CONFERENCE 2022:  "TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE WORD"
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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

KEISHA RUSSELL, Counsel

• Keisha Russell is Counsel with First Liberty Institute, concentrating on religious liberty matters and First Amendment rights.
  
• Keisha attended Emory University School of Law, where she was heavily involved in Emory’s prestigious Center for the Study of Law and Religion. She served on the Emory Journal of Law & Religion and two moot court teams. She was a law clerk for the Center’s Restoring Religious Freedom Project where she worked on religious liberty litigation. In her final year of law school, Keisha worked as a law clerk for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) on national and international matters affecting Israel. Keisha was a 2017 Emory University Graduating Woman of Excellence.
  
• Prior to joining First Liberty, Keisha was a 2011 Teach For America corps member in Atlanta Public Schools. As an elementary special education teacher, she taught students with ADD, emotional behavioral disorders, and learning disabilities. Keisha is most passionate about protecting religious freedom for children in America’s schools.
  
• Keisha’s religious liberty commentary has been published in FoxNews.com, Washington Examiner, The Daily Signal, Real Clear Religion, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Houston Chronicle, and others. She’s been a guest on FOX & Friends, CBN, and other local stations.
  
• Keisha earned a Bachelor’s in Communications from University of Central Florida and a Master’s in Teaching from the University of Southern California.
  
• Keisha is licensed to practice law in New York, Texas, and Florida.

DR. DAVID IRELAND

• Founder/senior pastor of Christ Church, a 9,500-member multisite congregation in NJ.
• Former diversity consultant to the NBA; led chapel services for the NY Giants, NY Jets, and at the U.S. Pentagon; well-respected columnist contributing to such media outlets like Fox News, Huffington Post, & Patheos.
• Author of over 20 books.
• Undergraduate degree (Fairleigh Dickinson University), graduate degree (Stevens Institute of Technology), a master’s degree in theology (Alliance Theological Seminary); Ph.D. (Regent University) & post-doctoral work (University of PA), postgraduate degree (University of Cambridge in England).
• Member of the NJ Governor’s Advisory Commission on Faith-Based Initiatives.
• Serves on the boards of Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary. Married since 1984 to Dr. Marlinda Ireland.  They have two adult daughters and a son-in-law.

THE PLAYERS

• Theatre professionals who are passionate about coming alongside Christian Leaders to help them engage their people with the Word of God.
• They perform Scripture in dramatic and musical presentations that are word-for-word from the ESV Bible and provide resources on how to better memorize and study the Bible.
• Full--time, non-profit theatre ministry based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Most ministry takes place within a two-hour radius of Lancaster, with occasional regional tours of the United States.
  

REBECCA ST. JAMES

• Among the most defining artists in Christian music history, GRAMMY®-winning singer/songwriter, best-selling author, speaker and actress Rebecca St. James catapulted into the global spotlight following the release of her self-titled Forefront Records debut in 1994. The Australian native’s modern pop sensibilities and uncompromising lyrics set a benchmark in Christian music, leading a new generation of artistry in the genre.  
• St. James has earned multiple Dove Awards, nine #1 Christian radio singles and two GOLD®-certified recordings, and her discography includes such iconic albums as Pray, God and Transform. Author of the best-selling titles Wait For Me (Thomas Nelson) and Pure (Hachette/Faithwords), among others, she starred in the 2009 film Sarah’s Choice; portrayed Mary Magdalene in the groundbreaking rock opera !Hero; and voiced ‘Hope, The Angel’ in VeggieTales’ best-selling The Easter Carol, in addition to other diverse roles. 
• Following a hiatus from recording and touring—during which time she married and started a family—St. James returned to the stage in 2018 to perform with her brothers, multi-GRAMMY® and Dove Award winning duo for KING & COUNTRY, and co-wrote several selections on their blockbuster 2019 recording, Burn the Ships.
• St. James recently partnered with world-renowned worship collective Bethel Music and her label debut released July 24, 2020.

DEVOTIONAL SPEAKER

JAMES VARNHAGAN

• Serves as a professor at City Vision University teaching Ministry Management & Leadership. 
• Retired Director of NY City Rescue Mission after 22 years of service. 
  
• Formerly, Exec. Dir. - Lightbearers Christian Ministries and Director of Christian Guidance Center Detroit Rescue Mission. 
  
• After the Air Force, he returned to Detroit and worked as an engineer for nearly 20 years.
  
• Education includes US Air Force Technical Schools Communications and Electronic Counter Measures degree; a Bachelor of Religious Ed., Missions & Linguistics from William Tyndale College; a graduate degree in intercultural studies from Wheaton College and Post Graduate Studies – Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.