Heartbeat International - Pregnancy Center Conference

Keynote Speakers

	Kay Coles James Prior to being unanimously being confirmed to be Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on July 11, 2001, James served as a leader and manager in Government on the Federal, state, and local levels and in private, non-profit, and academic settings. She most recently served as a Senior Fellow and Director of The Citizenship Project at the Heritage Foundation. James was Senior Vice President of the Family Research Council. She has also served as Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer for One to One Partnership, a national umbrella organization for mentoring programs. She served under President George H. W. Bush as Associate Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and as Assistant Secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She was appointed by President Reagan and reappointed by President George H. W. Bush as member of the National Commission on Children. James has served on the Fairfax County School Board and the Virginia Board of Education. She has also served on several corporate boards, including Focus on the Family and Amerigroup, Inc., a health care provider exclusively for low-income families. As a frequent commentator and lecturer, Mrs. James has appeared as a guest on every network morning show, several national news and talk programs, and her editorials have been featured in newspapers across the country. In addition, James is the author of three books: her award winning 1993 autobiography Never Forget; Transforming America From the Inside Out (1995); and a third book on the subject of marriage (2001). Most importantly, Kay Coles James is the wife of Charles James, Sr. and the proud mother of three grown children, and a new grandchild. Kay Coles James will be the banquet speaker at this year's conference.
	Martha Avila Martha is the President of Heartbeat of Miami, part of Heartbeat International's Urban Initiative. Heartbeat of Miami is an organization which provides "life saving help in a life changing way" to women with an unplanned pregnancy. Since 2006, they have established two Pregnancy Help Medical Clinics in the Miami-Dade County and plan to open a third in 2009. They provide pregnancy tests, ultrasound verification, counseling, pre-natal care referral, adoption referral, parenting classes, material goods and much more.
	Pastor Luke J. Robinson Pastor Luke J. Robinson is the Pastor of the Quinn Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.C.), Frederick, Maryland. He is also the Director of The Voice of Truth and Life Ministries, the Coordinator for the A.M.E.C. Prison Ministry in Western Maryland and the Consultant to the A.M.E Church’s Social Action Committee on the Abortion issue. Pastor Robinson was licensed to preach in 1975 at the Ward Memorial A.M.E. Church in Washington, DC, under the Pastorate of the Late Reverend Doctor Walter L. Hildebrand. He is serving in his 24th appointment as pastor of Quinn Chapel A.M. E. Church. Seven men and women of God have been birthed into the ministry under his guidance and tutelage; four of whom are currently pastors. Prior to serving at Quinn Chapel, Pastor Robinson served as pastor of Dickerson AME Church in Frostburg, Maryland and Metropolitan AME Church in Cumberland, Maryland. Pastor Robinson has taken bold stands in declaring the truth of the Gospel in prisons, on street corners, in public parks, in county, city, and state venues. He has been sought out to teach, exhort, preach, comment, write, and to articulate the heart of God as it relates to the Ten Commandments, Abortion, religious freedom, prison reform, the sanctity of marriage between one woman and one man and upholding the uncompromising Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has been featured in magazines, newspapers, radio shows, and television as author, spokesperson, and featured guest. Pastor Robinson was a Keynote Speaker for the 34th, the 35th and the 36th Annual March for Life in Washington, D.C on January 2007, 2008 and 2009. He spoke to over 200,000 people on the devastation of the African American Community by abortion. His messages were entitled, “Stop the Lying—We Are Dying” and “We Must Get on Board Now” and “We Need Change Now More Than Ever”. He has been to the White House on several occasions to meet with advisors to former President George W. Bush on the issue of abortion and the African American community. Pastor Robinson delivered a critical message during his presentation at the National Right To Life Annual Convention in Kansas City, Missouri in June 2007. He shared on “Effective Strategies for Organizing African American Churches for Pro-Life Activities. Pastor Robinson and staff sponsored a booth at the July 2008 General Conference of the AME Church in Saint Louis, Missouri to bring awareness to the African American community about their health issues and major causes of death—specifically, the ABORTION impact. Pastor Robinson’s ministry extends beyond the borders of this nation. Most recently, in July 2008, he returned to El Salvador where he declared the truth and hope found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He ministered in several locations, including feeding the hungry, comforting those in the hospital, door-to-door ministry and boldly preached from several pulpits throughout El Salvador. God continues to enlarge his territory to carry the Good News of Jesus Christ! Pastor Robinson will continue sharing around the nation on the abortion issue in 2009. He solicits your prayers.
	Eve Sanchez Silver Eve Sanchez Silver is a Medical Research Analyst. She is founder/Director of Clear Research, which provides support for translational research goals in the basic sciences and of Cinta Latina, the educational arm of Clear Research which focuses on breast health risk information and education. Ms. Silver is a bioethicist, monitoring international theoretical and clinical health regulations policy, with a focus on minority women, pre-term birth risks and the abortion-breast cancer link. As a researcher, Ms. Silver developed the "MeAgain Kit" a post-mastectomy product for women. She is a science editor and author of Way Past Pink, "The Breast Cancer Manifesto". She is a published member of the American Medical Writers Association and a member of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. Ms. Silver has lectured nationally and internationally. As an invited speaker at Parliament in Australia and keynote speaker for the International Conference on the Family in New Zealand, she had a two month lecture tour entitled the Clear Research Native to Native Out Back Outreach. Ms. Silver has partnered with many organization including: the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, the Department of Defense, The National Cancer Institute, and Harvard University. Recently, Ms. Silver was sponsored by the countries of Australia and Canada to speak at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Violence Against Women in the 52nd United Nations Conference on Women. She is a 2006 recipient of the Maya Angelou Phenomenal Woman Award and a member of Do No Harm, an international bioethics group.
	Elder Dr. Levon R. Yuille Elder Levon Yuille has been the Pastor of the Bible Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan for over thirty years. Along with his work in the ministry, he has been a community activist for well over thirty years, which has afford him the opportunity to work with numerous groups and individuals for the good of society. Pastor & Mrs. Yuille were recipients of the Life Time Achievement award from the Right to Life of Michigan. Pastor Yuille has received over forty awards and citations for his involvement with quality of life causes. Among some of these awards are a award from the City of Ypsilanti, Michigan for Citizen of the Year, Pregnancy Counseling Center Community service award, and numerous other awards and citations which reflect his concern for humanity. He is also the chair of the Michigan Black Republican Council of Southeastern Michigan. Pastor Yuille received his initial ministerial training at the Avery Church and Bible School of Chicago, Illinois. His insatiable appetite for the word of God and theology has driven him to a life long study of the word of God. This quest has exposed him to many books, scholarly presentations and exposure to numerous other sources of learning for over twenty. Pastor Yuille best friend and buddy is his precious wife Sally, they have been blessed to raise eight children. In their decades of marriage their wonder lust has taken them to all forty eight contiguous states, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, Africa, and England. And if the Lord so wills they hope to visit Alaska in the near future. Mrs. Yuille is a quiet warrior who has been part of Pastor Yuille numerous activities through out the years.
	John Ensor Rev. John Ensor is the Vice President of Mission Advancement for Heartbeat International, a ministry dedicated to training Christian Communities how to provide life-saving, life-changing assistance to women and couples unprepared for pregnancy through the establishment of donor supported Pregnancy Help Clinics (PHC). John's work involves introducing the PHC model into our nation's abortion-hot zones; cities especially plagued by abortion facilities and lacking life-affirming alternatives. John is currently completing a two-year effort to establish ultrasound-equipped Pregnancy Help Medical Clinics in the neediest neighborhoods of Miami a city plagued with nearly 40 abortion facilities. In 2008, new initiatives are being researched for LA, DC and Pittsburgh. Prior to this, John served as a pastor in Boston, MA and the Founder and President of A Woman's Concern, a network of six Pregnancy Help Medical Clinics in the Greater Boston area. John speaks and writes on matters of Christian faith and ethics. His books include Answering The Call: Saving Innocent Lives, One Woman At A Time (Focus on the Family, 2003), The Great Work of the Gospel (Crossway Books, 2006) and his newest book, Doing Things Right in Matters of the Heart (Crossway Books, 2007). An ordained Baptist minister, Rev. Ensor lives in Roswell, GA with his wife, Kristen. They have been married for 30 years and have three grown children, one daughter-in-law and a brand new granddaughter.
	Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D. Margaret H. (Peggy) Hartshorn, Ph.D. became involved in the pro-life movement soon after the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973. Peggy and her husband joined the local Right to Life group, and they began housing pregnant women in their home in 1974. They founded Pregnancy Decision Health Centers in Columbus, Ohio, on January 22, 1981. Peggy served as Chairman of the Board for over 20 years. Under her leadership, PDHC became one of the first pregnancy centers to offer ultrasound services and grew to five locations, serving over 15,000 hotline and office clients annually. Peggy joined the Board of the first pregnancy center affiliation organization in the U.S.A., “Alternatives to Abortion International,” in 1986, now Heartbeat International. Peggy became the first full-time President in 1993. At that time Heartbeat had about 250 affiliates. It is now the largest network of life-affirming, volunteer ministries in the world, with over 1,100 affiliated service groups in 43 countries (over 900 in the United States). The ministry of Heartbeat International calls Peggy to travel extensively, sharing her “hands on” experience at seminars, conferences, and consultations. Peggy delivers programs on abortion, post-abortion, chastity, adoption, alternatives-to-abortion, plus nonprofit and leadership development. She travels and teaches throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, and Asia. She also appears on television and radio programs to discuss pro-life issues. Peggy was formerly a college professor for 20 years at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio (with a Bachelor’s Degree from Dominican University in California and a Master’s and Ph.D. from the Ohio State University). She has received many awards including: the Catholic Woman of the Year Award from the Columbus Diocese in 2004, the Founder’s Award from the Christ Child Society in 2006, the J.C. Penney Golden Rule Award, the Sanctity of Human Life Award from Care Net, the Cardinal John J. O’Conner pro-life award from Legatus International in 2007, and the Patrick Cardinal O’Boyle Award from the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars in 2007. Peggy is a member of the Board of Governors of Legatus International and serves as Chairperson of the Pro-Life Committee. Peggy has been married to Michael Hartshorn for 37 years. They have two adopted children, now married, and four grandchildren.