Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC)

Matt Hammitt

Matt is a singer, songwriter, author, and speaker. Matt was the lead singer for the band Sanctus Real from 1996-2016. He has been the recipient of three Dove Awards and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards, for his work with Sanctus Real. Matt has written over fifteen chart topping songs, performed by Sanctus Real and other musical artists. Matt’s latest single, “Church Hurt,” appeals to the heart of those who have hurt within families of faith, through a lens of hope and healing. As a companion to the song, Matt has written a seven-day devotional called Life After Church Hurt. An Ohio native, Matt now lives in Nashville with his wife, Sarah, and their four children. Passion for family is what led him to step away from Sanctus Real in 2016, to spend more time at home. Matt details this difficult transition in his book Lead Me: Finding Courage to Fight for Your Marriage, Children, and Faith. Matt holds nothing back in this unfiltered story of his life, so far.

Peggy Hartshorn

Margaret H. (Peggy) Hartshorn, Ph.D., currently Chairman of the Board of Heartbeat International, has served on the Board for 30 years, as Chairman previously from 1990-2004. She also served as Heartbeat’s President for 23 years (1993-2015). Peggy threw herself into the cause of life soon after the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade, on January 22, 1973, which declared abortion restrictions unconstitutional. In 1974, she and her husband began opening their home to young mothers. They founded Pregnancy Decision Health Centers (PDHC) in 1981. Today, Peggy travels and speaks extensively, sharing her hands-on experience with pregnancy help ministries as they develop programs on abortion, abortion recovery, sexual integrity, adoption, and alternatives to abortion. She leads Heartbeat’s commitment to organizational and leadership development for pregnancy help worldwide. Peggy has been married to Michael Hartshorn for 47 years. They have two adopted children and five grandchildren.

Jonnie W.

In a world where more and more people are choosing to stay home and binge-watch their entertainment, Jonnie W. represents an anomaly - an artist whose show needs to be experienced LIVE. Combining music, off-beat standup, and a skewed view of the world unfolding around him, Jonnie crafts a comedy experience that you and your family will be quoting in the car on the way home. He’s brought the funny to stages in 48 states - from comedy clubs to Fortune 500 companies, churches and leadership conferences. Jonnie's award-winning comedy is played daily on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, and his two Drybar Comedy specials are viral hits, garnering millions of views, and landing him in their Top Ten most viewed for 2021. He has also been featured on the Grand Ole Opry’s Circle Network and is heard daily on Sirius Satellite Radio. Jonnie lives with his wife Curry near Nashville, TN, because that’s where all their stuff is.

Ryan T. Anderson

Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D., is the President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

He is the author or co-author of five books, including the just-released Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing. Previous books include When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment, Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom, What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense, and Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination. He is the co-editor of A Liberalism Safe for Catholicism? Perspectives from “The Review of Politics.”

Anderson’s research has been cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas, in two Supreme Court cases.

He received his bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, and he received his doctoral degree in political philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. His dissertation was titled: “Neither Liberal Nor Libertarian: A Natural Law Approach to Social Justice and Economic Rights.”

Anderson has made appearances on ABC, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, and Fox News. His work has been published by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, the Harvard Health Policy Review, the Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy, First Things, the Claremont Review of Books, and National Review.

He is the John Paul II Teaching Fellow in Social Thought at the University of Dallas, a member of the James Madison Society at Princeton University, and a Fellow of the Institute for Human Ecology at the Catholic University of America, as well as the Founding Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, New Jersey.

For 9 years he was the William E. Simon senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, and has served as an adjunct professor of philosophy and political science at Christendom College, and a Visiting Fellow at the Veritas Center at Franciscan University. He has also served as an assistant editor of First Things.

Follow him on Twitter at @RyanTAnd. For his latest essays and videos, you can follow his public Facebook page.

Herbie Newell

Herbie is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms. He holds a Master’s of Business Administration in Accounting from Samford University. He worked with WAKM Companies, LLC, a prominent accounting firm, for several years as an independent auditor before being led to Lifeline in 2003 as Executive Director. From January 2004 to December 2008, he served as the president of the Alabama Adoption Coalition and was chosen as a Hague Intercountry Adoption evaluator and team leader by the Council of Accreditation. Under Herbie’s leadership, Lifeline has increased international outreach to 25 countries through adoption and strategic orphan care, obtained licensure in 17 states, attained membership into the ECFA (Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability), and established the foster care arm at Lifeline. Herbie has spoken at many events concerning adoption and the Church’s response to orphan care, including the National Council for Adoption, Christian Alliance for Orphans, Together for Adoption, Care Net and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

Having witnessed the plight of older orphans on many international trips, Herbie’s burden for the fatherless was a catalyst for forming (un)adopted in 2009, Lifeline’s strategic orphan care ministry focused on equipping orphaned and vulnerable children with life skills needed to bring about community transformation. During Summer 2013, Herbie and his family traveled for seven weeks throughout China, working with (un)adopted and orphanage partners. In Summer 2018, he and his family served for five weeks in Colombia with Lifeline’s adoption and orphan care partners.

Herbie and his wife, Ashley, live in Birmingham, Alabama, and are parents to son, Caleb, and daughters, Adelynn and Emily. Following her graduation from Samford, Ashley worked as Assistant Director of Sav-A-life, a Birmingham-based crisis pregnancy center, where she counseled hundreds of women on life-giving options for their babies.

Herbie and Ashley share a passion for the unborn, life, and adoption and desire to spend their lives advocating for the least of these.

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is an internal medicine physician, best-selling author, and popular speaker who shares biblical truths to help heal the body, mind, and spirit. She loves helping others learn how to set healthy boundaries, find harmony in their work-life imbalance, and regain a deeper appreciation for God’s word.

She is a workplace wellbeing corporate consultant guiding organizations in their quest to build and empower healthy leaders and teams. She also leads a women’s mastermind group as a life and business coach where she equips women to boldly and confidently go where God is calling them.

Dr. Saundra is an international media resource featured in numerous media outlets including Focus on the Family, Women’s Day, Redbook, The 700 Club, Psychology Today, Prevention, Fast Company, K-Love, and as a guest on The Dr. Oz Show. She is the author of five books including Set Free To Live Free, Come Empty, and Colorful Connections. Her bestseller Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, includes life-changing insight on the seven types of rest needed to optimize your productivity, increase your overall happiness, overcome burnout, and live your best life. Over 250,000 people have discovered their personal rest deficit using her free assessment at RestQuiz.com.

You can find Dr. Saundra on her weekly podcast, I Choose My Best Life, where she helps listeners live fully, love boldly, and rest intentionally.

Dr. Saundra lives near Birmingham, AL with her husband, Bobby. They have two college-aged sons and a spoiled Havanese named Rosey. When not working or traveling, you can find her prayer-walking in her local park or kayaking in a nearby lake with her husband.