Fr. Thomas Loya, STB, MA

Fr. Thomas J. Loya is currently the pastor of Annunciation of the Mother of God Byzantine Catholic Church in Chicago, IL and the Eastern Catholic spiritual advisor for TOBIA. Before entering the seminary he earned a degree and pursued a career in commercial art and design, after which he worked for a Church design firm. He completed his studies for the priesthood in Pennsylvania and Rome and was ordained in 1982. In 1993 he added to his Bachelor of Fine Arts by earning a Masters in Counseling and Human Services. He has worked on the iconography both of his present parish and of St. John's parish in Solon, Ohio. In addition to his duties as a pastor and iconographer, Fr. Loya has served the Church in youth and young adult ministry and as an artist and design consultant. He has directed many retreats and has been a guest speaker at conventions and at World Youth Day 2002. www.byzantinecatholic.com

Dr. Janet Smith

Janet E. Smith holds the Father Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. She is the author of Humanae Vitae: A Generation Later, editor of Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader. She has published many articles on ethical and bioethics issues. She has taught at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Dallas. Prof. Smith has received the Haggar Teaching Award from the University of Dallas, the Prolife Person of the Year from the Diocese of Dallas, and the Cardinal Wright Award from the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars. She is serving a second term as a consultor to the Pontifical Council on the Family. Over a million copies of her talk, Contraception: Why Not have been distributed.

Prof Smith has a new series of talks “Sexual Common Sense”. This series includes a new updated version of Contraception: Why Not and 11 additional talks on sexual issues and bioethical issues. The series is available from mycatholicfaith.org. A Question and Answer Book on Bioethics, entitled Life Issues and Medical Choices: Questions and Answers for Catholics will be available from Servant Press in the Fall of 2007.

Suzanne M. Baars, MA

Suzanne Baars holds a Master of Arts degree in Mental Health Counseling from St. Mary's University, and is licensed in Texas as a professional counselor, marriage and family therapist and chemical dependency therapist. She has experience in both inpatient and outpatient psychotherapy and has been practicing since 1986. Sue is currently in private practice and operates In His Image Christian Counseling Service in Dallas, Texas.  She has appeared on EWTN's 'Living His Life Abundantly' with Johnnette Benkovic many times and presented the work of her late father, Dr. Conrad Baars, in the areas of treating scrupulosity, obsessive-compulsive disorder and emotional deprivation disorder, among other things.  She presents a vision of psychology based on that of St. Thomas Aquinas, which truly integrates a Christian concept of the human person and sound psychological principles. www.conradbaars.com/SueBaarsBio.htm

Dr. Edward Sri

Dr. Edward Sri is Provost and Professor of Theology and Scripture at the Augustine Institute’s Master’s in Catechetics and Evangelization program in Denver, Colorado. He is the author of several books, including the newly published title: Men, Women and the Mystery of Love: Practical Insights on John Paul II’s Love and Responsibility (Servant, August 2007).

Edward is a founding leader with Curtis Martin of FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). He appears on EWTN and regularly writes and speaks on Scripture, apologetics and the Catholic faith. He also serves as a visiting professor at Benedictine College, where he taught full-time for nine years. Edward holds a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He now resides with his wife Elizabeth and their four children in Littleton, Colorado.

Abbot John Braganza, OSB

Fr. Abbot John Braganza OSB is a Benedictine monk of Westminster Abbey, Mission B.C. Canada. He was professed in 1986 and ordained to the priesthood in 1992. He was born Steven Benedict Braganza of very happily married parents who inspired his vocation. He completed his formation as a monk and a priest at the Seminary of Christ the King at Westminster Abbey. After teaching in the high school and college seminaries for three years Fr. John was sent by the the Abbot to Rome to obtain a licentiate in Spiritual Theology at the University of St. Thomas in Rome. He returned in 1997 to teach Dogmatic Theology, Chant, English, Drama and other subjects. In 2005, Fr. John was elected to be the third Abbot of Westminster after the sudden and untimely death of his predecessor. In addition to his duties as Abbot, he continues to teach in both seminaries.

Greg and Julie Alexander

Several years ago Greg and Julie Alexander were at a point where they concluded that a divorce was the only way out of what they thought to be a troubled marriage. Living a life based on the things that society says are important took them spiraling downward until they literally hit rock-bottom. A dear priest guided them back to the truths of the Church, and as they begin to learn those truths and incorporate them into their lives they were able to restore the love that they once had for each other. After miraculously returning from the brink of divorce Greg and Julie began working on what is now known as The Alexander House, a non-profit apostolate dedicated to the education and enrichment of marriage and family life. Their revolutionary Marriage Works N-HIM™ process is consistent with Roman Catholic Church teachings, traditional family values and virtues.

Several years ago Greg and Julie Alexander were at a point where they concluded that a divorce was the only way out of what they thought to be a troubled marriage. Living a life based on the things that society says are important took them spiraling downward until they literally hit rock-bottom. A dear priest guided them back to the truths of the Church, and as they began to learn those truths and incorporate them into their lives they were able to restore the love that they once had for each other. After miraculously returning from the brink of divorce Greg and Julie began working on what is now known as The Alexander House, a non-profit apostolate dedicated to the education and enrichment of marriage and family life. Prior to working full-time with The Alexander House, they spent two and half years as Coordinators of the Family Life Office in the Diocese of Austin and a year and a half as House Parents at a maternity home in Georgetown, Texas, but their greatest learning has come through their relationship with one another and their children.

Greg and Julie have presented numerous workshops, seminars and talks to thousands of participants across the nation; they’ve appeared on Closer Walk Ministries, Life on the Rock (EWTN), and they will co-host their own show called Marriage Works in Christ, also presented on EWTN. They are frequent guests on talk radio programs including Relevant Radio and various Catholic Radio stations. Their breakthrough work in marriage and their story has been profiled in Patrick Madrid’s Surprised by Truth 3, One More Soul’s Sterilization Reversal Book ~ A Generous Act of Love, Envoy Magazine, Catholic Herald, Denver Catholic Register, Zenit, Archdiocese of Chicago, Global Nation, Family Research Council and Our Sunday Visitor. Greg and Julie have been married for 19 years and have five beautiful children.

Monica Ashour

Monica Ashour is a co-founding member of TOBET, the Theology of the Body Evangelization Team. Ms. Ashour holds two Masters from the University of Dallas, one in Theological Studies and one in Humanities. She has traveled throughout Texas, giving talks about the Pope’s revolutionary Theology of the Body. As an author of a curriculum on the Theology of the Body for religious education and Catholic schools, Monica seeks to spread the Gospel in the light of the Holy Father’s profound understanding of the dignity of the human person. She teaches Theology and English at The Highlands School in Irving, TX.

Annie Vining

Annie Vining received a bachelor's degree in Philosophy with minors in Religious Studies and Spanish from Texas A&M University. She holds a masters degree in Theology from the University of Dallas, where she focused on marriage and the family particularly as they are presented in the writings of Pope John Paul II. An internationally published author, Annie has years of experience giving presentations to different religious organizations. She is the president of the Theology of the Body Evangelization Team, a non-profit organization formed to spread Pope John Paul II’s explanation of the Church’s teaching on sex and marriage. Annie and her husband Steven are proud parents three children.

Anastasia Northrop

Anastasia Northrop is president of the Theology of the Body International Alliance. For the last seven years she has worked full time with Our Father's Will Communications, a Catholic media ministry, in promoting John Paul II's understanding of the human person worldwide. She is a speaker and writer on the theology of the body and related topics and is the author of the study guide for the text of the Theology of the Body entitled The Freedom of the Gift. As the president of the Theology of the Body International Alliance she organizes both the National Forum on the Theology of the Body and the National Catholic Singles Conference.