Speakers

KEYNOTES

Chris Stefanick

Chris Stefanick is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and television host who has devoted his life to sharing the love of Jesus, and helping others do the same. His live seminars, TV, radio, and video ministry have reached millions, and his educational initiatives are turning the tide in the Church. He authored a confirmation prep program that’s been used by over a million people, the popular SEARCH program and most recently released another bestseller, Living Joy. Chris is a recipient of the Papal
Benemerenti (benny-ma-ren-tee) Medal which was previously given by the pope for Military valor, but today it is given for achievement in ministry. A graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Chris is also the founder and president of Real Life Catholic, a non-profit organization that makes his initiatives for renewal a reality. Above all, he’s proud to be husband to Natalie and father to their six children, and five grandchildren.

Megan Andres

Megan is a missionary disciple from the Archdiocese of Vancouver. Megan spent years on the frontlines of campus ministry with Catholic Christian Outreach, sharing Jesus with young adults and equipping them to do the same. Now, she works as a Regional Manager, overseeing the leadership and expansion of CCO’s evangelization on campus. She is an expert in the art of Intentional Accompaniment, a featured speaker at national events, and a member of Holy Name of Jesus Parish. Along with her husband, Miguel, and their two toddlers, Megan has a missionary family that seeks to live a life fully on mission.

Archbishop Richard Smith

The Most Reverend Richard W. Smith is the 12th Archbishop of Vancouver. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Halifax in 1987, and was subsequently appointed Bishop of Pembroke in 2002 and Archbishop of Edmonton in 2007 until his appointment to Vancouver in 2025.

In July 2022, Archbishop Smith served as the General Coordinator of Pope Francis’ historic visit to Canada. He is currently a member of the Canadian Bishops’ Indigenous Council and Chair of the Ad hoc committee on Indigenous Issues.

Eric Chow

Eric Chow currently serves as Director for Proclaim and Senior Director for Ministries and Outreach at the Archdiocese of Vancouver. He has been in mission and leadership for 20 years, with involvement in his local parish, school, and men’s ministry, Eric finds life in roles of leadership, strategy, and mentorship. He loves working through others, seeing them succeed, and mentoring/coaching people in their gifts and talents. Eric loves being a husband to Vanessa, and father to Eva, Isabel, Sophie, Samuel, and Francis. You can usually find Eric climbing a mountain, fishing, or roasting coffee.

MCs

Julian Piezas

Julian is a 26 year-old son, brother, uncle, administrative professional, and disciple striving to follow the Way with his friends. He finds joy in matcha, running, leading praise & worship, creative endeavors, and serving his community through their young professionals’ outreach. Ask Julian what he’s into these days – it’s probably his whole personality right now.

Rachel Wong

Rachel Wong is a daughter, sister, friend, and most recently an auntie to her first nephew. She works in the Communications Office for the Archdiocese of Vancouver and is passionate about putting her faith in action in her professional life, proclaiming the Gospel using all forms to advance the local mission of the Church. She also is a longtime parishioner of St. Matthew’s Parish in Surrey.

As Rachel has journeyed with the Lord, He has brought her to several unique places for mission and formation, including one year in St. Louis, Missouri as a postulant with the Daughters of St. Paul. She is an avid speaker, writer, and the former host of The Feminine Genius Podcast, a podcast that celebrates the diversity of Catholic femininity, one woman’s story at a time. You can read her blog, The Divine Appointment, at rachelwong.substack.com.

BREAKOUTS

Chris Stefanick

Larissa Rossen

Larissa Rossen is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, Associate Professor of Counselling Psychology at Trinity Western University, and a parishioner at Christ the Redeemer Parish in West Vancouver. As a therapist, educator, researcher, wife, and mother, she has come to appreciate that messy relationships are an inevitable part of being human. Drawing from both her professional work and personal faith journey, she believes that God often uses these relationships to reveal what needs healing within us and to invite us into deeper compassion for ourselves and others. While this work is rarely neat or easy, Larissa is passionate about accompanying people as they navigate the challenges, growth, and grace that can emerge along the way.

Gloria Tam

Gloria Tam is a registered social worker. Within her profession and ministries, she has had the privilege to walk alongside refugees and people living in poverty, and those struggling with addiction and mental health challenges. She is currently furthering her studies in psychotherapy and spirituality at St. Stephen’s College in Edmonton. She is the Vancouver chapter lead of Momentum Catholic Single Mothers Ministry. She lives with her son and constantly learns from him.

Jean-Paul de Fleuriot

Jean-Paul de Fleuriot has dedicated over 20 years to serving the Catholic Church through evangelization, leadership formation, and community building in Canada and globally. With NET Canada for 13 years, he held national leadership roles, shaping the lives of hundreds of young missionaries. Jean-Paul has travelled across Canada, Ghana, Ireland, the Philippines, and the USA, sharing the Gospel, facilitating retreats, training leaders, and leading worship to help people encounter, respond to, and live for
Christ. A former seminarian with the Companions of the Cross, he now leads Faith Room, an apostolate that empowers Catholics to grow as leaders and live their faith with clarity and conviction.

Sr. Mary Bethany Zeitler

Sister Mary Bethany Zeitler was born in California, grew up in Baltimore, and entered the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville, Tennessee, four years after being baptized, confirmed, and receiving her first Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil in the Jubilee Year 2000. She was one of the five Sisters from her community sent to the Archdiocese of Vancouver in 2011. Over the course of 7 years, Sister taught a variety of Grades 1, 2, 5, and 6 at Cloverdale Catholic School and, most recently, has been teaching music and French at Our Lady of the Assumption School in Port Coquitlam.

Eric Chow

Megan Rumohr

Megan Rumohr has been a coordinator with Ministries and Outreach since 2019 as part of the Marriage and Family team. She supports outreach to single mothers and those who are divorced and separated, and coordinates parenting workshops, events for families, and marriage mentorship. Megan has been married to Nathan for 10 years, and along with their two children, Olivia and Leo, are members of Corpus Christi Parish in Vancouver.

Jane Waldock

Born and raised in Vancouver, Jane Waldock earned a Bachelor of Home Economics in Family Studies, a Master of Arts in Cognitive Developmental Psychology from UBC, and a Diploma in Catholic Lay Ministry from Saint Francis Xavier University. Jane is also a licensed PRH educator; PRH is a school of adult education specializing in human formation and endorsed by the Archdiocese of Vancouver as the method of human formation used in both the diaconate formation programs. Jane is coordinator of the Mental Health Ministry for the Archdiocese of Vancouver and PREP Coordinator at Immaculate Conception Parish in Delta. She is married to Tom for 38 years and mother to seven grown children.

Justin Milad

Justin Milad is a nonprofit leader, artist and community advocate whose work and life have been shaped by a deep interest in people, relationships and community. Through his leadership in serving individuals experiencing homelessness and other complex challenges, he has gained firsthand experience in the messiness of human relationships and the power of grace, forgiveness and authentic connection. Whether through the creative process, leadership, or service, Justin has come to appreciate that growth often emerges from uncertainty, imperfection and honest human encounter. He brings a practical and faith-filled perspective on how we can accompany one another through life’s difficulties with courage, compassion, humility and hope.

Christopher Ryan

Christopher Ryan has served the Vancouver community for over four decades as a full-service family physician now based in Oakridge. His deep roots in the Archdiocese
of Vancouver began with his education at St. Augustine’s and OLPH, extending through a lifetime of worship across multiple local parishes, including St. Patrick’s, Corpus Christi, St. John the Apostle, and St. Anthony of Padua. Since ninth grade, Christopher has served as a lector and recently participated in the Alpha program, demonstrating a strong connection between his faith and his commitment to a healing profession. He partners with his wife, Yuriko, to produce educational and informative seminars. Christopher and Yuriko are blessed with a large family, including seven beloved grandchildren.

Yuriko Ryan

Yuriko Ryan is an independent scholar, bioethicist, and gerontologist dedicated to exploring the ethical dimensions of healthcare, technology, and human relationships. Deeply rooted in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, Yuriko brings her professional expertise in healthcare ethics into the heart of the community. As a Catholic convert, she views her writing as her missionary work—a calling that extends her reach to interfaith, international, and interdisciplinary ethics committees and boards, as well as lay ministries. Alongside her collaborative seminar work with her husband, Christopher, her writing and research remain profoundly informed by a commitment to human dignity and the preservation of faith-filled relationships in an increasingly automated world.

Marissa Furtado

Marissa Furtado is an elementary school teacher, wife, and mother. For the past eight years, Marissa has worked with children and their families in schools and parishes. Marissa is a certified catechist in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori-based approach to children’s faith formation. Having served as a leader in youth and young adult ministries, Marissa has developed a heart for mentorship and evangelization. Marissa’s experience in public education has shown her that faith is often shared most effectively through authentic relationships, daily witness, and genuine care for others.

Bryana Russell

Bryana Russell is a consultant, speaker, writer, producer, and nonprofit leader with more than 25 years of experience serving faith-based organizations, educational institutions, and churches. As Director of Engagement at Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries, she helps equip churches to respond to mental health challenges through innovative resources, thought leadership, and education. Bryana serves on the boards of Catholic Pacific College and Pacific Theatre. She holds degrees in International Studies, Psychology, and a Master of Theological Studies, and was awarded the Conway Bursary for original research on the role of women in peacekeeping efforts in the Middle East. Bryana’s most important work is raising four delightful sons, ages 17, 15, 12, and 4, with her husband, Chris.

Fr. Richard Conlin

Fr. Rich Conlin is a priest of the Archdiocese of Vancouver. He answered Christ’s call to the priesthood after competing in NCAA Division 1 golf in California from 2006 to 2011. He holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) in Dogmatic and Fundamental Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome. Fr. Rich is the author of several books, including 9 Days to Corpus Christi, 9 Days to First Holy Communion, Eucharistic Fire: A Retreat with St. Carlo Acutis, and 9 Days to Easter Joy. He is also the founder of The Prodigal Catholic, a blog offering free Catholic book summaries and more.

Brian Bird

Brian Bird is a Lecturer at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. Brian’s academic research focuses on Canadian constitutional law. His writing has been cited by Canadian courts, published in academic journals, and has appeared in media outlets such as the National Post and the Globe and Mail.

Derek Mercurio

Derek Mercurio serves as Director of Development for the Archdiocese of Vancouver, where he leads initiatives that advance the mission of the Church through stewardship, capital raising, and donor engagement. Drawing on a background in business and realestate finance, he brings 20 years of accumulated experience in leadership, relationship‑building, and cultivating investment efforts. Since transitioning from the business world to the Archdiocese, Derek’s conviction has deepened that each person is entrusted with unique gifts from our Lord. He approaches his work as a daily opportunity to place those gifts in service of the Gospel and the life of the local Church.
Derek is a member of Holy Cross Parish in Burnaby. Outside of his professional responsibilities, he enjoys staying active through hockey and softball, and—most
importantly—spending time with his growing family. Before all else, Derek is a husband and proud father to two beautiful daughters.