Jeffery Sheler

Saturday, July 2nd

Jeffery Sheler is an award-winning freelance journalist who has covered the American religion scene for nearly two decades. As a senior writer for U.S. News & World Report for many years, he authored more than 35 cover stories on religious topics ranging from American evangelicalism to the pedophile scandal in the Roman Catholic Church.

He is the author of Prophet of Purpose: The Life of Rick Warren (Doubleday, 2009), Believers: A Journey into Evangelical America (Viking, 2006), and Is the Bible True? (Harper San Francisco, 1999), which was named one of the top ten religion books of 2000 by Christianity Today magazine.

Sheler is an occasional correspondent on the weekly PBS public affairs program "Religion & Ethics News Weekly," is a frequent guest on national radio broadcasts, and has appeared on network television programs including "Early Today on NBC," "Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN)," "The Situation Room (CNN), "CNN Headline News," "CNN Crossfire," and "John McLaughlin One On One." His written work also has appeared in National Geographic, Readers Digest, and Smithsonian Magazine. He is past president of the Religion Newswriters Association.

Johnny Parker

Sunday, July 3rd

Johnny Parker is a certified Christian counselor and leadership coach. He has conducted marriage conferences with Family Life Ministries for over ten years and has led Building Lasting Relationships seminars at McLean Bible Church for five years. He directs the Men's Ministry at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden, Maryland.

National media, such as CNN, BET, and the Baltimore Sun newspaper, regularly feature Johnny's solid message. He is also the former radio host of “The Relationship Fitness Show” in Washington, D. C., and has written articles for Ebony, Essence, and Inside Journal. His work has impacted professional sports teams such as the Washington Redskins and Washington Mystics.

In May, 2008, Johnny was a part of a select group of marriage educators and researchers invited to the White House to discuss ways to strengthen marriages in America. His leadership experience includes staff positions at McLean Bible Church, the Minirth-Meier Clinic, and Promise Keepers and an adjunct professor role at Washington Bible College and Capitol Bible Seminary. His education includes a B.A. in biblical studies from Washington Bible College and a M.A. in counseling psychology from Bowie State University. Johnny is currently pursuing his doctorate in strategic leadership at Regent University.

Dennis S. Reina, Ph.D.

Monday, July 4th

Dennis S. Reina, Ph. D., is a speaker, author, and principal of the organizational development research and consulting firm, The Reina Trust Building Institute.

He specializes in working with leaders and organizations to build trust to drive business results. He is co-author of award-winning business bestseller, Trust & Betrayal in the Workplace: Building Effective Relationships in Your Organization, 2nd ed. and Rebuilding Trust in the Workplace: Seven Steps for Renewing Confidence, Commitment and Energy.

His work has served Aetna, American Express, AstraZeneca, Boeing, Ben & Jerry’s, CCL, Children’s Healthcare, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Harvard University, Hewlett Packard, Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly Clark, Kodak, Microsoft, Nokia, Sandia, Standard Life, Texas Instruments, Toyota, U.S. Treasury, Army Chaplaincy Corps, Army Corps of Engineers, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Yale University, Wyeth Nutritionals, and Walt Disney World. His work has been in Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Harvard Management Update, Time and national radio and television.

Julie Bell, Ph.D.

Tuesday, July 5th

Julie Bell, Ph.D., is the founder and president of The Mind of a Champion, a coaching firm in
Dallas, Texas. The Mind of a Champion (MOC) focuses on working with individuals and organizations seeking to improve their Performance Intelligence™.

Dr. Bell received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Oklahoma State University and a master’s and doctorate in sport psychology from the University of Virginia, where she studied under Dr. Bob Rotella. She and the MOC team have worked with teams and individuals across the country to improve personal performance and make an impact on the entire organization.

She focuses on taking the core principles of sport psychology and transferring them to the athletic playing field and corporate playing field, as well as the playing field of life. Her proprietary methodology of training Performance Intelligence™ reaches audiences at all levels of the team. Her book, Performance Intelligence at Work: The Five Essentials to Achieving the Mind of a Champion was released by McGraw Hill the summer of 2009.