Speakers

Featured Speakers

Brenda Salter McNeil

Brenda is an associate professor of reconciliation studies in the School of Theology at Seattle Pacific University, where she also directs the Reconciliation Studies program. She also serves on the pastoral staff of Quest Church in Seattle, Wash. Brenda is recognized internationally as one of the foremost leaders of reconciliation and was featured as one of the 50 most influential women to watch by Christianity Today. She is the author of many books, including Becoming Brave: Finding the Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now.

David Swanson

David is the founding pastor of New Community Covenant Church and lives with his family on the South Side of Chicago. He is the founder and CEO of New Community Outreach, a nonprofit organization dedicated to healing community trauma through restorative practices. David is the author of Rediscipling the White Church: From Cheap Diversity to True Solidarity and Plundered: The Tangled Roots of Racial and Environmental Injustice. He is a former director of church planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church.

Jer Swigart

Jer is the co-founder of Global Immersion. In addition to his participation in local and national justice and reconciliation commissions, Jer is a North American contributing member of the Reconcilers Together Alliance, a Pepperdine Cross Sector Leadership Fellow and a Senior Fellow of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute. As the co-author of Mending the Divides: Creative Love in a Conflicted World, a speaker, facilitator and consultant, he often reflects on the intersection of faith, leadership and conflict transformation.

Featured Worship Leader

Taylor Leonhardt

Native Texan and new-ish Nashvillian, Taylor Leonhardt is first and foremost a craftsman. Whether she's penning tunes for her solo project or for her duo Mission House with Jess Ray, it’s always about the song. The Gospel Coalition recently called Taylor “one of the most promising singer-songwriters in Nashville these days," naming her latest project Hold Still one of the best albums of 2021. In addition to touring and writing, she spends time across the US leading music and conversations for spiritual retreats, creative workshops and faith communities.