Emcees & Speakers

Profiled by the Wall Street Journal as “a defender of all religion, on the front lines of America’s culture wars,” Montse Alvarado worked with the team at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty—a renowned non-profit defending religious freedom as a human right at the Supreme Court—for fourteen years. As COO and Executive Director, Montse helped secure twelve victories at the Supreme Court and advocated for Becket clients like the Little Sisters of the Poor, Yeshiva University in New York, death-row prisoners, as well as charitable groups like Philadelphia Catholic Social Services on television, radio, print and digital editorials, and interviews.

Montse serves on the advisory boards of various leading Catholic non-profits including the Catholic Information Center, Speech First, and the Acton Institute. She advises the U.S. Catholic Bishops through the USCCB Religious Liberty Committee.

In 2021, became the founding anchor of the weekly discussion show EWTN News in Depth, on the global Catholic network. She was recently named President and COO of EWTN News, the news division of the Eternal Word Television Network, where she oversees various global news media platforms. Born in Mexico City, Montse has degrees from the George Washington University and Florida International University, and is fluent in Spanish and French.

Sr. Miriam James Heidland is a former Division I athlete who had a radical conversion and joined the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) in 1998. Her story has been featured on EWTN’s The Journey Home, SEEK Conferences, Steubenville Conferences, and other outlets.

She holds a Master’s degree in Theology from the Augustine Institute and speaks extensively on the topics of conversion, authentic love, forgiveness, and healing. She is also affiliated with the John Paul II Healing Center in leading healing retreats for priests and religious sisters across the nation.

Sr. Miriam’s podcast, Abiding Together, can be found on iTunes. Her books—Behold: A Guided Advent Journal, Restore: A Guided Lent Journal, and Loved As I Am—can be found on Amazon.

Fr. Josh Johnson is the Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Baton Rouge and the pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church. He is also the author of Broken & Blessed and On Earth as it is in Heaven. You can keep in touch with Fr. Josh through his weekly podcast Ask Fr Josh and his Ascension Presents YouTube series, The Ask Fr Josh Show. Fr. Josh’s greatest desire is to become a saint and help form saints in the geographical boundaries of his parish.