Father Leo Patalinghug was born in the Philippines and raised in the Baltimore area. Fr. Leo developed a love for cooking while attending the seminary at the North American College in Rome. Ordained in 1999 Fr. Leo spent five years as the parish priest for St. John's in Westminster, Maryland. It was here that Fr. Leo acquired the inspiration to write his cookbook, "Grace Before meals: Recipes for Family Life", as the parishioners of the church would invite Fr. Leo into their homes for dinner. Currently he is a member of the faculty at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary where he directs the pastoral Field Education Program for future priests. A popular conference speaker with a growing national reputation for his ability to connect with teens and their parents, Fr. Leo has appeared at events across the United States and Canada. You can visit his website at Grace before Meals.

Thomas Smith was raised as a 7th generation Mormon, later ordained a Protestant minister, and received into the Catholic Church in 1996. Bringing a wealth of experience and insight on the Word of God to audiences across the U.S. Thomas is a repeat guest on EWTN and Catholic radio as well as a sought after parish mission and conference speaker. He is the co-author of "Adventures in Revelation: The Kingdom Yet to Come" and an international presenter for the Great Adventure Bible Timeline. He has taught as an adjunct professor at the St. Francis School of Theology in Denver, and is the former Director of the Denver Catholic Biblical School and the Denver Catechetical School. Thomas lives on his family ranch in southeastern Idaho where he farms and writes for his website Gen215 and the Catholic News Agency.

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Colleen Pasnik was born and raised a Catholic in Dubuque, Iowa. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.S. in Psychology and from North Carolina State University with a Masters of Counseling Education. She has counseled hospice patients, elementary school children and post-abortive women. She was the Director of the Family Life Office for the Archdiocese of Dubuque for three years and has been the Executive Assistant at Dubuque County Right to Life since 2003. In 2004 she co-founded Springtime of Hope, an organization dedicated to the "New Evangelization", bringing authentic Catholic teaching to the laity through conferences, programs, activities and continuing education. She has been married to Bill since 1991, and they are members of St. Columbkille Parish in Dubuque.

Erik and Carrie Brown reside in Davenport, Iowa. They have been married almost two years and are now expecting their second child. Erik is a firefighter/paramedic, and Carrie is a busy “stay at home” mom. Erik and Carrie have a wonderful story to share. Erik had a faith conversion while in college which called him to embrace his Catholic faith and to dig deeper into it. Carrie, also raised Catholic but not appreciating its value, had a conversion to the faith while dating Erik. Carrie and Erik love knowing and living the truths of our awesome Catholic faith. They have a growing ministry of sharing Christ and the Catholic faith with teens and young adults. Their previous talks have dealt with the universal call to holiness; relationships, dating and courting; callings of a man and woman; the differences of man and woman; chastity, purity, and openness to life. Their teen talk at the Spirit & Truth Conference is: Are Your SHIPS in Shape?