11th Annual Iowa Religious Freedom Day Celebration
April 10, 2024 | Des Moines, Iowa
Thanks for Coming and Supporting Religious Freedom!
Snapshots from the State Capitol and Drake University
Several teens attended the breakfast and posted about their experience. See one sample here!
Interactive Symposium at Drake University
Excerpts from the proceedings
Troy Rindlisbacher
Meeting Needs, Lifting Lives
Troy is a farmer, much like the farmers in Iowa who produce so much of the world's food. But he is currently the manager of ranching and farming operations in Utah that provide wheat, beef, and feed crops for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church produces food from these operations to feed those in need, donating tons of food throughout the world each year. Troy manages a team of faith-motivated volunteers in this endeavor that has also taken him to several other countries, where he introduces farming and ranching practices to improve self-reliance skills in communities facing difficult situations.
Marian Edmonds Allen
Spirituality and Faith for Young Adults and Teens
Rev. Dr. Marian Edmonds-Allen is executive director of Parity, a nonprofit that works at the intersection of faith and LGBT concerns and director of Blessed by Difference, a project that promotes curious and collaborative bridging. She is the co-chair of the LGBT-FoRB International Religious Liberty Roundtable and is the author of Covenantal Pluralism and Mission: Evidence for Healing the LGBT and Faith Divide.. Marian is a speaker, author, and educator with a focus on covenantal pluralism, inclusive religious freedom and theological methods for encountering others with love and curiosity. She is married, has four children, and is a passionate skier and outdoor enthusiast.
Stephen Courtright
Why Higher Education Should Care about Faith
Dr. Courtright is the Henry B. Tippie Research Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Iowa. Prior to taking that role, he held the John E. Pearson Professorship at Texas A&M University, where he was named a Presidential Impact Fellow. His research focuses on helping individuals develop as leaders, work well in teams, and feel engaged at work, with a particular interest in how family, recreation, and faith impacts those outcomes. His research has been published in top scholarly journals, earned international awards, and been featured in multiple national news outlets.
Jeremiah Morgan
Faith in the Public Square: Vital for All
Jeremiah serves as deputy attorney general for the state of Missouri. His focus is on civil litigation. Prior to this current role, he served as the state's deputy solicitor general. In that capacity he argued more than 40 cases in the Supreme Court of Missouri. He later accepted the position as General Counsel to the Supreme Court of Missouri. He worked with the Court on every opinion handed down, provided counsel to judges throughout the state.
Jeremiah is also a lay leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, supervising local leaders in Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois.