Contributors

Brent Andrewsen is the chairman of Sutherland Institute Board of Directors, an independent research and educational institution and think tank, whose mission is to advance civility, sound ideas, and principled public policy supporting faith, family and free enterprise. Brent also serves as the chairman of Skyline Research Institute and is the former chairman of the Board of Directors at Kirton McConkie. He has an AV Preeminent peer rating from Martindale-Hubbell and is recognized as one of Utah’s Legal Elite for estate planning, a Mountain States Super Lawyer for estate planning and non-profits, and a Best Lawyer for trusts/estates and non-profits/charities. He was also honored by Utah Business magazine as a 40 Under 40 Rising Star. Brent earned his B.A. in political science from BYU and a J.D. cum laude from the Washington & Lee University Law School.

Teresa Clark is a passionate storytelling artist who has dedicated her life to help strengthen, heal and protect the family. A national award-winning storyteller and published author, her story work involves performance, education, production, and advocacy. She has served on numerous boards including co-founder and Executive Director of the Storytelling Guild of Eastern Idaho; Western Region Representative, and board Co-chair of the National Storytelling Network; and co-founder of Story@Home. She has a bachelor’s degree from BYU-Idaho with an emphasis in History and Writing and is also a Pathway Connect instructor for BYU-Pathway Worldwide. Teresa and her husband, Stuart, have four married children, eleven grandchildren and live in Iona, Idaho.  

Autumn Foster Cook is a freelance writer who traveled the world in her youth with her Air Force family. She holds a degree in Journalism from Brigham Young University, where her interest in family issues was kindled by her work with law professor Richard Wilkins and the World Family Policy Center (WFPC), a branch of the J. Rueben Clark Law School (1999 – 2008). She competed with BYU’s award-winning Model United Nations team and interned with the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute at the United Nations in New York. She has organized, led and worked with grassroots organizations in family advocacy and education in Nebraska and Utah. She currently lives in Utah with her family.

Megan Cook has spent the last 10 years in professional teaching and youth development. She served as the state executive director for a large national non-profit youth leadership organization centering on career and leadership development for high school and college students. In this capacity, she served on the organization’s foundation board of directors, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to providing scholarship opportunities to students. Megan holds a B.S. in Secondary Education and a M.A. in Education with an emphasis in adult learning. She has been a contributor to multiple courses of published curriculum, and recently initiated and led a national curriculum development project. Megan and her husband, Brian, live in the western United States.

Amanda Davis began her career working for an international delegation during the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, which included appearances and interviews on the Today Show and KSL. She has worked for various public relations firms and as a liaison, meeting with ambassadors and delegates at the United Nations about policy issues regarding the family on the international and community level. Amanda has served on the board of The Child and Family Support Center, a non-profit with the mission of strengthening at-risk children and families. Her primary research focus is on the importance of strengthening the family unit and the direct role it plays in society. She graduated from Utah State University with a dual major in Public Relations and Sociology and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Sociology. Amanda lives in Utah with her husband and children.

Angela Fallentine is an international family policy and research consultant. She previously worked in international and government affairs in Washington, D.C. and Canada. Her current work focuses on public international law and international family policy in the Middle East and North Africa. Angela earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Utah State University and a master’s degree from Harvard University where her public policy research focused children and families living in humanitarian and conflict-affected settings in the Middle East.

Daniel Frost, PhD is an assistant teaching professor and Director of the Integrative Writing Program in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University. He has published articles in academic journals as well as in popular outlets such as Deseret News, National Review, Public Discourse, and First Things, among others. His interests include religious liberty, sexual morality, marriage, human personhood, and U.S. constitutional law. He holds a BA in Philosophy from BYU and an MA and PhD in Politics from Princeton University.

Ashlynn Fletcher is a recent graduate of Brigham Young University’s political science department. During her time at BYU, she participated in a mentored research program in the United Kingdom and received a scholarship as a fellow for the Political and Economic Development Lab. She is currently a full-time mother and one of our young adult advisors.

Edwin E. Gantt, PhD is a professor of applied social psychology and clinical psychology at Brigham Young University and a visiting fellow of the Wheatley Institution. He received his doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Duquesne University, where he focused on existential-phenomenological psychology and qualitative research methods. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and book chapters. He is currently at work on a book examining the impact of scientism in psychology. He teaches courses in the history and philosophy of psychology, personality theory, qualitative research methods, psychology of religion, and (his favorite) Latter-day Saint perspectives and psychology. He and his wife, Anita, are the proud parents of four sons.

Linda Hill is the co-host of our Raising Family podcast and brings with her decades of experience in marriage, family life, and teaching youth and young adults. She earned a degree in Family Science from Brigham Young University and has utilized this degree in her role as a mother, business owner, community volunteer and advocate for the family. She can occasionally be found enjoying her newest hobby – riding dirt bikes in the mountains of Colorado with her husband Kent. She is passionate about families, intentional parenting, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Loren Marks, PhD is a professor in Brigham Young University’s School of Family Life. His research interests have included racial minority families as well as religion and families. He has authored about 150 scholarly works, including three books, Sacred Matters: Religion and Spirituality in Families (2012), Religion and Families (2017), and Strengths in Diverse Families of Faith (2020).

Ryan Neuhaus is currently serving as a policy staffer in the United States Senate, working on a portfolio that focuses on healthcare, education, labor, welfare, pension reform, and values issues. Ryan has prior experience working for various think tanks and non-profits, focusing on research and advocacy for the family, foundational principles of Conservatism, and religious liberty. Ryan’s work has led him to be a guest on multiple radio shows, featured on television interviews, and has had his work published in The Washington Examiner, The Daily Signal, Townhall, and more. Ryan graduated with a BA from Brigham Young University in 2019 and an MPP from the Helm School of Government at Liberty University. He currently lives in Washington, DC with his wife Mckenna and their two daughters, Raeleigh and Lila. 

Alan Neves is the Broadcast News Lab Operations Coordinator for the School of Communications at BYU. He is a Southern Utah University graduate in broadcast journalism and has a Master of Fine Arts from the University Of Utah, where he studied film and media arts, with an emphasis in documentary production. He comes from KSL Television where he worked for 23 years in a variety of assignments in storytelling, television news production, satellite truck operations, and others. Before that, he worked at KUTV News. He is a 3 time Emmy winning photojournalist, and has covered news and documentary assignments in many places all over the world. He has had a role in 30+ documentaries over the years for KSL, and others as part of freelance efforts. His favorite shooting location has been Jerusalem, with its unique religious influence and culture, past and present.

Jelaire Richardson is a blogger, speaker, graphic designer, and stay-at-home mom. She has blogged for Latter-day Saint Women Stand and spoken at various events, including BYU-Idaho Education Week, the Middle East Women’s Conference, and various local and regional events for congregations where she has traveled, especially on topics relating to women, youth, and interfaith relations. One of her favorite pastimes is bringing her family to church services of other faiths. She was able to visit over 30 churches/mosques/synagogues in her community and participated in goodwill projects to build bridges between her faith and others. Jelaire grew up in the Midwest and served a Dutch-speaking mission in the Netherlands and Belgium. She earned a B.S. in Sociology from BYU-I and a M.S. in Social Work from BYU. Prior to starting her family, she worked as a therapist for court-ordered teens and adults with drug addictions. Jelaire currently lives in the Middle East with her husband Nathan and their children.

Nathan Richardson created the first scriptural annotated family proclamation in 1996 and has provided this site with hundreds of cross-referenced scriptures, including the printable scripture insert. He is a speech-language pathologist and has published multiple peer-reviewed articles in audiology journals. He is also a book designer and has worked for multiple publishing houses including the BYU Religious Studies Center, as well as owned his own document design business. Nathan has presented at multiple family history expos teaching people to use publishing software, and how to write and organize their life histories in ways that their grandchildren will find accessible. Nathan designs learning aids and has presented dozens of times at BYU-I Education Week, and at local and regional events where he’s traveled. He and his wife have a passion for building interfaith relations and have hosted several interreligious dialogues in their home. He was raised in Ukiah, California, and served a Spanish-speaking mission in El Salvador. He received a bachelor’s in English and a master’s in communication disorders from BYU and currently works for a private family in Saudi Arabia.

Carol Rice is the Director of Communications for Public Square Magazine. She has a career in sales, marketing and outreach and has provided specialized direction in training and using the power of story for non-profits, including non-governmental organizations at the United Nations. She has helped thousands of individuals and organizations share their stories. For over ten years Carol ran her own successful online publishing company and has worked with prestigious storytelling organizations; as Finance Chair for National Storytelling Network, Outreach Executive Director for Timpanogos Storytelling Institute and in Business Relations with the International Storytelling Center. She has a bachelor’s degree in marriage and family relations with an emphasis in family advocacy from BYU-I and is pursuing a master’s degree in communications. Carol and her husband, Scott, have five children, four grandchildren and live in Alpine, Utah.

David Steele is the co-host of our Raising Family podcast and brings expertise in digital marketing and production as a former member of BYU Vocal Point, where he enjoyed singing and giving firesides around the world. He grew up on a farm in Preston, Idaho as the 9th of 10 children. After testing out of high school his junior year, David attended Brigham Young University-Idaho and then transferred to BYU before leaving to serve a two year mission in Atlanta, GA. Upon his return, he attended BYU and graduated in economics and tourism. While there, he met his wonderful wife Whitney and currently pursues entrepreneurial ventures, digital marketing and real estate. 

Whitney Steele brings expertise in social media marketing, communications and public relations. She grew up in the Gila Valley of southeastern Arizona and attended Eastern Arizona College before serving in the New York, New York North Mission. Whitney is also a graduate of Brigham Young University where she specialized in public relations and worked for BYU’s Communications Department. She and her husband David live in Idaho. 

Jeffrey L. Thane, PhD  is an associate professor of psychology at Brigham Young University-Idaho. He graduated from BYU in April 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and again in 2012 with a master’s degree in psychology. He completed his PhD in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences at Utah State University. He is passionate about education, learning, statistics, philosophy, movies, and books. He married his better half, Shelby, and is learning from her the social and intellectual skills to succeed in life; and together with her, passing those same skills onto their two children.

Jon Wright brings expertise in sound engineering and video and podcast production. He worked with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to help create the “Mormon Messages” videos, along with various podcasts, commercials and training videos. Jon is also an accomplished pianist, having composed music for the LDS Church and for an Off-Broadway National Tour. Jon earned degrees in recording from the prestigious Full Sail University, as well as a B.A. in music from Brigham Young University-Idaho. He and his wife Rivkah live in New York with their two beautiful children.

Rivkah Wright is family and children advocate with experience with international organizations such as Birthright, a non-profit organization that has provided love and support for women facing unplanned pregnancies, and Operation Underground Railroad, which focuses on the prevention of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of children. Rivkah is an accomplished vocal performer and teacher who works with her husband, Jon, on the audio and podcast production elements of this site. She earned a degree in Arts from Brigham Young University-Idaho and is pursing a degree in Marriage and Family Studies. She and her husband Jon live in New York.

Young Adult Advisory Board

Alissa Blunck
Clara Cook
Megan Cook
Amanda Davis
Ashlynn Fletcher
Ryan Neuhaus
Andrew Rice
David & Whitney Steele 
Jon & Rivkah Wright

Bringing “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”

into your world.