Gaby Viesca

Your 2023 Awakenings Gathering Emcee | Gaby hails from a desert-like city in northern Mexico called Torreón. She graduated from college in the city of Puebla, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in International Business (Universidad de las Americas). In 2011, she moved to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in Biblical Studies (Regent University), though her plan was to go back to Mexico (and the business world) shortly after graduation. Twelve years later, she still lives in the United States where she’s been serving the Church in multiple roles ever since.

Gaby has worked in full-time ministry in Israel, Mexico and the Pacific Northwest. She is passionate about building bridges between the Church and Academia, preaching and writing, and mobilizing congregations to fully participate in the life of the church. Some of her previous roles include Director of Masters Programs at Portland Seminary, Campus Pastor at George Fox University, and various pastoral roles in the Pacific Northwest. She currently serves as a chair of the Evangelical Studies Unit at the American Academy of Religion.

Vilma “Nina” Balmaceda

Nina is a scholar-practitioner whose work focuses on interdisciplinary education and civic leadership development for justpeace and reconciliation. She serves as the associate director of the Center for Reconciliation and a consulting faculty member of the practice of reconciliation and Hispanic studies at Duke University’s Divinity School. She is also president and CEO of Peace and Hope International (PHI), a faith-based peacebuilding nonprofit dedicated to preventing and confronting violence and other forms of injustice in Latin America. Born and raised in Lima, Peru, where Nina worked in the human rights field, she holds a Law degree by the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru; master degrees in International Peace Studies and in Government; and a PhD in Political Science by the University of Notre Dame du Lac. Nina and her family are based in Durham, North Carolina.

Tara Beth Leach

Tara Beth Leach is a pastor who has served in churches in New York, Chicagoland, and most recently as the senior pastor of First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena in Southern California (“PazNaz”). She is a graduate of Olivet Nazarene University (BA, youth ministry) and Northern Theological Seminary (MDiv). She is the author of Radiant Church (IVP 2021), Emboldened (IVP, 2017), Kingdom Culture (Foundry, 2017), and a contributor to multiple academic chapters. She has two beautiful and rambunctious sons, Caleb, 10, and Noah, 8, and has been married to the love of her life, Jeff, since 2006.

Sean Palmer

Sean Palmer is Teaching Pastor at Ecclesia Houston, a writer, and sought-after speaker across the country. He, along with his wife, Rochelle, and their two daughters live in Houston, TX.

Rebecca Jeney Park-Hearn

Jeney is a second generation Korean American and the daughter of Korean American immigrant parents. Her father was an ordained minister for over 40 years and from her parents she learned about ministry and vibrant faith. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Formation at Portland Seminary and is an ordained deacon. Her ministry experiences include congregational care, hospital chaplaincy, English language ministries in Korean American churches, and pastoral counseling and psychotherapy. Informed and shaped by these contexts, she is interested in widening the scope of spiritual formation through ongoing dialogue with psychology and voices on the periphery.

Michelle Ferrigno Warren

Michelle Ferrigno Warren has worked in Christian community development for three decades utilizing her skills as an educator, worship leader, non-profit manager, public policy specialist & faith-rooted activist. She is the President of Virago Strategies and the author of The Power of Proximity, Moving Beyond Awareness to Action and Join the Resistance, Step into the Good Work of Kingdom Justice. You can follow her at @mcfwarren.

Michelle Sanchez

Michelle T. Sanchez, MDiv, ThM, serves as the senior executive leader for discipleship and evangelism with the Evangelical Covenant Church, a multiethnic denomination of 875+ congregations. Michelle is the author of Color-Courageous Discipleship, Color-Courageous Discipleship Student Edition, and the picture book, God’s Beloved Community. After studying international business at NYU, Michelle worked as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs and ministered to international students with Cru. She has served in various capacities with the Institute for Bible Reading, the Pelican Project, and the Lausanne Movement. She is a frequent conference speaker and a regular columnist for Outreach Magazine. Find her at MichelleTSanchez.com.

Mekdes Haddis

Mekdes Haddis is the author of A Just Mission: Laying Down Power and Embracing Mutuality. She is the founder of Just Missions, an online community that elevates diaspora voices and equips Western allies to become mutual partners for the work of the gospel. She is also the project director of the Racial Justice and Reconciliation Collaborative for the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). Originally from Ethiopia, she moved to the U.S. in 2003 and earned a BS in communications from Liberty University and a masters in organizational leadership from Columbia International University.  She and her husband Ermias are parents of two beautiful children.

Matt Tebbe

Matt Tebbe has been in local church ministry for over twenty years. He is cofounder of Gravity Leadership, where he writes regularly, and co-pastor at The Table in Indianapolis. He has written for Leadership Journal, Shattered Magazine, Missio Alliance, Christianity Today, and co-authored Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms to Cultivate a Robust Faith. He’s been married for 23 years to Sharon and they share the joy of raising a 14 year old boy, an 11 year old girl, and a 4 year old golden retriever.

Marlena Graves

Marlena Graves is the Assistant Professor of Spiritual Formation at Northeastern Seminary. She has written five books, two of which were award-winning, and over 200 articles found in venues like Christianity Today, Relevant, Sojourners, and more. She has had pastoral positions at several churches and has worked for many non-profits in solidarity with the poor, migrant farm workers, immigrants from South America, and local community members and leaders who sought to address police brutality in the Toledo, Ohio area and lead paint poisoning of children. She is married to her husband Shawn, and has three wonderful, beautiful, brilliant, and growing girls.

Mark Charles

Mark Charles is a dynamic and thought-provoking public speaker, writer, and consultant. The son of an American woman (of Dutch heritage) and a Navajo man, he teaches with insight into the complexities of American history regarding race, culture, and faith in order to help forge a path of healing and conciliation for the nation. He is one of the leading authorities on the 15th-century’s Doctrine of Discovery and its influence on US history and its intersection with modern-day society. Mark co-authored, along with Soong-Chan Rah, the new book entitled “Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery ” (IVP, 2019).

Dorcas Cheng-Tozun

Dorcas Cheng-Tozun is a writer, editor, and experienced nonprofit and social enterprise professional. She is the editorial director at Pax. Dorcas has worked in a number of areas, including community development, youth leadership, affordable housing, and global energy access, and has lived in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Kenya. She is the author of three books, the most recent being Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul: How to Change the World in Quiet Ways (releasing June 2023). She resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two young sons. Follow her at chengtozun.com or on social media @chengtozun.com.

Mondo Scott

Mondo Scott is an artist, photographer, and longtime pastor. He is a co-founder and the creative director at Pax, a Christian nonprofit that seeks to inspire the church to embody the peace and justice of Jesus. Mondo is married to his BFF, Salena, and together they are raising their Gen Z daughter, Selah, to be a radical follower of Jesus in the twenty-first century. They all live, work, and play in Los Angeles, California. Follow Mondo on social media @mondoscott.

Osheta Moore

Osheta Moore is a peacemaker, pastor, spiritual director, speaker, and writer. She is a co-founder and the spiritual director at Pax, a Christian nonprofit that seeks to inspire the church to embody the peace and justice of Jesus. She is the author of Shalom Sistas: Living Wholeheartedly in a Brokenhearted World and Dear White Peacemakers: Dismantling Racism with Grit and Grace. Osheta also pastors Roots Moravian Church in Saint Paul, MN, where she resides with her husband T.C. and three teenage and young adult children (Tyson, T.J., and Trinity). Follow her at osheta.com or on social media @oshetamoore.

Made For Pax

Pax is a faith-based organization that inspires the church to embody the peace and justice of Jesus through contemplative formation. We do this through the discipleship pathway of the multisensory StoryArc publication; resources and events that teach just living and peacemaking; an annual contemplative retreat for Christian BIPOC leaders; and a vocational discovery fellowship for young Christians who want to pursue entrepreneurship or the arts. Through our efforts and that of countless others, we envision a community of everyday peacemakers building toward a more beautiful and liberated world together. Learn more at www.madeforpax.org or follow us on social media @madeforpax.

Kyuboem Lee

Kyuboem Lee (BA Biblical & Theological Studies, MDiv Urban Mission, DMin Urban Mission) was born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. He attended Wheaton College & Westminster Theological Seminary. Kyuboem has lived, church planted and ministered cross culturally in Philadelphia, PA, since 1993. He has also taught urban mission since 2006 and edited the Journal of Urban Mission (http://jofum.com/) since 2010. He has coached with the V3 Movement since 2018. Currently, he serves as DMin Program Director and Assistant Professor of Missiology at Missio Seminary in Philadelphia. Kyuboem is married to Christe and is the father of 2 sons.

Kurtley Knight

Rev. Dr. Kurtley Knight is Assistant Professor of Spiritual Formation at Portland Seminary of George Fox University. An ordained priest in the Anglican Church of North America, he also serves as an Assisting Priest at Church of the Vine, in Newberg, OR. Kurtley earned his B.A. in Theology from Oakwood University, his M.Div. from Andrews University, and his DMin. from Portland Seminary in 2016. He has served the Church for over a decade in various capacities throughout California, Pennsylvania, Texas, and now Oregon. Kurtley loves spending time with his wife Ivah, a radiation therapist in the Portland area.

Keisha Polonio

Keisha Polonio is a results-driven leader, certified growth coach, speaker, and therapist, whose expertise and global heart extend to the private and public sectors. Keisha served as an activist, chief storyteller, and Executive Director for Created Women, a ministry that supports vulnerable women caught in the sex industry in Tampa, Florida, and worked as Associate Director and leadership coach with the Underground Network. She received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of South Florida. Keisha embodies the work that she calls others to as a proud Belizean woman, Kidney cancer survivor, who is a wife and mother of two boys.

Juliet Liu

Juliet Liu has served as pastor at Life on the Vine since 2014. Prior to this role, Juliet pastored as college campus minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, served as the Director of Worship Arts at Northshore Chinese Christian Church, and ministered as Director of Chapel at Trinity International University. A graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.Div, 2005), Juliet will complete a DMin in Spiritual Direction and Formation at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in 2025. She serves as Chair of the Board for Missio Alliance. As a second-generation Vietnamese Chinese American, she enjoys speaking and writing about spirituality that is contemplative, justice-centered, and de-Westernized.

José Humphreys

José Humphreys III is a native New Yorker, ordained minister, and co-founder of Metro Hope Church. He is also a social worker, consultant, and author of Seeing Jesus in East Harlem. Humphreys continues to participate in shalom-making and trauma-informed healing work through facilitating conversations across social, economic, racial, and religious boundaries.