Charles is the CEO & Chief Idea-Maker at Ideation, an idea agency that specializes in helping businesses & organizations create & implement remarkable ideas via creative business design, organizational innovation, branding, design, marketing, social media, and divergent problem-solving. He is also the author of Good Idea. Now What?: How to Move Ideas to Execution, a practical book designed to help people move ideas to implementation. In addition, Charles is the creator of grassroots efforts including Ideation Conference, the Idea Camp, and the Freeze Project as well as the co-founder of JustOne. Charles regularly speaks on topics such as creativity, innovation, idea-making, branding, collaboration, new media, and social entrepreneurism.

Rob Morris is the President and Co-founder of Love146, an international human rights organization working to end child trafficking and exploitation.

Rob thinks it is awkward to write a bio in “third person”, pretending that someone else is writing it. So he asked those who matter most to him, know him best and would be the most honest, to tell you about him...his six children:

“Rob is short. He is passionate, funny, patient and makes the best lasagna. He’s a rock star, mentor and friend. Rob’s the most considerate person ever and makes people happy…not sure why, but he has that affect. He gives good advice, is afraid of clowns and can’t dance. He’s the best speaker I ever heard and his favorite word is “bizarre.” Rob likes the New York Yankees and loves chicken parm, He’s the best storyteller ever, and does things that matter and make a difference. “

And from his youngest…”Me and Dad go fishing.”

Lindsey is a Texas transplant living in Nashville, Tennessee, with a sincere love for her precious dog Molly, a good red wine and the Pappasitos in the DFW airport. When she’s not making trips back to Orange County {where she spent a 9 month stint soaking up the sun and building community at Project 7}, Dallas {where her oh-so-sweet parents reside}, Raleigh {home to her precious sister and three nieces}, or Birmingham {where she first fell in love with the South}, she’s working furiously for Food for the Hungry to mobilize others to go to the hard places and bring hope and help to the children.

Mike Foster is the Co-Founder and Chief Chance Officer at People of the Second Chance. He is the Author of the best selling book “Gracenomics: Unleash the Power of Second Chance Living” and the creator of “Freeway: Six Steps to Freedom.”


He is a frequent television commentator and speaks at churches, colleges, and events around the country. Mike’s inspirational message is practical, challenging and filled with fresh insights about God’s radical grace.

He lives with his family in sunny San Diego, California

Brandon is founding pastor of Austin New Church, a Missional Strategist with Missio (www.missio.us), and author of "Barefoot Church: Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture".

Peter Greer is president and CEO of HOPE International, a global nonprofit focused on Christ-centered job creation, savings mobilization, and financial training.

With over 10 years working in international development, Peter spent time as a microfinance practitioner in Cambodia, Zimbabwe, and Rwanda—where he managed Urwego, named “the best microfinance institution in Rwanda” by the United Nations. In his current role at HOPE International, he has led the expansion of the network from three to 16 countries. HOPE now serves over 500,000 active clients worldwide through microfinance. He has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School and an honorary doctorate from Erskine College.

Peter coauthored The Poor Will Be Glad (Zondervan, 2009), Mommy’s Heart Went POP! (Russell Media, 2012) and is currently writing The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good (Bethany House, 2013) and Mission Drift (to be released in 2014). Peter blogs at www.peterkgreer.com. Follow him on Twitter at @peterkgreer.

Peter resides in Lancaster, Pa., with his wife, Laurel, and their three children.

Esther Havens is known as a Humanitarian Photographer. She captures stories that transcend a person's circumstances and reveal their true strength. For many years she has worked on social-awareness campaigns with organizations such as charity: water, TOMS Shoes, Warby Parker and Malaria No More. Her images compel thought and challenge action. She has traveled to over 50 countries in the last 10 years -- and she'll keep going until she sees that every person on the planet has access to education, clean drinking water and a job to provide for their families. At heart, she is a connector, fostering relationships across continents, cultures, industries and perspectives.

Bio: http://www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/p/30-second-review.html

Kristen is a marriage and family therapist and professor of psychology at Vanguard University. Kristen is the author of the blog Rage Against the Minivan, where she explores issues of identity, race, adoption, parenting, and the sometimes embarrassing indignities of motherhood. In addition to her own blog, Kristen is the editor of ShePosts, an online magazine dedicated to women in social media. She is also a regular contributor to Disney’s parenting site Babble, as well as to Huffington Post and OC Family Magazine.  Kristen is an avid advocate for orphans. As an adoptive mom, her greatest hope is that all children can grow up in a family, and that children in orphanages can be supported to reunite with their families or placed in an adoptive home.

In the spring of 2010, Kristen lost her long and passionate battle against the minivan.  It now sits in her driveway covered in crushed cheerios and remnants of her self-esteem.

In 2008, Mark Horvath, now known to many as @hardlynormal, set out to film the stories of America’s homeless and share them with as many people as possible on InvisiblePeople.tv. Since then, he has become an internationally recognized activist and ambassador for the millions of individuals and families who reside in shelters, motels, tents along the streets and under highway bridges across the country.

My passion is to inspire a new generation of women to encounter the invisible God. I love words and I believe God uses them to heal souls and to reveal Himself to people. I am blessed to be working with Thomas Nelson to publish several studies and trade books, engaging women’s minds and hearts toward Christ. Three studies are now available: Stuck, Anything, and Chase.

Jeremy and Jessica Courtney first visited Iraq in 2006 with hopes of loving and serving the poor. Almost three years before, they had moved to Turkey to begin a business in the eastern part of that country to contribute to the development of an area that had been left behind the growing global prosperity. But drawn to areas where needs are acute and opportunities are abundant, the Courtneys felt a compelling calling to move even farther east (and south) to Iraq.

The Courtneys had dozens of ideas for how they might spread an awareness of local culture and nurture opportunities for indigenously sustainable development, but they would have never imagined they would soon be selling shoes to save kids’ lives. Through Jeremy’s initial contract work with an NGO in Northern Iraq, they began to see firsthand the heartbreaking results of poverty and stymied economic and technological development. The Courtneys also connected with a co-worker, Cody Fisher, who would quickly become a collaborator in this enterprise of culture and compassion.
Dissatisfied with mere sympathy, Jeremy started looking for solutions. He found one in his growing fascination with Kurdish klash: hand-stitched, locally-made shoes traditionally worn by the Kurds. Cody had been working with a group of non-Muslim doctors who donated their surgical skills to Muslims as a way of working towards harmony and reconciliation. The initial business – Buy Shoes. Save Lives. (BSSL) – simply connected these two discoveries, opening up an international market to buy fashionable shoes in a way that saves lives by funding travel and exam costs for pediatric heart surgeries. After months of surprising success, Fisher and the Courtneys decided that a non-profit model was the only way to successfully mobilize the level of funding needed for these Iraqi children.
As the Preemptive Love Coalition’s vision for “local-solutions to local problems” began to shift away from focusing on economic development and toward medical systems development inside Iraq instead. After the success of the first-of-its-kind Remedy Mission I in August 2010 the organization has experienced tremendous success and receptivity across Iraq, with contracts to run sixteen surgical/training missions per year in 2012 and invitations from other hospitals for an additional twelve.

Anyone who spends even a brief amount of time with Jeremy & Jessica knows that their lives are driven by a love for God. They strive in each moment to submit to Jesus’ example and to fulfill Jesus’ mission of healing and reconciliation in the world. The Courtneys see their work through PLC as a way of living out their own identity as followers of Jesus, seeking to love the most down and out of the world’s people as an expression of their love for God.

Jeremy and Jessica have a daughter, Emma (b. 2005), and a son, Micah (b. 2007). In his spare time after saving lives, Jeremy is a musician and songwriter. He is also passionate about discovering ways that people can build meaningful bridges of understanding and reconciliation across cultures through music and storytelling. In addition to her role as PLC’s Family Services Director, Jessica is a full-time mother and an avid quilter, seamstress, scrapbooker and gardener.

Eric Stowe believes that every child has a right to clean water—and he has built an innovative, scalable approach to act on that belief. Since founding Splash in 2006, Stowe has developed a highly effective model to ensure safe water for urban children living at the intersection of these two streets: 'greatest degrees of poverty' and 'worst water quality conditions.' Thus, his organization works in places like schools, feeding centers, pediatric hospitals, street shelters, and orphanages in the poorest sectors of these cities.

Leveraging world-class water purification technology, sustainable monitoring and maintenance, excellent people, and a rigorous commitment to transparency, Splash will soon announce that every orphanage in China has safe drinking water. Stowe's team will then demonstrate how they are customizing their approach for 15 more countries in Asia and East Africa. Stowe is a 2012 AmericanExpress NGen Fellow and a 2012 PopTech Social Innovation Fellow.

Sarah Markley is the mother of two daughters and a wife to an amazing husband of seventeen years. She’s been writing all her life but has been blogging for the last six. She writes regularly for A Deeper Church, is a staff writer for {in}courage.me and is currently working on her first book. Sarah knows firsthand what it’s like living in a post-crisis marriage and loves extravagant grace, second chances and seeing people become whole. She blogs at www.sarahmarkley.com and has lately been exploring what bravery, honesty and risk-taking mean for us as lovers of Christ and as people who want to build His kingdom. 

Matthew is co-founder of Restore Communities and one of the founding pastors of Austin New Church. Matthew has the honor to speak at local and national community, leadership, and advocacy events on issues of justice, human trafficking, reconciliation, theology, and community. His hope is to inspire action and pastor people into lives of justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Matthew has a BA in Biblical Theology from Trinity Southwest, and is currently working on his MDiv at George Fox Seminary. Matthew and his wife Sarah live in the heart of Austin, Texas with their four kids.

After several years of working as a sex worker, Laura Lasky decided it was time for a change. There were no earthquakes or a voice from the sky. All she knew was that the people she loves and cares for the most are grossly misrepresented.

So. What to do?

Fast forward to October of 2008: along with a few friends, Laura ventured out to local strip clubs to deliver cupcakes and gifts with a note that read, “Thinking of you, you are loved. See you soon!” 5 1/2 years later, she and her team can be found every Wednesday night in the strip clubs and gathering places of San Francisco, visiting the ladies and gentlemen who work as strippers, escorts and porn stars.

Laura is the Executive Director and Founder of solaceSF, an organization that offers compassionate care while journeying with those they meet, know and love within the adult industry.

She is featured in Jeremy Cowart’s book, "What's your MARK?" and was given the title of “The Cupcake Lady” by The Huffington Post. Laura calls San Francisco home, is cheerfully married to her best friend, Stephen and is ready to experience tacos in Austin.

Matt and his wife Ginny founded 99 Balloons, an organization that engages individuals with disability locally & globally. Many know Matt through the story of his son, Eliot- whose 99 days on this earth were commemorated with 99 balloons. He is the author of the forthcoming book, "A Story Unfinished".

Matt lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he busies himself raising Eliot's siblings- Hazel, Anders and Lena. He blogs at The Atypical Life.

Jessica Honegger lives in Austin where she enjoys dance parties with her three littles, 2 biological and one from Rwanda, long dinners with her husband, and good wine with her girlfriends. She spends the majority of her days running Noonday Collection, a business born out of the adoption process, that creates sustainable income opportunities for vulnerable populations. It is a dream so amazing she could have never thought of it herself. You can join the story by visiting www.noondaycollection.com

Seth Haines is an attorney with the Arkansas law firm of Friday, Eldredge, & Clark. Although his practices focuses primarily on commercial litigation, Seth has taken a significant interest in orphan care advocacy and the underlying policy considerations. Visiting Ethiopia in 2012, Seth spoke with leading legal scholars in the orphan care field, and visited several public and private orphan care facilities. Seth utilized this information in facilitating a seminar for University of Arkansas students, which explored the legal frame work of international orphan care, and the practical application of the that framework. In his free time, Seth enjoys reading, writing, and fishing the rivers of Arkansas. He and his wife Amber live in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and are raising four boys.

Jason Kovacs is the Pastor of Counseling at the Austin Stone Community Church and CoFounder of Together for Adoption. He has a passion to see the church gripped with the heart of God and practically living in the freedom of the Gospel. Jason oversees the care & counseling ministries including counseling training, pre-marriage, marriage counseling, support groups and Recovery. As an extension of the church he directs the Austin Stone Counseling Center providing gospel-centered professional counseling to clients from our church and in the city. Jason also helps lead the orphancare/adoption network at the Austin Stone, mobilizing, equipping, and caring for adoptive and foster families.

He is a contributing author of Reclaiming Adoption: Missional Living Through the Rediscovery of Abba Father, writing on ‘Missional Living and Adoption.'

Jason and his wife Shawnda live in East Austin with their 5 children.

In 2007, Chris met a starving young orphan living in an abandoned gas station in Zimbabwe. That encounter compelled him to start Help One Now and dedicate his life to seeking justice by empowering leaders and organizing tribes to launch global movements that do good.
He currently lives in downtown Raleigh with his wife, two daughters.

Follower of Jesus, husband of Jane and father of Hope, Hannah, Naomi and Olivia. Working on all of the above while serving with Youth With A Mission, Grace Church of NWA and studying at George Fox Evangelical Seminary.

Bianca Juarez Olthoff is a writer and teacher passionate about life change through the power of the gospel. She spends her week working as Chief Storyteller for The A21 Campaign, an anti-human trafficking organization, and shares about true freedom for those who are in bondage.

Passionate about God's word, she teaches around the globe and blogs about life, love, and the pursuit of Jesus. Whether discussing topics about justice or pop culture, Bianca has spent over 10 years dedicated to mobilizing God's people to action inside and outside of the Church.

Ryan is President of Forgotten Voices, which he founded in 2005 after being overwhelmed by the needs of orphaned children in Zimbabwe. Forgotten Voices is innovating orphan care through the local church in Zimbabwe and Zambia. Ryan met many local pastors who knew what to do, but their ideas were not being heard. Their stories compelled him to take action to solve this issue. Previously, Ryan led innovative, job creating economic development programs in Central Pennsylvania. Ryan is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School with a Masters in Public Policy, where he was a Pforzheimer Fellow. He holds a BA in Politics from Messiah College. Ryan and his wife, Katie, live near Harrisburg, PA with two young girls.

Dan is a blogger and professional social media guy. He's a co-author of Activist Faith: From Him and For Him (NavPress), and the author of The Unlikely Missionary: From Pew-Warmer to Poverty-Fighter. If you're looking for him, he's probably scheming somewhere over (fair-trade) coffee about how to change the world.

Ashlee Heiligman is a native Texan with a passion for child protection in the developing world. Since 2009, she has served with Compasio Relief & Development, whose focus is protecting the most vulnerable children on the Thai-Burma border. Operating in the largest trade hub between Thailand and Burma, Compasio’s team of Thai and Burmese nationals work daily to prevent trafficking and abuse and respond when crisis occurs. As a social worker, Ashlee spent two years in Thailand helping build capacity within the organization and developing best practices in their approach to child protection and alternative care. When her work was finished there, she moved back to the states to serve as the Director of Development. Now, Ashlee spends her days inspiring churches and individuals to get involved with what God is doing through Compasio. She and her husband, Harrison, love living in Austin but visit Thailand as often as possible.

Mike Rusch is Chief Operating Officer at Pure Charity, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering people to create tangible, measurable results through discovering, sharing, and funding non-profit projects around the world.  Mike has served as Vice President, Shopper Insights for Nickelodeon, MTVN Kids & Family Group, Director of Retail Analytics at The Walt Disney Company, as a member of the Category Management team at Hershey Foods and within the Information Systems Division of  Walmart Stores, Inc.  Mike serves on the Board of Directors for the Kidmia Foundation, Help One Now and is a founding member of the Cobblestone Project.  Mike lives in Bentonville, Arkansas with his wife of 17 years and four amazing children.