April 30 to MAY 1, Chicago
SPEAKERS
CLAUDE ATCHO
Claude Atcho resides in Charlottesville, Virginia where he lives with his family, serves as a pastor of Church of the Resurrection, and enjoys coaching his kids in basketball and soccer. In addition to his preaching and pastoral work, Claude speaks and writes about literature, film, music, and culture from a theological perspective. His writing has been featured at The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, Think Christian, Christ and Pop Culture, and The Gospel Coalition. His writing often lives at the intersection of theology, culture, and African American experience. He is the author of Reading Black Books: How African American Literature Can Make Our Faith More Whole and Just (Brazos 2022). His book Word and Time, to be published in the fall of 2025 by WaterBrook, is a rich fusion of scriptural and devotional reflections. Claude holds graduate degrees in both English Literature and Theological Studies.
ALLOY HORN QUARTET
The Alloy Horn Quartet is a fusion of artistry and advocacy whose appealing performances are charming audiences from the concert hall to the backyard party. Equally comfortable in classical and contemporary genres, the quartet is at ease sharing its passion for music with audiences of all kinds. In addition to exceptional performances, Alloy offers charismatic dialogue to disarm the rigidity of a traditional classical music experience.
LINDSEY BERGSMA
Lindsey Bergsma’s greatest passion is people and finding ways to deepen their connections with each other and the Lord. She has always loved using her creativity to bring stories to life, believing they are a powerful way to foster connection and catalyze transformation. She currently expresses this passion through designing books and Bibles for Tyndale House Publishers.
Adrian Blackman
Adrian Blackman is Executive Vice President of Woodland Group, with 41 years of expertise in global supply chain and logistics management. Adrian possesses a comprehensive understanding of the distribution and logistics needs of the book printing and publishing industry, transferable to any fast-moving consumer goods environment. Adrian offers initiative, strong analytical capabilities, interpersonal leadership and communication skills with an entrepreneurial spirit and approach. Changing the ordinary, thinking out of the box and delivering logistical solutions has become Adrian’s primary focus and objective, whilst mentoring, training, embracing, encouraging & empowering others to do the same.
Richard Coleman
Richard Coleman is the Director of Operations for Ingram Logistics Services, an international freight solutions provider.
JEFF CROSBY
Jeff Crosby is the President and CEO of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Previously he worked in executive positions with InterVarsity Press and Ingram Book Company. He began his career in 1983 as owner and manager, with his wife, Cindy, of Logos Bookstore in Bloomington, Indiana and later served as the executive director of the Association of Logos Bookstores. His writing has appeared in a number of publications including Books & Culture, Marriage Partnership, CRUX, Conversations, Together Magazine and Living Lutheran. He is the author of "The Language of the Soul: Meeting God in the Longings of Our Hearts" (Broadleaf Books).
CRAIG GIPSON
Craig Gipson represents publishers and distributors of Christian media as an associate in the Bend, Oregon office of Flagler Law Group. His work focuses in the areas of intellectual property, privacy, and free speech and religion issues. Before joining the Flagler Law Group team in 2011, Craig practiced education and real estate law with Brackett & Ellis in Fort Worth, Texas. He graduated from The University of Texas in 2005 and The University of Texas School of Law in 2008 where he completed a concentration in constitutional law. He and his wife Jessie have two sons and enjoy reading, sports, and outdoor activities.
BILL GREIG III
Bill Greig III has been Owner of ChurchGrowth.org since 2014, a publisher and eCommerce store reaching 65,000+ people each day. From 1988 to 2013, Bill served as President of Gospel Light and Regal Books, a publisher of Christian books, Sunday school curriculum and Bible teaching resources. Prior to joining Gospel Light, Bill worked as an Account Director at Foote, Cone and Belding, which at the time was the largest advertising agency in Los Angeles. Bill is also co-founder and Board Member of ZDL, the largest Christian publishing and media organization in China, based in Beijing.
JON HIRST
Jon Hirst, the Chief Innovation Officer for SIL International, leads SIL's efforts to engage with AI and has a 25+ year background in championing innovation in the nonprofit sector. Jon has a background leading technology, publishing, marketing/communications and research efforts for nonprofits. He has collaborated with companies such as Moody Publishers, Intervarsity Press, Tyndale House Publishers, William Carey Library and others. Jon participated in four published works as the author, co-author or editor: Innovation In Mission, Through the River, Our Anchor in a World Adrift and The Calling of the Knowledge Steward. Jon and his wife Mindy run a consultancy called Generous Mind and Jon also runs www.innovationinmission.com, a community of Kingdom innovators seeking to implement disciplined innovation in their organizations.
Christopher Hudson
Christopher Hudson is the President of Peachtree Publishing Services. Peachtree's mission is to protect and advance God's Word by proofreading Bibles and developing resources that help readers engage the Bible. Christopher is the author of "100 Names of God" (Rose Publishing) and "The Most Significant Teachings in the Bible" (Zondervan).
STAN JANTZ
Stan Jantz is the CEO of the Come and See Foundation, a nonprofit that supports The Chosen by making it possible for the acclaimed film series to be produced, translated, and globally distributed so that 1 billion people can experience the authentic Jesus. Stan is a former Christian retailer, publisher, and past president of ECPA. He is a bestselling author, having written or co-authored more than 75 books, including the recently released, Ten Essentials for New Christians (Harvest House).
MADELEINE LAMBERT
As the founder and former owner of her own Content Marketing Agency, Madeleine Lambert has a firsthand understanding of the serious challenges that generative AI presents to editorial teams. In her current role as the Director of Marketing and Sales at Originality.AI, Madeleine Lambert spearheads the Marketing and Sales teams for a globally acclaimed company, celebrated for its unrivaled AI-powered content detection and fact-checking capabilities. Madeleine is a firm advocate for upholding the highest industry standards within digital content, championing values such as transparency, integrity, and the unwavering commitment to truth-telling.
KRISTEN MCLEAN
Kristen McLean is the Executive Director and Primary Industry Analyst for Books & Entertainment for Circana. With more than 20 years of experience in the publishing industry in roles including retailing, sales, marketing, and industry advocacy, she oversees research into the consumer behavior of readers, and she is Circana's in-house specialist on both the Children's and the Christian markets. She is the editor of the recent ECPA Landscape Survey of Book Buying Trends in the Christian Market. As part of her role as an industry strategist, Kristen speaks extensively on issues facing the publishing world including the effect of technology and culture on books and reading, and evolving models for publishing. Kristen is deeply interested in the confluence of consumer behavior, technology, literacy, and global information in the Digital Age.
RUSSELL MOORE
Russell Moore is Editor in Chief of Christianity Today and is the author of the several books including, most recently, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America (Sentinel, an imprint of Penguin Random House). The Wall Street Journal has called Moore “vigorous, cheerful, and fiercely articulate.” He was named in 2017 to Politico Magazine’s list of top fifty influence-makers in Washington, and has been profiled by such publications as the New York Times, the Washington Post, TIME Magazine, and The New Yorker. An ordained Baptist minister, Moore served previously as President of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and, before that, as the chief academic officer and dean of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he also taught theology and ethics.
Mark Noble
Mark Noble is vice president of business management at Independent Publishers Group (IPG) and has been involved in operations including logistics and supply chain for more than 24 years.
DEAN H. RENNINGER
Dean H. Renninger has been visually telling stories for more than 20 years. He started this journey by studying journalism at the University of Missouri, which taught him that content is king and every great cover is based on the content inside. As a senior art director at Tyndale House Publishers, Dean helps lead a team of 20+ creatives to create covers that powerfully and emotively express the stories inside.
AUBREY SAMPSON
Aubrey Sampson (MA Evangelism & Leadership) is the author of Overcomer,The Louder Song, Known, Big Feelings Days (her first children's book), and an upcoming book on fresh grief. Aubrey co-planted and serves as teaching pastor of Renewal Church in West Chicago and at Timberlake Church in the Seattle area. She is passionate about writing in such a way that hurting readers feel seen and known, while equipping them to embrace a robust spiritual practice of lament. Aubrey cohosts Nothing is Wasted, a podcast for those experiencing tragedy, trauma, and major life transitions, and the Common Good, a pastoral talk show in Chicago. She and her husband Kevin, and their three sons, live and play in the Chicagoland area.
MICHELLE T. SANCHEZ
Michelle T. Sanchez (M.Div., Th.M.) has served in various discipleship and evangelism leadership roles for more than a decade, most recently as Executive Minister of Make and Disciples for the Evangelical Covenant Church. She’s the author of a trilogy of books that provides Christ-centered racial discipleship for all ages: Color-Courageous Discipleship, Color-Courageous Discipleship Student Edition, and the picture book, God’s Beloved Community. After studying international business at NYU, Michelle worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and ministered to international students with Cru in New York City. She’s served in various capacities with the Institute for Bible Reading, the Pelican Project, and the Lausanne Movement for world evangelization. She is a frequent conference speaker, a regular columnist with Outreach Magazine, and a contributor to The Message: Women’s Devotional Bible (forthcoming). Michelle completed seminary degrees at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, spiritual direction training at Boston College, and field studies on the life and times of Jesus at Jerusalem University College. She’s thoroughly enjoyed experiencing colorful cultures in thirty-eight countries and territories worldwide—and counting! Michelle and her husband, Mickey, live with their two children in greater Chicago. Find her at MichelleTSanchez.com.
DR. KATHRYN SCANLAND
Dr. Kathryn Scanland of Greystone Global in Chicago is an organizational process consultant who helps organizations maneuver through complex changes in leadership, strategy, or direction with finesse and compassion. She helps them design solutions that move their organization forward in ways that make organizational change sustainable. Her introduction to Christian publishing began in the mid ‘90s as market research manager for Christianity Today. Throughout the following decades as a consultant, she worked with numerous Christian publishers and is currently the Board Chair for Baker Book House Company. Kathryn works with a variety of purpose-driven organizations and is also an adjunct professor and instructional designer for Davenport University’s Institute for Professional Excellence. Her expertise is in strategic planning, change management, and leadership development.
Torrey Sharp
Torrey Sharp is the owner and principal of Faceout Studio, a design firm illuminating unique stories and ideas with meaningful and beautiful visual expression. Since 1996, Faceout Studio has specialized in book design and branding, working with hundreds of publishers, media companies, associations, ministries and authors. Over the years, Faceout’s work has been recognized by Communication Arts, the AIGA, the AAUP, ECPA, the IBPA, Print magazine, Eye magazine, the New York Book Show, Graphis and the American Advertising Federation. Torrey earned his economics degree from Wheaton College, IL after spending most of his growing up years in Brazil.
JOE WIKERT
Joe Wikert is president of Revenue Path Group, a consultancy which helps organizations maximize revenue and upskill their B2B sales teams. His career spans the publishing and technology sectors with executive roles at Macmillan, John Wiley & Sons, O'Reilly Media, Olive Software, and OSV.
