Senator Snowe stunned Washington in February 2012 when she announced she would not seek a fourth term. After serving in the legislative branch at the state and federal levels for 40 years, including 18 years in the U.S. Senate, she explained that Washington wasn’t solving the big problems anymore. In her book, Fighting for Common Ground, she explores the roots of her belief in principled policy-making and bipartisan compromise. Senator Snowe proposes solutions for bridging the partisan divide in Washington, most notably through a citizens’ movement to hold elected officials accountable. In 2005, Snowe was named the 54th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine. In 2006, Time magazine named her one of the top ten U.S. senators.

Clark is associate provost for regional campuses and strategic projects and professor of youth, family, and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. A well-known practitioner, adolescent and family scholar, and author, Clark has more than 30 years’ experience in direct ministry, including 15 years with Young Life, as well as positions with several churches, Denver Seminary, and Youth Specialties. He is the senior editor of Youthworker Journal and president of Foothill Community Ministries, Inc., the parent organization for the ParenTeen and HURT Seminars. Dr. Clark has remained in direct ministry with young people, and is committed to the equipping and training of men and women who recognize the Church's mandate of reaching out to young people in the name of Christ. He is the author of many books, articles, and videos that focus primarily on relationships. Most recently, he published Hurt 2.0 and coauthored Sticky Faith with Fuller’s Kara Powell.

Pauley is a professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Calvin College and teaches American oratory. He specializes in the area of the rhetoric of the American civil rights movement, American political rhetoric on civil rights issues, and colonial era American sermons. Pauley earned his PhD from Penn State and is a past recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Communication Association's Karl Wallace Memorial Award. He will speak to our audience on the topic of presidential speeches just days prior to the 2013 presidential inauguration.

Armstrong has a background in nutrition, agricultural research, education, international and executive management and currently serves as the CEO of the National FFA Organization. Since 2008, Armstrong served as the founder and principal of JDA Consulting, LLC. Prior to that, he served at Provimi, a global nutrition company, and as president of North American Nutrition Companies, Inc. He received his undergraduate degree in Animal Science from Murray State University, earned his Master’s degree in Nutrition from Purdue University and received his Ph.D. in Nutrition from Purdue. FFA is a national youth organization of over 500,000 student members all preparing for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture.

Van Duzer is the author of Why Business Matters to God: And What Still Needs to be Fixed and dean of the School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific University. He is also professor of business ethics and law, and prior to his work with SPU he served as a partner with Davis A. Wright Tremaine, an international law firm. Van Duzer has spoken at a number of different venues, including Redeemer Presbyterian Church’s Gospel and Culture Lectures in 2010.

Captain Smiley, a Ranger and combat-diver qualified infantryman, was the Army's first active-duty blind officer and its first blind company commander. On April 6, 2005, he lost use of both eyes when a suicide car bomber blew himself up 30 meters in front of Scotty's Stryker vehicle. Since that day, Smiley has surfed in Hawaii, skied in Vail, skydived, climbed Mount Rainier, completed a triathlon, and graduated from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business with his MBA. The Army Times named Captain Smiley its Soldier of the Year in 2007 and in 2008 he won an ESPY as the world's Best Outdoor Athlete. Scotty, a recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, recently taught the core course in leadership at West Point and now commands the Warrior Transition Unit at West Point's Keller Army Medical Center. Captain Smiley was recently named a recipient of the Army’s prestigious MacArthur Leadership Award and currently holds an honorary PhD from Mount St. Mary College in Newburgh, NY. Scotty and his wife, Tiffany, are both from Pasco, Washington. They are the proud parents of two young sons.

Mouw has served as president of Fuller Theological Seminary since 1993. A philosopher, scholar, and author, Mouw joined the faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary as professor of Christian philosophy and ethics in 1985. Before coming to Fuller he served for 17 years as professor of philosophy at Calvin College. Mouw has served for six years as co-chair of the official Reformed-Catholic Dialogue, and is a leader for interfaith theological conversations, particularly with Mormons and Jewish groups. Robert Millet is the leading Mormon theologian and a BYU professor. Together they will discuss the history of their interfaith dialogue and explain the areas where they agree and disagree.

Yang is the Director of Advocacy and Policy for the Refugee and Immigration Program at World Relief. In this position, Jenny works with members of congress, their staffers, and the administration to improve refugee and immigration policy. Previous to World Relief, she worked at the largest political fundraising firm in Maryland managing fundraising and campaigning for local politicians. Jenny has researched refugee and asylum law in Madrid, Spain through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She is the co-author of Welcoming the Stranger.

Ahmanson is a writer and philanthropist whose public activities focus on the vital role the arts play in shaping human experience and the critical role of religion in public life. She is chairman of the board of the Museum of Biblical Art in New York City, a regular speaker at the International Arts Movement’s annual encounters, and a frequent commentator on the arts. She has sponsored a number of international art exhibitions, the most recent being “The Sacred Made Real” at the National Gallery, London, in the fall of 2009. Ahmanson is also chairman of the board of the Media Project and a contributor to Oxford University Press’s 2008 award-winning book, Blind Spot: When Journalists

If performing heart surgery isn't difficult enough, try doing it in the war-torn country of Iraq. Jeremy Courtney is the executive director of Preemptive Love Coalition, a non-profit that provides medical training for Iraqi physicians and heart surgeries for children in Iraq. He makes a compelling case for extending a helping hand first and asking questions later. In the process of mending hearts, he is mending cultural discord, unmaking violence, and living out the call of Jesus to be a peacemaker.