Connections 2026 Speakers
Jo Saxton is a speaker, podcaster, and author. She is the founder of the Ezer Collective, an initiative dedicated to investing in women leaders around the world, equipping them to own their voice, and boldly step into their calling. She currently serves as the Executive Director of The Leadership Institute at Bethel University.
Born to Nigerian parents and raised in London, England, Jo now lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two daughters. She loves everyday stuff like good music, good food, and good friends.
Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large, multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens. Rich graduated with a BA in pastoral ministry and theology from Nyack College. He went on to complete his Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
Rich is the author of four books, the award-winning The Deeply Formed Life, Good and Beautiful and Kind, The Narrow Path and his most recent, Waiting for Jesus.
He and his wife, Rosie, have two beautiful children and reside in Long Island, NY.
Adam Young is a therapist who focuses on trauma and abuse, and the host of The Place We Find Ourselves podcast. Adam is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with a Master degree in Social Work (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Divinity (Emory University).
Adam is the author of Make Sense of Your Story: Why Engaging Your Story with Kindness Changes Everything. He currently serves as a Fellow and Instructor at The Allender Center and lives in Fort Collins, CO, where he enjoys skiing, soccer, and windsurfing.
Sara Groves is a 25+ year veteran singer/songwriter and recording artist. Her last full release, What Makes It Through, is loosely based on the writings of Kazuo Ishiguro, and is a reflection on memory and reconciliation. In the fall of 2024, Sara remastered Add To The Beauty for vinyl and CD that featured three new songs for the 20th anniversary of that album. This fall, Sara and her team will celebrate the 25th anniversary of her national debut album, Conversations.
Sara and her husband Troy run a unique community art center, Art House North, in a 120+ year old church in their St. Paul neighborhood where they live with or near their growing and grown kids, Kirby, Halle, Toby and Ruby.
Curt Thompson, MD, is a board certified psychiatrist, author, speaker, and co-host of Being Known Podcast. He has been in private practice for over 30 years in Falls Church, Virginia, graduated from Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine, and completed his psychiatric residency at Temple University Hospital.
Curt strives to help patients develop flourishing lives by telling their stories more truly, in order to become more deeply known, for the purpose of creating beauty and goodness in the world. With conviction and humor, he trains clinicians and speaks at workshops, retreats and conferences, integrating neuroscience, human relationships and Christian faith. He and his wife, Phyllis, are the parents of two adult children and live in Northern Virginia.
Curt is also a member of the CBK Board.
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Jenni LaBrie is a visual synthesist, writer, and speaker helping messages stick with powerful words, visuals, & voice. True to her nickname, Clarified Butter, she has a gift for distilling thoughts to their purest essence—and then making them visible and shareable.
Jenni co-founded Grounded Learning, LLC, a professional learning consulting business, and co-hosts its affiliated podcast, The Grounded Learners Guild.
Life with her husband and three kids is a beautiful blur, where she only has time to wash her hair on Saturdays. You can find her at her socials or on her front porch in the Chicago suburbs, sipping root beer with her family.