LARA LOVE HARDIN is a literary agent, author, prison reform advocate, and president of True Literary. Her memoir, The Many Lives of Mama Love is a 2024 Oprah Book Club pick and a New York Times bestseller. She has an MFA in creative writing and apart from her own book, is also a five-time New York Times bestselling collaborative writer, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Designing Your Life, and 2018 Oprah Book Club pick, The Sun Does Shine, which she co-authored with Anthony Ray Hinton about his 30 years as an innocent man on Alabama’s death row. In 2019, she won a Christopher Award for her work “affirming the highest values of the human spirit,” nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and short-listed for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Lara is also the co-founder of The Gemma Project, a gender-responsive organization serving incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women with integrity and compassion.
David Ambroz is a national poverty and child welfare expert and advocate. He was recognized by President Obama as an American Champion of Change. Currently serving as the Head of Community Engagement (West) for Amazon, Ambroz previously led Corporate Social Responsibility for Walt Disney Television, and has served as president of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission as well as a California Child Welfare Council member. After growing up homeless and then in foster care, he graduated from Vassar College and later earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law. He is a foster dad and lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Jessical Lahey speaks to a wide variety of audiences about the science of learning, motivation, engagement and substance use prevention with the believe that adults have the power to help kids become more autonomous, competent, connected and fulfilled. Jesscia is an educator and best-selling author of The Gift of Failure and The Addiction Inoculation, as well as a Recovery and Prevention Coach. Her goal, when speaking to adolescents, is to give them a path forward without having to self-medicate their pain, uncertainty and angst with addictive substances. She knows. She’s been sober since 2013 and she’s been to the dark, scary places both as an alcoholic and a mother of two kids with a heightened genetic risk for substance use disorder.
Dr. Julie Radlauer is an international keynote speaker, founder of Collectively, a TEDx speaker, and a best-selling author of CONNECT. 100 Ways to Create Happiness in your Life. As a leading expert in the social influences of mental health she uses her experience in Behavioral Health to impact individuals, organizations, systems, and communities. Her approach is collaborative, creative, and curious as she strives to educate the masses about how they can impact mental health for themselves and those around them. Julie has extensive experience in behavioral health, public health, and organizational development for more than 25 years. Through speaking, coaching, curriculum development, and writing she supports health and well-being. She is passionate about creating a world where positive mental health is a human right.
Thad Shunkwiler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Science at Minnesota State University, Mankato. In addition to his academic work, he is a licensed behavioral health provider with over a decade of experience in treating people with mental health and substance use disorders in rural Minnesota communities. In 2021, he founded the Center for Rural Behavioral Health, whose mission is to improve access to mental healthcare for agricultural and rural communities in Minnesota. He recently formed Midwest Mental Health Solutions, a training and consulting firm that is committed to providing services for behavioral health professionals and organizations across the Midwestern states. As an author, TED speaker, and a national and international conference keynote presenter, Professor Shunkwiler is a recognized leader in transforming behavioral healthcare.
Dr. Crystal Collier is an expert in adolescent brain development, prevention programming, parent coaching, addiction, family-of-origin work and training new counselors. She created an online, plug-n-play prevention program called KnowYourNeruo.org which teaches the neurodevelopment effects of risky behavior to students, parents and staff.
Kathryn Hope Gordon, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Boston area who specializes in cognitive-behavioral therapy. For the first 10 years of her career, she was a professor at North Dakota State University (NDSU) who taught mental health-related classes and published research focused on suicide prevention and disordered eating. After working at NDSU, Dr. Gordon provided therapy services at Sanford Women’s Health Fargo clinic for three years. Currently, she works in a provider training role at a virtual eating disorder treatment organization. Dr. Gordon is passionate about sharing science-informed therapy tools with as many people as possible through trainings, public speaking, and writing. She is the author of The Suicidal Thoughts Workbook: CBT Skills to Reduce Emotional Pain, Increase Hope, and Prevent Suicide and The Suicidal Thoughts Guided Journal: CBT Practices to Soothe Emotional Pain, Build Coping Skills, and Find Hope.
Katie Biron is a child welfare advocate, writer, and consultant with nearly 20 years of experience in foster care and adoption. She has firsthand experience as both a foster caregiver and an adoptive mother. Katie is passionate about helping caregivers and parents of children in out-of-home care build and navigate child-centered relationships.
Katie is passionate about creating more inclusive, authentic, and diverse representation in children's literature, particularly for children in foster and adoptive families. Her first book, The Love Tree, is one example of her effort to fill the gap in children's books that reflect the unique experiences of foster and adoptive families. Katie is the creator of the Family Connections Program™, which utilizes peer mentorship to help caregivers and parents build working relationships centered around maintaining essential connections for children or youth placed in out-of-home care.
Jessica Hoeper is a licensed independent social worker, Reflective Consultant, Author, Mother, Wife and Founder of Ray of Hope, LLC. With almost 20 years of human service experience; in the roles of reflective coach/consultant/supervisor, child and family services supervisor, child protection social worker, juvenile justice social worker, and mental health practitioner. Jessica’s Reflective Coaching strategy is informed by and draws from her training in professional coaching and infant mental health’s reflective consultation and supervision model. Jess and her husband are raising their five kids on a farm in central Minnesota.
Pediatrician- Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN Dr. Katie Johnson is originally from Washington state. She completed her undergraduate education at Cornell University, her medical school and pediatrics residency at Mayo Clinic, and her fellowship in Child Abuse Pediatrics at the University of Washington. She returned to Mayo Clinic in 2022 to join the Mayo Clinic Center for Safe and Healthy Children and Adolescents.
Rodney Wambeam, Ph.D. is a Senior Research Scientist at the Wyoming Survey & Analysis Center (WYSAC) of the University of Wyoming (UW), where he is also Director of the Mountain Plains Prevention Technology Transfer Center (Region 8 PTTC). Dr. Wambeam and his team provide training and technical assistance across the mountain plains, and they conduct numerous substance abuse prevention and treatment research projects in many states including Arkansas, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming. He has presented more than 50 keynotes across the country on substance abuse prevention with millennials and on the history of alcohol in America. His book “The Community Needs Assessment Workbook” from Oxford University Press came out in 2015.
Matthew M. Anderson is the author of Being Super Human (2025) and Running Mate (2013). Matt is a Black Belt in Karate, an ordained minister, and international speaker and leadership coach who has spent over two decades developing leaders in the non-profit, government, and public sectors. The founder of The Kindness Initiative and Surprise Church Bismarck, Matt has coached hundreds of leaders and spoken to thousands around the world out of his passion to help individuals and teams live up to their immense potential.
Robin Pendleton: Director of Training for Pursuit of Discovery has developed curriculum and trainings for numerous State Units on Aging, local governments, and not for profits focusing on communication, professional development, and supervisory skills. He has also been employed with the State of Missouri for over 20 years, working with the Departments of Mental Health and currently with Department of Health and Senior Services. He has served as the training unit supervisor for Adult Protective Services as well as trainer for Human Resources. He has over a decade of experience training employees in many topics focused on providing trauma informed, person centered care. Robin is also currently the Chair of the Curriculum Development Committee for the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA).
Denise Andress is the Director of the Training Academy for Addiction Professionals (TAAP). With over 30 years of experience in healthcare, Denise has dedicated 25 years to student engagement and healthcare workforce development. Her nursing background has been foundational in her lifelong commitment to ensuring that rural communities, particularly in North Dakota, have access to the healthcare professionals they need. Denise's passion for supporting rural workforce initiatives drives her work in expanding access to addiction counseling and ensuring that rural populations receive the care they deserve.
Dr. Julie Smith-Yliniemi (Anishinaabe) is an educator, counselor, and community-engaged researcher serving as Assistant Professor in the Department of Indigenous Health at the University of North Dakota. She is the Director of Community-Engaged Research for the Indigenous Trauma and Resilience Research Center and a fellow in multiple national initiatives focused on Indigenous mental health and healing. With a deep commitment to decolonizing behavioral health practices, Julie brings a unique blend of academic expertise, cultural grounding, and lived experience to her work. Her engaging presentations center relational accountability, wellness, and the power of Indigenous knowledge systems in transforming care.
Leah Honeyman, LMSW, has been employed with ND Health and Human Services- Children & Family Services Section since September 2020. Currently, she serves as the Case Management Administrator and has aided in the implementation of the Safety Framework Practice Model, working with both Zones and Tribal partners providing technical assistance and policy oversight. Before her employment at the CFS Division, Leah served as a In Home and Foster Care Case Manager for eight years at Southwest Dakota Human Service Zone. Leah received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in 2012 and her Bachelor of Arts from the Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2007. Leah also served as a United State Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana, Africa from 2008-2010. Leah and her husband, Jaden, live in Scranton, ND with their two children- Blaze and Oaklee.
Christiana Pond has been the Kinship Navigator for the Kinship-ND program under Children and Family Services for 4.5 years. Christiana has a unique understanding of the needs of kinship families as a former foster parent, kinship youth, and has many family members who have been kinship caregivers. She has a Master of Arts in Human Services and a Bachelor of Arts in Cross Cultural studies.
Melissa Slominski is a Child Welfare Supervisor for the In-Home Unit at Roughrider North Human Service Zone. She has been working in child welfare for 14 years, six years as an In Home Case manager and the last 8 as an In Home Supervisor. She is a strong advocate for children in and families in North Dakota and keeping those families together when it can be done so safely. She lives in Dickinson with her significant other, her two children and his two children.
Sarah Goerts has been a licensed master’s social worker in North Dakota since 2014, with experience supporting kinship caregivers through her current role at Fargo Public Schools (FPS). At FPS, her focus is on student stability—recognizing that a child’s success begins at home—and she advocates for kinship care as a critical support in meeting the academic, emotional, and social needs of the whole child.
