2024 Keynote Speakers

Jor-El Godsey serves as President of Heartbeat International. He leads a staff dedicated to equipping, empowering, and encouraging the thousands of leaders and developing leaders of Heartbeat’s affiliated pregnancy help centers, maternity homes, and adoption services, in the U.S. and on every inhabited continent. He oversees Heartbeat’s core mission to be the leadership supply line for the growing pregnancy help movement worldwide by providing accurate information, training resources, leadership development conferences, programs, and daily support to help affiliates start, grow, and expand their services to women and couples at risk for abortion.

Jor-El comes to Heartbeat having served in the pregnancy help movement since 1988. He first served as a volunteer at Hope, the pregnancy help centers in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Then he joined their board, served as Chair, and then as Executive Administrator. In 1999, Jor-El became Executive Director of Life Choices in Longmont, Colorado. Six years later, in 2006, Jor-El accepted the call to help Heartbeat International meet the diverse and expanding leadership needs of the pregnancy help movement as Vice President.

Jor-El met his wife, Karen, at a volunteer training meeting for the Hope Center in Ft. Lauderdale. They now have three children.

Amy Ford is the Co-Founder and President of Embrace Grace, a non-profit that inspires and equips the church to love on single and pregnant young women and their families. She is also the author of the book Help Her Be Brave: Discover Your Place in the Pro-Life Movement, released in January 2021 as well as other books. Amy speaks nationally to a varied audience including women’s ministry events, pro-life and adoption conferences, church leadership equipping, and pregnancy center benefits.

Serving in Embrace Grace, she has countless stories of how churches, pregnancy centers, and the body of Christ have come together to impact communities beautifully.

She brings a fresh perspective on how one life can make a difference by stepping out of our comfort zone and just loving people. Amy always delivers a combination of inspiration, authenticity, and depth!

Dr. Dermot Kearney is a distinguished consultant cardiologist and the former President of the Catholic Medical Association (UK). He earned his medical degree from UCD (Dublin, Ireland) in 1989 and completed General Medical and Cardiology specialist training in Ireland. Dr. Kearney further honed his skills through a Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology in Leiden and Amsterdam, Netherlands, from 2001 to 2003. Since 2003, he has been a consultant cardiologist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead.

Joining the Catholic Medical Association (UK) in 2008, Dr. Kearney has held various roles, serving as a Council member since 2010 and as Honorary Registrar from 2011 to 2018. From 2018 to 2021, he held the position of President, demonstrating his commitment to the organization's mission.

Dr. Kearney's career faced challenges when the General Medical Council raised concerns about his pro-life stance, challenging his ability to provide the abortion pill reversal protocol to women seeking to reverse their abortion choices. Despite the scrutiny, the council eventually dropped its case against him, affirming his adherence to medical ethics. In navigating the intersection of his medical expertise and pro-life convictions, Dr. Kearney stands as a resilient advocate, leaving a lasting impact on cardiology and broader medical ethics.

David Bereit is an experienced leader, an inspiring communicator, and a strategic advisor to pro-life leaders and organizations around the world.

Previously, David started and led the global 40 Days for Life movement through its first decade, mobilizing 750,000 volunteers in more than 700 cities across all 50 American states and dozens of nations, whose prayers and efforts have saved 14,643 children’s lives, brought 177 workers out of the abortion industry, and closed 96 abortion centers. David recently stepped away from his role as CEO of 40 Days for Life to pray and plan for a new ministry project.

David is an internationally sought-after keynote speaker, and his presentations in more than 550 cities around the world have inspired audiences as large as 70,000 people. David’s work has been featured in nearly every major media outlet, including coverage on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, HBO, hundreds of radio programs, and over 100 newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today.

David has advised many of today's most successful pro-life leaders, helping hundreds of organizations increase their life-saving impact, and raising more than $55 million for pro-life causes. David has been joyfully married to his best friend, Margaret, and lives outside of Washington, DC.

Sylvia Johnson is the founder and Executive Director of Houston Pregnancy Help Center, Inc., which currently has three locations in Houston, Texas: Fifth Ward Pregnancy Help Center located on the corner of Shotwell and the East Freeway, the Downtown Pregnancy Help Center located at San Jacinto and Alabama, and the new Medical Mobile Van which serves the greater Houston area. Sylvia has served as a Pregnancy Help Center Director for the past 39 years and has opened five Crisis Pregnancy Centers and assisted with the opening of two others. These centers provide services to over 20,000 clients per year. Under her leadership, medical services were implemented. Sylvia is known as “The Encourager,” a woman of vision and most importantly a woman who loves God and His people.

Kyle Mann is the editor-in-chief of The Babylon Bee. A prolific comedy writer, public speaker, and podcast host, Kyle has written thousands of Babylon Bee headlines and articles, along with the published works he's authored or co-authored: The Sacred Texts of The Babylon Bee, The Babylon Bee Guide to Wokeness, The Babylon Bee Guide to Democracy, How to Be a Perfect Christian, and The Postmodern Pilgrim's Progress, addresses hot topics like censorship, wokeness in comedy, and the importance of laughter and humor. Kyle has delivered keynote speeches, sat on panels, and addressed large crowds at large events across the country.