2025 ThinkWell Speakers

Additional speakers are being confirmed now. We will update this page regularly as information becomes official.
A schedule of session topics will be available in the spring.

Alan Shlemon (Keynote Speaker)

Speaking: Monday, Tuesday, and Tuesday night (special parent session)

Alan Shlemon has worked as an author and speaker for Stand to Reason since 2004. He trains Christians to share their convictions in a persuasive but gracious manner. Alan has spoken to thousands of adults and students across the country at churches, conferences, and college campuses. He is known for making complex issues accessible to both youth and adult audiences. He speaks on standard apologetics topics, such as the resurrection, as well as controversial topics ranging from abortion and homosexuality to Islam and bioethics. Alan holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Long Beach, and a master’s in apologetics from Biola University. Prior to dedicating his life to training Christians, he worked in hospital-based physical therapy for a decade.

Topic areas: Various apologetics topics; how to communicate your faith with persuasiveness and grace (esp. using the “tactics” developed by his colleague, STR founder Greg Koukl)

Todd Cothran (Host Pastor & Conference MC)

Speaking: Multiple days

Pastor of CrossLife Community Church (conference host site), Todd and his family (wife Renee and four children) moved to Charlottesville in 2012 to “replant” Alliance Bible Church, now known as CrossLife, a member in the Christian & Missionary Alliance denomination. He formerly served as an associate pastor and elder at Front Range Alliance Church in Colorado Springs. Before that (1996–2008), he worked at Summit Ministries in Manitou Springs, Colorado, where he directed the ministry’s Christian leadership program for college-bound students and, later, the curriculum department. Much of the worldview and apologetic curricula produced by that department served as a springboard and inspiration for ThinkWell. ​Simply put, ThinkWell would not exist without Todd!

Topic areas: Basic worldview framework; the uniqueness of the Christian worldview and how it applies to various disciplines

Scott Klusendorf

Speaking: Wednesday

The president of Life Training Institute, Scott Klusendorf has traveled throughout the United States and beyond training pro-life advocates to persuasively defend their views in the public square. A passionate and engaging speaker, Scott has appeared on many nationally syndicated Christian programs, participated in numerous debates at the collegiate level, spoken at 80+ colleges and universities, and authored The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture as well as Stand for Life. Scott is a graduate of UCLA and holds a master’s in Christian apologetics from Biola University.

Topic area: Sanctity of human life

Megan Almon

Speaking: Thursday

A former University of Georgia gymnast, Megan Almon was a part of UGA’s 2002 SEC Championship team. She worked as an award-winning journalist until 2008, when she decided to pursue a career speaking and teaching about Christian apologetics—especially in the area of bioethics. She began working with Life Training Institute in 2009 and earned an MA in Christian apologetics from Biola University in 2011. In 2023 she joined the speaking team at Apologetics Inc. (formerly the C.S. Lewis Society). Megan and her husband, Tripp (director of Summit Ministries Gap Year), have been married since 2003 and have two children, Neely and Rogan. Megan enjoys spending time with her family at home in Manitou Springs, CO, and is still known to practice handstands in her kitchen. She has spoken to high school and college assemblies and classrooms, youth organizations, women’s groups, pregnancy resource centers, congregations, and legislators across the nation on multiple topics, including pro-life apologetics, bioethics, marriage and sexuality, and beauty.

Topic area: Various apologetics topics

Tripp Almon

Speaking: Thursday

Tripp Almon joined Summit Ministries in 2018 and serves as the director of Summit Gap Year. He relocated to the great state of Colorado with his wife, Megan, and their kids, Neely and Rogan, from the little town of Newnan, GA, just south of Atlanta. Tripp’s passion for educating students in the areas of Christian theology, worldview, and apologetics grew in large part from growing up in a Christian home and then struggling profoundly with the tidal wave of cultural ideas that engulfed him as he entered a secular university. Thankfully, his experience taught him that Christianity not only stands in the marketplace of ideas—it soars. Before joining Summit, Tripp, a former elite gymnast, coached gymnastics for more than two decades and served as a pastor for 10 years. He and his family love the outdoors and adventure sports, particularly off-road motorcycling. Tripp is also a rally car co-driver with Almon Brothers Racing Team—2017 champions of the NASA Rally Atlantic Cup Series.

Topic area: Various apologetics topics

Skip Burzumato

Speaking: Wednesday

Skip Burzumato is currently a senior instructor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, VA, where he also directs the college’s Leadership and Community Engagement minor. At Bridgewater College, he teaches courses in sociology of the family, sociology of religion, food politics, and sociology of community. He also teaches courses for the Department of Music. Prior to Bridgewater College, he served as the associate director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, was the founding executive director of the Institute for Family Studies, and held leadership positions at UVA’s Center for Christian Study. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Memphis, Full Sail University, and Reformed Theological Seminary. Prior to becoming a sociologist, he was a cryptologist in the U.S. Navy, a recording engineer, and a youth and college minister in Memphis, TN. (Full bio here.)

Topic areas: Marriage and family issues

Hunter Baker, JD, PhD

Speaking: Friday

Provost and dean of faculty at North Greenville University (in South Carolina), Hunter is a political science professor who has taught at multiple universities and authored several books: The End of Secularism, Political Thought: A Student’s Guide, and The System Has a Soul. His excellent perspective featured on World Magazine’s “The World and Everything In It” radio show/podcast (among other outlets) prompted us to invite him to ThinkWell. Hunter writes: “I became a Christian at Florida State University as a freshman. It changed the trajectory of my entire life and re-ordered my priorities. Reading figures such as C.S. Lewis, Peter Kreeft, and Francis Schaeffer awakened me to the many ways Christianity should affect one’s thinking and the entire culture. Because college was such a pivotal time for me, I realized that I wanted to work with students and professors on college campuses and have spent much of my life doing so.” Hunter received his bachelor’s degree in economics and political science at FSU, a master’s in public administration from the University of Georgia, a law degree from the University of Houston, and a PhD in politics and religion from Baylor University. (Full bio here.)

Topic areas: Economics, politics/government, criminal justice

Peter Forister

Speaking: TBD

Captivated by everything in the sky, Peter Forister is a geospatial analyst and meteorologist who utilizes Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) and weather forecasting technologies to address global natural hazards and support humanitarian missions for distressed communities around the globe. Peter forecasts severe weather across the USA and uses GIS to understand and assess the impact of damaging storms. Outside of his day job, he’s a photographer, storm chaser, videographer, and amateur astronomer. His award-winning photography captures everything from rocket launches and distant galaxies to tornadoes and lightning storms; his videos are frequently featured on international news outlets such as the Weather Channel and other major networks. Based in Charlottesville, Peter attends CrossLife and spoke at ThinkWell 2023 on the Christian view of—and response to—creation/Earth, from its “good” beginnings to its current fallen state.

Topic area: Creation/the environment/climate