Brandon Wolf
equality Florida, Press Secretary
Brandon Wolf is a nationally-recognized gun safety and LGBTQ civil rights advocate and dynamic public speaker. He currently serves as the Media Relations Manager for Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization.
On June 12, life changed for Brandon. He crouched in a bathroom while a gunman opened fire at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub, killing his best friends, Drew Leinonen & Juan Guerrero, and 47 others. Rather than be swallowed by the anger and fear of tragedy, Brandon set out to honor the victims’ legacies with action.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Brandon co-founded The Dru Project, a nonprofit organization that works to empower youth and provide future leaders in the LGBTQ community funding for higher education. He also became an outspoken activist in the gun violence prevention movement, partnering with March For Our Lives, Everytown, Giffords, and others to demand legislative solutions to the epidemic. In 2019, he became the first survivor of the tragedy at Pulse Nightclub to testify before Congress.
A powerful public speaker, Brandon Wolf is a frequent guest on MSNBC (AM Joy) and in print publications (CNN.com, USA Today, Newsweek, The Advocate, Out Magazine) weaving his story into calls to action. In 2018, he was recognized by HuffPost as one of “30 modern-day LGBTQ pioneers”. Brandon has channeled his powerful storytelling skills into US electoral politics, serving as a national surrogate on Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Presidential campaign.
Andrew Seidel
Americans United for separation of church and state, Vice President
Andrew L. Seidel is Vice President of Strategic Communications for Americans United For Separation of Church and State, an author, and an attorney who’s defended the First Amendment for more than a decade. Andrew is the author of two books: The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American (2019) and American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom (2022). He’s also co-editor of an academic text, Law and Religion: Cases and Materials (Foundation Press, 2022) 5th Edition, with Prof. Leslie Griffin of UNLV law school.
A Senior Correspondent at Religion Dispatches, Andrew is a prolific author of opeds, has written several scholarly articles, has debated the utility of the Johnson Amendment, and organized and contributed to the groundbreaking report, “Christian Nationalism at the January 6, 2021, Insurrection,” which was published by the Baptist Joint Committee and the Freedom From Religion Foundation and aroused congressional interest. He’s appeared on Fox News to debate Bill O’Reilly, MSNBC, and hundreds of other media outlets.
Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro
Florida Access Network, Executive Director, abortion storyteller and reproductive justice advocate
Stephanie Loraine Piñeiro is a proud queer Puerto Rican woman based in Central Florida who is an award winning reproductive justice advocate and abortion storyteller. She works as the Executive Director of Florida Access Network, a reproductive justice organization who funds abortion care and challenges abortion stigma through advocacy and popular education. She has a Masters of Social Work from the University of Central Florida.
Stephanie’s nonprofit leadership and contributions to Reproductive Justice have been recognized by the Florida Department of Agriculture with a proclamation during Women’s History Month in 2022; she’s testified as an expert witness in congress; she was awarded the 120 Under 40 award by the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute, she produced Jevas Combativas - the only Spanish-language Feminist Commercial Radio Show in the United States from 2019-2021; and her abortion story and expertise about abortion has been published in countless local, national and international publications.
She is a loving older sister to three siblings and is most fulfilled when she’s exploring the outdoors, laughing and learning.
Seth Andrews
Author, Host of The Thinking Atheist Podcast
Seth Andrews, a video producer and former Christian broadcaster, now hosts www.thethinkingatheist.com, one of the most popular online atheist communities in the world. The Thinking Atheist is not a person. It is an icon encouraging all to reject faith and pursue reason and evidence.
Seth has authored four books, including his latest, out just in time for FREEFLO: “Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot.” (no subtitle needed). Copies will be available for purchase and autographing. Seth’s previously released books are "Deconverted: a Journey from Religion to Reason" chronicles his journey out of superstition, "Sacred Cows: A Lighthearted Look at Belief and Tradition Around the World" is a wild romp through many of the world's strangest cultures and customs, and "Ghost Stories" is a fictional audiobook romp inspired by his annual Halloween radio show.
With a mix of humor and heart, Seth Andrews has spoken for audiences large and small in the U.S, Canada, Europe, and Australia about his former faith, the promotion of science and skepticism, the importance of Humanism in this often crazy world, and why we should all pursue a personal relationship with reality.
Lucien Greaves
The Satanic Temple, CoFounder and President
Lucien Greaves is a social activist and the spokesman and co-founder of The Satanic Temple. He studied neuroscience with a speciality in false-memory syndrome and graduated from Harvard University. Greaves has appeared in numerous media outlets and has made televised appearances on the Fox News Network. He is a public speaker and essayist who has contributed articles to publications including Skeptic Magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, The Washington Post and International Business Times.
Greaves has been instrumental in setting up the Protect Children Project, the After School Satan project, and several political demonstrations and legal actions designed to highlight social issues involving religious liberty and the separation of church and state.
Greaves was featured in Hail Satan? (2019), a documentary film about The Satanic Temple and religious belief.
SÉVERINE CHANAY-SAVOYEN
GLOBAL PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Séverine has 30 years of business experience in the private and non-profit sectors. In her last role as global association director she focused on establishing strategic relationships, membership development, and growth revenue to improve all operational aspects throughout the life cycle of more than 100 global affiliates. She has talents in making diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a reality as she strives to build a community all those with whom she works.
Séverine is a mother of twins, fluent in English and French, has lived on four continents, and traveled to 35 countries. Her global experience allows her to work with people of many cultures and understand the importance of honoring other ethnicities and respecting cultural norms.
Séverine has a Master of Nonprofit Management and a graduate certificate in fundraising from the University of Central Florida. Connect with Séverine on LinkedIn.
Noah Lugeons
Podcaster, Author, and Atheist Activist
Noah Lugeons is a podcaster, author, and atheist activist. He’s the host of The Scathing Atheist, the 2014 Podcast Award winner for Best Religious Podcast, and God Awful Movies, which has been recorded live at the largest atheist conferences in the US, the UK, and Australia.
He’s the author of several books on the subject of atheism. His most recent book, Outbreak: A Crisis of Faith - How Religion Ruined Our Global Pandemic examines religion’s role in America’s error riddled response to the COVID-19 crisis. He temporarily resides in rural South Georgia, but not temporarily enough.
Erika
Podcaster and phd student
Erika runs a YouTube channel called “Gutsick Gibbon, that centers on science communication and debunking pseudoscience. Find videos about primates, zoology, paleontology, anthropology, evolutionary biology, and debunking of young-Earth creationism.
Erika has Masters of Research in Primate Biology, Behavior and Conservation. She is pursuing a PhD in biological anthropology. She has a BSA in Pre-Professional Animal Science, and minors in Anthropology and in Biology.
Derek demeter
Emil Buehler Planetarium, Director
Derek Demeter serves as the Director of the Emil Buehler Planetarium at Seminole State College of Florida. Over much of the last decade, his passion for teaching people about the wonders of the universe has earned him accolades and recognition from the planetarium industry, his peers, and the community.
Derek enjoys promoting science beyond the planetarium with his work as an astrophotographer, which earned him pictures seen in NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day website.
Geoffrey Blackwell
American AtheistS, litigation council
As litigation counsel for the American Atheists, Geoffrey responds to reports of possible violations of the separation between religion and government, works with government officials to find mutually acceptable solutions to potential issues, and manages litigation if issues cannot be resolved amicably.
Prior to joining the staff of American Atheists, Geoffrey served as Associate Counsel in a New Jersey civil litigation firm. Every year, he volunteers as a judge for the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, in which law students from 87countries compete in a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice. He previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Humanist Network.
While earning his JD from Rutgers School of Law, he participated in the school’s Human Rights Advocacy and Litigation Clinic, served as the President of the Rutgers-Camden International Law Society, and independently researched religious discrimination in employment. Prior to law school, he received a Bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia College.
Caroline McNamara
ACLU of Florida, Staff Attorney
Caroline McNamara (she/her/hers) joined the ACLU of Florida in January 2022 as a staff attorney focusing on voting rights.
Carrie earned a Bachelor of Music in Euphonium Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a Juris Doctor with High Honors from the University of Washington School of Law. She clerked for the Hon. Andrew J. Kleinfeld of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and before joining the ACLU, practiced commercial litigation for a decade in New York and Colorado, primarily in the areas of antitrust, securities, and intellectual property. Carrie grew up in Georgia but was born in Miami; she proudly returns to protect and defend the rights and liberties of Floridians.
Amy Monsky
Camp 42, Executive Director
Amy Monsky is the executive director for Camp 42, bringing a week of fun, friends, and freethought to kids (and adults!) in South Carolina, Florida and Mississippi.
Amy first became involved in secular summer camps in 2010 while searching for a secular alternative to Boy Scouts. After that first transformative week, she went on to found Camp 42 which has served over over 475 kids and is now expanding Camp 42 locations throughout the southeast, including Camp 42 Natchez Trace in Mississippi operating for the first time in June 2017 and Camp 42 Florida which opened in 2018.
Although exclusively focused on secular summer camps now, Amy has served the freethought community since 2009 in various local, state, and national capacities, including executive director of Atheist Alliance of America, co-chair of the Secular Coalition for South Carolina, president of the Charleston-based Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry, and founder of Secular Humanist Families of Charleston, South Carolina’s first secular parenting support group. She received the Carolinas Freethinker of the Year award in 2012 and Camp Quest’s Builder award in 2016. Amy lives with her family in Charleston, South Carolina.
Elizabeth cavell
freedom from religion foundation, constitutional attorney
Liz is associate counsel at FFRF where she has worked for ten years. She is co-creator and co-host of the ‘We Dissent’ podcast, a show by secular women attorneys for people who care about the separation of church and state.
Asad Bangash
Ex-Muslim
Asad immigrated from Pakistan as a child. He was raised by open-minded Muslim parents; one Sunni and one Shia. With open-minded parents, a strong STEM education was paramount but mixed with old fashioned Islamic and cultural concepts. This allowed Asad to leave Islam over time and become an atheist.
Mary Hernandez
Ex-Jehovah’s Witness
As a 4th generation Jehovah's Witness, Mary was baptized at 17, but realized at age 25 that she didn’t want religion dictating her behavior. After 20 years of doubt, she took a course on world religions and realized then they were man-made. Today, she considers herself an agnostic atheist.
Choice Edwards
Ex-Christian
Choice was a lay minister, chaplain, guest speaker, Sunday school teacher, member of the choir, and a founding board member of two Christian churches before finally succumbing to his own intellect and reason, and emerging as a nontheist from the 9/11/2001 attacks on the US--as did many others.
Kelli Parkin
Ex-Mormon
Kellie started asking hard questions early on, but was told repeatedly by church leaders that her curiosity would harm others’ faith and to keep questions to herself. When she left the Mormons, she assumed she must still be Christian. But then she attended a Christian retreat for women to learn how to be better disciples in Christ, and promptly lost her god for good.