Contributors

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  Aaron Welty

  Motivational Speaker
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Team Members

Aaron Welty
Motivational Speaker
Aaron Welty was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy as a new born, he overcame those early years of low expectations to serve as the Senior Legislative Assistant for Michigan’s 11^th Congressional District, wherein he focused on a variety of policy issues. He graduated from Cedarville University in 2006 with a degree in Public Administration. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Aaron worked in Marketing and Media at The Heritage Foundation. Passionate about the ideas of individual purpose and destiny, his unique story of faith, family, perseverance and chasing dreams has been shared on NBC Nightly News, various radio programs, Roll Call – a nationally syndicated newspaper – and Facing Life Head On, a life-issues focused television program.
 
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  Aimee Riegert

  CSLI Fellow
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Team Members

Aimee Riegert
CSLI Fellow
Aimee Riegert, CSLI Fellow, earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and foreign language studies from Southern Methodist University. In addition to supporting various national security efforts in Northern Virginia, she has worked as an itinerant high school math teacher and drama coach, and has served in women’s ministries, praise teams, on the adult support team for Young Life and as a “mentor mom” for MOPS International ministries, as well as English instructor in several ESL programs in Japan. She is a graduate of the C.S. Lewis Institute Year One Fellows Program.
 
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  Jana Harmon

  Senior Fellow For Christian Apologetics, CSLI
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Team Members

Jana Harmon
Senior Fellow For Christian Apologetics, CSLI
Jana Harmon, Ph.D, is the Senior Fellow For Christian Apologetics for the C.S. Lewis Institute and a Teaching Fellow for C.S. Lewis Institute Atlanta. She serves on the Atlanta Advisory Board and as an Adjunct Professor of Cultural Apologetics at Biola University. Her doctoral research studied the religious conversion of atheists to Christianity looking at the perspectives and stories of 50 former Atheists. She views apologetics through a practical, evangelistic lens. She is the host of the podcast eX-skeptic for the C.S. Lewis Institute. Jana received her PhD from the University of Birmingham, England.
 
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  Leah Libresco

  Author
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Team Members

Leah Libresco
Author
Leah Libresco, Author, is a former atheist whose search to find the grounding of objective morality led her to God. She is the author of: Arriving at Amen and Building the Benedict Option.

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  Randy Newman

  Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism, CSLI
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Team Members

Randy Newman
Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism, CSLI
Randy Newman (1956-2024) was the Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism at the C.S. Lewis Institute. He taught at several evangelical seminaries. After serving for over 30 years with Campus Crusade for Christ, he established Connection Points, a ministry to help Christians engage people’s hearts the way Jesus did. He has written seven books, Questioning Evangelism, Corner Conversations, Bringing the Gospel Home, Engaging with Jewish People, Unlikely Converts: Improbable Stories of Faith and What They Teach Us About Evangelism, Mere Evangelism. and his most recent, Questioning Faith: Indirect Journeys of Belief through Terrains of Doubt. Randy has also written numerous articles about evangelism and other ways our lives intertwine with God’s creation. He earned his MDiv and PhD in Intercultural Studies from Trinity International University. Randy went home to be with the Lord in May 2024.
 
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  Joseph A. Kohm

  Vice President for Development, CSLI & CSLI City Director, Virginia Beach
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Team Members

Joseph A. Kohm
Vice President for Development, CSLI & CSLI City Director, Virginia BeachJoseph A. Kohm, C.S. Lewis Institute Vice President for Development and City Director for Virginia Beach. Joe is an attorney and formerly worked as a Certified Major League Baseball Player Agent. He earned his Master’s in Management Science from the State University of New York at Oswego and both his J.D. and M.Div. from Regent University. Joe is the author of The Unknown Garden of Another’s Heart: The Surprising Friendship between C.S. Lewis and Arthur Greeves (Wipf and Stock, 2022.)  
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  Cameron McAllister

  Director of Apologetics, CSLI
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Team Members

Cameron McAllister
Director of Apologetics, CSLICameron McAllister is Director of Apologetics for the C.S. Lewis Institute. He cofounded Thinking Out Loud, where he’s a speaker, writer and one half of the Thinking Out Loud podcast, a weekly podcast about current events and Christian hope. He and his father co-authored Faith That Lasts: A Father and Son on Cultivating Lifelong Belief. A staff writer with Christ & Pop Culture, Cameron’s writing has appeared in Christianity Today, Relevant Magazine, Think Christian, and Fathom Magazine. He holds a master’s degree in apologetics from Houston Baptist University. Cameron and his wife Heather live in the Atlanta area with their two children. Support the ministry of Cameron with CSLI.  
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  Stacy Gleiss

  Podcast Guest
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Team Members

Stacy Gleiss
Podcast Guest
Stacy Gleiss, Author, is a former atheist who traveled across the world exploring worldviews and philosophies until she finally found what was true, good, and beautiful in Christianity. She is the author of: The Mind Hike: Finding Meaning Through Truth-Seeking and The Six-Foot Bonsai: A Soul Lost in the Land of the Rising Sun.


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  Andy Bannister

  Author and Speaker
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Team Members

Andy Bannister
Author and Speaker
Andy Bannister is an author, speaker, and broadcaster. He is currently the Director of the Solas Center for Public Christianity, an evangelism and training ministry, as well as the Adjunct Research Fellow at Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology. He holds a PhD in Islamic Studies and has taught extensively at universities across the world on both Islam and Philosophy. Andy speaks regularly on Christianity to audiences of all faiths across Europe, Canada, the US, and further afield. He is an author of several books including: The Atheist Who Didn't Exist, Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God? and most recently, How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like an Idiot.
 
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  Crystal Sarno

  Keeping the Faith Program, CSLI Fellow
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Team Members

Crystal Sarno
Keeping the Faith Program, CSLI Fellow
Crystal Sarno is the President of Perspectives Group, Inc., a design and marketing company that has served in public, private and non-profit sectors. She is also a CSLI Fellow and the Project Manager for the Keeping the Faith program at the C.S. Lewis Institute in Washington D.C. Crystal is a mother and grandmother who loves the Lord and has a heart for discipling the children in her life and helping others do the same. She has two grown children, both brilliant and beautiful and a darling grandson.
 
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  Dave Chaves

  Technology and Product Development Manager, CSLI
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Team Members



Dave Chaves

Technology and Product Development Manager, CSLI

Dave Chaves, Technology and Product Development Manager, has worked in nonprofit, Christian communications for over 10 years, including most recently with Five Talents USA. He holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University and an MDiv from Africa International University. He’s been involved in cross-cultural missions in East Africa for over 10 years and is an Associate Missionary with the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders.  Dave met his lovely wife Lucy in Kenya and they have four children. He is excited to be part of the CSLI team and to support communications and technology to further the ministry of discipleship.


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  Guillaume Bignon

  Speaker
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Team Members

Guillaume Bignon
Speaker
Guillame Bignon, Speaker/Author, is a former French atheist who set out on a quest to disprove Christianity and was surprised by what he found. He is the author of Confessions of a French Atheist: How God Hijacked My Quest to Disprove the Christian Faith.
 
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  Steven Garber

  Professor
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Team Members

Steven Garber
Professor
Steven Garber is the Senior Fellow for Vocation and the Common Good for the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust. As a teacher, he has recently served as Professor of Marketplace Theology and Director of the Masters in Leadership, Theology and Society at Regent College, Vancouver, BC. he is the author of several books, including Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good, his most recent is The Seamless Life: A Tapestry of Love and Learning, Worship and Work. One of the founders of the Wedgwood Circle, and has been a Principal of the Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation and Culture. He completed his PhD in the Philosophy of Learning at Pennsylvania State University.