SPEAKERS

Dr. Frank Turek
President and Author
As the president of CrossExamined.org, Dr. Frank Turek is a dynamic speaker and award-winning author who travels the country presenting powerful and entertaining evidence for Christianity at churches, high schools, secular college campuses, and online.

Dr. John Ferrer
Writer & Researcher
John is a licensed minister with degrees from Charleston Southern (BA), Southern Evangelical Seminary (MDiv), and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (ThM, PhD). His doctorate is in the philosophy of religion, with a minor in ethics. As the newest addition to CrossExamined in 2023, John brings a wealth of experience to the team including debating atheists, preaching the Gospel, teaching apologetics in schools and churches, publishing books and articles, and creating websites. John is also a teaching fellow with Equal Rights Institute and president of Pella Pro-Life in his hometown of Pella, Iowa. There he resides with his lovely and brilliant wife Hillary Ferrer, founder of Mama Bear Apologetics. Together they specialize in cultural apologetics with an emphasis on family-based apologetic training.

Jorge Gil
Director of Technology and Innovation
Jorge Gil is a talented communicator focused on finding new ways to deliver the truth to new generations. Originally from Costa Rica, Jorge is a published author, and the co-founder of the Sociedad de Apologistas Latinos. He frequently travels to Latin America and the Caribbean to participate in conferences, podcasts, radio and TV shows, and to train and equip leaders across the globe. His love of technology makes him an incredible asset at CrossExamined.org where he leads the production for their podcasts, livestreams and more.
Staff

Diego Fallas
Director of Operations
Diego Fallas earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. During his studies, he became passionate about Christian apologetics. He quickly found himself immersed in the field as he started taking seminary courses in apologetics and became a Reasonable Faith chapter director. Today, he is the Director of Operations for CrossExamined.org, and teaches and speaks in Latin America. Diego is the co-host of the weekly Livestream show Piensalo Bien and is currently completing his M.A. in philosophy from Southern Evangelical Seminary.

Phoenix Hayes
Creative Director
Phoenix was born and raised in New Zealand’s North Island where she completed her B.A. at the University of Waikato and her post-graduate studies in Film & Television at the University of Auckland. Today she works as the Creative Director for CrossExamined.org where she gets to combine her love of Christian apologetics and digital communication. Phoenix is a writer and speaker and is currently completing her M.A. in Christian Apologetics at Southern Evangelical Seminary.

Gustavo Carrillo
International Director
Gustavo was born and raised in Paraguay and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in business. One of his passions is philosophy. His inquisitive mind and intellectually skeptical nature from a young age, helped him to recognize this challenge “the world is searching for answers and especially skeptical youth. So when they ask: We should be ready to answer, not simply by stating what We believe in, or how we came to believe in it. But to give a compelling and persuasive answer of WHY we believe it…”. Gustavo joined CrossExamined in 2021 where he serves in the CrossExamined International team by pursuing his passion as a conversational apologist and by helping to increase apologetics resources for non-English speakers.

Heath Maki
Event Manager
Heath grew up in the beautiful North Carolina mountains where she graduated from Appalachian State University. Heath has an extensive background in ministry. She loves getting to know people and learning how their stories make them who they are. She is passionate about seeing people find freedom as they walk with Christ and in community with others.

Karen Schaefer
Bookkeeper & Administrator

Amanda Jones
Marketing Assistant and Copywriter
Amanda was born and raised in Michigan where she graduated from Michigan State University. She is a copywriter and certified funnel-builder who worked for numerous digital marketing agencies before pursuing God’s call to use her tech + creative skills for a greater purpose. Amanda is passionate about helping others grow in biblical literacy and currently runs an online Bible study group with over 500 members.

Keith Carter
Motion Graphic Designer

Maria Andreina Cerrada
Social Media Strategist & Coordinator
Maria Andreina Cerrada has a B.A. in Social Communications with a major in journalism. She is passionate about communicating the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. Her combined love of apologetics and journalism comes out when sharing content on different social and cultural issues online. Maria has been working as Cross Examined’s Social Media Strategist since 2018 on both their English and Spanish platforms. She is also the host and producer of the Café Sin Relativismos Podcast.

Andrea Diaz
Graphic Designer
Andrea Díaz Is a Graphic Designer and Branding Specialist who worked in marketing and social media for a variety of companies until she decided to pursue her calling to use her creative talents to serve Christ. After learning theology and apologetics, she found passion in spreading the Gospel through art and design while also equipping other Christians to defend their faith and engage with the secular culture in a more creative way.

Jairo Izquierdo
Video Editor

Rachel D'Almeida
Social Media Assistant
Rachel is from Buenos Aires, Argentina where she has been involved in street evangelism in the city since she was 6 years old. Today, she often collaborates with Steiger and leads a creative evangelism team that performs in the streets, schools, and other marginalized areas. Her greatest passion is to reach others for Jesus and being part of Cross Examined allows her to fulfill that desire. Rachel is currently working on her Bachelor’s Degree in multimedia design.
Contributors

Melissa Dougherty
Melissa Dougherty is a Christian Apologist best known for her YouTube channel as an ex-new ager. On her channel, she focuses on theology, apologetics, and how the new age is infiltrating our churches. Her goal is to help Christians understand what the new age is, and how to equip others to know what they believe and why they believe it. Melissa has a Bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies and is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Christian Apologetics at Southern Evangelical Seminary.

Dr. Tim Stratton
As a Youth Pastor, Tim saw first-hand how the lies of “new atheists” were impacting the young impressionable minds of his students. This led Tim to devote his life to answering “tough” questions about God and Christianity. He has spoken to numerous audiences around the country and loves to engage in one-on-one conversations with anyone doubting or wrestling with the truth of Christianity. He spends much of his time recording podcasts and writing articles on his website.

Dr. Bobby Conway
Bobby serves as the lead pastor of Image Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is known for his YouTube ministry called, One Minute Apologist, which now goes by the name Christianity Still Makes Sense. He is a published author and serves as a Co-Host on Pastors’ Perspective, a nationally syndicated call-in radio show on KWVE in Southern California. Bobby earned his Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, his Doctor of Ministry in Apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Birmingham. He’s married to his lovely wife Heather and together they have two grown kids: Haley and Dawson.

Jon McCray
Jon McCray is the host of the YouTube Channel called “Whaddo You Meme??”, where he defends the Christian Faith and offers cultural commentary from a thoughtful Christian perspective. His goal is to communicate the truth of Christianity and the message of the gospel in a way that will engage young people today as they navigate the culture. Jon lives in Colorado with his wife and 3 young boys.

Alisa Childers
Alisa is a lifelong church-goer, follower of Jesus, and former CCM recording artist. After going through a period of profound doubt about her Christian faith she began a journey that took her from unreasoned doubt into a vibrant, intellectually informed faith. She documents this journey in her book, Another Gospel: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity. Today, Alisa is an accomplished speaker, podcast host, and writer.