Conference Speakers
Our conference will feature a number of speakers, panelists and workshop leaders from a variety of backgrounds. We highlight just a few of them here.
John Carr
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John Carr is the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. He is also Washington correspondent of America Magazine. He served for over 20 years as director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, providing guidance for the U.S. bishops' public policy and advocacy initiatives and publicly representing the department. He also headed the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and has contributed to the development of national statements such as Communities of Salt and Light and Faithful Citizenship. In addition, Carr has also served as executive director of the White House Conference on Families and as director of the National Committee for Full Employment.
Shane Claiborne
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Shane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author. Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia. He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks committed to living "as if Jesus meant the things he said." Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. And now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty.
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Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, The Irresistible Revolution and Executing Grace.
Kristen Day
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Kristen Day is the Executive Director of Democrats For Life of America.
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Day’s articles have been published in the Harvard Crimson, the National Review and other publications. She is the author of Democrats For Life: Pro-Life Politics and the Silenced Majority, which outlines the history of the pro-life Democrat movement. Her "Politics and the Culture of Life-Why I am Still a Democrat" was published in the 2006 Notre Dame Journal on Law and Public Policy.
Day has been a guest on radio talk shows like NPR's Talk of the Nation, and has appeared on FOX News and Channel 7. She has been quoted in USA Today, The Washington Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle and other news outlets.
Kelsey Hazzard
Kelsey Hazzard founded Secular Pro-Life in 2009 and serves as its president. She is also a member of Equal Rights Institute’s Board of Advisors Her writings appear regularly in pro-life media and she is featured in the pro-life documentary “40”. Kelsey has also made appearances in mainstream news sources like NPR, Buzzfeed, and Slate.
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She received a Robert F. Kennedy Public Service Fellowship, which allowed her to devote a year to public interest work with Americans United for Life. She is now an attorney in private practice in Naples, Florida.
Joyce McCauley-Benner is a rape victim who chose life for her child not knowing if she was pregnant from her boyfriend or the rapist. She has worked over 15 years with low income and vulnerable populations, including sex trafficking and domestic violence victims. She speaks on behalf of Feminists for Life.
Ron Sider
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In the 1970s, Dr. Sider played a key role in the drafting of the historic Chicago Declaration, which helped set the direction for evangelicals concerned about the Bible’s social implications. He is the founder of Evangelicals for Social Action (ESA), which for more than three decades has provided an organizational outlet for Christians committed to holistic ministry.
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His book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger was lauded by Christianity Today as being among the top 100 books in religion in the 20th century and the seventh most influential book in the evangelical world in the last 50 years. He has published more than 30 other books.