Exmormon Foundation 2016 Conference

Tanner is a professional writer best known for his video poem, "Mormonism and Me" and his contributions to the website, Zelph On The Shelf, where he goes by the pseudonym, Richard R. Lyman.

Connor is a student at Utah State University studying Marketing and Chinese. He has written for Millennial Mormons, co-founded the blog Whatsoever Is Good with his hot British wife, and now contributes to the blog Zelph on the Shelf under the pseudonym Albert Carrington.

Samantha is a really professional writer from Essex, England. She is a firm believer in the four-hour work week, vegan pizza, and not a lot else. In her 164 hours of spare time she enjoys hanging out with her cat, Clickbait, watching David Attenborough documentaries, and second guessing her decision to use two lists of three in one bio. Anything you don't like about her is the result of her strict British upbringing.

A native of Southern California, Jeremy grew up reaching all the Mormon milestones. He served a mission in New York City, got married in the San Diego Temple, and graduated from BYU. In 2012, Jeremy had an awakening to the LDS Church's truth crisis. In response to Jeremy's awakening, a CES Director asked him in 2013 to share his concerns and questions about LDS historical and doctrinal inconsistencies and problems. Jeremy wrote what would later become virally known as CES Letter.

In April 2016, the LDS Church attempted to excommunicate Jeremy for "apostasy" relating to the CES Letter. After 3 years of silence from the CES Director and after over a year of consistent refusal from Stake President Mark Ivins to answer Jeremy's reasonable questions, Jeremy made the decision during his kangaroo court (disciplinary council) to restore his own power by excommunicating (resigning) the LDS Church from his life. More info: www.cesletter.org/resign. CES Letter can be read at www.cesletter.org.

Mark Giles, CD, BPE, APR, pcsc, is a military officer specializing in public affairs (PA) and influence activities (IA), including psychological operations. Recently completing his research paper for his Masters of Defence Studies — with a focus on PA and IA — he was previously communications director for the Canadian Forces Military Police and National Investigation Service, chief of communications with Interpol, and a police officer with the Calgary Police Service. A monthly columnist for more than four years with Blue Line, Canada's national law enforcement magazine, he has had more than 50 articles published on public and media relations, workplace bullying and leadership.

Raised in the Mormon Church, he stopped practising in the 1980's — after serving a mission to Belgium and France. Managing to visit nine European countries while also finishing as one of the mission's top baptizers, he came close to returning home early more than once. Mark resigned his LDS church membership in 2001 and is currently a volunteer advisor with Cultwatch.com — responding to online queries from around the world. A passionate presenter, he spoke on cults and control at the Canadian Public Relations Society annual conference in 2011, and is set to present at the International Cultic Studies Association in Dallas in July 2016.

Mark's presentation will address the challenges in finding the balance between accountability and responsibility — for what he considers one of America's largest and most successful frauds — and maintaining relationships, forgiveness and moving on.

Called a raw new voice in American fiction by Rolling Stone magazine for his story "Utah Died for Your Sins," Pushcart Prize winner Max Zimmer was born in Switzerland, brought across the Atlantic at the age of four, and raised in Utah in the crucible of the Mormon faith. He served a mission to Austria where he discovered his love for writing and came home to earn a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Utah. He taught fiction writing for several years at the U and at the State University of New York after moving East. He lives in northwest New Jersey with his wife Toni and is currently completing the third novel of his four-book series, If Where You're Going Isn't Home, the decade-long story of a boy growing up Mormon in 1950s and 1960s Utah with a dream to play jazz trumpet.

If Where You're Going Isn't Home is the story of two journeys: one that a boy growing toward manhood takes with his buddies straight through the heart of what it is to grow up Mormon, and another that he takes alone, to a place whose high priests aren't his father's friends but the Negro greats of jazz. Max will discuss the genesis of the series, what drove him to write it, and his goal to make the Mormon experience a universal story for readers everywhere. He will also read selections from the first two books of the series, Journey and Of the World.

Max's other published work includes a collection of 47 stories titled Actual Mileage, poems, book reviews, magazine columns, short biographies, and liner notes for jazz albums.

Pat Bagley graduated from BYU in 1978 and used his experience as cartoonist for the student newspaper, The Daily Universe, to land his current job with The Salt Lake Tribune. Bagley is the longest continuously employed newspaper cartoonist in the United States and has won several prestigious awards, including the 2009 Herblock Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2014. He continues to draw cartoons that poke fun at Mormon culture and that twists Republican legislator's underwear in bunch.