Patrick Madrid

PATRICK MADRID is the publisher of Envoy Magazine and director of the Envoy Institute of Belmont Abbey College. A best-selling author of 12 books, including, Search and Rescue, Does the Bible Really Say That?, 150 Bible Verses Every Catholic Should Know, and the acclaimed multi-volume Surprised by Truth series (with over 400,000 combined copies in print), he has published numerous articles on Scripture, Church history, patristics, apologetics, and evangelization in various Catholic periodicals.

Patrick earned a bachelor of science degree in business from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor of philosophy degree (B.Phil.) from the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, where he is completing a master's degree in theology. He has also done graduate studies in theology at the University of Dallas. He is the host of several EWTN television series, including "Pope Fiction" and "Search & Rescue," and hosts the Thursday edition of EWTN Radio's "Open Line" live broadcast, heard on approximately 118 AM & FM stations across the U.S., as well as on Sirius Satellite Radio. He has conducted hundreds of seminars on Catholic themes, in English and Spanish, at parishes and universities across North America, as well as throughout Europe, Latin America, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. He is a veteran of a dozen formal, public debates with Protestant ministers, Mormon leaders, and other non-Catholic spokesmen. Patrick authored all the original website content for the www.catholicscomehome.org outreach.

Cardinal Edward Egan of New York, commented on the effectiveness of Patrick's approach to apologetics saying, "How do you bring a friend or relative back into the Church? First you pray. Then, you follow Patrick Madrid's advice in [his book] Search and Rescue." Patrick and his wife Nancy have been married for 27 years and have been blessed with 11 healthy and happy children and 5 grandchildren (who are also happy and healthy).

Jim Burnham

Jim is a cradle-Catholic, the second oldest in a family of ten children. In college, questions from Evangelical classmates forced him to rediscover the biblical and historical basis for his Catholic faith. Jim co-authored the hugely popular series of Beginning Apologetics booklets--clear, simple handbooks showing ordinary Catholics how to effectively explain and defend their faith.

Jim has given apologetics seminars all over the world. He has appeared on EWTN's "Carpenter Shop" and is a regular radio guest on "Catholic Answers Live." He is the co-author of Christian Fatherhood along with Steve Wood. Jim and his wife Lisa have been married 16 years and have six children.

Website: www.CatholicApologetics.com

Teresa Tomeo

Teresa Tomeo is an author, syndicated Catholic talk show host, and motivational speaker with nearly 27 years of experience in broadcasting as a talk show host, radio and TV news woman, and newspaper columnist. You may remember Teresa from her days at Channel 7 and Channel 50 here in the Detroit area. Teresa left the secular media in 2000 to start her own speaking and communications company. Teresa’s daily morning program, “Catholic Connection”, is produced by Ave Maria Radio in Ann Arbor, Michigan and heard on over 120 Catholic stations through EWTN Global Catholic Radio, as well Sirius Satellite Radio.

Teresa is a columnist and special correspondent for the national Catholic newspaper, “Our Sunday Visitor”, as well as a writer for the Zenit Catholic News Agency. She has also appeared frequently on EWTN Catholic Television and has been featured on “The O’Reilly Factor” and Fox News. Recently Teresa was chosen as only one of 250 women from around the world to serve as a delegate at the Pontifical Council for the Laity’s International Women’s Congress held in Rome, marking the 20th Anniversary of John Paul the Second’s Letter On the Dignity and Vocation of Women.

As a speaker Teresa travels around the country addressing the topic of media awareness and activism, as well as sharing her faith journey and providing concerned citizens with the tools needed to stand up against the immoral aspects of today’s culture. Her book,” Noise-How Our Media Saturated Culture Dominates Lives and Dismantles Families”, was published last year by Ascension Press. “Noise” is a Catholic best-seller and is now in its second printing. Her second book,” Newsflash! My Surprising Journey from Secular Anchor to Media Evangelist” is expected to be published later this year.

Héctor Antonio Molina

Héctor Antonio Molina, Jr. is a dynamic bilingual lay Catholic speaker and evangelist, who, for nearly 20 years, has proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Catholic Faith throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.

From the age of 15, Héctor has devoted his life to responding to Pope John Paul II’s call for a “New Evangelization.” For eleven years he served as pastoral associate at the historic St. John the Baptist Parish in his home Diocese of Brooklyn. In 2003, he was appointed by (then) Archbishop Justin Rigali to serve as Director of Hispanic Ministry for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. And in June of 2007, Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke appointed Héctor to serve as the founding Director of new Archdiocesan Office of the New Evangelization. Héctor has preached to tens of thousands at parish missions, retreats & revivals, as well as at diocesan, regional and national conferences. He often appears as a guest on radio programs such as "Catholic Answers Live" and "Kresta in the Afternoon."

Héctor has developed a solid reputation as a passionate and articulate expositor and defender of the Catholic Faith. His soul-stirring presentations have inspired many who are searching for meaning and purpose in their lives. His fervent desire is to reach others for Christ, who, as St. Paul the Apostle put it, “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

Héctor is a devoted husband and father of two. He, his wife, and children are parishioners of the historic Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis.

Peter Kreeft

Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and at the King's College (Empire State Building), in New York City. He is a regular contributor to Envoy Magazine, as well as other publications, and is in wide demand as a speaker at conferences. Dr. Kreeft is the author of over 45 books including: How to Win the Culture War, Handbook of Christian Apologetics, Christianity for Modern Pagans, and Fundamentals of the Faith.

He is a convert to the Catholic Church from reformed Protestantism. He earned an A.B. degree from Calvin College, an M.A. and Ph.D. from Fordham University, followed by post-doctoral work at Yale University. He has has received several honors for achievements in the field of philosophy, including the Woodrow Wilson Award, Yale-Sterling Fellowship, Newman Alumni Scholarship, Danforth Asian Religions Fellowship, and a Weathersfield Homeland Foundation Fellowship.

Website: www.peterkreeft.com

Paul Thigpen

Dr. Paul Thigpen is professor of theology at Southern Catholic College in Dawsonville, Georgia, and editor of The Catholic Answer, a national bimonthly magazine that answers questions about Catholic faith, practice and history.

An award-winning journalist and best-selling author of thirty-five books, his most popular titles include The Rapture Trap: A Catholic Response to "End-Times" Fever (Ascension, 2001) and the recent novel My Visit to Hell (Realms, 2007). Paul holds degrees from Yale and Emory universities, including a Ph.D. in historical theology. A convert to the faith, he is an internationally known speaker and Catholic apologist who has been interviewed frequently on EWTN, FOX News Live, Relevant Radio and other Catholic and secular media venues.

Website www.PaulThigpen.com.

Tom Peterson

Tom Peterson is the president of both Virtue Media (www.virtuemedia.org) and Catholics Come Home (www.catholicscomehome.org), two cutting-edge Catholic media outreach companies that produce and air powerful television commercials aimed at changing hearts and minds with the message of life and truth. To date, these powerful television messages and websites have helped save an estimated 10,000 babies from abortion, helped approximately 15,000 souls back to the Catholic Church in a matter of weeks, and educated millions of people about the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.

A former advertising executive in the secular world, after his deep reconversion experience, Peterson has focused his energies on combating the culture of death and building a culture of life. He has presented this message to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and at the Vatican. In addition to an in-depth profile in Envoy Magazine, Peterson and his apostolates have been featured in nearly one hundred media venues on secular and Catholic radio, newspapers, magazines and TV interviews including on Fox News and EWTN worldwide.

Their new CatholicsComeHome.org ads were aired on the JumboTron at the Papal Mass in Washington DC, and at the National Prayer breakfast for 2,500 top Catholic leaders. Over the past decade since his spiritual reversion, Tom has spoken at countless national conferences, churches, and ministry events relating to his areas of expertise: Media, the Sanctity of Life, and Catholic Evangelization. Tom knows his vocation in life is to evangelize souls using the power of media. He encourages others to seek God’s plan for their lives, to help change our world for the better. Tom and Tricia, his wife of 22 years, and their three daughters live in the Atlanta suburbs, where they are active members in Legatus and in their local parish.

MSGR. Stuart W.Swetland

MSGR. STUART W. SWETLAND, S.T.D., is a member of Envoy Magazine's editorial committee. He was ordained a priest in 1991 for the Diocese of Peoria. He received his undergraduate degree in physics from the United States Naval Academy, and was elected a Rhodes Scholar in 1981. He entered the Catholic Church while studying at Oxford. He has a B.A. and M.A. in politics, philosophy and economics from Oxford; an M.Div. and M.A. from Mt. Saint Mary’s Seminary, and earned his S.T.L. and S.T.D. degrees from the Pontifical Lateran University where he studied at the John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C.

He currently serves as Director of Homiletics and Pre-Theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and is the Special Counsel to the President for Catholic Identity and Mission and Interim Chaplain at Mt. St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

He has served as a theological advisor to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Illinois and currently is the Executive Secretary for the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars. Msgr. Swetland was named a Prelate of Honor in 2000 by His Holiness Pope John Paul II, is a Knight Commander for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, and is a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus.

Serrin M. Foster
 

Serrin Foster is the president of Feminists for Life of America and editor-in-chief of the organization's magazine, The American Feminist. FFL advocates benefits for poor and pregnant women and works to prevent poverty and coerced abortions due to threats to withhold child support. She served on the National Taskforce Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, which worked to pass the Violence Against Women Act in 1994.

Foster received a bachelor of arts degree in speech from Old Dominion University. She lectures on college and university campuses about the more than two hundred years of pro-life feminist history. In 1995, Feminists for Life was invited to be a charter member of a coalition against sex trafficking. That same year, Foster spoke at the U.S. Department of State "Bringing Cairo Home" conference on the parallels between the needs of women in developing countries and the obstacles faced by the early American feminists. FFL's flagship College Outreach Program focuses on educating college students and serving as a catalyst for change to benefit pregnant and parenting students.

FFL’s Pregnancy Resource Forums have helped to redirect the abortion debate toward woman-centered solutions. She has testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee in support of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, also known as “Laci and Conner’s Law.” The testimony was aired on C-SPAN and the legislation subsequently signed into law by President George W. Bush. In May of 2008, Foster received an honorary doctorate from Belmont Abbey College in recognition of her work for women and their unborn children.

Gail Buckley

Gail Buckley is the founder and executive director of Catholic Scripture Study International, the world’s fastest-growing Catholic Bible study program. CSS, as it is better known, has thousands of members throughout the U.S. and in 40 countries around the world. In addition to her work with CSS, Gail serves on the board of directors of Catholics United for the Faith (CUF) as well as the steering committee of the Catholic Leadership Conference.

A convert to Catholicism from Methodism, Gail was received into the Catholic Church in 1994. A year later her husband Tom entered the Catholic Church as well. Gail has been a speaker at several national Catholic conferences and a featured guest on many Catholic radio shows including Catholic Answers Live, Ave Maria radio: Catholic Connection with Teresa Tomeo, Al Kreska; Sacred Heart Radio, CE Today with John Morales and others. She was recently profiled in Envoy Magazine’s issue 7.5.

Website www.cssprogram.net

Chris Aubert

Chris Aubert (pronounced “Oh-Bear”) converted from Jewish to Catholic at the Easter Vigil Mass in 1997. He has been married to Rhonda since 1994, and they have five children, ranging in age from 13 to 4.

The Auberts are real-life Hurricane Katrina victims, having lost their home in Covington, Louisiana, in that storm. They moved to The Woodlands, Texas, where they now reside and plan to stay. By vocation, Chris is a corporate lawyer primarily representing businesses in civil litigation. By avocation, he is a Catholic apologist and evangelist, mainly in the pro-life areas of abortion and contraception. He addresses these areas from a perspective not often heard — the man’s perspective.

He is a regular speaker at conferences around the country, and he and his story have been featured in numerous media including the Los Angeles Times, The Coming Home Network, Catholic Answers, The Catholic Channel, Closer Walk Ministries Television, and Relevant Radio. Chris is a board member of Fullness of Truth Catholic Evangelization Ministries; a fourth degree Sir Knight and three-time Grand Knight in the Knights of Columbus, program director of the Houston Legatus chapter, and owner of the Fullness of Truth Catholic Book & Gift store in The Woodlands.

Douglas C. Fortner

Douglas C. Fortner serves as assistant professor of philosophy at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. He studied philosophy at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he was graduated with the degrees of B.A. (1991), M.A. (1993), and Ph.D. (2002).

Moreover, Dr. Fortner has taught philosophy at The Catholic University of America, Aquinas College (Nashville, Tennessee), and Xavier University (Cincinnati, Ohio). Dr. Fortner’s specific area of interest is in Hellenistic philosophy, and he regularly teaches courses in the history of philosophy, metaphysics, and natural theology. Dr. Fortner and his wife Jennifer and their two young children reside in Columbus, Ohio.

Website www.pcj.edu/aboutus/fortner.html.