’s Kitchen for the Homeless at Western and Network Ethiopia which currently runs a clinic in Addis Ababa.            John does extensive teaching, speaking, and consulting around the country on the topics of management of people, finances and facilities in the church. He is married to Phyllis, a retired D.C public school teacher. 

Tina Wray is the author of The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil’s Biblical Roots with Gregory Mobley; Surviving the Death of a Sibling: Living Through Grief When an Adult Brother or Sister Dies; and Grief Dreams: How They Help Heal Us After the Death of a Loved One. She is a member of The Society of Biblical Literature, the Tyndale Society, and the Biblical Archaeology Society. She received her D. Min. from Andover Newton in 2004.