Jo Saxton
Speaker, podcaster and author
Jo Saxton is a speaker, podcaster and author. She is the founder of the Ezer Collective, an initiative dedicated to investing in women leaders around the world, equipping them to own their voice and boldly step into their calling. She currently serves as the Executive Director of The Leadership Institute at Bethel University.
Born to Nigerian parents and raised in London, England, Jo now lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two daughters. She loves everyday stuff like good music, good food and good friends.
Rich Villodas
Lead pastor, New Life Fellowship
Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large, multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens. Rich graduated with a BA in pastoral ministry and theology from Nyack College and completed his Master of Divinity at Alliance Theological Seminary.
Rich is the author of four books: the award-winning The Deeply Formed Life, Good and Beautiful and Kind, The Narrow Path and his most recent, Waiting for Jesus. He and his wife, Rosie, have two beautiful children and live on Long Island, New York.
Adam Young
Therapist and host of The Place We Find Ourselves
Adam Young is a therapist who focuses on trauma and abuse, and the host of The Place We Find Ourselves podcast. Adam is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with master’s degrees in social work (Virginia Commonwealth University) and divinity (Emory University).
Adam is the author of Make Sense of Your Story: Why Engaging Your Story with Kindness Changes Everything. He serves as a Fellow and Instructor at The Allender Center and lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he enjoys skiing, soccer and windsurfing.
Sara Groves
Singer-songwriter and recording artist
Sara Groves is a 25+ year veteran singer-songwriter and recording artist. Her last full release, What Makes It Through, is loosely based on the writings of Kazuo Ishiguro and is a reflection on memory and reconciliation. In the fall of 2024, Sara remastered Add To The Beauty for vinyl and CD with three new songs for the album’s 20th anniversary, and this fall she and her team celebrate the 25th anniversary of her national debut album, Conversations.
Sara and her husband Troy run a community art center, Art House North, in a 120-year-old church in their St. Paul neighborhood, where they live with or near their growing and grown kids, Kirby, Halle, Toby and Ruby.
Curt Thompson, MD
Psychiatrist, author and co-host of Being Known Podcast
Curt Thompson, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist, author, speaker and co-host of Being Known Podcast. He has been in private practice for over 30 years in Falls Church, Virginia. He graduated from Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine and completed his psychiatric residency at Temple University Hospital.
Curt strives to help patients develop flourishing lives by telling their stories more truly, in order to become more deeply known, for the purpose of creating beauty and goodness in the world. With conviction and humor, he trains clinicians and speaks at workshops, retreats and conferences, integrating neuroscience, human relationships and Christian faith. He and his wife, Phyllis, are the parents of two adult children and live in Northern Virginia. Curt is also a member of the CBK Board.
Jenni LaBrie
Visual synthesist, writer and speaker
Jenni LaBrie is a visual synthesist, writer and speaker helping messages stick with powerful words, visuals and voice. True to her nickname, Clarified Butter, she has a gift for distilling thoughts to their purest essence and then making them visible and shareable.
Jenni co-founded Grounded Learning, LLC, a professional learning consulting business, and co-hosts its affiliated podcast, The Grounded Learners Guild. Life with her husband and three kids is a beautiful blur. You can find her on social media or on her front porch in the Chicago suburbs, sipping root beer with her family.
Join us October 22–24
Three days of sessions, breakouts and a live podcast recording at Trinity Baltimore Church in Lutherville, Maryland, or online.