George Strong holds a BA and MA from UC Santa Barbara. He has given numerous talks throughout the country and has been listed as a Christian Science Nurse since 1980. He is Executive Director for Fern Lodge Inc. and President of the Board of Directors of the Principle Foundation. George and his wife Sharon live in the East Bay where they are very active their branch church.

Susan Breuer has a Master’s degree from Stanford University and is a lifelong Christian Scientist and a listed Christian Science practitioner since 2005. She is a frequent speaker for inspirational talks and annual meetings and currently serves as Vice President of the executive Board of Twelveacres in San Jose. She is active in her branch church and lives in San Mateo with her husband Ed and their dog Ella.

Carrie Curlee is a fourth-generation Californian and a life-long Christian Scientist. She studied graphic arts and interior design, and worked for a Bay Area interior design magazine in their art department, ad sales, and later as Publication Manager. Called to support the Christian Science movement, she worked for the Committee on Publication for Northern California using her publishing skills and following legislative activity in California government. She served on the Board of the California State Institutional Committee, while developing skills as a web designer, forming her own company. Currently, she is happily learning the cattle ranching business, devoting time to her family, and “For the Love of Church”.

Carrie experienced growing in fellowship resulting from her church dwindling to thirty-five members, prompting a vote from the membership to close its doors. After a successful battle to overturn this vote, half the membership withdrew. The discouragement of being one of a handful of over-worked church goers, witnessing an ongoing shrinking membership, and the challenge to turn around what appeared to be an inevitable outcome, launched Carrie and others in a sequence of decisions and events teaching them the importance of fellowship. This fellowship was the critical factor leading to the success of the church’s ability to unite its members, embrace its neighbors, and branch out into its community. Today, that same church is vibrant, energetic, joyful, fun, reaching out, rousing, elevating, and daily demonstrating divine Science.

Her lifelong goal is to practice Christian Science with a song in her heart and fulfill the two greatest commandments of the Master, Christ Jesus: to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Jan and Alan are married and live in Redwood Shores, CA, and are members of First Church Mountain View.

Jan served as a Christian Science nurse for 22 years, and taught nursing for the last thirteen. She’s been a Journal-listed practitioner since 1999, and has been giving Association addresses since 2002. She has been First and Second Reader, and taught reading aloud classes for the nursing students for several years. She has given church renewal talks in Oakland, Sunnyvale, Yuba City, and Oakville, Ontario, Canada (near where she grew up). She’s been giving monthly metaphysical talks to the Mountain View church for over three years now.

Alan felt led by God to work at Oracle Corporation 29 years ago, and since God hasn’t told him to leave, he’s now the 4th longest serving employee out of 120,000. He’s served as both First and Second Reader.

My name is Ali Osborne and I can’t wait to meet you at the summit! I look forward to the sharing, inspiration, and growth awaiting each of us at Church Alive. What makes me tick? The energy, love, and receptivity I witness among youth in our Movement. Throughout middle and high school, I participated in local, regional, and national DiscoveryBound events, and then started a teen/young adult DiscoveryBound chapter while attending the University of Victoria in British Columbia. I was a long time camper and counselor at Camp Bow-Isle, and attribute much of my early foundation in Christian Science to the healings, spiritual and moral character growth, and deepened relationship to God which permeated my camp experience. I moved to Denver a couple years ago to work as the Program Coordinator for DiscoveryBound’s National Leadership Council (NLC), a four year servant leadership program for high school teens. NLC is dedicated to fostering spiritual growth, leadership qualities, and a service approach to life. I love that DiscoveryBound, NLC, and camp activities support youth and youthful thinkers in their tangible, expansive expressions of Church. I enjoy serving as an NLC co-leader for the remarkable group of 20 teens in my class and teaching Sunday School at my branch church.

View a copy of Ali’s speech from the Youth Perspectives on Church section of the 2013 Church Alive Summit on May 4, 2013.

Bill is the manager of Church Alive at The Mother Church which includes helping to build member sharing on both the Church Alive section of christianscience.com, and at Church Alive events such as Workshops and Summits.  When he’s not gathering inspiring church experiences from members around the globe, Bill and his wife Abigail enjoy their time in Northern California and in Melbourne, Australia where they live for part of the year.

Eric Nelson serves as the media and legislative spokesperson for Christian Science in Northern California (a.k.a. the Committee on Publication). As part of this work he also writes a self-syndicated column called “Consciousness & Health” that appears in a number of local, regional, and national online publications, including American Public Media’s “On Being” blog and The Washington Times.

His media work entails keeping in touch with news editors, producers, and reporters on various issues relating to the practice of Christian Science including prayer-based health care, spirituality, and the confluence between science and religion. His recent legislative work on both the state and federal level involves the legal accommodation of the practice of Christian Science, especially as it relates to health care.

Prior to this, Eric worked for a number of years as a marketing consultant and video producer, and as the co-founder of a Silicon Valley start-up company that provided web-based video tools and products to the travel industry.

In addition to his work with the media and state and federal legislatures, Eric also works as a Christian Science practitioner based in Los Altos.

Madelon Maupin, Bible scholar, will be leading a Breakout Session titled “Building Community through Bible Study.”  Here’s what you can expect:

For centuries, students of the Scriptures have come together to share their inspiration and healing, often gaining courage from others’ example of steadfast faith.  It is no different in our time — the desire to build community as we ‘search the Scriptures’.  This session is about how group Bible Study can be a tool to reach out not only to your church congregation but your larger community.  Since the Bible is the common platform with other Christians, our mutual love and desire for deeper understanding of it is a natural place to meet.  It will be a facilitated conversation sharing ideas and responding to questions.   Handout included.

Madelon Maupin has a Masters of Theological Studies degree with an emphasis on Biblical Studies, from San Francisco Theological Seminary, and a B.A. from  Principia College.  She lectured for Princess Cruises as Cultural Historian for tours to Biblical lands (Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Italy, Greece, etc.), occasionally leading her own trips to the Middle East.

Madelon gives talks on a variety of Biblical books and subjects to churches and organizations, as well as through Bible Study Seminars that sponsors the annual Asilomar Bible Conference for Christian Scientists.  She enjoys leading Bible studies, including one at her branch church in Newport Beach, CA, and the Adventure Unlimited Ranches, which she serves as a member of its Board of Trustees. Madelon has written about 40 articles for the Christian Science magazines and lives in Newport Beach, California, with her wonderful husband, George Birdsong.   She had a leadership consulting firm for the past 20 years working primarily with the film studio community of Los Angeles but recently closed it to focus full time on Biblical education and sharing.