2008 Conference Speakers
- Patricia Bainbridge
- Patricia Bainbridge serves as Respect Life Director for the Diocese of Rockford. She is co-founder and director emeritus of Life Decisions International and is currently chairman of the board of Human Life International. She writes a monthly column for The Observer, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Rockford, and is often quoted in both secular and Christian publications. Patricia is known for her expertise on Planned Parenthood, pseudo-feminism, and the refutation of arguments typically offered to justify abortion. She is a dynamic speaker who exposes the abortion industry with unusual frankness and sarcasm.
- Msgr. Robert J. Dempsey
- Msgr. Robert J. Dempsey holds and Licentiate of Sacred Theology from Mundelein Seminary and a Doctorate in Moral Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. He has served as a notary and field advocate of the Metropolitan Tribunal, member of the Archdiocesan Catholic-Greek Orthodox Dialogue Commission, and master of ceremonies to Cardinal Bernardin. In 1991 he was appointed editor of the weekly English edition of L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s newspaper, where he served ten years. He is currently pastor of St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Northfield, Illinois.
- Pastor J. Phillip Epperson
- Pastor J. Phillip Epperson, D.Min. is President of Helping Neighbors Worldwide Ministries, and Director of Prayer Across America. Rev. Epperson travels the country teaching and sharing the message and importance of prayer to churches and organizations that have faith-based hope. He also served as senior pastor of The Stone Church in Palos Heights for over 20 years. He and his wife, Vicki, have been married 40 years and have four children and eleven grandchildren.
- Scott Klusendorf
- Scott Klusendorf, LTI president, travels throughout North America training pro-life advocates to persuasively defend their views in the public square. He contends that the pro-life message can compete in the marketplace of ideas if properly understood and properly articulated. A passionate and engaging platform speaker, Scott has appeared on nationally syndicated programs like James Dobson's Focus on the Family with and Billy Graham's Hour of Decision and has participated in numerous debates on college campuses. Scott is a graduate, with honors, of UCLA.
- Dr. Angela Lanfranchi
- Dr. Angela Lanfranchi is a breast surgeon at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, New Jersey. She has done extensive study on the impact of oral contraceptives and abortion on breast tissue and on the risk of breast cancer. She is a co-founder of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute. Dr. Lanfranchi speaks nationally and internationally on the medical evidence linking abortion and an increased risk for breast cancer.
- Sandy Rios, Master of Ceremonies
- Sandy Rios is the president of Culture Campaign, a web-based outreach to young conservative adults to connect them to the organizations that champion the causes they care about. Sandy is best known to Chicago area pro-lifers from her role as the talk show host of Sandy Rios Live on WYLL, where she regularly invited pro-life leaders and activists to discuss current events, legislative action and effective opposition to abortion.
- Pastor Larry Rogers
- Pastor Larry Rogers received his B.S. Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska. He has a Certificate of Completion of Community Rehabilitation Administration from DePaul University, and a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He retired from the Federal Bureau of Prisons in August 2000 with 22 years of services. Pastor Rogers studied with and was ordained by the late Pastor Hiram Crawford on September 19, 1993, and was installed as pastor of Israel Methodist Community Church in January 2000. He and his wife Faye have three children.
- Eric Scheidler
- Eric Scheidler is the Communications Director of the Pro-Life Action League. He coordinates many League events, including Face the Truth Tours, and speaks frequently on pro-life activism, marriage and the family, as well as working closely with the League's youth outreach division, Generations for Life. Most recently, Eric has been at the center of the resistance to Planned Parenthood's "Abortion Fortress" in Aurora Illinois, where he lives wife April and their eight children. Eric blogs at Families Against Planned Parenthood and Square Zero.
- Jill Stanek
- Jill Stanek was a registered nurse in the Labor & Delivery Department at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, IL, in 1999 when she discovered that babies were being aborted alive and allowed to die in the soiled utility room. She went public with this information when Christ Hospital refused to discontinue the policy. The disclosure grabbed the attention of legislators and the media, ultimately resulting in the passage of the federal Born Alive Infants Protection Act. Jill was named by World Magazine in January 2003 as one of 30 prominent pro-life leaders. She is a weekly columnist for WorldNetDaily.com and a speaker on the pro-life issues. Jill writes a popular pro-life blog –JillStanek.com—bringing national attention to current issues, including the Aurora Planned Parenthood fortress, and political topics impacting the life issues.
Updated 11/10/06